193-489: Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American college football coach and player. He formerly worked for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1993–1996), Boise State University (1997), the University of Arkansas (1998–2007), and the University of Mississippi (2008–2011). Nutt's all-time career winning percentage
386-777: A 12–4 record, the Lions clinched the NFC Central and made the postseason for the first time since 1983 , with Fontes being awarded that year's National Football League Coach of the Year Award . Those 12 wins are the most in a season by the Lions franchise in its history. Having the No. 2 seed in the NFC , the Lions skipped the Wild Card Round and advanced to the Divisional Round , where they faced
579-430: A Cotton Bowl Classic bid versus arch-rival Texas . The Razorbacks defeated Texas 27–6, becoming the first team to ever hold Texas to negative rushing yards in a bowl game. It was Arkansas' first bowl victory since the 1985 Holiday Bowl . The Cotton Bowl victory, which was the first college football game played in the 21st Century, propelled Arkansas into the top 20 to end the season, finishing (8-4). The 2000 season saw
772-522: A first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP). The Lions struggled that season, posting a 7–9 record and failing to make the postseason , despite winning five straight games to end the year. On September 9, 1990, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Sanders had 79 yards from 14 rushing attempts and a goal-line touchdown in the 38–21 loss in the Lions' regular season opener. Against
965-500: A 0–0 tie. The Army–Navy game of 1893 saw the first documented use of a football helmet by a player in a game. Joseph M. Reeves had a crude leather helmet made by a shoemaker in Annapolis and wore it in the game after being warned by his doctor that he risked death if he continued to play football after suffering an earlier kick to the head. In 1879, the University of Michigan became the first school west of Pennsylvania to establish
1158-524: A 10–19 loss against the Baltimore Ravens . Sanders capped off his final season with 1,491 rushing yards (fourth in the league), from a career-high 343 attempts (fifth in the league), and four touchdowns. He was nine yards short of completing five straight seasons with at least 1,500 rushing yards. He was selected to his tenth Pro Bowl, and named an AP second-team All-Pro. The Lions struggled despite Sanders' performances, going 5–11 , and failing to make
1351-696: A 10–3 loss against the Minnesota Vikings . Against the Dallas Cowboys the following week, Sanders improved with a career-high 40 attempts for 194 yards. For his performance, he was named the NFC Offensive Player of The Week. On September 25, 1994, against the New England Patriots , Sanders recorded 18 attempts for 131 yards and two touchdowns. During the game, Sanders had one of the most memorable runs of his career. While rushing 39 yards for
1544-433: A 16–0 conference mark. With the retirement of Broyles, Arkansas hired Lou Holtz as the head football coach. Holtz established an option offense that did not make use of Nutt's passing style and relegated him to the bench as a backup. Disappointed by his lack of playing time, Nutt transferred to Oklahoma State University and played two years as a backup quarterback. During his time at Oklahoma State, he also played for
1737-562: A 17–7 home win against Auburn . On November 15, Ole Miss beat ULM , 59–0, to push their record to 6–4 and become bowl eligible for the first time since 2003. Ole Miss next beat No. 8 LSU , 31–13, in Baton Rouge, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Tigers, earning the Rebels an Associated Press ranking of No. 25, the first time in four years Ole Miss had been ranked, and putting them in position for
1930-456: A 56-game undefeated streak that included a 1902 trip to play in the first college football bowl game , which later became the Rose Bowl Game . During this streak, Michigan scored 2,831 points while allowing only 40. Organized intercollegiate football was first played in the state of Minnesota on September 30, 1882, when Hamline was convinced to play Minnesota . Minnesota won 2 to 0. It
2123-494: A 5–6 record and without a bowl invitation for the first time under Nutt. The 2005 season was also a rebuilding year as expected. Tough losses to USC (70–17) as well as to Vanderbilt and South Carolina showed that the season had been predicted accurately. The team was ineligible for a bowl for the second season in a row (and the second season overall under coach Nutt). This led to Razorback fans calling for coaching changes. After meeting with Frank Broyles (athletic director) at
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#17330850904062316-488: A Thursday night game on September 24. After the loss, Ole Miss fell 17 spots in the AP Poll, down to No. 21. Ole Miss went on the road again and beat Vanderbilt the next week, 23–7. After a disappointing start and pair of conference losses, they managed to rebound against Arkansas, winning 30–17. Ole Miss went on to beat No. 8 LSU , 25–23, at Oxford. Ole Miss lost to in-state and SEC rival Mississippi State on November 28 in
2509-503: A college football team. On May 30, 1879, Michigan beat Racine College 1–0 in a game played in Chicago. The Chicago Daily Tribune called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies ." Other Midwestern schools soon followed suit, including the University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Minnesota . The first western team to travel east
2702-526: A down game, recording 17 attempts for only 24 yards. Against the Cleveland Browns , Sanders improved with 157 yards from 18 attempts and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown run, in a 38–20 victory. Sanders finished with 314 attempts for 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his season, Sanders was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP first-team All-Pro. The Lions posted a 10–6 record and made
2895-621: A football scholarship, Sanders was expected to start at tailback in his senior year —but instead was started at wingback —a variant of the wide receiver position. His head coach at the time perceived that his small stature would be a liability and that he "lacked contact courage." Besides taking part in football, he played basketball as a guard . Table-tennis and baseball were also sports that Sanders took part in. During this period—according to writer Samuel Crompton—the Sanders family had to "scrimp and save to get by". Sanders did not become
3088-577: A former NBA player, is head men's basketball coach at Ouachita Baptist University. Nutt was the last player recruited by Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles before his retirement in 1976. Nutt was recruited as a drop-back-style quarterback and started four games as a true freshman after starting quarterback Ron Calcagni was sidelined with an injury. Nutt also played that year for the Southwest Conference champion Arkansas basketball team under coach Eddie Sutton , which went 26–2 and accomplished
3281-447: A great deal to Harvard's rugby. They decided to play with 15 players on each team. On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard played each other for the first time ever, where Harvard won 4–0. At the first The Game (as the annual contest between Harvard and Yale came to be named) the future "father of American football" Walter Camp was among the 2000 spectators in attendance. Walter, a native of New Britain, Connecticut , would enroll at Yale
3474-536: A liking to the rugby game, and its use of the try which, until that time, was not used in American football. The try would later evolve into the score known as the touchdown . On June 4, 1875, Harvard faced Tufts University in the first game between two American colleges played under rules similar to the McGill/Harvard contest, which was won by Tufts 1–0. The rules included each side fielding 11 men at any given time,
3667-487: A new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874. Three of the schools—Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton—formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, as a result of the meeting. Yale initially refused to join this association because of a disagreement over the number of players to be allowed per team (relenting in 1879) and Rutgers were not invited to
3860-620: A new offensive coordinator in Malzahn . The Razorbacks started the season losing 50–14 in blowout fashion, at a home game in Fayetteville, to USC . Following the loss to the Trojans, Nutt announced that Mustain would replace Robert Johnson as the Hogs' starting quarterback. Mustain led Arkansas to eight straight wins, including victories against No. 22 Alabama at home and No. 2 Auburn at Auburn, before losing
4053-499: A player to pick up the ball and run with it whenever he wished. Another rule, unique to McGill, was to count tries (the act of grounding the football past the opposing team's goal line; there was no end zone during this time), as well as goals, in the scoring. In the Rugby rules of the time, a try only provided the attempt to kick a free goal from the field. If the kick was missed, the try did not score any points itself. Harvard quickly took
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#17330850904064246-736: A possible bid to the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, Texas . The Rebels went on to beat SEC West and in-state rival Mississippi State , 45–0, in the Egg Bowl to finish the regular season at 8–4. The win over the Bulldogs moved the Rebels up to No. 22 in the AP Poll and landed the team their first ranking of the year in the Coaches' Poll , coming in at No. 25. Ole Miss defeated the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders , 47–34, in
4439-462: A professional roster spot as an undrafted free agent . Despite these opportunities, only around 1.6% of NCAA college football players end up playing professionally in the NFL. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League (NFL), college football has remained extremely popular throughout the U.S. Although the college game has a much larger margin for talent than its pro counterpart,
4632-664: A reputation as an excellent recruiter. Nutt remained with the Razorbacks for three seasons and established relationships with Arkansas high school football coaches that would serve him in good stead in later years. In 1993, Nutt received his first head coaching position at NCAA Division I-AA Murray State University . The team went 4–7 and 5–6 in Nutt's first two years. In 1995, his efforts paid off with an 11–1 record and an Ohio Valley Conference championship after reeling off an 8–0 conference mark. Nutt received Ohio Valley Conference Coach of
