ESPN names Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass one of the top 25 plays in football since 2000
One of the more famous plays in the history of Nebraska football was recently named one of college football's greatest moments of the last two decades. ESPN ranked college football's top 25 plays since 2000, and at No. 21 on the list was "Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass" from the Huskers' 20-10 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 27, 2001.
Eight ESPN writers and two editors nominated fifty-one plays, and that list was whittled down to 25 plays. The eight writers then ranked the moments from 1 to 25, with 25 points awarded for the top play, 24 for second place, and so on, until play No. 25.
With the No. 3-ranked Cornhuskers leading the No. 2-ranked Sooners 13-10 in the fourth quarter and the ball at its own 37-yard line, head coach Frank Solich called Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass. ESPN described the play in detail.
"His heroics mostly came from running the option, but on this play against Oklahoma, Crouch handed off the ball, peeled out into the flat and up the field as a receiver. The original ball carrier, Thunder Collins, handed it to Mike Stuntz on a reverse, and he hit Crouch sprinting down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown."
Nebraska would go on to win the game 20-10, and Eric Crouch would win the Heisman Trophy in one of the closest votes in the award's history. Crouch beat Florida sophomore quarterback Rex Grossman 770 points to 708 votes.
Crouch's 770 points are the fewest by a Heisman winner since Terry Baker won the award in 1962 with 707 points. Joining Crouch and Grossman at the Downtown Athletic Club that year were Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey and Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington.
Watch the famous play below.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
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