The Earthquake Game was a college football game where the crowd reaction after an important play is believed to have registered on a seismograph. Played in front of a crowd of 79,431 at Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium on October 8, 1988, the LSU Tigers upset No. 4 Auburn 7–6.[1][2]
 Tiger Stadium | |
Background
The game pitted Southeastern Conference rivals Auburn and LSU and was one of the more notable games in the Auburn–LSU football rivalry.[3] Along with national rankings, the game also proved to be of great significance to that season's eventual SEC title. The stadium was filled to capacity and the game was being broadcast on ESPN.
The game
The game was dominated by defense. LSU managed only one drive of over 10 yards in the first half.[4] The only score of the first half was a field goal by Auburn's Win Lyle with 1:41 to go before halftime. LSU made it to the Auburn 23-yard line midway through the third quarter, but a clipping penalty moved the team out of field goal range. Lyle kicked another field goal with 10:18 left in the game to make the score 6–0.[4]
The play
Auburn led 6–0 with less than two minutes left in the 4th quarter. LSU's quarterback Tommy Hodson drove the team down the field before throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Fuller on 4th down.
The game's name resulted from the reaction of the crowd after the final pass. According to legend, it registered as an earthquake by a seismograph located in LSU’s Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex around 1,000 feet (305 m) from the stadium. The seismograph reading was discovered the morning after the game by LSU seismologist Don Stevenson and student worker Riley Milner. Word of the seismograph reading reached The Daily Reveille and spread to the local media.[5] Stevenson submitted the reading to the Louisiana Geological Survey to have it preserved. Stevenson displayed a copy of the reading on his office window on the LSU campus that was later observed by an ESPN news crew, who were on campus doing a story sometime prior to when Stevenson left LSU in the summer of 1991. The news crew decided to do a piece on what they dubbed "The Earthquake Game." This news story helped to add more attention to the event.[6]
Legacy
In games played by LSU at Tiger Stadium, the winning touchdown is included in a montage that is shown at the start of the 4th quarter.[5]
See also
Similar seismic activity has been registered during other football games:
- 2011 NFL playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints
- 2013 Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama
- Twice at Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech: first in 2011 against Miami, and 2015 against Ohio State.
References
- ^ "LSU-Auburn Game Still An Earthshaking Experience". theadvocate.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
- ^ "25 years later, former Tigers relive "Earthquake Game"". wbrz.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
- ^ "The day the Earth trembled in Tiger Stadium's temblor". lsusports.net. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
- ^ a b Kleinpeter, Jim (October 9, 1988). "Late TD by LSU stunned tough Auburn defense". The Times-Picayune.
- ^ a b There's more to LSU's Earthquake Game than Hodson-to-Fuller. The Times-Picayune.
- ^ "Footneauxts of '88". The War Eagle Reader. Retrieved 2014-05-15.