October 31, 1992: Rutgers' Halloween Homecoming Thriller

October 31, 1992: Rutgers University plays Virginia Tech in a Halloween Homecoming thriller, in the next-to-last game at the old Rutgers Stadium. The stars of this game, all from New Jersey, were quarterback Bryan Fortay of East Brunswick, running back Bruce Presley of Highland Park, tight end Jim Guarantano of Lodi, and receiver Chris Brantley of Teaneck.

RU fell behind 42-23 in the 3rd quarter, before launching a comeback. With 1:32 left, and Tech leading 49-44, the Scarlet Knights got the ball on their own 22. Among the plays on this drive was a 46-yard pass from Fortay to Mario Henry with 7 seconds left. RU won on the final play, the 4th Fortay-to-Brantley touchdown pass of the game, 50-49. Yes, that score is in football, not basketball.

The shootout featured a combined 1,164 yards of total offense, on 167 plays, with 54 first downs, 10 interceptions and 14 touchdowns.

Rutgers played in the 1st college football game, in 1869. So they have, literally, been playing football longer than anybody in America. This may not be their greatest game in their history, and it certainly isn't the most important (or even the most important one since 1869). But it is the wildest.

RU advanced to 5-3 on the season, and had a shot at winning the Big East Conference title, having already beaten then-Number 15 Syracuse 3 weeks earlier.

But the next week, they lost away to the University of Cincinnati, 26-24, before closing the old Rutgers Stadium the following week with a 13-9 win over West Virginia. The closed the season by beating Temple at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. After playing all their home games at the Meadowlands in 1993, the old stadium was demolished, and the new Rutgers Stadium, now named SHI Stadium, opened on the site in 1994.

RU finished 7-4, and were not invited to go to a bowl game. After they lost their season opener, to Boston College, their quarterback, Glenn Foley -- a New Jersey native they let get away, from the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill -- told the media, "The only bowl Rutgers is going to is the one I just got off of." Big talk from a guy whose biggest achievement as a pro was starting 8 games at quarterback for the New York Jets.

*

October 31, 1992 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played on that Halloween were these:

* Number 1 Miami beat West Virginia, 35-23 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Miami won the Big East Conference title.

* Number 2 Washington beat Number 15 Stanford, 41-7 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-Ten title.

* Number 3 Michigan beat Purdue, 24-17 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Michigan won the Big Ten title, but lost the Rose Bowl to Washington.

* Number 4 Alabama had the week off. They went on to win the Southeastern Conference title, rising to Number 2, then beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship.

* Number 5 Texas A&M beat Southern Methodist (SMU), 41-7 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. A&M won the Southwest Conference title.

* Number 6 Florida State beat Number 23 Virginia, 13-3 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 7 Georgia were upset by Number 20 Florida, 26-24 at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Florida won the SEC Eastern Division title, but lost the SEC Championship Game to Alabama. They returned to the Gator Bowl stadium to play the game of the same name, and beat North Carolina State. Georgia beat Ohio State in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

* Number 8 Nebraska beat Number 9 Colorado, 52-7 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title, but lost the Orange Bowl to Florida State. Colorado went to the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Syracuse.

* Number 10 Notre Dame beat Navy, 38-7 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. Notre Dame went to the Cotton Bowl, and beat Texas A&M.

* Number 14 Penn State were upset by Brigham Young University (BYU), 30-17 at Cougar Stadium (now LaVell Edwards Stadium) in Provo, Utah.

* Number 16 Tennessee were upset by South Carolina, 24-23 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Number 19 Washington State were upset by Oregon, 34-17 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

* Army beat Eastern Michigan, 57-17 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

Baseball season was over. The NBA season started 6 days later. There were 10 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the New York Islanders, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* In another "Original Six" matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Boston Garden.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Hartford Whalers, 7-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the XL Center).

* The Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 2-2 at the Ottawa Civic Centre (now the TD Place Arena).

* The 2 remaining "Original Six" teams also played each other, as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-4 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.