The single greatest
trick play in the history of
football,
popularized by the
University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. The
NCAA in their
infinite wisdom has
banned it. And don't even ask about the
NFL.
It works thusly: The quarterback takes the snap and then puts the ball on the ground. In other words, the play involves an intentional fumble. The quarterback then leads a play to one direction (say, a triple option left), and all his teammates follow along with the ruse.
Except for one player, that is. One of the large, beefy linemen picks the ball up off the ground and runs the other direction.
The defense, of course, pays little attention to said beefy lineman. First of all, on any play the linemen are pulling and trapping in odd directions. Secondly, they can't see him holding the ball, because he is hiding it behind his large gut. Thirdly, he's a lineman -- why should they chase him? The quarterback is leading a option left ... isn't he?
But no! The linebackers break past the grinning blockers and get to the quarterback ... uh-oh -- he doesn't have the ball! Then where could it be?
At this point, the fans see a large fat man huffing and puffing down the right side of the field. A cheer erupts! He's to the 40, the 30, the 20! He's getting tired! Can he make it to the end zone! Here come the tacklers -- can they hope to bring this behemoth down! Oh the excitement!
Anyway, like I said, the evil NCAA banned it. Why? I don't know; they're stupid.
In case you're curious, the last fumblerooski was run by Nebraska guard Will Shields in a 52-7 win over the University of Colorado.
You can watch a video of the famous '84 Orange Bowl fumblerooski at http://mynptv.org/osborne/bestplays/bpfrmst.html