Rhode Island Rams (1967)

College football is less than two months away. Let's get back into the swing of things and pull a team out of the bag o' random! This time, it's the 1967 Rhody Rams.

The Team: Between 1958 and 1972, Rhode Island has but one winning team, and this was it. Among the wins was a 28-17 opening-day shocker over Delaware in which Rhody scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns. (The Hens ended the season 2-7, their last losing season for 16 years.) Wins over Maine and New Hampshire and a scoreless tie against Vermont put Rhody in third place in the Yankee Conference.

The Rams take in the action from the bench.

The Players: In an era when passing was far more risky and interceptions far more common, Rhody QB Larry Caswell threw for 11 TDs and just two picks. He finished with 1,575 passing yards, a respectable total for that era. His favorite target was future NFL draft pick Frank Geiselman, who hauled down 48 passes for eight TDs. Brent Kaufman was the leading ground-gainer with 590 yards and eight scores. 

Frank Giesleman goes airborne to 
grab a pass against Maine.

The Coach: Jack Zilly was an All-American, national-title winning end at Notre Dame who played for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles from 1947-52, winning an NFL title in LA in '51. At Rhody, Zilly installed a pro-style offense (which would explain the Rams' air attack), but, the '67 team was his only winner; his final record was 21-41-2 from 1963-69.

The Uniforms: I've written about these uniforms before, but they're among my favorites of the '60s. In '67, Rhody ditched the navy blue LA Rams knock-offs (here's another example) and returned to the light blue it had phased out earlier in the decade. The new unis had white helmets with light blue horns and little notches in the horns. Light blue jerseys and white pants were worn at home, and the colors were revered on the road. 

The Fallout: Rhody won only five games over the next two seasons and Zilly was let go in 69. His successor, Jack Gregory (1970-75), also had only one winning season. It would take the magic of Bob Griffin to turn the Rams into a consistent winner for the first time since the early 1950s.