Colorado State University Athletics
The Bounce Pass Heard 'Round the World
9/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 29, 2016
To set the stage, you have to go back to 1955, which had been the last time the Rams beat the Cowboys. CSU was still Colorado A&M the last time it defeated Wyoming, and the football teams from 1956 to 1965 had fared worse than any decade since before Harry Hughes arrived in 1911.
The two schools, and town people of Fort Collins and Laramie, simply did not like one another no matter if the teams won or lost on the gridiron. In 1958 a brawl ensued after CSU halfback Alan Ashbaugh seemed to have scored the winning touchdown on 4th-and-1, but the referee did not call the score. Numerous stories of mascots being stolen, fights in the stands and even general mayhem tearing up one another’s campuses continued into the middle 1960s.
The 1966 season was different though as the Rams, under coach Mike Lude, were a resurged bunch of players, excited about a new football stadium coming in 1968. The Cowboys were a very good football team under coach Lloyd Eaton, undefeated by the Oct. 29, 1966 tilt and ranked 10th in the nation. Wyoming had beaten its previous six opponents by a combined score of 184-90 with a very potent offense.
Coming off their first win over Air Force since 1957, the Rams were on a roll and knew they needed to pull out all of the stops against their biggest rival. With both teams playing well, Colorado Field was a packed house at 14,900. Many fans that were there that day said it was closer to 20,000.
Some Wyoming people had burned letters into the grass of Colorado Field, illegible in the game film, but still enough to upset the players and fans of CSU. It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for a football game, with Wyoming the heavy favorite.
The Cowboys struck with a touchdown early in the first quarter and it appeared they would run away with the game. The Rams defense dug in strong and held Wyoming to that lone touchdown to end the first half 7-0 in Wyoming’s favor.
The Rams exploded in the third quarter when Oscar Reed rushed 45 yards on one play to the Wyoming 34-yard line. After a series of plays took the Rams to the 15, Al Lavan kicked a field goal and CSU trailed by just four points. The Rams' defense continued to contain Wyoming’s potent offense, and with 2:30 left in the third quarter, CSU took over at its own 11-yard line.
The Rams drove to the Wyoming 35-yard line when Mike Lude decided to pull out a trick play he had worked on for three weeks. Based on a play first done by Texas Tech several years earlier, Lude utilized his backup tailback, Larry Jackson, to mount the play known as the Bounce Pass.
The Bounce Pass was supposed to be executed on third down at the Wyoming 35-yard line, but quarterback Bob Wolfe accidentally threw it directly into Larry Jackson’s arms, allowing him to be tackled right away, losing a yard. On the next play, Coach Mike Lude decided to give the Bounce Pass one more try, even though it was fourth down. Wolfe once again threw to Jackson, but this time bounced the ball into Jackson’s hands to make it appear the quarterback had flubbed another pass. The lateral throw actually was considered a live ball. Larry Jackson then yelled, “Bobby what the heck’s wrong with you? Can’t you throw the ball right?”
This scripted action fooled everyone in Larimer County to think the ball was dead as the offense and defense both stopped play. Without a whistle to blow the play dead, Jackson then threw the ball down the field to Tom Pack, who waited all alone. Pack easily scored a touchdown and after Lavan missed the extra point, CSU took the lead 9-7 against the No. 10 team in the country.
The short-lived lead ended as Wyoming came back down the field to score a 27-yard field goal by Jerry De Poyster. With Wyoming ahead 10-9 and the Rams in a 4th-and-11 situation late in the fourth quarter, Lude once again gambled and went for the first down. Larry Jackson made a spectacular diving catch to preserve the drive at the Wyoming 15-yard line. Al Lavan then kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Rams a 12-10 lead, the eventual winning score.
Today, the Bounce Pass remains as the most unforgettable trick play in school history, even 50 years afterwards. Game film rediscovered only four years ago allows us to see what the play was all about, but more importantly the game film shows how intense the Rams' defense was to beat a stronger offense and the 10th-ranked team in the country.
Ironically enough, the Rams and Cowboys will face off for the last time at Hughes Stadium before a sold-out crowd similar to the 1966 game, and who knows what memorable plays await them in the future.
By John Hirn
CSU Athletics Historian
Over the last 124 years of CSU football there have been many memorable plays that have defined a game, a season or a championship. In recent years we remember Sean Moran’s fumble recovery against Arizona in 1994, Ryan Eslinger’s fake field goal in the 1997 Holiday Bowl and of course the head spike by Bradlee Van Pelt in the 2002 Rocky Mountain Showdown.
When it comes to plays that have stood the test of time, few if any compare to the legendary Bounce Pass in the 1966 Wyoming game at Colorado Field. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that play, and many of the men that helped CSU win that epic game have come back for a reunion at the 2016 Border War game.
To set the stage, you have to go back to 1955, which had been the last time the Rams beat the Cowboys. CSU was still Colorado A&M the last time it defeated Wyoming, and the football teams from 1956 to 1965 had fared worse than any decade since before Harry Hughes arrived in 1911.
The two schools, and town people of Fort Collins and Laramie, simply did not like one another no matter if the teams won or lost on the gridiron. In 1958 a brawl ensued after CSU halfback Alan Ashbaugh seemed to have scored the winning touchdown on 4th-and-1, but the referee did not call the score. Numerous stories of mascots being stolen, fights in the stands and even general mayhem tearing up one another’s campuses continued into the middle 1960s.
The 1966 season was different though as the Rams, under coach Mike Lude, were a resurged bunch of players, excited about a new football stadium coming in 1968. The Cowboys were a very good football team under coach Lloyd Eaton, undefeated by the Oct. 29, 1966 tilt and ranked 10th in the nation. Wyoming had beaten its previous six opponents by a combined score of 184-90 with a very potent offense.
Coming off their first win over Air Force since 1957, the Rams were on a roll and knew they needed to pull out all of the stops against their biggest rival. With both teams playing well, Colorado Field was a packed house at 14,900. Many fans that were there that day said it was closer to 20,000.
Some Wyoming people had burned letters into the grass of Colorado Field, illegible in the game film, but still enough to upset the players and fans of CSU. It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for a football game, with Wyoming the heavy favorite.
The Cowboys struck with a touchdown early in the first quarter and it appeared they would run away with the game. The Rams defense dug in strong and held Wyoming to that lone touchdown to end the first half 7-0 in Wyoming’s favor.
The Rams exploded in the third quarter when Oscar Reed rushed 45 yards on one play to the Wyoming 34-yard line. After a series of plays took the Rams to the 15, Al Lavan kicked a field goal and CSU trailed by just four points. The Rams' defense continued to contain Wyoming’s potent offense, and with 2:30 left in the third quarter, CSU took over at its own 11-yard line.
The Rams drove to the Wyoming 35-yard line when Mike Lude decided to pull out a trick play he had worked on for three weeks. Based on a play first done by Texas Tech several years earlier, Lude utilized his backup tailback, Larry Jackson, to mount the play known as the Bounce Pass.
The Bounce Pass was supposed to be executed on third down at the Wyoming 35-yard line, but quarterback Bob Wolfe accidentally threw it directly into Larry Jackson’s arms, allowing him to be tackled right away, losing a yard. On the next play, Coach Mike Lude decided to give the Bounce Pass one more try, even though it was fourth down. Wolfe once again threw to Jackson, but this time bounced the ball into Jackson’s hands to make it appear the quarterback had flubbed another pass. The lateral throw actually was considered a live ball. Larry Jackson then yelled, “Bobby what the heck’s wrong with you? Can’t you throw the ball right?”
This scripted action fooled everyone in Larimer County to think the ball was dead as the offense and defense both stopped play. Without a whistle to blow the play dead, Jackson then threw the ball down the field to Tom Pack, who waited all alone. Pack easily scored a touchdown and after Lavan missed the extra point, CSU took the lead 9-7 against the No. 10 team in the country.
The short-lived lead ended as Wyoming came back down the field to score a 27-yard field goal by Jerry De Poyster. With Wyoming ahead 10-9 and the Rams in a 4th-and-11 situation late in the fourth quarter, Lude once again gambled and went for the first down. Larry Jackson made a spectacular diving catch to preserve the drive at the Wyoming 15-yard line. Al Lavan then kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Rams a 12-10 lead, the eventual winning score.
Today, the Bounce Pass remains as the most unforgettable trick play in school history, even 50 years afterwards. Game film rediscovered only four years ago allows us to see what the play was all about, but more importantly the game film shows how intense the Rams' defense was to beat a stronger offense and the 10th-ranked team in the country.
Ironically enough, the Rams and Cowboys will face off for the last time at Hughes Stadium before a sold-out crowd similar to the 1966 game, and who knows what memorable plays await them in the future.
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