4825-504: A rougher version of football called "the Boston Game" in which the kicking of a round ball was the most prominent feature though a player could run with the ball, pass it, or dribble it (known as "babying"). The man with the ball could be tackled, although hitting, tripping, "hacking" and other unnecessary roughness was prohibited. There was no limit to the number of players, but there were typically ten to fifteen per side. A player could carry
5018-524: A round ball instead of a rugby-style oblong ball. This series of games represents an important milestone in the development of the modern game of American football. In October 1874, the Harvard team once again traveled to Montreal to play McGill in rugby, where they won by three tries. In as much as Rugby football had been transplanted to Canada from England, the McGill team played under a set of rules which allowed
5211-534: A season, and became the first running back to have three touchdowns of 80+ yards in a season. Against the Chicago Bears , Sanders had 19 attempts for 167 yards and three touchdowns, passing Eric Dickerson to become the second-ranked rusher for career yards behind Walter Payton On December 21, 1997, Sanders entered the season finale against the New York Jets needing at least 131 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for
5404-537: A team be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs. These down-and-distance rules, combined with the establishment of the line of scrimmage, transformed the game from a variation of rugby football into the distinct sport of American football. Camp was central to several more significant rule changes that came to define American football. In 1881, the field was reduced in size to its modern dimensions of 120 by 53 1 ⁄ 3 yards (109.7 by 48.8 meters). Several times in 1883, Camp tinkered with
5597-603: A touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals . His rushing total against the Bengals brought his career total to 5,202 rushing yards, passing Sims for a new franchise record. Sanders finished his final regular season game with 19 attempts for 104 yards against the San Francisco 49ers . Overall, Sanders was credited with 1,352 rushing yards from a workload of 312 attempts and nine touchdowns; his rushing yards total ranked fourth in
5790-490: A touchdown against the Vikings, but a missed two-point conversion attempt after his touchdown resulted in the Lions losing 22–24. In the final game of the season, he recorded 28 attempts for 175 yards against the San Francisco 49ers . Overall, Sanders finished the regular season first in the league in rushing yards with 1,553 rushing yards from 307 attempts. He scored 11 rushing touchdowns, and had 97.1 rushing yards per game, which
5983-408: A touchdown in the 24–17 victory. Sanders had a productive year, finishing the year first in the NFL in rushing yards, with 1,304, becoming the first Lions running back to lead the league in rushing yards since Byron White in 1940 . He ranked third in rushing touchdowns (13), and sixth in both attempts (255), and yards per attempt (5.1). As a result, Sanders was selected to his second Pro Bowl and
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6176-545: A touchdown in the 47–27 loss, but became injured with bruised ribs and a hip pointer that plagued him through the rest of the season. On October 1, Sanders only had one yard on five attempts against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 23–3 loss. Against the Minnesota Vikings , Sanders had 23 attempts for 99 yards in the 24–17 loss. After the game, Vikings head coach Jerry Burns asked game officials to check if Sanders had applied silicone to himself; Burns believed this
6369-399: A touchdown, Sanders juked and spun his way to the end zone, causing Patriots safety Harlon Barnett to spin around trying to tackle Sanders. Barnett later spoke of the moment: "I'm not embarrassed about what happened. I thought I did pretty good. I got in front of him twice", Barnett then added, "I just didn't stay there." Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , in a 14–9 win, Sanders had arguably
6562-440: A touchdown, and scoring two touchdowns from 29 total special teams returns. He was named a second-team College Football All-American as a return specialist . While still a backup to Thomas, he received notable attention from his opponents. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer in particular told his players not to injure Thomas, in fear of Sanders starting in his place, telling them: "You won't touch this kid". Sanders
6755-619: A touchdown, in a game where the Lions surrendered a 21-point lead to lose 38–41. On December 10 against the Los Angeles Raiders , Sanders was credited with a season-high 176 yards from 25 attempts and two touchdowns in the 38–31 loss. He earned his first NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor for his game against the Raiders. On December 22 against the Packers, Sanders had 19 attempts for 133 yards and
6948-504: A tying extra point and a defensive stop of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on 4th-and-1. The next weekend, the Rebels lost to South Carolina . Next on the schedule was Alabama , ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time. During the game, Ole Miss became the first team Alabama trailed in the 2008 season. Alabama ultimately prevailed, however, in the final series of the game, winning, 24–20. Then came Arkansas . Nutt, facing his old team, came out victorious, 23–21. The Rebels followed that with
7141-505: A wide receivers coach. Nutt spent six seasons as an assistant coach for receivers and quarterbacks at Oklahoma State, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1989. During his years at Oklahoma State, he helped mentor running back Barry Sanders , who won the 1988 Heisman Trophy and Buffalo Bills legend Thurman Thomas . In 1990, Nutt returned to the University of Arkansas as an assistant under head coach Jack Crowe and established
7334-505: A youth, he excelled in sports like track , baseball, and association football, and after enrolling at Yale in 1876, he earned varsity honors in every sport the school offered. Following the introduction of rugby-style rules to American football, Camp became a fixture at the Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. Dissatisfied with what seemed to him to be a disorganized mob, he proposed his first rule change at
7527-581: Is generally considered to be the second tier of American and Canadian football; ahead of high school competition , but below professional competition . In some parts of the United States, especially the South and Midwest , college football is more popular than professional football. For much of the 20th century, college football was generally considered to be more prestigious than professional football. The overwhelming majority of professional football players in
7720-624: Is just under 59 percent. Houston Nutt Jr. was born in Arkansas, a distant descendant of Haller Nutt and member of the Nutt family, which is prominent in Southern society. He is the son of the late Houston Dale Nutt Sr., and Emogene Nutt and is the oldest of four children. Houston Nutt Sr. briefly played basketball for the University of Kentucky under Adolph Rupp before transferring to Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in 1952. Nutt graduated from Little Rock Central High School . His parents taught at
7913-556: Is often considered the greatest individual college football season ever, ranked No. 1 by ESPN and Sporting News. In commemoration of the 150th year of college football, Sanders was honored during halftime at the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 13, 2020, as the No. 9 player of all time. In contrast to many of the star players of his era, Sanders was noted for his on-field humility. Despite his flashy playing style, Sanders
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8106-404: Is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States . Like gridiron football generally, college football is most popular in the United States and Canada. While no single governing body exists for college football in the United States, most schools, especially those at
8299-448: Is still ranked in the top ten in all three statistics. Over his entire career, Sanders averaged 1,527 rushing yards per season, and 99.8 rushing yards per game, the latter stat second to Jim Brown. He never went below 1,000 yards in any of his ten seasons and has the second-most career 1,000-yard rushing seasons, with ten. Sanders was a notable bright spot on a Lions franchise that had endured years of unsuccessful play, helping to lead
8492-658: Is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, the first recorded non-university football club in Canada. Early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional " mob football " played in Great Britain. The games remained largely unorganized until
8685-629: The Detroit Free Press wrote: "All day they would labor, with the hammers, with the tar, sweating in the hot summer sun. You did not complain in the Sanders family. Not unless you wanted a good whupping." Sanders played football at Wichita North High School . Before this, he enjoyed playing youth football and basketball. Sanders started at tailback in his sophomore year in high school , but his brother Byron started before him in that position during Barry's following junior year . When Byron graduated and left for Northwestern University on
8878-519: The 1988 Holiday Bowl , a game that is not included in the official NCAA season statistics. When added to his original rushing total, Sanders recorded 2,850 rushing yards from a workload of 373 attempts, 42 rushing touchdowns, and 44 total touchdowns. Sanders learned of his Heisman Trophy win while he was with the team in Tokyo , Japan preparing to face Texas Tech in the Coca-Cola Classic , accepting
9071-461: The 2007 season . He left the school with a 75–48 record, which is second on the school's all-time win list, behind only Broyles. The 2007 team would go on to lose to Missouri in the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic under interim head coach Reggie Herring , finishing (8-5). On November 27, 2007, Nutt was hired as the new head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels , replacing former head coach Ed Orgeron , who
9264-506: The Big Ten . Nutt became the head coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks on December 10, 1997, succeeding head coach Danny Ford . Nutt, during his first press conference as coach, immediately mentioned a National Championship as his goal and felt that Arkansas had the program to win one. The Razorbacks had suffered through a low period under a succession of head coaches in the previous years, having only received two bowl game bids in
9457-402: The Chicago Bears , after rushing for 63 yards on 16 attempts, Sanders was forced to leave the game with an injury. The Lions revealed after the game that Sanders had suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) , and would miss three to five weeks. It was subsequently revealed by a physician that Sanders had also torn his posterior cruciate ligament . As a result, Sanders was inactive for
