Barry Wilner - Harvard Beats Yale 29-29: ...and Other Great Comebacks from the Annals of Sports

HARVARD

BEATS

YALE 29-29

BEATS

BARRY WILNER & KEN RAPPOPORT

Copyright 2008 by Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport
First Taylor Trade Publishing edition 2008

This Taylor Trade Publishing paperback edition of Harvard Beats Yale 2929 is an original publication. It is published by arrangement with the author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

Published by Taylor Trade Publishing
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wilner, Barry.

Harvard beats Yale 29-29 :and other great comebacks from the annals of
sports / Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport.1st Taylor Trade Pub. ed.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58979-331-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-58979-331-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Sports upsetsUnited States. 2. College sportsUnited States.

3. Professional sportsUnited States. I. Rappoport, Ken. II. Title.

GV583.W548 2008
796dc22

2007020803

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

For all those who have made comebacks, whether in
sports or otherwise, and breathed
the air of high achievement

3 The Miracle at Coogans BluffBobby
Thomsons Homer, 1951

4 The Saints Come Marching Back20052006
New Orleans Saints

5 Clipping the Red Wings19411942
Toronto Maple Leafs

8 The Streak Stops HereNotre Dames Win
over UCLA in Basketball, 1974

10 Topping TildenBill Tilden Loses
Shocker to Henri Cochet, 1927

12 Dethroning the KingBilly Casper
over Arnold Palmer, 1966

13 The Flying FinnLasse Viren, 1972 and
1976 Summer Olympics

15 Trojan HorsesSouthern Cal
over Notre Dame, 1974

17 Cant Keep the Blue Devils Down20002001
Duke Blue Devils

18 Austrias Downhill WonderFranz Klammer,
1976 Winter Olympics

The authors would like to express their thanks to the many contributors to this book: Nancy Armour, Scott Berchtold, Mike Clark, Brian Dowling, Doug Ferguson, Mike Fitzpatrick, Jon Jackson, Brent Kallestad, Paul Montella, Jim OConnell, Alan Robinson, Bill Shannon, and Ben Walker.

May all of their comebacks be successful.

Ken Rappoport and Barry Wilner

Man, did this look familiar. The Patriots were toying with the Colts again, something New England had made a habit of in this decade.

Seemingly headed for their fourth Super Bowl appearance in six yearsthey won the other threethe Patriots owned a 21-3 lead at the RCA Dome. They were befuddling Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning once more, and when the Pats took control against the Colts, they never would let go.

Well, almost never. There was something different about the 2006 Colts.

They had more spunk, more versatility, and more resolve than previous editions. They had all the makings for the kind of comeback that never fades from a sports fans memory.

Some of that stuff is a little deep for me, Manning said. I just wanted to do my job and do my job well. I didnt think I needed to be super. I just needed to be good.

Not quite. He and the Colts needed to be very good to stage a rally. And they were.

Down by 18, the Colts went on an 80-yard march of 15 plays, and Adam Vinatieri, the hero of two of New Englands Super Bowl wins who was now kicking for Indy, made a 26-yard field goal.

We had to get some points there, Manning admitted. It was big for our confidence going into halftime.

Even bigger was the way the Colts came out after the break. They immediately covered 76 yards in 14 plays, Manning scored on a 1-yard run, and it suddenly was 21-13.

You could feel it after that, star receiver Reggie Wayne said. You could feel that something special was coming.

Something that marks any champion: a display of will that wont be denied.

Another 76-yard drive capped by an even more unusual 1-yard score than Manning carrying it indefensive tackle Joe Klecko, lined up as a blocking tight end, catching a passand a 2-point conversion pass to Marvin Harrison tied it.

Even when we were up 21-3, said Mannings New England counterpart, Tom Brady, you knew at some point they were going to come back.

But so would the Patriots, a club steeped in postseason achievements. Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, threw a 6-yard TD pass to Jabar Gaffney to take back the lead.

More resilient than ever, Indy returned the favor with a fluky TD as center Jeff Saturday recovered Dominic Rhodess fumble in the end zone for his first score since peewee league. With 12 minutes left, it was 28-28.

It just shows that this ship didnt sink or sail with one guy, Saturday said. Every guy has to show up and do their job.

Things are sometimes unexplainable. I was blocking my guy to the left, and he (Rhodes) spins back and the ball is loose. It hit me in the foot and I just laid down and got it.

Back came New England for Stephen Gostkowskis 28-yard field goal. And back came Indy for Vinatieris 36-yarder.

As expected, the Patriots didnt flinch, and when Gostkowski hit again from 43 yards, they led 34-31 and were 3 minutes, 49 seconds from the Super Bowl.

Manning is a student of football history and a true sports fan. He certainly knew about the great comebacks of the NFL: Buffalo over Houston in the playoffs after the 1992 season; Pittsburghs rally to a Super Bowl title a year earlier.

He probably knew all about the 1973 Mets and 2004 Red Sox; maybe even Notre Dame over UCLA in basketball, or the Maple Leafs storming back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Red Wings for the 1942 Stanley Cup.

So now was the time for Manning and the Colts to dig out their own little corner on the comeback trail.

They had to be brilliant against such an imposing opponent, and they were.

Indy surged 80 yards in 11 plays. After Manning threw a laser for a 32-yard completion to Bryan Fletcher, a roughing-the-passer call moved the ball to the 11, then Manning handed off to Joseph Addai three times, with the rookie scoring from the 3 with a minute left.

I watched the drive with Elway, you never get tired of seeing that, Manning said of Denvers rally to win the 1986 AFC championship game at Cleveland. Im not comparing what we just did to that, but it sounds pretty good.

It would sound and feel a whole lot better if the Colts could stop Brady and their tormentors for another 60 seconds. Even Manning recognized how difficult that could be.

I said a little prayer on that last drive, Manning admitted. I dont know if youre supposed to pray for stuff like that, but I said a little prayer.