Football | 12/2/2020 11:25:00 AM

PHOTO CAPTION: Seniors Dwayne Davis and Mike Lelko embrace after the Huskies' thrilling 58-48 victory over UC Davis in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals. (Photo courtesy of The Voice - 12/2000).

Written by: Tom McGuire, Director of Communications/Media Relations (the BU Sports Information Director in 2000)
 
To some UC Davis fans, don't mention the word "Bloomsburg" in their presence. It brings back many bad memories from a game, now 20 years in the rearview mirror. But for those of us who experienced what could be called the most memorable football game in school history, it's like the game was yesterday with an ending that a Hollywood producer would consider too corny.
   
 
Getting There
In early December 2000, the Bloomsburg University football team traveled cross country to face one of Division II football's goliaths, the Aggies of UC Davis, in the NCAA Division II semifinals.
 
Any betting person would have put big money on the undefeated Aggies to easily take care of the team from Pennsylvania, which operated on just 8.5 scholarships compared with the fully-funded, 36 grant-in-aids the Aggies had at their disposal.
 
On a Thursday (the NCAA gave BU an extra day due to the long flight and change of time zones), the Huskies boarded a charter flight at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport to Davis, California, just outside of Sacramento and a few hours from San Francisco. The flight featured a stopover in Kansas City for a flight crew change but otherwise was uneventful. Arriving in Sacramento, the Huskies boarded buses to the hotel in Davis. At the same time, the VIPs, BU President Jessica Kozloff and her husband, and BU AD Mary Gardner and assistant AD Burt Reese, and me (not really a VIP), took a rental car. Ironically, the hotel was located just off of Interstate 80, so the Huskies felt right at home.
 
A light practice took place on Thursday to stretch out from the long flight. Friday featured a walkthrough for the team while I was busy dealing with some media requests from the local writers. No one was giving the Huskies any chance in the game. The writers from the region said this was the best UC Davis team ever.
 
On game day, there was a sense of nervousness as we waited to depart for the stadium. How would we handle the expected crowd of 10,000 people? Kickoff was closing in. Here are thoughts on the trip from various people who were there.
 
 
Head Coach Danny Hale
We were excited about making the NCAA playoffs after how we started. That doesn't happen very often. It was a real tribute to our team that year how they stayed together
 
UC Davis was by far the best team we had ever faced. Our goal was to do our best. Our chances weren't good for sure. We had only 8.5 scholarships to their fully-funded team. They figured it was the year for them to win it all. I know many of their fans had already made plane and hotel reservations. For us, it was going to be our bowl game.
 
When Davis returned a fumble for a long score, I thought it was checkmate. After three quarters, my thought was to make the final respectable. I was working to keep the guys from giving up. But we never lost confidence. It was one play at a time. Plus, I knew they had never faced a team like us before, so maybe something good would happen if we could stay focused. Also, UC Davis could have easily won the game, but they got greedy trying to add to their point total. Our defense stiffened down the stretch, so while we were able to score offensively, we needed the defense to its part, and they responded. It was an unbelievable feeling.
 
Offensive Coordinator Jim Monos
The mood the night before the game was typical. If we play our game, you don't know what could happen. Before the game as I stood on the sidelines watching Davis quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan warmup. I said to some of our coaches standing with me, holy smokes, this guy is good.
 
As the game went along, our side of the press box was quiet. Danny was quiet on the sidelines. Not much chatter through our headsets. I thought that maybe the local papers were right, and Davis would win by more than 40 points. We just wanted to keep it close at this point. Then things started to click in the fourth period. Why? It had to be our style of offense.
 
In the western part of the country, no one ran the I-formation. We were unique. I think UC Davis eventually tired on defense in the final period. We went deep in the playbook. We called a lot of crazy plays. Shovel pass, reverse, counter left, counter right, even the halfback option. We started controlling the line of scrimmage. And our defense also played well and was getting stop after stop. It was a real team effort. I can't recall when he did it, but Eric Miller was starting egging on their students in the end zone. He was almost daring them to be louder. It fired up our team. Before I knew it, we were winning.
 
In the locker room, when the game was over, we were pumped. The flight back seemed like five minutes. It was a once in a lifetime moment for our program. We found a way to win that game, and I still get excited thinking about this game.
 
After the game, the AD at UC Davis wanted to set up a home-and-home series with BU. Coach Hale asked the coaches his thoughts about playing Davis again. I turned to coach and said, "Danny, if we play 100 times, they'll win 99 of them. We beat them once coach. Let them live with that the rest of their lives."
 
