1980 Tulane 24 Kentucky 22

The date was November 1, 1980. Tulane trailed Kentucky 22-21 with only 12 seconds to play in the game. Tulane had the ball on its own 6-yard line. Yet the Green Wave won the game 24-22 before 42,000 fans and took revenge on Fran Curci, who had coached Miami in the infamous Fifth Down game.

The 1980 season was summarized by the 2000 Tulane Football Media Guide, at pages 156-157, as follows:

"Vince Gibson took over the head coaching reins and led Tulane to a 7-4 regular season record and an invitation to the Hall of Bowl in Birmingham, marking the first time the Green Wave participated in postseason play in consecutive seasons. Senior quarterback Nickie Hall, who had spent three seasons in the shadow of the great Roch Hontas, finally got his chance and delivered in style, tying Hontas' single-season TD mark of 21. Altogether, Hall passed and ran for a school-record 174 points and turned in several memorable performances. Against SMU, Hall set a total offense record with 384 points, including an 84-yard pass to Marcus Anderson, longest in school history. Against Rice, Hall threw five TD passes and Robert Griffin caught four of them.

Defensively, linebackers Frank Robinson, Marty Wetzel and middle guard Wilfred Simon all had more than 100 tackles for the second consecutive season. Cornerback Lionel Washington, who went on to a fine NFL career with the Raiders, led the team with five interceptions. The 1980 season was not short on exciting finishes, as kicker Vince Manalla kicked field goals to beat Ole Miss and Kentucky with no time remaining. After a 2-3 start, Tulane won five in a row to clinch the bowl bid. Win No. 5 was a special one, as Hall ran for two TDs and passed for another to lead Tulane to its first win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta since 1933. In the Hall of Fame Bowl at Birmingham's Legion Field, Arkansas took a 34-15 win."

Tulane's win over Kentucky was remarkable as perhaps the most dramatic and improbable finish in Tulane history. Tulane got the ball on a punt at its own 6-yard line with only 12 seconds to play in the game. Many fans had already left the Superdome. Yet Tulane managed to win the game on two pass interference calls and a field goal with no time left on the clock. The incredible finish led Times-Picayune sports writer Brian Allee-Walsh to joke that "the Green Wave unveiled its vaunted, but never-before seen 12-second offense".

The victory over the Wildcats was also noteworthy as Tulane's first victory over a team coached by Fran Curci. Fran Curci had been a thorn in Tulane's side for years.

In 1968, he coached a little-known Tampa team which shocked Tulane 17-14.

Curci's most notorious win over Tulane was the 24-21 "win" in 1972 when Curci was coaching Miami. This was the infamous "fifth down" game. The Hurricanes were awarded an extra down with about a minute left in the game and on "fifth down" and 24 yards to go, Miami scored the "winning" touchdown. In the years following the 1972 Miami game, Tulane fans referred to Curci as "Fifth Down Fran".

Curci then moved to Kentucky where he defeated Tulane three times in the 1970s, including a 34-7 win in 1973 which knocked the 6-0 Green Wave from the ranks of the unbeaten teams.

Curci was so despised by Tulane fans that the 1980 game was seen by many, not merely as a contest with Kentucky, but as a chance to take revenge on Curci. Indeed, there was a huge sign in the Superdome urging vengeance on "Fifth Down Fran".

Tulane's unbelievable victory over Kentucky was reported by The Times Picayune in an article written by Brian Allee-Walsh. This article and all of the other newspaper articles and headlines contained in this story were published by The Times-Picayune on November 2, 1980.

Frantic-lane Does It Again, This Time to Kentucky

Frantic-lane University did it again.

With Holiday and Tangerine Bowl officials looking on, the Green Wave unveiled its vaunted, but never-before seen 12-second offense to leave Kentucky's Wildcats shell-shocked.

And the 42,139 in attendance clutching their hearts.

