Noble Doss dropped the ball. One ball. One pass. One mistake. In 1941, he let one fall. And it's haunted him ever since. "I cost us a national championship," he says.<\/p>\n\n
The University of Texas football team was ranked number one in the nation. Hoping for an undefeated season and a berth in the Rose Bowl, they played conference rival Baylor University. With a 7-0 lead in the third quarter, the Longhorn quarterback launched a deep pass to a wide-open Doss.<\/p>\n\n
"The only thing I had between me and the goal," he recalls, "was twenty yards of grass."<\/p>\n\n
The throw was on target. Longhorn fans rose to their feet. The sure-handed Doss spotted the ball and reached out, but it slipped through.<\/p>\n\n
Baylor rallied and tied the score with seconds to play. Texas lost their top ranking and, consequently, their chance at the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n\n
"I think about that play every day," Doss admits.<\/p>\n\n
Not that he lacks other memories. Happily married for more than six decades. A father. Grandfather. He served in the navy during World War II. He appeared on the cover of Life<\/em> magazine with his Texas teammates. He intercepted seventeen passes during his collegiate career, a university record. He won two NFL titles with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texas High School Hall of Fame and the Longhorn Hall of Honor include his name.<\/p>\n\n Most fans remember the plays Doss made and the passes he caught. Doss remembers the one he missed. Once, upon meeting a new Longhorn head coach, Doss told him about the bobbled ball. It had been fifty years since the game, but he wept as he spoke.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3524,3691,3766,3786,3797,3931,4110,4391,4482,4603,4788,4801,4821,4910,4963,4977,5066,5278],"tax_ctp_topics":[384,401],"class_list":["post-44905","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-brokenness","tax_ctp_tags-conviction-of-sin","tax_ctp_tags-despair","tax_ctp_tags-disappointment","tax_ctp_tags-discouragement","tax_ctp_tags-failure","tax_ctp_tags-guilt","tax_ctp_tags-loss","tax_ctp_tags-mistakes","tax_ctp_tags-past","tax_ctp_tags-regret","tax_ctp_tags-remorse","tax_ctp_tags-responsibility","tax_ctp_tags-self-condemnation","tax_ctp_tags-shame","tax_ctp_tags-sin","tax_ctp_tags-sports","tax_ctp_tags-winning-losing"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\n