Eric Miller, BU starting quarterback
Murphy's Law. That's how I would describe the days leading up to and the first three quarters of the UC Davis Game.  First off, it was the worst plane ride I've ever had in my entire life.  The night before we were to fly to California, I got hit with the flu.  I was sick all night long. I don't think I slept more than an hour.  On the plane, I was in and out of the bathroom and quarantined to my own section of the plane when I was out of the bathroom. 
 
Once we arrived, I was dehydrated and exhausted and couldn't practice the day before the game. They hooked me up to an IV bag in the hotel room, using the lamp between the beds as the IV stand. On the day of the game, I felt better, but still not 100%. I was nervous. Not only nervous because of how I felt, but because of who we were playing. UC Davis was undefeated, crushing teams all year long (even a couple division 1-AA teams).
 
They were a fully-funded scholarship team. Rumors were they had many guys who couldn't start at Cal, USC or UCLA and would transfer to UC Davis. They were big, fast and according to the local papers that morning, were a 45-point favorite over us. Watching them warm-up was even more impressive than anything I had previously read about them. So nothing to worry about, we got this!! I couldn't show my teammates I was nervous. If I was nervous…they were nervous. If I was cool and collected…they were cool and collected.  So I kept it cool. 
 
UC Davis received the opening kickoff, and on either second or third down the QB hit one of his receivers on a standard out pattern. This guy made our defense look like they were standing still. A couple jukes and jives and before you knew it, he went 50 yards before you even blinked.  At that moment, I said, okay, this is going to have to be a shootout today. 
 
After they scored the first touchdown in what seemed like seconds off the clock, we got the ball and had a nice first opening drive. On that drive, I got spiked in the leg, and it hurt pretty bad. Not knowing the severity of it, I played the entire drive and we scored our first touchdown to tie the game.
 
As I came off the field, I pulled my sock down and I knew it was bad when teammate Greg Roskos looked down at it, gasped, and turned his head away.  He later told me that the gash in my leg looked like someone hit me in the leg with a shovel. They taped up the wound and I continued to play knowing this could be the last game I would ever play.
 
For the first three quarters, we were playing catch up. The back and forth scoring from both of our high powered offenses kept things relatively close with UC Davis never going up more than a two-touchdown lead. I felt like we were still in the game because we had the ability to score quickly, but also was worried that one mistake could put us in a bad hole that we couldn't get out of. 
 
My worry turned into reality late in the third quarter when disaster struck. As we were driving, in UC Davis territory, down by two scores on a crucial fourth-down play, I got sacked and fumbled the ball which the defense returned 70 yards for a touchdown.  At the time, my thoughts were complete disappointment in myself, letting my teammates down, and going down by three TD's with only one quarter left to play.
 
We got the ball back with only a minute left in the third quarter, and I came into the huddle and said: Guys, this could be the last quarter of football most of us will ever play, let's just have fun. We're playing for pride right now. You never know what could happen. 
 
It seemed like we were all playing loose in the fourth quarter, stress-free, just having fun. That coupled with UC Davis not being used to playing a four-quarter game (their second team was usually in at this point in the majority of their games) made scoring easy. We were feeding off the energy from the defense making the stops in the fourth period, and they were feeding off the offense's momentum after every score…it just kept building and building. 
 
We got lucky on a couple of pass interference calls to keep drives alive. We had guys making unbelievable plays. Marques Glaze was a beast that day. Mike Lelko and Tierell Johnson were making great catches. The O-line was wearing the defense down by their constant pounding at the line of scrimmage. Some guys who saw limited time during the regular season contributed in a big way, including Daryl Williams, who had a couple of big plays.
 
The overall atmosphere was incredible. It was the largest crowd I had ever played in front of. UC Davis had a raucous student section at the far end zone, which made things even more difficult.  The magnitude of the game, coupled with their crazy fan base was intimidating, but I was so proud of my teammates for never giving up. 
 
One of my favorite memories was after the game, waiting in the gym, for the trainer to apply medical staples to my leg, I saw UC Davis' all American middle linebacker receiving some medical attention as well from their trainers. He had a bag of ice on his head, a bag on his knee, a bag on his ankle, and his shoulder was bandaged up. At that moment, I thought to myself, nobody thought we had a chance today. We came into a hostile environment, and battled for four quarters, overcame adversity, and handed, arguably the best team in the country a thorough beat down.  It put a smile on my face.