"Tell the bowl people," said Tulane linebacker Marty Wetzel as he left the field, "it was in the game plan all along."

Vince Manalla's 22-yard field goal with time expired lifted the Wave to a pulsating 24-22 victory over the snake-bitten Wildcats Saturday night in the Superdome.

It was the fourth time this year Tulane's fate has been decided in the final minute of play. Southern Mississippi defeated the Wave with 21 seconds remaining. Stanford did a similar number with 38 seconds left, Manalla's foot provided the Wave with a win against Ole Miss with 0:00 showing, and now Saturday night.

Manalla's kick capped an unbelievable drive that started on the Green Wave 6-yard line with 12 seconds remaining in the game.

Behind the strong arm of quarterback Nickie Hall, the Wave moved the length of the field, compliments of two pass interference penalties against the Wildcats' secondary.

Both passes were intended for wide receiver Marcus Anderson, and both fell incomplete. But thanks to some extra pushing and shoving by the Kentucky secondary, the Wave pressed onward.

Hall's first aerial attracted attention at the Wildcat 46; Wildcat defensive back Chris Jacobs was ruled the culprit. After a Tulane time out stopped the clock with five seconds left, Tulane ran its version of "Hail Mary" and "Big Ben."

Defensive back Venus Meaux crawled up Anderson's back at the 4-yard line, and Tulane was back in business.

Manalla, a sophomore from Chalmette, came on and kicked the winner.

It was Tulane's fourth straight win, and it upped the Wave's record to 6-3.

Hall, who clicked with Anderson for three touchdown passes in the first half, said both passes were catchable.

"We know Marcus is the fastest man on our team," said Hall, who upped his TD passes to 20. "He's about a 9.4, 9.5 sprinter. So we put him on the side.

"They were playing a prevent defense. Coach told me, 'Let Marcus run across the field,' and I told him I'd throw it as far as I could. He was going for the ball, and both times the guy bumped him before the ball even got there.

"The first time I didn't see it, but the last time I did see what happened."

"What happened was Manalla's kick preserved Tulane's bowl aspirations when it seemed Kentucky Coach Fran Curci was going to continue his hex over Tulane. In six previous encounters, Curci, while coaching at Tampa and at Miami, had prevailed. Sometimes when Tulane was a heavy favorite.

Curci, his team now 2-6, refused to discuss the game with reporters afterwards.

Kentucky quarterback Larry McCrimmon gave the Wildcats a 22-21 lead on an 18-yard TD pass to Greg Wimberly with 4:05 left. His pass attempt for the two-point conversion went over the head of intended receiver Randy Brooks.

Tulane failed to move into scoring range on its next possession, but got the ball back as Randy Jenkins' punt went out of bounds at the Wave 6 with 12 ticks left.

The Wave took a 21-3 lead into intermission on touchdown passes of 48, 14 and four yards from Hall to Anderson.

But Tulane failed to take advantage of another scoring opportunity when Lionel Washington intercepted a McCrimmon pass and returned it 34 yards to the Wildcat 6-yard line with 4:50 left in the half.

But four tries failed and, one possession later, Kentucky's Tom Griggs kicked a 35-yard field goal as time ran out in the half.

"We just couldn't put it away," explained Wave offensive guard Chuck Pitcock, shaking his head. "We just couldn't stick it in.

"On their second touchdown drive I was watching it, and I kept saying, 'Please, Lord, don't let us lose.' I just had a feeling something would happen and we'd win."

Which they did, but it wasn't as easy as the first half may have indicated.

Anderson's first touchdown reception concluded an eight-play, 76-yard drive on Tulane's first possession. Hall had kept the drive alive, sneaking four yards on a fourth-and-one at the Wave 48.

Then, on the next play, Hall launched a spiral some 55 yards in the air to Anderson, who ran under it at the 4, tumbling the final few yards into the end zone.

The Wildcats responded with an impressive drive of their own, staying primarily on the ground to move into Tulane territory.