9650-408: The Cotton Bowl Classic . The Ole Miss Rebels began the 2009 season rated highly by the media. After beating Memphis , 45–14, and Southeastern Louisiana , 52–6, which gave Ole Miss the second longest winning streak in the nation at eight games dating back to the 2008 season, Ole Miss climbed as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll before losing their 2009 SEC opener, 16–10, on the road at South Carolina in
9843-491: The Dallas Cowboys . Sanders helped lead the Lions to their first postseason victory since the team won the 1957 NFL Championship Game . In the game, Sanders was held to only 22 yards rushing before he broke away for a 47-yard touchdown run, in which he broke several tackles to close out the 38–6 victory. In the NFC Championship Game , Sanders was held to eleven attempts for 44 yards in the Lions' blowout 41–10 loss to
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#173308509040610036-578: The Golden Boot back to Arkansas. Darren McFadden would finish his career at Arkansas as the school's all-time leading rusher, was a consensus first team All-American, and finished runner-up in the Heisman voting for the second year in a row. Three days after defeating LSU, Nutt resigned as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks amid several controversies and rumors, which had come prior to and throughout
10229-589: The Green Bay Packers on September 30, Sanders had 20 attempts for 94 yards in the 24–21 loss in Week 4. Sanders had 16 attempts for 90 yards and a touchdown, coupled with five receptions for 135 yards receiving and a 47-yard receiving touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 43–24 loss in Week 6. On November 4, playing against the Washington Redskins , Sanders had 11 rushes for 104 yards and
10422-476: The Minnesota Vikings , Sanders dominated, with 220 rushing yards on 23 attempts and four touchdowns, a game the Lions won 34–14. Sanders dedicated the win to teammate Mike Utley , who suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury the previous game. In the final game of the regular season against the Buffalo Bills , Sanders had 26 attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown, but fumbled in Lions territory, allowing
10615-614: The NCAA for recruiting violations. On the first day of 1989, the NCAA placed the Cowboys on four years' probation. If Sanders had stayed for his senior season, his games would not have been televised live, and he would not be able to play in a bowl game. Due to these circumstances, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle allowed Sanders to enter the draft. One year after he was selected, the NFL allowed all juniors to participate. During pre-draft measurements, Sanders
10808-510: The NFL and other leagues previously played college football. The NFL draft each spring sees 224 players selected and offered a contract to play in the league, with the vast majority coming from the NCAA . Other professional leagues, such as the CFL and UFL , additionally hold their own drafts each year which also see primarily college players selected. Players who are not selected can still attempt to obtain
11001-536: The Oakland Raiders , Sanders had nine attempts for only 36 yards. On November 3 against the Green Bay Packers , Sanders had 20 attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown. Against the Seattle Seahawks on November 17, Sanders had 16 attempts for 134 yards and a touchdown. Against the Chicago Bears the following week, Sanders had 21 attempts for 107 yards and a touchdown. Sanders had 20 attempts for 134 yards and
11194-510: The Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988 and wore the No. 21 jersey. During his first two years, he backed up Thomas at running back. In 1986, Sanders played in eight games and rushed for 325 rushing yards on 74 rushing attempts, with two rushing touchdowns. In 1987, he led the nation in yards per kickoff return (31.6), while rushing for 603 yards and scoring nine rushing touchdowns, catching four passes for 58 receiving yards and
11387-662: The Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania . They compiled a 12–8–1 record in these seasons, playing as an independent from 1887 to 1890. In 1891, the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Football Association (PIFA) was formed. It consisted of Bucknell University , Dickinson College , Franklin & Marshall College , Haverford College , Penn State, and Swarthmore College . Lafayette College , and Lehigh University were excluded because it
11580-648: The SEC Championship Game and ended the season with a loss to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl . In 2003, Nutt's team started off with a 4–0 record including a win against #5 Texas in Austin (Arkansas' first victory at Texas since 1988). The early season success raised fan expectations sky-high and put Nutt under intense pressure when the Razorbacks lost their next three games, to include controversial losses to Auburn and Florida, putting them out of contention for
11773-541: The Southeastern Conference Western Division in 1998, but ended up with a 9–3 record and a share of the division title. The Razorbacks lost to the eventual national champion Tennessee Volunteers on Tennessee's home field after quarterback Clint Stoerner fumbled while trying to run out the clock. For their efforts, the Razorbacks received their first-ever invitation to the Citrus Bowl and ended
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#173308509040611966-421: The Wild Card Round . Sanders, after being cleared for the game, recorded 27 attempts for 169 yards, the best statistical postseason game of his career; but the Lions lost 28–24. “We’re learning little by little, the hard way, that when Barry Sanders is not having the day you expect him to have, it’s hard for this team to win.” On September 11, 1994, Sanders struggled, as he had 12 attempts for only 16 yards in
12159-401: The 19th century, when intramural games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football. Princeton University students played a game called "ballown" as early as 1820. In 1827, a Harvard tradition known as "Bloody Monday" began, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes. In 1860, both the town police and
12352-497: The 2001 season, the Razorbacks started off with a revenge victory over UNLV, but then suffered three straight losses in conference play. They then came back to win six of the last seven, including victories over ranked South Carolina and Auburn teams. Based on this performance, the Razorbacks were selected to return to the Cotton Bowl Classic to face the defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners . Arkansas lost, gaining only 50 yards of total offense and just six first downs. Nutt
12545-523: The 34–28 loss in Week 2. Sanders had 22 attempts for 69 yards in a 6–29 loss against the Minnesota Vikings . On November 26, 1998, against the Pittsburgh Steelers , Sanders had a down game, with 20 attempts for only 33 rushing yards; the Lions were still victorious 19–16 in overtime. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars , Sanders had 18 attempts for 102 yards. In Sanders' final game of his career, on December 27, 1998, he had 19 attempts for 41 yards in
12738-484: The 76th greatest North American athlete of the 20th-century. Although he sat behind fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas on the depth chart for his first two collegiate seasons, Sanders is considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. His Heisman trophy-winning season in 1988, in which he set single-season college football records for most rushing yards gained, touchdowns scored, and total scrimmage yards (among other records),
12931-896: The Arkansas School for the Deaf at Little Rock, Arkansas , for 35 years. His father also served as athletic director and head basketball coach for the school. His father was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. During his childhood, Houston and his brothers were daily members at the Billy Mitchell Boys and Girls Club in Little Rock. Wife Diana, like Nutt, graduated from Oklahoma State University . The couple have four children together: Houston III (born March 11, 1987), twins Hailey and Hanna (born September 26, 1988), and Haven (born March 19, 1991). Nutt's brother Dickey Nutt
13124-556: The Associated Press and by the SEC coaches for the second time. The 2007 season began with the Razorbacks ranked No. 21 by the AP Poll . The Hogs opened at home with a victory over Troy . However, early losses to Alabama and Kentucky knocked Arkansas out of the rankings and made the remaining SEC schedule an uphill struggle, even with Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis in the Razorback backfield. Fan frustration boiled over, with some fans wearing all black T-shirts with anti-Nutt statements, radicals made death threats against
13317-401: The BCS standings. However, the Hogs lost their last regular season game to the No. 8 LSU Tigers , 31–26. Despite the loss, the Hogs were still Western Division Champions of the SEC, and played the 11–1, fourth-ranked Florida Gators for the SEC Championship. Florida won, 38–28. The Razorbacks then lost to the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers on New Year's Day, 2007 in the Capital One Bowl , finishing
13510-470: The Bills to tie the game; the Lions would still be victorious, ending 17–14 in overtime. Sanders finished the regular season with 1,548 rushing yards from a workload of 342 attempts. He led the league in rushing touchdowns, with a career-high 16. Subsequently, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro team and awarded the Bert Bell Award . The 1991 season was the most successful season in terms of wins with Sanders starting at running back. With
13703-442: The Buccaneers, passing Jim Brown to be the fourth-ranked career rushing leader in NFL history, with 12,513 career rushing yards; he also caught a seven-yard touchdown pass. Against the Indianapolis Colts , Sanders had another stellar performance, compiling 24 attempts for 216 yards and two touchdowns (including one of 80 yards). With the win, Sanders became the first running back with ten consecutive games with 100 yards rushing in
13896-869: The Chicago Bears in the 9th round of the 1989 NFL draft . Byron was cut by the Bears two months after joining the franchise. Sanders has four sons: Barry J. Sanders , Nick, Nigel, and Noah; the youngest three are from his marriage to Campbell. When the couple divorced, Sanders requested joint custody of them, while Campbell kept their medical coverage. Sanders' oldest son, Barry J. Sanders, played running back at Stanford University from 2012 to 2015, and Oklahoma State University in 2016. In 2022–2023, his son Nick played basketball at Michigan State University. In 2003, Sanders co-wrote his autobiography, Barry Sanders: Now You See Him: His Story In His Own Words, with Mark McCormick. He has reportedly donated to several charities, under
