New Year’s Eve, 1981 marked the end of a six-year bowl game drought for the Kansas Jayhawks when they met the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the fifth annual Hall of Fame Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.
Alas, the Jayhawks were humbled only 12 seconds into the game when return man Darren Green collided with a teammate, turning over the ball on the Kansas 17. On the first play from scrimmage, MSU quarterback John Bond rolled right on an option and took the ball into the end zone.
The Jayhawks never got up off the canvas after that. Said coach Don Fambrough, “That kickoff was the turning point. Our team was stunned and intimidated.”
