Fumblerooski

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In American football, the fumblerooski is a trick play, most famously used by the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers against the University of Miami Hurricanes in the 1984 Orange Bowl. It is no longer allowed in high school,^[1] college, or the NFL. It was invented by John Heisman^[2]. In the Fumblerooski, the quarterback deliberately places the ball on the ground, technically fumbling it. The backs will run to the right, and the right guard will pick up the ball and run to the left.^[3]

1 Uses of the Fumblerooski
2 Pop Culture
3 References
4 See also

[edit] Uses of the Fumblerooski

In the 1984 Orange Bowl game, #1 ranked Nebraska trailed Miami 17-0 after the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne called for the play, whereby Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill effectively “fumbled” the snap from center by setting it on the turf. The ball was picked up by All-American offensive guard Dean Steinkuhler, who ran the ball 19 yards for a touchdown. Nebraska famously went on to lose the game 31-30 (and with it, the national championship) after a pass intended for tailback Jeff Smith was tipped by Miami defender Kenny Calhoun on a two-point conversion attempt after a last-second touchdown. Although this is widely regarded as the most famous occurrence of this play, it is actually not the first time that Nebraska ran it, having first tried it in a 17-14 loss to Oklahoma in 1979.

Coincidentally, it was against the Sooners four years later when Miami fell prey to the fumblerooski in a national championship game a second time, in 1988, when Sooner quarterback Charles Thompson left the ball for offensive guard Mark Hutson, who proceeded to run for a touchdown. Oklahoma would eventually lose to Miami 20-14.

In 1990, Florida State tried to run the play against Auburn in the 4th quarter with a 7 point lead. Auburn recovered the "fumble" before FSU's guard could "recover". Auburn would score the tying touchdown on the ensuing drive, and eventually win on a last second field goal by Jim Von Wyl, marking one of the very rare occasions that the play failed.

Nebraska used the play again on Oct 31, 1992 in a 52-7 victory over the University of Colorado. The ball was carried by offensive guard Will Stradley, who gained a first down but did not score.

The last fumblerooski was run near the end of the 1992 season by Pacific on November 7th.

Like the NFL in the 1960s, the NCAA banned the use of the fumblerooski after the 1992 season, making intentional fumbles illegal. In April 2006, the NFSHSA followed suit, banning intentional fumbles, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, longtime former NFL referee Jerry Markbreit says the play is still legal, provided the quarterback places the ball on the ground behind himself, rather than in front.^[4]

A new variation of the fumblerooski was run by the University of Arkansas Razorbacks on October 7, 2006: the then-unranked Razorbacks used the trick play in their upset of the #2 ranked Auburn Tigers.^[5] The smallest Razorback player—5’7” Reggie Fish—hid behind the line, out of sight of the Auburn defense. The QB took the snap, handed Fish the ball, and proceeded to run a fake play. This was the first time a play like this had appeared in major college football.

The University of Texas Longhorns tried the same play against Nebraska on October 21, 2006. It failed to score, however, when Husker linebacker Bo Ruud picked up on the trick play and subsequently tackled the runner. Texas went on to win the game 22-20 after a last-minute field goal.

On December 10th, 2006, the San Diego Chargers ran a successful fumblerooski variant, known as the Bumarooski, against the Denver Broncos that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run for fullback Lorenzo Neal's first touchdown of the season. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson was lined up in the backfield with running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The ball was snapped to quarterback Philip Rivers, who handed the ball to Neal between his legs. After the handoff, Rivers and Tomlinson both sprinted right, with Rivers faking a handoff to Jackson faking an end-around right. At the same time, Neal faked a block, and, with the defense still unaware that he had the ball, sprinted left for the touchdown. It should be noted that this was technically not a fumblerooski as the ball was not set on the ground; instead this was merely a trick handoff, and might be considered a variant of the Statue of Liberty play. The Bumarooski is named after former NFL head coach, Bum Phillips. Bum's son Wade was the defensive coordinator for the Chargers, he now is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. ^[6]

The NCAA saw another variation of the fumblerooski on September 22nd, 2007 when Michigan State Spartans' quarterback Brian Hoyer pretended to fumble the ball and then passed to tight-end Kellen Davis for a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In reality, Hoyer never let go of the ball and instead simply waved it near the ground. However, the "Hoyer-rooski" worked to perfection and the Notre Dame linebackers bought the trick play, allowing Hoyer to find an open Davis in the endzone. The play was perfectly set up after Hoyer lost a fumble early in the first quarter on his own 5 yard line, and so well executed Spartan's head coach Mark Dantonio had difficulty convincing the press that it was a called play. The Spartans went on to win 31-14. ^[7]

Brian Hoyer and Michigan State Spartans used the fumblerooski again in their game against University of Michigan Wolverines. Faced with a third down and 6 yards to go inside the Michigan 20 yard line they used the same play as they did against Notre Dame for a 9 yard completion to Michigan's 5 yard line. Michigan State went on to allow 14 unanswered points to Michigan in the 4th quarter to lose 28-24.

[edit] Pop Culture

The fumblerooski was used in the 2005 movie The Longest Yard to bring the prisoners within one point of the guards on the last play of the game (other than the two-point conversion).

The fumblerooski is featured as a play setting up the climax of the 1994 film Little Giants, in which the Little Giants score on the game's final play. In the film, the play was called "The Annexation of Puerto Rico."