Fifth Down Game (1940)

The Fifth Down Game
The Fifth Down Game
Cornell Big Red	Dartmouth Indians
(6–0)	(3–4)
0	3
Head coach: ; Carl Snavely	Head coach: ; Earl Blaik
	AP
	2
Date	November 16, 1940
Season	1940
Stadium	Memorial Field
Location	Hanover, New Hampshire

Last updated December 16, 2024

The Fifth Down Game was a college football game between the teams of Cornell Big Red and Dartmouth Big Green. The game was conceded by Cornell after films confirmed that errors by the game officials had allowed an unpermitted fifth down as the last play of the game.

Background

In American football, a team is allowed four attempts or "downs" to move the ball 10 yards (9.14 m) or towards the goal line. If the offense moves ten yards in four attempts or fewer, it gains a "first down," which restarts the process. If, after four attempts, the offense has neither scored nor gained ten yards, the other team is given possession of the ball. Under normal circumstances (for example, excluding penalties which can involve replaying a down), no team is supposed to be allowed five attempts.

Game

Cornell entered the contest with 18 straight victories over a two-year period.

Dartmouth would manage to hold off Cornell's offense for nearly the entire low-scoring game. Dartmouth scored first, achieving a field goal (for three points) in the fourth quarter.

Finally, with less than a minute left in the game, Cornell got the ball on Dartmouth's six-yard line. Cornell expected to have four chances to win the game. On its first down, fullback Mort Landsberg gained three yards. On its second down, Cornell halfback Walt Scholl managed to run the ball to the one-yard line. On the third down, Mort Landsberg tried to run up the middle but did not gain more than a few inches.

On the fourth down, Cornell was penalized for delay of game, and referee Red Friesell spotted the ball just over the 5-yard line in order to replay the fourth down. With nine seconds left on the clock, quarterback "Pop" Scholl threw an incomplete pass into the end zone.

Normally, the ball would have gone to Dartmouth, which would have used up the remaining seconds and won the game, 3–0. Following the fourth down, linesman Joe McKenney had signaled that it was first down and that the ball should go to Dartmouth at the 20 yard line. Referee Friesell, erroneously believing it was now fourth down, placed the ball on the six-yard line, granting Cornell a "fifth" down.

Making the most of the unexpected opportunity, quarterback Scholl threw a touchdown pass to William Murphy, and following the extra-point kick, Cornell won the game 7–3.^[1]

Forfeit

Officials discovered their error after reviewing the game films. Cornell's players, coach Carl Snavely, acting athletic director Bob Kane, and President Edmund Ezra Day, a Dartmouth alumnus, agreed that Cornell should send a telegram to Dartmouth offering to forfeit the game, which Dartmouth accepted.

If the schools had not made this agreement, it is unclear how or if the dispute would have been resolved: while Friesell admitted his mistake to the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association, he acknowledged that his authority "ceased at the close of the game".

Similarly, the association's role was to schedule the referees, not to review or overturn game results. College football's only "official" record books at the time were kept by private publishers, based on information provided by individual schools.^[2]

The New York Times compared the Fifth Down Game to a 1922 contest between Columbia and NYU where the schools disagreed on whether the deciding play counted as a touchdown or a safety. The newspaper noted that, as of 1940, both schools continued to claim that game as a win, and at least one record book publisher compromised by listing it as a Columbia win on Columbia's page, and an NYU win on NYU's page.^[2]

Aftermath

Although there is some doubt whether the 1940 Cornell forfeit was official according to NCAA rules, the game is regarded as a 3–0 Dartmouth victory, instead of a 7–3 triumph by Cornell.^[3]

This was described in press accounts as the only time in the history of football that a game was decided off the field.^[2]

Sources

Cory Bennett, "Part II: The Fifth-Down Game," The Cornell Daily Sun (November 8, 2007)
Cory Bennett, "Part III: The Nation Reacts in Wake of Concession," The Cornell Daily Sun (November 8, 2007)
"The Infamous Fifth Down: Cornell vs. Dartmouth," YouTube
Beano Cook, "Beano Cook's top 10 moments in college football," ESPN.Com

Related Research Articles

A down is a period where a play transpires in gridiron football. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to other codes of football, but is synonymous with the 6 "tackle" rule in rugby league. The team in possession of the football has a limited number of downs to advance ten yards or more towards their opponent's goal line. If they advance 10 yards, they are awarded a first down, or another set of downs to advance a further 10 yards. If they fail to advance that far, possession of the ball is turned over to the other team. In most situations if a team reaches the final down, they will punt to their opponent, which forces them to begin their drive from further down the field; if they are in range, they might instead attempt to kick a field goal.

Gameplay in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is or is not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts or field goal attempts – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.

The Fifth Down Game was a college football game on October 6, 1990, that included a play that the crew officiating the game permitted to occur in error. That play enabled the Colorado Buffaloes to defeat the Missouri Tigers by scoring a touchdown at the end of the game. The ensuing controversy cast doubt on Colorado's claim to Division I-A's 1990 national championship, which it went on to share with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It has been called one of the top memorable moments and blunders in college football history.

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The 1940 Cornell Big Red football team was an American football team that represented Cornell University during the 1940 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Carl Snavely, the Big Red compiled a 6–2 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 201 to 38.

The Cornell–Dartmouth football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Cornell Big Red and Dartmouth Big Green. The two schools were both major football powers before the split between the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Prior to the split, Cornell captured national championships in 1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1939. Dartmouth won its lone national championship in 1925. One of the most infamous games in the rivalry contained national title implications. The 1940 game, referred to as the Fifth Down Game, ended Cornell's school-record 16-game unbeaten streak, as it sought a second consecutive national championship. After emerging with a 7–3 win, the Big Red voluntarily forfeited to Dartmouth when review of film showed the Cornell had inadvertently used five downs. The ESPN College Football Encyclopedia named the game, and Cornell's honorable concession, the second greatest moment in college football history.

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References

↑ Richardson, William D. (November 17, 1940). "Disputed Cornell Play Tops Dartmouth, 7-3, at Finish; Pass Halts Green". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
1 2 3 Daley, Arthur J. (November 19, 1940). "Dartmouth 3, Cornell O, Official Score as Ithacans Refuse Victory". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. 31.
↑ "Cornell Big Red hosts Dartmouth Big Green". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved November 21, 2006.

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[1] Richardson, William D. (November 17, 1940). "Disputed Cornell Play Tops Dartmouth, 7-3, at Finish; Pass Halts Green". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.

[Refuse-2] 1 2 3 Daley, Arthur J. (November 19, 1940). "Dartmouth 3, Cornell O, Official Score as Ithacans Refuse Victory". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. 31.

[3] "Cornell Big Red hosts Dartmouth Big Green". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved November 21, 2006.

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