Mike Lelko, BU wide receiver
Looking back, as a team heading into UC Davis game, we were not sure actually what was going on. We took each day one at a time after going 0-2 to start the year. One thing everybody forgot, though, was the number of games we played together over four years. EVERYBODY cared about everybody, and for the most part, we all hung out.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, Friday night, and Saturday nights...this team was close. Playing together, living together, and hanging out mostly as a team outside of practice mattered.
 
I remember running out onto the field at the beginning of the game with announcements and UC Davis introducing each starting player. The crowd was maybe about 11, 000 including people hanging off the parking deck behind the home side. They had endzone stands sitting just about five yards off the endzone, and the number of insults we received during each introduction was never-ending. No doubt we were undersized, which their fans let us know about often.
 
The game was back and forth all day.  Early in the game, we missed some opportunities to put points on the board. Either extra points blocked or missed field goals. In the third quarter we had some missed opportunities, but no fault of anybody.  We turned the ball over on interceptions, and UC Dais had a fumble for return for a TD.
 
We started the fourth quarter staying calm and composed. We got a stop, then Toya Berry had a big run on a trick play. A few plays later Darrell Williams scores on a reverse, followed up with Miller scramble and Tierell Johnson catching pass for TD.
 
Funny part is we never got to high during this stretch.  Offensively, we were workmanlike. In the huddle, we were looking at each other, especially our line, and there was complete calm in their eyes, no sign of panic. I remember coming off the field after going up 51-48 walked of field and the UC Davis sideline was just kind of staring at us as to what on earth was going on. I'll never forget that stare as if our offense was walking on water.
 
That game by far was the best we played as a team. Looking at it offensively,  Darrell Williams caught a pass for TD, and had a nice reverse.  Tierell had had a few big catches in the fourth quarter to move chains in critical situations. He showed up to play.  Marques Glaze and Arrastene Henry had big days running the ball. Of course, we wouldn't have had any of that without our line. Everything starts upfront.  The O-line was like a well-oiled machine.  Maybe a bit smaller than UC Davis, but an older version of a car. Unlike a new car that you got to take into the shop for repair, nothing beats blue collar, old-school built. That was our line.

Jim Doyle, Huskies' radio announcer
Considering the circumstances, this may have been the most remarkable BU game I've ever broadcast. Playing 3,000 miles from home in front of 10,000 hostile fans against a UC Davis team ranked number one in the country. BU was considered to be a speed bump for the Aggies on their way to the national championship game in Alabama.
 
BU fought gamely but trailed, as you know, 48-29 going to the fourth period. What followed seemed like an unbelievable movie script. Aggies' QB J.T. O'Sullivan, as cocky a player as you will ever see at this position and who went on to play in the NFL for a few seasons, got outplayed by BU's Eric Miller. I'll also never forget the opening line of Chuck Souders story the next day in the paper, "The gutsiest football team in America is going to Alabama."
 
Chuck Souders, reporter
The whole weekend at UC Davis was a hoot, from the hotel happy hours to J.T. O'Sullivan's cockiness to the game itself. It was one of the most memorable games I've ever covered.
 
Then there was the plane ride home, with pilots letting the players and the rest of us into the cockpit as we crossed the country. Even the championship game was memorable. Overall, that month or so was probably the highlight of my career. Good kids, good coaches on a mission. Very enjoyable time.
 
Editors note: Chuck was filling in as the color commentator that day. The radio booth was on the other side of a narrow gap from where the sportswriters and stat keepers sat. After Bloomsburg rallied and went on top, Chuck burst into the area with the writers and loudly yelled, "Isn't this the best 'bleepin' game you've ever seen." He then turned and went back to the radio booth leaving several stunned individuals.
 
Mark Honbo, UC Athletic Communications
Oh man… yeah, that game is legendary to the Aggie fandom, but for the opposite reason.
 
First of all, you know how there were a bunch of old-timey Yankee fans who never allowed the words "Bill Mazeroski" to be mentioned in their presence? There are Aggie football fans around whom you should never mention Bloomsburg. The late Fred Arp, an assistant coach here for some four decades, was one of those people. I think all of our coaches were like that, but he was especially one of them. Most people say it in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, but with a few of them, it is something they would prefer to block out of their memories.
 