14089-515: The College of New Jersey, in the first collegiate football game . The game more closely resembled soccer than football as it is played in the 21st century. It was played with a round ball , and used a set of rules suggested by Rutgers captain William J. Leggett , based on The Football Association 's first set of rules , which were an early attempt by the former pupils of England's public schools, to unify
14282-625: The Egg Bowl at Starkville , 41–27. Ole Miss was picked to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic for the second year in a row, where they defeated Oklahoma State , 21–7, to end the season. Nutt recruited 37 players in February 2010, leading the SEC to enact the Houston Nutt Rule: effective August 1, 2010, "SEC teams will be limited to signing 28 football recruits, with the usual maximum of 25 allowed to enroll in
14475-746: The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City to codify the first set of intercollegiate football rules. Before this meeting, each school had its own set of rules and games were usually played using the home team's own particular code. At this meeting, a list of rules, based more on the Football Association's rules than the rules of the recently founded Rugby Football Union , was drawn up for intercollegiate football games. Old "Football Fightum" had been resurrected at Harvard in 1872, when Harvard resumed playing football. Harvard, however, preferred to play
14668-496: The Lions' front office and declining team production as reasons for his retirement. He finished his career with 15,269 rushing yards (fourth all-time), and 99 rushing touchdowns (tenth all-time); in each of his ten seasons he was selected to a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team. The Lions retired Sanders' No. 20 jersey on November 25, 2004, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame three months prior. A year later, Sanders
14861-534: The NFC. Sanders and the Lions faced the Buccaneers, who were playing their first home postseason game since 1979. Sanders had 18 attempts for 65 yards as the Lions lost 10–20 in the Wild Card Round , after quarterback Scott Mitchell left the game with an injury in the third quarter. On September 13, 1998, against the Cincinnati Bengals , Sanders recorded 185 rushing yards from 26 rushing attempts with three touchdowns in
15054-480: The NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1997 (with Brett Favre ) after rushing for 2,053 yards in 16 games, becoming the third running back to surpass 2,000 yards. In the same season, Sanders totaled a record 2,358 yards from scrimmage, later surpassed by both Marshall Faulk and Chris Johnson . By the end of his career, Sanders was known as "one of the game's most electrifying runners", as described by
15247-482: The NFL landscape, stating that he wanted to help "restore the roar in the dome." As a rookie in 1989, Sanders started 13 out of a possible 16 games for the Lions. In his first career professional game against the Phoenix Cardinals on September 10, Sanders ran for 71 yards on nine attempts and scored a rushing touchdown in the 16–13 loss. Against the Chicago Bears , Sanders compiled 126 yards on 18 attempts and
15440-510: The NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries. Colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. With new bylaws made by the NCAA, college athletes can now receive "name, image, and likeness" (NIL) deals, a way to get sponsorships and money before their pro debut. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as "football", played at public schools in Great Britain in
15633-506: The NFL." He left football healthy, having gained 15,269 rushing yards (the most ever by any NFL player in a 10-year span). He retired within 1,457 rushing yards of Walter Payton 's career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. It has been speculated that Sanders would have surpassed the record if he had not retired early, a view held by Emmitt Smith , the eventual holder of the record. His father praised him for his decision, saying that it "took guts." Sanders took time in his decision, waiting "till
15826-730: The North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina . On November 13, 1887, the Virginia Cavaliers and Pantops Academy fought to a scoreless tie in the first organized football game in the state of Virginia . Students at UVA were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim that some industrious ones organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871, just two years after Rutgers and Princeton's historic first game in 1869. But no record has been found of
16019-601: The Nutt family, and one fan bought an entire page in a local Little Rock newspaper calling for Nutt to be fired. A non-official flyover was made hours before the Auburn home game with a small airplane towing a banner which read: "Fire Houston Nutt. Players and fans deserve better." On November 23, 2007, in Baton Rouge , Nutt's Razorbacks beat the #1 football team in the nation. In a game that lasted three overtimes, Arkansas defeated eventual national champion LSU Tigers , 50–48, returning
16212-427: The Packers and recorded what is viewed as the worst game of his career, having 13 attempts for -1 rushing yards. Six of his 13 attempts went for negative yardage, and the Lions as a team were held to only -4 rushing yards in the game, losing 16–12. The 1995 season began against the Pittsburgh Steelers ; Sanders recorded 21 rushing attempts for 108 yards. On September 25 against the San Francisco 49ers , Sanders had
16405-528: The Pro Football Hall of Fame; this was a view shared by Sports Illustrated , who described him as "running circles around NFL defenses with an electrifying style unlike anything the league has seen." His 1989 season is regarded as one of the best all-time by a rookie running back, ranked No. 3 by NFL analyst Elliot Harrison, and No 4. by ESPN analyst Jeff Merron. In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes, and other sports figures ranked Sanders as
16598-453: The Razorbacks lose the core of their team and suffer a string of injuries, including season-ending injuries to all of the starting running backs, and injuries to three of their quarterbacks. The Razorbacks struggled throughout the season until the final two games, when they defeated ranked Mississippi State and LSU teams to pull out another winning record and a Las Vegas Bowl appearance. Arkansas lost to UNLV in that game, finishing (6-6). In
16791-560: The SEC Academic Honor Roll 145 times and he established a reputation as a responsible coach academically. Nutt received some criticism for a SEC win–loss record that was just barely over .500 and because he called his own offensive plays during a game instead of relying on an offensive coordinator . In his first six seasons, Nutt led the team to a bowl game each year and averaged eight wins per season. In his first season as head coach, Nutt's Razorbacks were picked to finish last in
16984-518: The Year . Sanders initially announced that he was not going to enter the NFL draft , but after receiving pressure from his father, he announced his entrance into the draft. Sanders set 34 NCAA Division I FBS records in his college career, and still holds the following records: Sanders, a college junior, was originally ineligible for the NFL Draft . However, Oklahoma State had been under investigation by
17177-548: The Year honors and was recognized with the Eddie Robinson National Division I-AA Coach of the Year Award. Nutt repeated his success for the 1996 season with an 11–2 record and another undefeated run through his Ohio Valley Conference schedule. Murray State won its first round Division I-AA playoff appearance, earning Nutt the OVC Coach of the Year honors and regional Coach of the Year honors. Nutt made
17370-499: The all-time rushing record was released on Amazon Prime. Sanders is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in the history of the NFL, being ranked No. 1 by Bleacher Report and in the top ten by other media outlets. When he retired, Sanders was ranked second all-time in career rushing yards with 15,269 rushing yards, sixth all-time in career rushing touchdowns with 99 rushing touchdowns, and second all-time in career rushing attempts with 3,062 attempts. As of 2022, Sanders
17563-583: The award via satellite; he garnered 559 first-place votes for 1,878 points, becoming the eighth non-college senior to attain the trophy, and was selected as a unanimous All-American . Nevertheless, he believed Rodney Peete should have won the award. Along with his Heisman Trophy, Sanders was awarded the Maxwell Award , the Walter Camp Award , and named the Big Eight Offensive Player of
17756-428: The ball only when being pursued. As a result of this, Harvard refused to attend the rules conference organized by Rutgers, Princeton and Columbia at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City on October 20, 1873, to agree on a set of rules and regulations that would allow them to play a form of football that was essentially Association football; and continued to play under its own code. While Harvard's voluntary absence from
17949-425: The ball was advanced by kicking or carrying it, and tackles of the ball carrier stopped play – actions of which have carried over to the modern version of football played today Harvard later challenged its closest rival, Yale, to which the Bulldogs accepted. The two teams agreed to play under a set of rules called the "Concessionary Rules", which involved Harvard conceding something to Yale's soccer and Yale conceding
18142-497: The basketball team. Nutt graduated from Oklahoma State in 1981 with a degree in physical education . After graduation, Nutt became a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State under head coach Jimmy Johnson . In 1983, Nutt returned to Arkansas and became a graduate assistant coach under former coach Lou Holtz. In the spring of 1984, Nutt was hired by Arkansas State University as a full-time assistant coach, but he spent only four months there before returning to Oklahoma State that summer as
18335-473: The bench seating). This allows them to seat more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium, which tends to have more features and comforts for fans. Only three stadiums owned by U.S. colleges or universities, L&N Stadium at the University of Louisville , Center Parc Stadium at Georgia State University , and FAU Stadium at Florida Atlantic University , consist entirely of chair back seating. College athletes, unlike players in
18528-485: The best statistical game of his career, compiling a career-high 237 rushing yards (franchise record), off of 26 attempts; setting the record for most rushing yards in a single game without scoring a touchdown. Sanders entered the final game of the season within striking distance of 2,000 yards rushing, but finished the loss to the Miami Dolphins with only 12 carries for 52 yards. Nonetheless, Sanders finished first in
