CBS Pays Tribute to 1924 Michigan-Illinois Game With Old-Fashioned Intro, Outfits

The Wolverines and Fighting Illini met Saturday for the centennial of an iconic moment.

Illinois's statue of Red Grange in 2016. / Mike Granse-Imagn Images

The history of college football as a mass media phenomenon—as a sport businessmen would want to beam via television and radio into millions of households across the country—begins Oct. 18, 1924.

On the same day that Notre Dame's Four Horsemen ran roughshod over Army at the Polo Grounds, Illinois running back Red Grange burnished his legend with a spectacular performance against Michigan. Grange ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and tacked on four more scores; he finished the Fighting Illini's 39–14 win with 402 total yards.

As the Wolverines and Illini reconvened Saturday 100 years and one day later, CBS paid tribute to the 1924 game with an old-style intro.

We're taking you back in time to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Red Grange's breakout performance against the Wolverines.

It's No. 24 @UMichFootball at No. 22 @IlliniFootball on CBS and @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/tkcjj4ejUq

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 19, 2024

Announcers Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson—along with sideline reporter Jenny Dell—dressed in period clothing, while Nessler read a poem legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote about Grange.

The Fighting Illini, in the spirit of their stadium's centennial, wore helmets painted to resemble the leather helmets of a bygone era.

No one's done a better fake leather helmet than Illinois today. pic.twitter.com/NMrKJd3gsw

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 19, 2024

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