2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 49
A Cannon Moment
Story: Brenden Schmidt
Design: Chloe Bryars
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No. 1 LSU took on No. 3 Ole Miss in one of the
most memorable games in LSU football history in
1959 on Halloween Night
s a panel of 150 selected members of the
football industry made their lists, they tried their
best to avoid recency bias considering only
seven of the top 30 games selected had taken
place in the past 30 years.
LSU appears a total of six times on the list,
including a placement at number nine.
Taking the ninth spot on ESPN’s list is the Oct.
31st game in 1959 as No. 1 LSU took on No. 3
Ole Miss in one of the most memorable games in
LSU football history.
Billy Cannon, the only Heisman Trophy winner in
LSU history, fielded a punt at his own 11 yard line
late.
Cannon proceeded to return the punt 89 yards
for a score to give LSU the lead in the fourth
quarter.
In the final seconds of the game, fourth-and-goal
on the LSU 1-yard line, Ole Miss quarterback
Doug Elmore ran left hoping for a score. He was
stopped by Warren Raab and Cannon to give
LSU the win.
Coming in at the 85th spot on this list is the 1988
game between unranked LSU and No. 4 Auburn.
Another low scoring game had LSU Tigers
beating the Auburn Tigers, 7-6 as LSU scored
on a fourth-down pass from Tommy Hodson to
Eddie Fuller with only two minutes remaining in
what is now known as the “Earthquake Game.”
LSU’s victory over Auburn broke Auburn’s ninegame unbeaten record in the SEC as both teams
finished 6-1 in the conference.
The next great LSU game comes in at number
113 as the No. 16 Tigers beat the Kentucky
Wildcats in a game that is still shown on
jumbotrons at LSU games to this day.
LSU beat Kentucky 33-30 in a game labeled the
“Bluegrass Miracle.”
In the final seconds of the game, the UK fans
were already ready to tear down the goalposts.
LSU’s prayers had been answered as LSU
quarterback Marcus Randall lobbed the ball
downfield and a Kentucky defender deflected
the ball in the air, falling into wide receiver
Devery Henderson’s hands for a 74-yard
touchdown.
With no time left on the clock, LSU took home
the miraculous win, and Kentucky head coach
Guy Morriss went home in defeat and drenched
after a premature Gatorade shower from his
team.
The final three LSU games come in at No. 136,
137 and 138 in succession.
Although, No. 136 was a 2007 loss against
Arkansas as the No. 1 Tigers fell to the
Razorbacks in triple overtime 50-48.
Even with this loss, LSU went on the recover
their loss in the SEC title game and then beat
Ohio State to claim a BCS national championship
win.
Numbers 137 and 138 were victories over rivals
as No. 1 LSU beat No. 2 Alabama and No. 9
Florida in 2011 and 2007, respectively.
LSU’s victory over Alabama was a 9-6 win in
overtime as both defenses dominated the game.
LSU’s victory over Florida was a 28-24 win as the
Tigers trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter to
a Tim Tebow lead Gators team. LSU converted
two fourth-down plays on the winning drive to
give Les Miles and the Tigers the win.
We might see another game deserving of being
added to this list on Saturday as No. 1 LSU takes
on No. 2 Alabama.
Looks to be a game both teams will never forget.
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