18721-468: The bonus. Sanders' agents refused, and the Lions filed a grievance with the NFL. On February 15, 2000, an arbitrator ruled that Sanders had to immediately repay $ 1,833,000 (one sixth of the bonus), with three sixths of the bonus to be repaid over each of the three years Sanders had left on the contract provided he stayed retired. Before the ruling, Sanders offered to pay back the entire bonus in return for him being traded to another team or his release. It
18914-474: The center. Later changes made it possible to snap the ball with the hands, either through the air or by a direct hand-to-hand pass. Rugby league followed Camp's example, and in 1906 introduced the play-the-ball rule, which greatly resembled Camp's early scrimmage and center-snap rules. In 1966, rugby league introduced a four-tackle rule (changed in 1972 to a six-tackle rule) based on Camp's early down-and-distance rules. Camp's new scrimmage rules revolutionized
19107-546: The city of New Haven , banned the play of all forms of football in 1860. American football historian Parke H. Davis described the period between 1869 and 1875 as the 'Pioneer Period'; the years 1876–93 he called the 'Period of the American Intercollegiate Football Association'; and the years 1894–1933 he dubbed the "Period of Rules Committees and Conferences". On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University faced Princeton University , then known as
19300-482: The college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a mock figure called "Football Fightum", for whom they conducted funeral rites. The authorities held firm, and it was another dozen years before football was once again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called " Old division football ", the rules of which were first published in 1871, though
19493-599: The conclusion of the season, coaching changes were made by Nutt in the offseason at the risk of being fired, the most notable of which was the forced addition of Gus Malzahn , previously the head coach at Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas , as offensive coordinator . The hiring of Malzahn allowed Nutt to sign several highly recruited Springdale players, including Springdale High School quarterback Mitch Mustain and wide receiver Damian Williams , both of whom eventually transferred to USC. The 2006 season began with
19686-670: The condition that they do not disclose his participation in any of them. Sanders introduced ESPN's Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Lions on October 10, 2011. In April 2013, Sanders made it to the finals of the vote to be on the cover of EA Sports Madden NFL 25 , which celebrated the game's 25th anniversary, by beating head coach Ron Rivera in Round One, running back Marcus Allen in Round Two, linebacker Ray Lewis in Round Three, quarterback Joe Montana in
19879-482: The eight seasons prior to Nutt's arrival. Upon his arrival at Arkansas, Nutt invigorated the Razorback fan base with his enthusiasm and high energy. Under Nutt, the Razorbacks were one of three SEC schools to play in three New Year's Day bowls within five years. Nutt's teams were noted for a series of overtime games including the two longest overtime games in NCAA history. Off the field, some of Nutt's players were named to
20072-485: The end of the season. His final game was a 31–3 loss to Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl . Nutt also lost for the second straight year to his former team, the University of Arkansas, as the Razorbacks held on for a 29–24 victory in Oxford. Ole Miss finished winless in conference play. Two wins in non-conference play were vacated in 2019 as punishment for recruiting violations committed by members of Nutt's staff, leaving
20265-477: The eventual Super Bowl-winning Redskins. Sanders finished the postseason with 23 attempts for 113 yards and a touchdown. He would never win another playoff game in his career after that season. On September 13, 1992, Sanders had 26 attempts for 66 yards against the Minnesota Vikings . Against the Washington Redskins the following week, Sanders recorded 14 attempts for only 34 yards in the 13–10 loss. On November 22, Sanders compiled 29 attempts for 151 yards and
20458-518: The extent any such statements harmed Coach Nutt’s reputation, the University apologizes, as this was not the intent. The NCAA’s Notice of Allegations dated January 22, 2016, did not name or implicate Coach Nutt in any misconduct, and it would have been inappropriate for any University employee to suggest otherwise." Apparently, two assistants under Nutt had conspired to fix certain players' ACT scores to make them eligible to play and those assistants under Nutt were found guilty of academic fraud. These were
20651-472: The fall." ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill said: Ole Miss was trying to create a farm league. I think what the cap does is make you have to make tougher choices. Before you could say, We can get all three of these guys. Now you say, We can fit one in and which one do we want? " The Ole Miss Rebels finished 4–8 overall in the 2010 season, including 1–7 in the Southeastern Conference. Among
20844-634: The first game in Virginia. On April 9, 1880, at Stoll Field , Transylvania University (then called Kentucky University) beat Centre College by the score of 13 + 3 ⁄ 4 –0 in what is often considered the first recorded game played in the South . The first game of "scientific football" in the South was the first instance of the Victory Bell rivalry between North Carolina and Duke (then known as Trinity College) held on Thanksgiving Day , 1888, at
21037-404: The first meeting he attended in 1878: a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength. Camp's most famous change, the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback , was also passed in 1880. Originally, the snap was executed with the foot of
21230-404: The first time. The Yale team was coached and captained by David Schley Schaff, who had learned to play football while attending Rugby School . Schaff himself was injured and unable to play the game, but Yale won the game 3–0 nonetheless. Later in 1872, Stevens Tech became the fifth school to field a team. Stevens lost to Columbia, but beat both New York University and City College of New York during
21423-454: The following year. By 1873, the college students playing football had made significant efforts to standardize their fledgling game. Teams had been scaled down from 25 players to 20. The only way to score was still to bat or kick the ball through the opposing team's goal, and the game was played in two 45-minute halves on fields 140 yards long and 70 yards wide. On October 20, 1873, representatives from Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers met at
21616-431: The game dates to at least the 1830s. All of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities. They remained largely "mob" style games, with huge numbers of players attempting to advance the ball into a goal area, often by any means necessary. Rules were simple, and violence and injury were common. The violence of these mob-style games led to widespread protests and a decision to abandon them. Yale , under pressure from
21809-479: The game that a Lions victory was "guaranteed". At the time, this was the highest-scoring postseason game in NFL history, with 95 points scored. This record was bested by one point in a 51–45 victory by the Arizona Cardinals over the Green Bay Packers in 2009 . In 1996, during the first game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings , Sanders recorded 24 rushing attempts for 163 rushing yards. Against
22002-404: The game, though not always as intended. Princeton, in particular, used scrimmage play to slow the game, making incremental progress towards the end zone during each down . Rather than increase scoring, which had been Camp's original intent, the rule was exploited to maintain control of the ball for the entire game, resulting in slow, unexciting contests. At the 1882 rules meeting, Camp proposed that
22195-416: The game. All four victories were vacated in 2019 as punishment for recruiting violations committed by members of Nutt's staff, leaving the team officially winless. It was Ole Miss' first winless record in modern times. Nutt set an Ole Miss coaching record with his 12th straight Southeastern Conference loss. On November 7, 2011, Nutt was fired by the University of Mississippi, but was allowed to coach through
22388-629: The highest levels of play, are members of the NCAA . In Canada, collegiate football competition is governed by U Sports for universities. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (for colleges) governs soccer and other sports but not gridiron football. Other countries, such as Mexico , Japan and South Korea , also host college football leagues with modest levels of support. Unlike most other major sports in North America , no official minor league farm organizations exist for American football or Canadian football . Therefore, college football
22581-472: The history of the NFL with his quickness and agility, despite being only 5 ft 8 in tall and weighing 203 lbs. Sanders played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys . As a junior in 1988 , he compiled what is widely considered the greatest individual season by a running back in college football history, rushing for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 11 games. He won the Heisman Trophy and
22774-404: The last five games of the regular season. In his final contract year, Sanders and the Lions agreed to a four-year, $ 17.2-million contract, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL, and the third-highest-paid player overall, behind John Elway and Steve Young . Starting in only 11 games due to the injury, he finished in the top ten in multiple rushing categories. Sanders was fifth in
22967-407: The last minute." His retirement voided $ 20.9 million in collective salary and bonuses, along with millions of dollars in endorsements. Sanders' retirement came somewhat unexpectedly and was a matter of controversy. Two years earlier, Sanders had renewed his contract with the Lions for $ 34.56 million over six years with an $ 11 million signing bonus. The Lions demanded that he return $ 7.37 million of
23160-468: The last two decades of the 19th century. Several major rivalries date from this time period. November 1890 was an active time in the sport. In Baldwin City, Kansas , on November 22, 1890, college football was first played in the state of Kansas . Baker beat Kansas 22–9. On the 27th, Vanderbilt played Nashville (Peabody) at Athletic Park and won 40–0. It was the first time organized football played in
23353-478: The league in rushing yards (1,115 rushing yards), ninth in attempts (243), and second in rushing yards per game (101.4 rushing yards per game); with a career-low three rushing touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl and an AP second-team All-Pro. The Lions finished the regular season with a 10–6 record, clinching the NFC Central and a postseason berth. The Lions faced their division rival Green Bay Packers in
