INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Hallowed Be His Name
Matt Davison's unforgettable catch
by Ivan Maisel
Posted: Wed November 12, 1997
In years to come, they will invoke his name in Scottsbluff and
Wahoo, in Omaha and Juniata. In cities and towns across
Nebraska, the mention of Matt Davison will be sure to bring a
smile.
Wiggins's game of footsie with Missouri's Jones (14) kept the
ball in play for the catch by Davison (3).
photos by
David E. Klutho (2); Ted Kirk/Lincoln Journal-Star
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If Davison, a freshman from Tecumseh, Neb., never catches
another ball for the Cornhuskers, it won't matter. Last Saturday
his diving retrieval of a deflected pass in the end zone with no
time remaining in regulation allowed the Huskers to tie Missouri
38-38. When Nebraska won in overtime, 45-38, Davison forever won
a place in the hearts of Huskers fans.
"I'm hearing what everybody's saying," Davison said two days
after the catch. "It doesn't seem as big to me as everybody
else. If we go on to win the national championship, then it will
be a bigger thing."
College football has a way of making no-names memorable. At
Auburn, mention David Langner and men will take off their hats
and place them over their hearts. A quarter century ago Langner
returned two blocked punts for touchdowns in the fourth quarter,
leading the Tigers to a 17-16 upset of undefeated, No. 2-ranked
Alabama. Southern Cal fans revere Doyle Nave, the fourth-string
quarterback who led the Trojans to the winning touchdown in the
1939 Rose Bowl. Against a Duke defense that hadn't allowed a
point all season, Nave threw a 19-yard TD pass to Al Krueger,
and the Trojans prevailed 7-3.
Nebraska-Missouri isn't quite the rivalry Alabama-Auburn is. The
Huskers haven't lost to the Tigers since 1978. However, behind
the wondrous running and passing of quarterback Corby Jones,
Mizzou led 38-31 with seven seconds remaining in the fourth
quarter. Nebraska had the ball at the Tigers' 12. The
Cornhuskers had no timeouts.
The 6'1", 170-pound Davison had caught only seven passes for 117
yards and no touchdowns until his memorable reception;
nevertheless he wasn't the unlikeliest of heroes. As a high
school senior he was all-state in football, basketball and
baseball. Two newspapers named him Nebraska's male high school
athlete of the year. He even had made a similar catch as a high
school freshman in the final minute of a district championship
game to give Tecumseh a 21-20 victory over Randolph. "I caught a
pass in the end zone where I had to dive," Davison said. "I was
only 14 years old, and here I am 18, just turned 19, and it
happened again." By the time of the Missouri game he had become
the fourth receiver on a running team and was getting more
playing time than usual for a Huskers freshman.
On the game-tying play, Davison lined up as one of two receivers
on the left side; two others lined up on the right. Quarterback
Scott Frost looked over the middle and threw hard to wingback
Shevin Wiggins, who had the ball momentarily before it slid down
his legs as Missouri free safety Julian Jones tackled him. When
Wiggins hit the ground, his legs popped up, kicking the ball
back into the air.
"I saw the ball get deflected off Shevin," Davison said. "It was
floating like a punt, kind of end over end. It seemed like it
took forever to get there. I dived, and I guess the Lord was
watching over me. I was in the right spot at the right time."
Missouri fans didn't wait for the call, pouring into the end
zone to tear down the goalpost in celebration of an apparent
victory. But then the officials signaled touchdown, and the
field was cleared for the Huskers' extra point attempt. "My
parents were sitting in the opposite end zone, way up in the
stands," Davison said. "They didn't even know it was me who
caught the pass until a half hour after the game."
A buoyant Nebraska scored a touchdown on the first possession in
OT and clinched the victory by stuffing Jones on fourth down of
Missouri's possession. By then Huskers fans were jubilant over
any victory, even one so precarious that it resulted in
Nebraska's falling from No. 1 to No. 3 in the polls. For that
win, the Cornhuskers can thank Matt Davison.
Remember the name.
Issue date: November 17, 1997
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