Posted on 12/30/2016 6:12:20 PM PST by blam
Dec 23, 2016
Ted Miller
Washington and Alabama first played in the 1926 Rose Bowl. AP Photo
The rise of Southeastern football in general and Alabama football specifically and all the endless gloating that goes along with it? It's Washington's fault.
That isn't just jealous prattle from fans of Oregon or Washington State, likely the two fan bases most annoyed by the Huskies' sudden rise to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl opposite the vaunted Crimson Tide. No, it's a perfectly reasonable extrapolation from the words of multiple historians and sportswriters.
On the surface, No. 4 Washington squaring off with No. 1 Alabama on Dec. 31 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) feels like a collision of unconnected programs and regions with almost nothing in common. In fact, the four-game series between the two programs -- which has been dominated by the Crimson Tide -- is rife with meaning, most notably from their initial meeting in the 1926 Rose Bowl.
"The most significant event in Southern football history," historian Andrew Doyle said in "Roses of Crimson," a documentary about the game.
It's a view seconded by former Birmingham News sportswriter Clyde Bolton: "The 1926 Rose Bowl was without a doubt the most important game before or since in Southern football history."
Why is that?
Well, in college football then, it was the opposite of today's state of affairs. In the early days, college football programs of the South were widely viewed as inferior to those in the big cities of the Northeast or even the universities of the West Coast. That's why the Rose Bowl, the only bowl game at the time, matched the teams judged to be best from East and West.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Very misleading headline. While it was an historic win with national repercussions, it certainly didn’t give rise to football in the south. That goes back to Reconstruction years, possibly earlier than that.
The south’s oldest football rivalry dates to 1892. They’ve faced each other over 120 times. UNC vs. UVA.
Maybe, but the rest of the country wasn't paying any attention back then.
Those games were drawing thousands of people in the late 19th century. Other than the Rose Bowl, there was no “rest of the country” in college football, it was regional. Other bowl games came into being during the Depression.
Exactly. Until those other bowl games became popular, the Rose Bowl was the most important game and Southern teams usually weren’t playing in it, so the rest of the country didn’t pay much attention to them.
If Alabama won in the forest without the rest of the country to see it, would it still matter? Apparently not, lol.
Game starts in 15 minutes.
- Roll Tide Roll -
Congratulations
Alabama came into Lincoln ranked #2 as Nebraska was still feeling the sting of the loss to Washington State and a rare absence from the polls. While the Crimson Tide slightly exceeded the Cornhuskers on offensive production, the 5-1 interception ratio and 25-17 first down edge each helped give Nebraska the edge to pull off the stunning upset.
Alabama at Nebraska 31 -24
Alabama 7 10 0 7 24
Nebraska 10 7 7 7 31
Date: 1977-09-17
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,899
Hoping my Dawgs can get past that stifling 'Bama defense.
After their only touchdown, my Huskies showed nothing against 'Bama's great defense.
Good job, onto the Championship game!
Was this the best offense Alabama played all year?
Washington ended todays game with 194 yards total offense.
I think Scarborough (#9) had close to 200 rushing yards.
- Roll Tide -
Ole Miss had a lot more yards.
Thanks for the classy post!
Bama’s defense is elite but I was also impressed by the Husky D. Your future looks great with Peterson.
Great game!
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