23546-412: The league in rushing yards, recording 331 attempts for 1,883 yards rushing and scoring seven touchdowns. His single-season rushing total was fourth in NFL history up to that point. He totaled 2,166 yards from scrimmage , which, at the time, was the seventh-most ever in a season. As a result of his season, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP first-team All-Pro after the regular season. Sanders
23739-441: The league, and his attempts ranked third. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP second-team All-Pro for the first time. The Lions regressed from their previous season, posting a 5–11 record for the year, and missed the playoffs after making the conference championship the prior year. During the 1993 season, Sanders appeared to be well on his way to that year's NFL rushing title; however, on November 25, 1993, against
23932-493: The meeting made it hard for them to schedule games against other American universities, it agreed to a challenge to play the rugby team of McGill University , from Montreal , in a two-game series. It was agreed that two games would be played on Harvard's Jarvis baseball field in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 14 and 15, 1874: one to be played under Harvard rules, another under the stricter rugby regulations of McGill. Jarvis Field
24125-415: The meeting. The rules that they agreed upon were essentially those of rugby union at the time with the exception that points be awarded for scoring a try , not just the conversion afterwards ( extra point ). Incidentally, rugby was to make a similar change to its scoring system 10 years later. Walter Camp is widely considered to be the most important figure in the development of American football. As
24318-452: The mid-19th century. By the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as rugby football . The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges. The first documented gridiron football game was played at University College , a college of the University of Toronto , on November 9, 1861. One of
24511-569: The national championship or even the SEC Western Division crown. The Razorbacks won four of their final five games and defeated Missouri in the Independence Bowl to finish with a record of (9-4). After the 2003 season, Nebraska was rumored to be courting Nutt to be their head coach, after the firing of Frank Solich . The 2004 and 2005 campaigns were widely expected to be rebuilding years due to young teams. The 2004 season ended with
24704-710: The nearest college to play football. It took place at Hamilton Park in New Haven and was the first game in New England. The game was essentially soccer with 20-man sides, played on a field 400 by 250 feet. Yale wins 3–0, Tommy Sherman scoring the first goal and Lew Irwin the other two. After the first game against Harvard, Tufts took its squad to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine for the first football game played in Maine . This occurred on November 6, 1875. Penn 's Athletic Association
24897-603: The next year. He was torn between an admiration for Harvard's style of play and the misery of the Yale defeat, and became determined to avenge Yale's defeat. Spectators from Princeton also carried the game back home, where it quickly became the most popular version of football. On November 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia met at the Massasoit House hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts to standardize
25090-405: The offer from Oklahoma State. Sanders later said that his choice to play at Oklahoma State caused a conflict between him and his father. When Oklahoma State's coach came to his father's house with a letter of intent the day Sanders signed with the team, his father was frustrated, saying as the coach walked out the door that Sanders was "making a big mistake" when signing with the team. His father
25283-404: The only two violations which occurred under Nutt's administration; of the 21 total NCAA findings, the remaining 19 violations were under Freeze's administration. # denotes interim head coach # denotes interim head coach % denotes disputed coaching records College football NAIA : NJCAA : College football ( French : football universitaire ) is gridiron football that
25476-419: The participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock , later chancellor of the school. A football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play then are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College , also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland and Frederick A. Bethune devised rules based on rugby football. Modern Canadian football
25669-569: The playoffs. On July 27, 1999, Sanders announced his retirement from pro football, the day before Lions training camp was set to start. His retirement was made public by faxing a letter to The Wichita Eagle , his hometown newspaper. In the letter, Sanders wrote: "Shortly after the end of last season, I felt that I probably would not return for the 1999–2000 season. I also felt that I should take as much time as possible to sort through my feelings and make sure that my feelings were back with conviction. Today, I officially declare my departure from
25862-544: The postseason only twice, and had not had a season at or above .500 since their most recent playoff season in 1983. Fontes, who took over the coaching position midway through the previous season, was impressed with Sanders' athletic ability after he lifted 225 lbs (102 kg) for 21 reps . Lions' management considered drafting another "Sanders", cornerback Deion Sanders , but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead. Fontes offered Sanders jersey No. 20, which had been worn by former Lions running back Billy Sims ; Sims
26055-513: The postseason with a wild card spot, where they faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round . Sanders had ten attempts for 40 yards as the Lions' rushing game was stuffed by the Eagles' defense. The Lions were likewise overwhelmed by the Eagles' offense and faced a 44-point deficit in the third quarter 51–7, eventually losing the game 58–37; despite teammate Lomas Brown stating before
26248-481: The press, and rarely spoke about his accomplishments publicly. When reflecting on his career, ESPN described Sanders as a "humble superstar." Sanders is a Christian. He and his wife, Lauren Campbell Sanders, a former news anchor for WDIV in Detroit, filed for divorce in February 2012 after 12 years of marriage. Sanders' brother, Byron, was the starting running back at Northwestern University , and would be selected by
26441-497: The regular season and was co-awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (shared with Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre ), alongside his second NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. While still performing at a high level, Sanders unexpectedly retired from professional football in 1999, at the age of 31, and 1,457 yards short of breaking the NFL's then all-time rushing record held by Walter Payton . Sanders cited
26634-482: The rules of their various public schools. The game was played at a Rutgers Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey . Two teams of 25 players attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team's goal. Throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed, but there was plenty of physical contact between players. The first team to reach six goals was declared the winner. Rutgers won by a score of six to four. A rematch
26827-615: The rules were changed to allow tackling below the waist, and in 1889, the officials were given whistles and stopwatches. After leaving Yale in 1882, Camp was employed by the New Haven Clock Company until his death in 1925. Though no longer a player, he remained a fixture at annual rules meetings for most of his life, and he personally selected an annual All-American team every year from 1889 through 1924. The Walter Camp Football Foundation continues to select All-American teams in his honor. College football expanded greatly during
27020-524: The rules were formulated before the game. Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushing touchdowns once, establishing himself as one of the most elusive runners in
27213-524: The school was looking for a recruiter and motivator to jump start their program following Allen's death in late December. Nutt's team posted a 5–6 record in 1997, playing at the Division I-A level with its Division I-AA players. Nutt's team beat rival Idaho on the road in overtime for the first Boise win in Moscow, Idaho since 1981 . Additionally, Boise State almost pulled off an upset against Wisconsin of
27406-570: The score of this contest. Washington and Lee also claims a 4 to 2 win over VMI in 1873. On October 18, 1888, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 6 to 4 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of North Carolina . On December 14, 1889, Wofford defeated Furman 5 to 1 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of South Carolina . The game featured no uniforms, no positions, and
27599-431: The scoring rules, finally arriving at four points for a touchdown, two points for kicks after touchdowns , two points for safeties, and five for field goals . Camp's innovations in the area of point scoring influenced rugby union's move to point scoring in 1890. In 1887, game time was set at two-halves of 45 minutes each. Also in 1887, two paid officials—a referee and an umpire —were mandated for each game. A year later,
27792-562: The season ranked No. 16 after losing to Michigan , led by junior quarterback Tom Brady . Nutt was selected as the Football News' National Coach of the Year. In 1999, Nutt's Razorbacks were picked to win the SEC Western Division, but suffered a series of setbacks during the season. They recovered to defeat #4 ranked Tennessee , getting revenge for the loss in Knoxville the previous season due to Stoerner's fumble, and Mississippi State to earn
27985-578: The season totaling 1,470 rushing yards off of 280 attempts and 14 touchdowns. His rushing total was both a rookie franchise record, and a franchise record for any running back in Lions history (both records held previously by Billy Sims ). Sanders was awarded the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award , and named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team . He was also selected to the Pro Bowl and was named
28178-403: The season with a (10-4) record. It was Arkansas' first 10-win season since 1989. The general consensus is that Arkansas' success in 2006 can be directly attributed to Malzahn's play-calling, and the strength of Arkansas' running game. A highlight of the season was the second-place finish of sophomore tailback Darren McFadden in the Heisman Trophy voting. Nutt was named SEC coach of the year by
