"Just Another Day in Paradise" --- Phil Collins

It was just another day. I was a sophomore in college. The girl I was dating at the time became my wife 22 months later. I am not sure what I was studying at the time (besides her), but I know it was 2 days after her birthday. That would have been October 14, 1978.

I didn’t go to the game that day, and I am sure I didn’t see it on T.V. I was attending a junior college in the north Georgia Mountains, and the television reception was only good for 2.5 channels (the .5 was because NBC came and went, depending on the weather). The old Philco television in the dorm lounge had a set of rabbit ears, which were usually covered with yards of aluminum foil. The best reception occurred when someone had their hand on the foil, which caused everyone in the lounge area to yell at the unfortunate person touching the foil….”DON’T MOVE!!!”

Nashville, Tennessee was the setting for what, on that day, would become an Auburn record that Bo Jackson would tie, and only Cadillac Williams, 26 years later, would break. The weather was clear and crisp, as it can often be during a Nashvillian autumn. Van Heflin was the quarterback for the Commodores. Unfortunately, he was injured on that day, and had to leave the game early in the third quarter. But even if he had remained healthy, the day belonged to someone else. A person who would not only have a breakout day, but set an Auburn record that would stand for over 25 years.

On that day, Auburn beat Vanderbilt 49-7. They rode their workhorse running back, Joe Cribbs, who set an Auburn record by scoring 5 touchdowns in a single game. It was virtually impossible to tackle him on that day, and because of the “tear-away” jerseys they wore, strips of navy blue were scattered all over the field. It was a day of total domination by the Auburn Tigers.

In fact, were it not for an Auburn fumble in their own endzone by quarterback Charlie Trotman, Vanderbilt wouldn’t have scored at all. Fast Freddie Smith had blocked a punt, the Auburn defense led by Smith and James McKinney was dominant, and the offense ran at will.

It was a day for the record books. A day when an Auburn running back would make a name for himself. But when you think about Auburn running backs, and you think about days like this…..you realize that at Running Back U……it was just another day in paradise.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr