36 Days till Kickoff: Jonathan Golden's program record 36 points in a game

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Back in 2002, as the Bears were closing out the Kevin Steele era with another three-win season, an unlikely program record was set. Samford came to Waco for the home opener, and junior running back Jonathan Golden scored 36 points in that single game.

The 36 points came from five rushing TDs and one receiving TD. Golden’s final stat line was 19 rushes, 108 yards, 1 reception, 28 yards, and 6 TDs.

It was an incredible offensive outburst after an embarrassing season-opening loss to California, 22-70. Perhaps the Bears’ 50-12 win over Samford games some fans confidence in new offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin’s scheme, but sadly, the green and gold would get shut out four times that year, and be held below 12 points a further three times.

Samford was clearly in over their head as a weak FCS team, but Golden’s production is amazing nonetheless. Simply having the situations fall into place for him to score from four, one, three, 16 and 17 yards out on the ground plus grab his sixth touchdown on his only reception of the night from 28 yards out is incredible.

Running back subs are made quicker than most positions, there can be red zone specialist power-backs, long drives can quickly lead to fatigue, runs over 10 yards can be rather rare, and starters rarely keep playing very long with 37-0 leads. For that variety of reasons, I find this record incredible despite the weak opponent. The Bears were up 37-0 before Golden caught his 3rd quarter touchdown pass to cap off his scoring for the night.

Based on my cursory look at the 2002 season, this seems to be the highlight of that whole year, so at least it’s a fun program record.