28371-591: The season, the Rebels suffered a loss to the then-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons , 30–28, on a last-second field goal. After defeating Samford , Ole Miss lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores at home. After the loss, the Rebels traveled to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida , where they defeated the #4-ranked, and eventual national champion, Florida Gators , 31–30, after blocking Florida's attempt at
28564-480: The season; both teams needed a win to clinch a playoff berth. Sanders reached the 2,000 mark on a two-yard run; finishing the game with 23 attempts for 184 yards and a touchdown; helping the Lions edge the Jets 13–10. Sanders had a season that is considered among the greatest ever by a running back. He recorded 2,053 rushing yards, which was first in the league that season, from 335 attempts and 11 touchdowns, becoming just
28757-478: The second-youngest player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2019, Sanders was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team . In 2007, he was ranked by NFL Network 's NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and in 2012 was placed No. 1 on their list of the greatest players to never play in a Super Bowl. Sanders led the NFL in rushing yards four times (second to Brown), and in rushing touchdowns once in 1994. He co-won
28950-474: The seventh of eleven children to William and Shirley Sanders. His father worked as a roofer and carpenter, while his mother worked as a homemaker for the Sanders family. Sanders and two of his brothers worked as roofer's assistants to his father. As a child, Sanders was known for having an appetite, being able to eat an entire loaf of bread in one sitting. He would often listen to regional college sports games that his father would play on TV . Mitch Albom of
29143-427: The sheer number of fans following major colleges provides a financial equalizer for the game, with Division I programs – the highest level – playing in huge stadiums, six of which have seating capacity exceeding 100,000 people. In many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests (although many stadiums do have a small number of chair back seats in addition to
29336-480: The start of the 1997 season, Fontes was fired after nine seasons coaching the Lions, and replaced by Bobby Ross ; Sanders was saddened by Fontes' firing, believing he deserved another chance at coaching the team. On September 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Sanders struggled on the ground, having 10 attempts for only 20 yards, but recorded 102 receiving yards and a touchdown. On October 12, Sanders dominated with 215 yards from 24 attempts and two touchdowns against
29529-514: The starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year, when the original player was suspended for disciplinary reasons; he rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns in that game. He rushed for 1,417 yards on 139 rushing attempts , averaging 10.2 yards per rushing attempt, and scored 17 touchdowns through his seven-game senior season. In the last game of the season, Wichita North's head coach, Dale Burkholder, offered Sanders more playing time in order to gain enough rushing yards to reach
29722-466: The starting job to Casey Dick during the South Carolina game. Dick had been slotted to start at the beginning of the season but was unable to do so due to a back injury suffered in the spring. Dick led the Razorbacks to two victories out of four for a total of 10 wins, including a win over No. 13 Tennessee in Fayetteville when ESPN's College Gameday crew was in attendance. The Razorbacks moved to No. 7 in
29915-487: The state of Tennessee . The 29th also saw the first instance of the Army–Navy Game . Navy won 24–0. Rutgers was first to extend the reach of the game. An intercollegiate game was first played in the state of New York when Rutgers played Columbia on November 2, 1872. It was also the first scoreless tie in the history of the fledgling sport. Yale football starts the same year and has its first match against Columbia,
30108-430: The state rushing title, but Sanders declined, saying it was "not important." For his season, Sanders earned all-state honors, and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. Although he was viewed as a stellar athlete, because of his short stature Sanders received scholarship offers from only Wichita State University , Iowa State University , University of Tulsa , and Oklahoma State University–Stillwater ; he accepted
30301-532: The step up to NCAA Division I-A the next year when Boise State University hired him to take over their program, which was the lowest ranked of 112 Division I-A schools and had posted a 2–10 record the year before. Two years after making the Division I-AA finals in 1994 , the Broncos had an interim head coach in 1996 as head coach Pokey Allen battled cancer. Boise State's first year in Division I-A had been difficult;
30494-698: The team officially winless. In January 2016, the NCAA notified Nutt's former university, Mississippi, of 13 compliance violations alleged to have occurred under both Nutt and then-head coach Hugh Freeze . Nutt was alleged to have cheated by allowing ineligible students to play in Ole Miss games in 2011 and 2012. However, Nutt filed suit against Ole Miss, and the suit was later settled with the university and Nutt issuing this official statement: "Certain statements made by University employees in January 2016 appear to have contributed to misleading media reports about Coach Nutt. To
30687-475: The team to their first playoff victory in decades. At the same time, Sanders only won one playoff game throughout his ten-year career, with NFL Network 's Derrin Horton stating: "Not even Barry Sanders... could pull Detroit out of the playoff snakebit," in reference to the team's postseason failures. The Lions' overall unsuccessful play was noted for possibly being a reason for Sanders' early retirement. His number 20
30880-407: The third running back in history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season. For his accomplishments, he credited his offensive linemen , stating: "Without them, I wouldn't have run far at all." Sanders rushed for 100+ yards in the season's final 14 games, an NFL record. With 2,358 total scrimmage yards, he broke the single-season record for scrimmage yards that was held by Marcus Allen ; the record
31073-407: The time, was tied with Sanders for the league rushing title. When Okoye's game ended, Sanders trailed Okoye by only ten yards. Fontes offered Sanders the chance to return to the Lions' game to gain enough yards to pass Okoye, after Sanders was pulled from the game when the score was in the Lions' favor. Yet Sanders declined to return to the game, letting Okoye keep the rushing title. Sanders finished
31266-417: The training camp of his rookie season due to a contract dispute. He eventually came to monetary terms with the Lions, signing a deal for five years, $ 9.5 million, including a $ 2.1 million signing bonus—ten percent of which ($ 210,000), he donated to his local church: Paradise Baptist Church. In his first Lions press conference, Sanders prefaced that he wanted to assist in restoring the franchise's reputation in
31459-466: The two schools organized a game for October 23, 1869, but it was rained out. Students of the University of Virginia were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim it organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871; but no record has been found of the score of this contest. Due to scantiness of records of the prior matches some will claim Virginia v. Pantops Academy November 13, 1887, as
31652-539: The worst of these losses was to FCS-member Jacksonville State, which was Ole Miss' first loss to a lower division team since 1945. In an ironic twist, the head coach of Jacksonville State at the time was Jack Crowe, who was fired by athletic director Frank Broyles one game into the 1992 season as head coach at Arkansas, after a season-opening loss to FCS-member The Citadel . Houston Nutt was an assistant on Crowe's staff at that time. Nutt and Ole Miss lost to Arkansas this season, 38-24, and many Razorback fans jeered Nutt after
31845-480: Was unanimously recognized as an All-American . Sanders was selected by the Lions in the 1989 NFL draft , and had an immediate impact in his rookie season, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. In 1991, Sanders helped lead the Lions to their first postseason win since 1958 . In 1994, Sanders was awarded the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award (OPOY). In 1997, he rushed for 2,053 yards in
32038-407: Was again named an AP first-team All-Pro. The Lions finished the year with a 6–10 record and missed the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. On September 1, 1991, Sanders was inactive for the Lions' 45–0 shutout loss against the Washington Redskins , due to having sore ribs before the opening kickoff. The loss was the franchise's worst in over 20 years. On November 24, 1991, against
32231-473: Was also the first time one team scored over 100 points and the opposing team was shut out. The next week, Princeton outscored Lafayette 140 to 0. The first intercollegiate game in the state of Vermont happened on November 6, 1886, between Dartmouth and Vermont at Burlington, Vermont . Dartmouth won 91 to 0. Penn State played its first season in 1887, but had no head coach for their first five years, from 1887 to 1891. The teams played its home games on
32424-503: Was at the time a patch of land at the northern point of the Harvard campus, bordered by Everett and Jarvis Streets to the north and south, and Oxford Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the east and west. Harvard beat McGill in the "Boston Game" on the Thursday and held McGill to a 0–0 tie on the Friday. The Harvard students took to the rugby rules and adopted them as their own, The games featured
32617-538: Was broken two seasons later by Marshall Faulk , and again by Chris Johnson in 2009. Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro, and awarded the Bert Bell Award. Sanders was also awarded his second NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) (co-won with Brett Favre ). The Lions posted a 9–7 record and clinched a wild card spot as the No. 5 seed in
32810-527: Was felt they would dominate the Association. Penn State won the championship with a 4–1–0 record. Bucknell's record was 3–1–1 (losing to Franklin & Marshall and tying Dickinson). The Association was dissolved prior to the 1892 season. The first nighttime football game was played in Mansfield, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1892, between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary and ended at halftime in
33003-443: Was fired after three consecutive losing seasons. Nutt's move to Ole Miss served to stoke the long-standing Arkansas–Ole Miss football rivalry . It was announced on April 16, 2009, that Nutt and his wife, Diana, had committed to give a gift of $ 100,000 to Ole Miss, evenly divided between the university's indoor practice facility and the creation of student-athlete scholarships. After a 41–24 victory over border rival Memphis to open
