Last March, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world of collegiate athletics hard putting an end to all spring sports for the remainder of the season. The ongoing precautions surrounding the pandemic forced the Southland Conference to postpone all conference competitions for the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball until the spring 2021 semester.
 
That decision meant, that for the first time since LU revived the program there would be no football games on Saturdays during the fall. While there will be no marching bands, no tailgating and none of the normal sights and sounds of football gameday at Provost Umphrey Stadium this fall, LamarCardinals.com wanted to take time each Saturday to recap some of the more memorable games in program history.
   
Exactly 39 years to the day, Lamar University stepped on the field in Waco, Texas and pulled off arguably the biggest upset in program history defeating defending Southwest Conference Champion Baylor, 18-17, in dramatic fashion in front of 22,000 fans.
 
After a scoreless first quarter, the Cardinals nabbed the first lead of the game when senior Mike Marlow booted a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter to give Big Red a 3-0 lead. Exactly three minutes later, the Bears found paydirt when Gerald McNeil hauled in a six-yard pass for a touchdown. The Baylor score began a back-and-forth trend that would last for the remainder of the game.
 
The Bears took their slim four-point lead into the locker room, but a rejuvenated Cardinals' squad came out and reclaimed authority. Led by quarterback Fred Hessen, the Cardinals moved the ball down field on a drive that took 5:34 off the clock. The 10-play drive was capped by a five-yard pass from Hessen to Herbert Harris in the back of the end zone. The Cardinals fumbled the snap and were unable to convert the point after and kicked off with a two-point lead, 9-7.
 
The LU defense forced a three-and-out but couldn't take advantage being forced to punt the ball back to their hosts. The Bears got the ball back and jumped back in front, 14-9, on a one-yard run from BU quarterback, Jay Jeffrey. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Cardinals responded with a one-yard plunge from their signal caller to take a 15-14 lead with less than seven minutes to play.
 
The Bears responded with a nine-play drive out to the Cardinals' 24-yard line. The drive stalled and Baylor called on kicker Marty Jimmerson for a 41-yard field goal attempt with just over two minutes to play. Jimmerson's kick was on target, but the Bears made one fatal mistake. Baylor left too much time on the clock.
 
Following a 13-yard return, the Cardinals took over from their own 30 with less than two minutes remaining. After consecutive incomplete passes that brought up a fourth-and-10, Hessen completed a 19-yard pass to keep the drive alive. Following the completion, the Cardinals picked up first downs on their next two plays down to the Baylor 37. Three plays later the Cardinals moved the ball down to the Baylor 25 with 12 seconds remaining. After an incompletion on second down, the Cardinals again called on Marlow to attempt a 42-yard field goal with just three seconds on the clock. Marlow stepped up to play the role of hero to bookend the game with another 42-yard kick – the second serving as the game-winner to hand Big Red the one-point victory.