By Darin 
November 9 is a date that bookends college football history, featuring everything from the sport’s literal beginnings to some of its most controversial upsets.
🇨🇦 From Canada’s First Match to College Football’s Biggest Upsets
It all started in 1861 with the first documented football match in Canada. Decades later, this day delivered legendary gridiron drama: an epic 0-0 tie in 1946 between No. 1 Army and No. 2 Notre Dame, the stunning, controversial 1974 upset of No. 1 Ohio State by Michigan State, and the 2019 slugfest where Joe Burrow’s LSU topped No. 3 Alabama. Plus, celebrate Aaron Rodgers tying an NFL record with six touchdown passes in one half!
November 9 Football History Headlines
November 9, 1861 – The first documented football match in Canada is played at University College, Toronto. (source)
November 9, 1907 – Tiny Carlisle a team of Native Americans led by Pop Warner and Jim Thorpe out classes the scholars of mighty Harvard.
November 9, 1912 – According to a story on charlotteobserver.com, Worcester Tech coach William F. Carney used the lateral pass as an offensive weapon for the first time. Carney’s team beats Amherst 14-13.
In the November 9, 1935 game, the Pittsburgh Panthers defeated the Army Cadets 29-6. The game was played at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh. This was one of only two losses for the 1935 Army team, which finished with a 6-2-1 record.
November 9, 1946 — Second-ranked Notre Dame fights to a 0-0 tie with No. 1 Army at Yankee Stadium to snap the Cadets’ 25-game winning streak. The Charlotte Observer’s article goes on to say the Irish defense holds Army’s running backs Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis to a combined 79 yards.
November 9, 1974 – East Lansing, Michigan – Michigan State knocks off No. 1 Ohio State. According to the National Football Foundation’s website, Michigan State’s upset of the top-ranked Buckeyes was as controversial as it was stunning. Ohio State went up early in the contest, but Michigan State cut the lead to four on a 44-yard touchdown strike to Mike Jones and took a 16-13 lead when Spartan tailback Levi Jackson broke off an 88-yard scoring run with 3:30 on the clock. Just moments later, the Spartans were upset over a pass ruled incomplete that appeared to have been intercepted by linebacker Terry McClowry. It would have stalled the Buckeye drive, giving the ball to the Spartans’ offense to run out the clock, but the call was incomplete —and remember, there was no replay review for officials in that era of football.
Hearts around the country really pumped out of people’s chests at the end of the contest as the officials claimed time had expired before Ohio State snapped the ball and scored what would have been the winning touchdown. Referee Gene Calhoun also said the offense had committed a game-ending penalty, which left College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes livid—final score: Michigan State 16, Ohio State 13.
November 9, 1991 – Future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk of San Diego State returns after missing three games due to injury. The real news comes when the Charlotte Observer reports that, in his first game back, he broke the NCAA freshman record for touchdowns with his 20th in a 42-32 win over Colorado State.
November 9, 1991 – University of Houston’s kicker Roman Anderson is the 1st in NCAA history to kick 400 pts by knocking through a 32-yard field goal in the Cougars’ 23-14 victory over Texas. (source)
November 9, 1991 – Tennessee Volunteers rallied from 31-7 down in the first half against highly ranked Notre Dame to pull off an upset.
November 9, 1996 – Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts – Onthisday.com chimes in that the 8th College Football Holy War is played as Notre Dame defeats Boston College 48-21. (source)
November 9, 2002 – LSU connects on a game ending “Bluegrass Miracle” Hail Mary pass to upend Kentucky.
November 9, 2011 – State College, Pennsylvania – the Penn State board of trustees fires Long-time Head Coach Joe Paterno due to the growing furor over the handling of child sex abuse allegations against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Penn State President Graham Spanier is also ousted because of the scandal. (source)
November 9, 2014 — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws six touchdown passes to tie the team game record and match the NFL record for a half in a 55-14 rout of the Chicago Bears. Green Bay’s #12 tied the NFL mark for scoring passes in a half set by Oakland’s Daryle Lamonica in 1969. (source)
November 9, 2019, Tuscaloosa, Alabama – It was an SEC matchup of the Number 2 LSU Tigers traveling to play against the Number 3-ranked Tide of Alabama. Joe Burrow passed for 393 yards and three touchdowns as his LSU Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in a slugfest of heavyweights, 41-46. (source)
Conclusion: Defining Rivalries, Records, and Reckoning
November 9 covers the full spectrum of the sport’s impact, from pioneering tactics to indelible records. This date saw Worcester Tech use the lateral pass as a successful offensive weapon for the first time in 1912, and later witnessed Marshall Faulk break the NCAA freshman touchdown record in 1991. While celebrating these milestones and the first NCAA kicker to hit 400 points (Roman Anderson), November 9 also marks the sobering 2011 firing of Joe Paterno amid the Penn State scandal. Ultimately, whether defining a century-old rivalry or rewriting the record books, this date captures the exhilarating and sometimes painful essence of football history.