Blue White Illustrated

the formation, and Oregon's outside line- backers and secondary start to adjust. But Scott stops for a split-second behind Collins and reverses 7eld as two Oregon defenders move up at both ends to form a six-man line. As Scott passes the right guard, Greeley snaps the ball to Collins. What happens next cannot fully be ap- preciated unless one reviews the next 7ve to 10 seconds of the game video frame by frame. Jackson remains silent with the heart of the action on the right side. The camera shows Johnson, Rivera, Gree- ley and Hartings brushing by the Oregon linemen and moving into the second level to pick o9 defenders. Meanwhile, Conlin pulls right and heads for the hole as Brady blocks defensive end Troy Bailey to the inside and Scott blocks strong safety Chad Cota to the outside. As Milne goes past Collins into the gap between them, Collins pitches out to Carter who stumbles for an instant as he sprints toward the hole. Conlin brie8y helps out Scott and then wheels and joins Milne in knocking down inside linebacker Rich Ruhl, widening the hole. Oregon cornerback Herman O'Berry rushes in to 7ll the opening and is one on one with Carter, as free safety Je9 Sherman closes in fast from the secondary. Carter bulls aside O'Berry, while Hartings takes out Sherman toward the Penn State sideline, where Engram is still holding o9 cornerback Alex Molden. By this time, Cota and Bailey have broken away from their blockers and can be seen making a last-ditch e9ort to tackle Carter from be- hind just as he is breaking out of the con- gestion at the 25-yard line. Bailey is the last defender to touch Carter. He's com- pletely in the clear at the 30 when Jackson starts describing what he is seeing: "He breaks it (pause). He's gone (pause). Goodbye (pause). It'll be a touchdown, Penn State. First play of the ballgame." Carter goes the last 50 yards all alone with no Oregon defender in camera range. He runs into the corner of the end zone where the Penn State Blue Band and a large contingent of Lion fans are standing and cheering. A:er he reaches into the stands to shake hands with some of the fans, Engram, Scott, Hartings, Rivera and Johnson run into the end zone and join him in celebration while Jackson resumes his commentary: "It goes in the books as 83 yards. They had him, they thought, and then he was gone." Then, Jackson's broadcasting partner, Bob Griese, utters his 7rst words about Carter's run and it sums up everything: "I was going to tell you [before the snap] that he's explosive, but you can see that." Carter vividly remembers the play, and to this day he is not surprised it went all the way. The hole opened up thanks to the blocking of his teammates and, as Keith Jackson succinctly put it, he was gone. "Looking back at the replay, I'm always reminded of Coach Paterno, God rest his soul," Carter said. "Sometimes he was so stubborn. He'd run a play because he was certain [the other team] couldn't stop us. That year we had such a unique team that no matter what we did, you couldn't stop us. If you wanted to stop a run, then Kerry, Bobby, Freddie and Kyle, they're going to air it out. Eventually, you have to drop that safety out, and that's where our run- ning game kicks in. "So we had plays scripted for every game, the 7rst 10, 14 plays, and usually we'd run those no matter what, depending on where we started possession. That was our 7rst play. Usually, I don't like to get the 7rst play because I'm so nervous. I got but- ter8ies in my stomach and I'm so hyped up with so much adrenaline that I usually need one play to let me relax a little bit. Coach would then run a pass play or an- other one with the fullback. This time he said, no, you're going to run it. We were talking in the huddle and Bucky Greeley says, 'Take it to the house and I'll meet you there.' And we did." Carter, who 7nished the game with 156 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, laughed when reminded that his 7rst carry that a:ernoon has become one of the most famous plays in Penn State football history. He says he didn't believe it when people 7rst started telling him that the moment was destined to be long remem- bered. "When you're in the moment, you're obviously worrying about the game," he said. "Then the game is over and you're young, 21, 22, and you don't really think about your school having a rich history in football. To be totally honest, I didn't know anything about Penn State until I went there. I knew all about Ohio State's history. So, being told this was one of the greatest plays in Penn State history, I won- dered why. You really can't grasp it at 7rst. But then the older you get and the more you get away from football, you begin to understand when people start comparing teams and games. I don't hear that much about [the touchdown run] in Florida except from the transplants, but when I'm back in Pennsylvania I hear about it all the time." What is all but forgotten in the mythology of the play is that it had only a secondary impact on the outcome of the game. Ore- gon struck back immediately, going 80 yards in four quick plays to tie the score. The Lions looked listless and out of sync KI-JANA CARTER We were talking in the huddle and Bucky Greeley says, 'Take it to the house and I'll meet you there.' And we did." " Jill Shockey

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