Throwback Thursday: Bill McKenzie Goes Down in History

West Virginia Upsets the Tony Dorsett-led Pittsburgh Panthers

The date is November 8, 1975. The location is Mountaineer Field, dropped picturesquely into the downtown campus of West Virginia University. On this fall day, the Backyard Brawl sees its 80th meeting as the #20 Pittsburgh Panthers come down I-79 to do battle in the first game between the two to be televised since 1963.

The players set to shape this game are the running backs on either side. For the Mountaineers, senior Artie Owens is the key that unlocks a potent rushing attack with his play-making ability and game-breaking speed. His counterpart is one of the best players in the entire country -- Tony Dorsett. Dorsett is well on his way to his third straight 1000 yard season for the Panthers.

For two teams with the ability to move the ball extremely well on the ground, both offenses sputtered out of the gates. The Mountaineer defense, led by future defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap, forced three-and-outs on the Panthers’ first two drives. On its second drive, West Virginia claimed the first first down of the day but could not get on the scoreboard.

This defensive stalemate became the trend of the first half as the two teams combined to punt on the first nine drives of the game. On possession number ten, West Virginia managed to mix up the monotony by turning the ball over on downs at the Pitt 49. The distinct lack of offense continued after that but with a bit more excitement.

The Mountaineers managed to force two turnovers in the second quarter but still were unable to capitalize. Forcing a fumble in Pitt territory, the offense only went six yards and was forced to punt while time ran out after an interception in the waning seconds of the half. Despite the possibility of big plays coming in, West Virginia and Pittsburgh headed into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.

The second half began with both teams looking to wake up the offensive attacks. It looked like the Mountaineers may have had a chance to do that after receiving the third quarter kickoff. Quarterback Dan Kendra led the most impressive drive of the game to that point, taking 5:38 seconds off the clock and going 61 yards in 11 plays. The Mountaineers were set up with its best chance at points. However, a fumble at Pittsburgh’s six-yard line was recovered by the Panthers and the scoreboard remained empty.

It appeared that both teams managed to have a hard time holding onto the ball when just three plays later, Pittsburgh managed to give it right back with a fumble of its own. West Virginia was set up just 16 yards away from paydirt and finally got points on the board. Still crawling at a snail’s pace, the Mountaineers took eight plays to make it to the end zone but the tie was broken nonetheless on the first of two rushing touchdowns for the home team.

The defenses both knuckled up once again as West Virginia forced Pittsburgh to go backwards on the ensuing drive while the Mountaineers were forced into a three-and-out a few plays later. Taking back over with less than a minute in the third quarter, the Panthers were finally able to get things going. Moving the ball 55 yards in just 1:02 seconds, Matt Cavanaugh tossed his first touchdown pass of the day and the extra point tied the game.

The West Virginia offense needed to respond and it was up to the task. Striking back nearly as quickly, the Mountaineers powered down the field for a 73-yard drive in just six plays. Another rushing score capped it off and put the old gold and blue back ahead 14-7.

The Panthers had just under eight minutes to go down the field and tie the game up. The ground game got going with Dorsett. On a grueling, 11 play, 70-yard drive, Pittsburgh was able to drain the clock and tie up the game. Cavanaugh tossed his second score through the air to knot the count back at 14.

With West Virginia unable to respond and only gaining three yards in the next drive, the Panthers had a chance to take the lead for the first time but the turnover bug bit again. Driving all the way to the Mountaineer 36, Cavanaugh was picked off again and the West Virginia defense held. It looked like Kendra and Owens might be able to provide a game-winning drive. Going all the way to the Pitt 12 yard line, things would fall apart again as a fumble turned it back over to the Panthers.

Needing a stop, the Mountaineer defense did exactly that. With Pittsburgh needing to go 87 yards in 0:57 seconds, the Panthers were in a hurry. The offense never had a chance as West Virginia pushed back and forced a three-and-out.

Following the punt, Kendra and the offense took over at the Panther 48 with 47 seconds left. In just two plays, 37 seconds ran off the clock and West Virginia moved to the 22 yard line. Coach Bobby Bowden knew what to do and brought on his sophomore kicker Bill McKenzie. The ball came off the Warwood native’s right foot true and gave Jack Fleming the chance to give his most iconic call that can be heard in the heads of fans across the state and country.

“Bill McKenzie kicks a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the football game!”