Memorial Stadium top plays | From Grange to Griffith to Benn, building has seen it all

Oct. 18—Bob Asmussen has been covering Illinois football at The News-Gazette for 35 years and wrote a book about the history of the program. Here is his list of the 10 best Illinois plays at Memorial Stadium since it opened in 1924. Feel free to disagree:

Oct. 18, 1924. Red Grange opening kickoff return against Michigan. Took the ball at the north 5 and started to his left. Grange cut back dramatically to his right and found an open field. He raced into the end zone for his first of six total touchdowns. Earl Britton nailed the extra point to give Illinois a lead it would never relinquish.

Oct. 15, 1983. Thomas Rooks’ 21-yard touchdown run to beat Ohio State 17-13 during the 1983 Big Ten title season. Rooks took a pitch from Jack Trudeau and raced down the right sideline into the north end zone. Scott Golden had consecutive 20-yard plus grabs before the winning play.

Oct. 29, 1983. David Williams’ 46-yard TD catch against Michigan. Williams went to the right side of the field and dove into the southeast corner of the end zone, sealing a 16-6 win. He had six catches for 127 yards.

Sept. 22, 1990. Howard Griffith’s NCAA-record eighth rushing touchdown against Southern Illinois. Griffith ran 3 yards into the south end zone for the historic score with 1:15 left in the third quarter. Shout out to his line: Tony Laster, Cam Pepper, Curt Lovelace, Tim Simpson and Ed Pedersen.

Nov. 4, 1939. Illinois played Michigan and future Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon, who gave his team a 7-3 lead. Late in first half, George Rettinger stayed outside the Illinois huddle before sprinting down the field. Jimmy Smith threw a pass to Rettinger, who finished the 48-yard play to give Illinois the lead in a 16-7 victory.

Nov. 16, 1946. Ohio State was driving for the lead score late in the third quarter of a tight game. But Illinois two-way star…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/memorial-stadium-top-plays-grange-144800163.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-10-18 14:48:00

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