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Football | 12/2/2020 11:25:00 AM
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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.
A number of BU fans made the trip out west to cheer on the Huskies.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.
Action from the Bloomsburg-UC Davis National Semifinal in 2000.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
Tierrel Johnson with a reception during the Huskies' stunningvictory over UC Davis in 2000. (Photo courtesy of The Voice)
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 CommunicationsDoug 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.
The Huskies celebrating post-game after BU's thrilling comeback over UC Davisto advance to the National Championship in 2000.
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!
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