As for me, I'm generally too caught up with my job that I don't get emotionally connected to the games I'm working. SIDs don't really experience events we work until they're done, which can be good and bad. We might not feel the thrill of victory, but we also don't feel the agony of defeat the way others do, at least if it's an event we're working.
 
As one of the stat keepers that day, I didn't process what had happened until after the game was done. To this day, I always compare it to having an opposing pitcher throw a perfect game against your team. Is it frustrating at the time? Of course. But it's also impressive when you think back on it. This was like having someone do it in Game 6 of the World Series. Bloom effectively threw a perfect game in that fourth quarter.
 
The other thing I always tell people: what Bloomsburg accomplished in that game is especially impressive when you consider how formidable the UC Davis offense was that year, especially in the playoffs. Look at our games leading up to it: 48-10 over Chadron State and 62-18 over Mesa State. Almost 700 yards in total offense against Mesa, too. These were playoff teams, not cellar-dwellers. The Aggies had 48 through three quarters, so they were on pace for 64. An incredible feat to halt such an offense, particularly one that was humming along that well.
 
I also cite Bloomsburg as a cautionary tale for our fans or staff when they get too far ahead of themselves. I knew of some fans who booked flights and hotels for the title game during the week leading into the semis. The local newspaper writer and photographer did this, too. The thinking was that it's cheaper to do it well in advance, then cancel in the off chance UC Davis loses in the semis. I'm not superstitious enough to believe in jinxes, and making contingency plans is always a sensible thing to do, but this was like mentioning a no-hitter after the first pitch.
 
My last memory from that game is one of the guys on our game staff, a graduate of IUP who moved to Sacramento. I knew the PSAC pretty well, in part because it had so many perennially good teams. (Plus, we all enjoyed the fact that there was a school called California in Pennsylvania.) Slippery Rock? Sure. IUP? Millersville? Yes, and yes. We had even played West Chester that season and went overtime with Clarion a few years earlier. But I didn't know much about the Huskies in terms of football. 
 
When I asked my buddy about Bloomsburg, his response was something like, "Everyone hates playing Bloom. They're always good, and even when they're not, they're always scary because they still can beat anybody on the right day." So when the game was over, he and I looked at each other. He put both hands up and had this amused look on his face that effectively said, "I told you…"
 
I never get to discuss that game because most of our current athletics staffers weren't around for it, and the ones who were don't like to talk about it.

Doug Kelly, UC Davis radio play by play announcer
UC Davis had played West Chester earlier in the year and won pretty easily.  All we knew about Bloomsburg was that they had to be pretty good to be in the tournament. Our players and coaches did not feel overconfident. They were all business.
 
Leading 49-28 heading into the final quarter, I felt pretty good inside. The third quarter had taken forever, so I was happy to get to the last period.
 
However, Davis seemed to tire as a group.  Like running out of gas. The game was in December, so the weather was not a factor. The offense, which had converted all season, suddenly couldn't, and the defense was on the field too long.  To this day, I don't recall anyone scoring 29 points against a Davis team in one quarter.
 
When the game was over, I did not go home, but hit my favorite watering hole. A couple of beers did not help answer the question of: "What in hell just happened?"
 
Watching the D-II national championship the following week, I didn't enjoy seeing Bloomsburg lose. I still contend that UC Davis was the best D-II team in the country in 2000. That will never change. But you've got to prove it on the field. One reason football is such a great game is there's only one chance each week.  You do, or you don't.  For whatever reason, and there are several you can point to, the fourth quarter belonged to Bloomsburg.  It is the most painful defeat I have encountered in my 25 years with the program.
 
 
Conclusion
As the game hit the end of the third period, I sat next to a writer from San Francisco. He called his wife and said he'd be home to attend a wedding reception that night. This game is a blow out he said and he just needed to put into the final score, talk to the Davis coach for a few quotes and he'd be on his way.
 
As the fourth quarter unfolded, he called his wife again and said she'd have to go to the wedding reception herself. He had just witnessed one of the greatest comebacks ever and would need to rewrite his whole story.
 
The all-night flight home featured the BU president singing "Who Let the Dogs Out" on the cockpit microphone. (Things like that were allowed in 2000.) TV crews met the team at the airport on a Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. and couldn't get enough of the Huskies the next few days.
 
The next day the newspaper headline in the Davis Enterprise told the story: BLOOM and DOOM. It told anyone who picked up the paper that day all it needed to know about the team from the tiny town in Pennsylvania. The one they never want to speak of again!