Two fourth-down conversions kept the Wildcats' drive alive. Facing a fourth-and-one at the Wave 26, McCrimmon kept for two yards, then passed 10 yards to halfback Charlie Jackson down to the 5 on another fourth-down play.

But Tulane's defense stiffened, with tackle Kevin Cole stopping halfback Brooks on a third-down attempt at the 2. Griggs came on to nail a 19-yard field goal with 8:38 left in the period.

The Wildcats failed to capitalized on a Wave miscue later in the quarter. Manalla mishandled the punt snap, losing the ball to Randy Brooks at the Wave 23.

But Kentucky returned the favor on the very next play. McCrimmon threw into a crowd, and cornerback Tyrone Smith made the interception at the 6.

Hall went to work again, moving the Wave 94 yards in 15 plays. An 11-yard completion to tight end Rodney Holman and Jeff Jones' 12-yard draw highlighted the series. Hall capped the drive with a 14-yard bullet to the slanting Anderson.

Tulane upped its advantage to 21-3 as Hall tossed for his 20th touchdown pass of the season, a four-yard pass to Anderson.

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A post-game article written by Bob Roesler also appeared in the November 2, 1980 edition of The Times-Picayune:

Tulane Remains Alive After Suicidal Effort

For almost three quarters Kentucky attempted to commit suicide but Tulane wouldn't let 'em.

Then, in a hectic final period Tulane tried to end it all, too. The Wave almost succeeded. But they refused to die.

With no time left on the clock and after two interference calls helped Tulane move from its own eight to Kentucky's five, Vince Manalla kicked a 22-yard field goal to give his gang a 24-22 victory Saturday night in the Superdome.

"We planned it that way," shouted a bone-weary Marty Wetzel through a mile-wide smile.

"We just got the ball back to Nickie (Hall) and waited for something to happen," whispered Wilfred Simon.

"I'm going to find time to go to church Sunday," Coach Vince Gibson said wearily. "I think Nickie Hall showed great courage."

Hall showed more than courage in the first half. He fired three touchdown passes to Marcus Anderson in an active first half.

He tried for a fourth - when he shouldn't have - and enabled Kentucky to get off the hook.

"We got a little greedy," Gibson admitted afterward. If Vegas Vince had a chance to do it all over, he probably would have gone for a field goal and the last-seconds windup would have been unnecessary.

Meanwhile Kentucky Quarterback Larry McCrimmon kept trying to kill himself by throwing three interceptions to Wave corner Tyrone Smith.

Kentucky went to a nickel defense in the second half and caused Hall some problems. Penalties hurt the Wave too.

Suddenly victory started oozing through Tulane's grasp as Holiday and Tangerine Bowl officials watched.

With four minutes left, the Wildcats finally forged ahead, 22-21. Gloom set in.

All seemed lost when Tulane got the ball on its eight with 12 seconds left. An influential Wave supporter headed for the exit growling, "They should fire Gibson."

He left believing Tulane had lost.

Then came the interference calls, the last one a 41-yard penalty as time expired. But a game can't end on a penalty, so in loped Manalla.

Kentucky's locker room was in a state of shock. Players cried and cursed. Coach Fran Curci stuck his head out of his cubicle and told newsmen, "Gentlemen, I ain't got no comment," then slammed the door.

"No wonder Tulane is 6-3," said running back Richard Abraham. "If you haven't experienced something like this, you don't know how it is."

"We were down, 21-6, but we kept our heads and kept coming back - but for what?"

"It's all that fifth down stuff," said Terry Henry, a back. "You saw that big sign up there. They kept thinking the coach (Curci) stole something from them one time."

Curci had, back in 1972, when as head Coach at Miami his Hurricanes beat Tulane on a fifth down play.

Things have a way of evening up. For Vince Gibson and his Greenies, it couldn't have happened at a more appropriate time.