33196-411: Was first in the league. At this point in his career, Sanders had 11,725 career rushing yards, seventh all-time, and ranked eighth all-time in career rushing touchdowns, with 84. The Lions regressed, posting a 5–11 record, and failed to make the postseason after three straight playoff seasons from 1993 to 1995; though Sanders still made the Pro Bowl and was named an AP second-team All-Pro. Before
33389-643: Was first inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and in that same year inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame . In 2000, Sanders was included in the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team , and in 2019, Sanders was named to the National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team . Sanders was born on July 16, 1968, in Wichita, Kansas ,
33582-639: Was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame with former college teammate Thurman Thomas . In 2007, he was ranked by NFL Networks ' NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and was placed No. 1 on the list of the greatest players never to play in a Super Bowl . He is considered by many as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. Bleacher Report ranked Sanders No. 1 on their list of greatest running backs in NFL history. He averaged 1,527 rushing yards per season and just under 100 rushing yards per game (99.8). Sanders
33775-556: Was looking to pick "a twenty" to play a game of football against Columbia. This "twenty" never played Columbia, but did play twice against Princeton. Princeton won both games 6 to 0. The first of these happened on November 11, 1876, in Philadelphia and was the first intercollegiate game in the state of Pennsylvania . Brown entered the intercollegiate game in 1878. The first game where one team scored over 100 points happened on October 25, 1884, when Yale routed Dartmouth 113–0. It
33968-586: Was measured at 5 ft 8 in tall, and weighed at 203 lbs. The Detroit Lions drafted Sanders third overall in the 1989 NFL draft , after Troy Aikman and Tony Mandarich , thanks to the endorsement of head coach Wayne Fontes . The Lions competed in the Central Division of the National Football Conference (NFC). Since the completion of the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Lions had made
34161-421: Was named SEC coach of the year by the Associated Press and by the SEC coaches. Arkansas finished (7-5). In 2002, Nutt's Razorbacks (9-5) stumbled midway through the season but rallied to pull together five straight wins, including a last second touchdown pass against LSU, often referred to as the "Miracle on Markham" to pull out a share of a Western Division title. Arkansas was defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs in
34354-403: Was named first-team All-Pro six times; and named second-team All-Pro four times. Sanders was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1994 and 1997, awarded two Bert Bell Awards, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team. Both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame enshrined him on August 8, 2004, and August 21, 2005, respectively. At the age of 36, Sanders became
34547-418: Was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year (OPOTY) for the 1994 season and finished second in NFL Most Valuable Player voting behind Steve Young. The Lions finished the year with a 9–7 record and made the postseason with a wild card spot. The Lions faced the Green Bay Packers again in the Wild Card Round , after being defeated by them the previous season. On December 31, Sanders struggled against
34740-572: Was not fond of this as he believed Thomas to be a good teammate. Thomas moved on to the NFL in 1988 , which allowed Sanders to become the starter for his junior year in college. In 1988, in what is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history, Sanders became the first player to open two consecutive seasons with a 100-yard kickoff return. He led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per attempt and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. Despite his massive workload of 344 attempts, Sanders
34933-512: Was one of the league's premier running backs in the early 1980s, and Fontes requested he wear the number in tribute to Sims. Sanders had doubts about what his career would have been like if another team selected him, such as the Green Bay Packers , who selected Mandarich at No. 2, later saying: "I don't know what I would've done if I was drafted by Green Bay, I don't know if I would've wanted to play in Green Bay, I don't think I could've handled this weather every day." Sanders did not participate in
35126-542: Was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton's own set of rules (one notable difference was the awarding of a "free kick" to any player that caught the ball on the fly, which was a feature adopted from The Football Association's rules; the fair catch kick rule has survived through to modern American game). Princeton won that game by a score of 8 – 0. Columbia joined the series in 1870 and by 1872 several schools were fielding intercollegiate teams, including Yale and Stevens Institute of Technology . Columbia University
35319-445: Was playing in the Super Bowl, and all of the statistical achievements didn't put the team any closer to playing in the big game." Sanders has since patched things up with the Lions, rejoining the organization in a paid role as a team ambassador in 2017, and they dedicated a bronze statue to him outside Ford Field in September 2023. On November 21, 2023, Bye Bye Barry , a documentary film about his decision to retire while approaching
35512-421: Was rarely seen celebrating after the whistle was blown; instead, he handed the ball to a referee, and was never tempted into celebrating any further. He was recognized for putting his team's success over his stats, as shown when he denied a request from head coach Wayne Fontes to return to play in a game so that he could gain enough rushing yards to become the rushing leader for that season. He disliked speaking to
35705-445: Was retired by the Lions on November 25, 2004, along with Sims and Lem Barney (who wore the same number). Sanders was also honored by the Lions when they inducted him into the Pride of the Lions , the franchise's ring of honor. In 2023, the Lions also immortalized Sanders with an 8-foot bronze statue located outside of Ford Field . Throughout his career, he achieved Pro Bowl and All-Pro status in all ten of his NFL seasons. Sanders
35898-571: Was similarly frustrated because Oklahoma State played in the same conference as the Oklahoma Sooners , whom William was a fan of. A friend of Sanders told him that William said Sanders had chosen to play at Oklahoma State "in order to hide"; Sanders would be playing behind Heisman candidate Thurman Thomas , as opposed to playing at a school where he would be the starting running back. Eventually, his father supported Sanders at Oklahoma State, and attended all of his games when he played. Sanders enrolled at Oklahoma State University , where he played for
36091-639: Was still used as the team's punt and kickoff returner, adding another 516 yards on special teams. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total all-purpose yards , broken by Christian McCaffrey in 2015, 234 points, broken by Montee Ball in 2011, 37 rushing touchdowns, and 39 total touchdowns, (37 rushing, one kick return, one punt return, tied with Ball). Sanders had five consecutive 200-yard games, scored at least two touchdowns in all eleven games, and eight times he scored at least three touchdowns. Sanders ran for 222 yards and scored five touchdowns in just three quarters of action in
36284-400: Was the 1881 Michigan team , which played at Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The nation's first college football league, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (also known as the Western Conference), a precursor to the Big Ten Conference , was founded in 1895. Led by coach Fielding H. Yost , Michigan became the first "western" national power. From 1901 to 1905, Michigan had
36477-478: Was the first game west of the Mississippi River . November 30, 1905, saw Chicago defeat Michigan 2 to 0. Dubbed "The First Greatest Game of the Century", it broke Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and marked the end of the "Point-a-Minute" years. Organized collegiate football was first played in the state of Virginia and the south on November 2, 1873, in Lexington between Washington and Lee and VMI . Washington and Lee won 4–2. Some industrious students of
36670-468: Was the head basketball coach at Arkansas State University until he announced his resignation on February 19, 2008. He was also head coach at Southeast Missouri State of the OVC, before moving on to coach at Stetson University . He is now a special assistant coach at Cleveland State. His brother Danny Nutt served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development at Ole Miss during Houston's tenure as head coach. Nutt's youngest brother Dennis Nutt ,
36863-488: Was the third school to field a team. The Lions traveled from New York City to New Brunswick on November 12, 1870, and were defeated by Rutgers 6 to 3. The game suffered from disorganization and the players kicked and battled each other as much as the ball. Later in 1870, Princeton and Rutgers played again with Princeton defeating Rutgers 6–0. This game's violence caused such an outcry that no games at all were played in 1871. Football came back in 1872, when Columbia played Yale for
37056-755: Was thought by some that Lions head coach Bobby Ross himself may have actually been the reason for Sanders' early retirement, but in his autobiography Barry Sanders: Now You See Him , Sanders praised Ross as a head coach who had nothing directly to do with his retirement. It was more his frustration with the management and direction of the Lions and the resulting lack of success that contributed to his retirement, as Sanders revealed in his autobiography: "My retirement letter didn't even hint at my frustration, because I didn't want to take shots at people as I left ... Management had let quality players slip away. We'd been losing for years. Now we were right back where we were when I arrived." He wrote: "A goal that I still hadn't realized
37249-399: Was why his players had difficulty tackling him. No illegal substance was ever found. On December 24, the final game of the season, he had 158 yards on 20 attempts to go along with three touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons . During the game, the Lions installed a special phone line in one of the press boxes to monitor Christian Okoye , a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs who, at
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