The first, ominous sounds came from deep within the massive stack of logs in the darkest hours of the Texas night. Witnesses described hearing the stack of thousands of logs moan and creak before the crack of the center pole as it snapped, then collapsed.
More than a million pounds (450,000 kilograms) of timber tumbled. In an instant, 12 people were killed, dozens more were injured and a university campus rooted in traditions carried across generations of students was permanently scarred.
Texas A&M University is set to mark 25 years since the log stack collapsed in the early hours of Nov. 18, 1999. It was being built in preparation for the annual bonfire ahead of the Texas A&M-Texas rivalry football game in College Station.
The school will hold a Bonfire Remembrance ceremony at the site of the tragedy on Monday at 2:42 a.m., about the time the stack collapsed.
“Year after year, Texas A&M students have worked to ensure that we never forget those members of the Aggie Family who were taken from us 25 years ago," school President Mark Welsh III said.
The “Fightin' Texas Aggie Bonfire” ranked among the most revered traditions in college football and symbolized the school's “burning desire” to beat the University of Texas Longhorns in football. The first bonfire in 1907 was a scrap heap that was set ablaze. By 1909, it was a campus event and the bonfire stack kept growing as railroad lines were used to ship in in carloads of scrap lumber, railroad ties and other flammable materials, according to the school.
It reached a record height of 105 feet (32 meters) in 1969 before administrators, concerned about a fire hazard, imposed a 55-foot (17-meter) limit. Over the years, the stack evolved from a teepee-style mound into the vertical timber formation, a shape similar to a tiered wedding cake, that collapsed in 1999.
The annual bonfire attracted crowds of up to 70,000 and burned every year through 1998. The only exception was in 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The stack of more than 5,000, 18-foot (5.5-meter) logs toppled a week before it was scheduled to burn. The 12 who were killed included five freshmen, four sophomores, a junior, a senior and a recent graduate. Several were members of the Corps of Cadets, Texas A&M's student-led, military-style organization that played a large role in its construction.
Rescuers, including members of the Texas A&M football team, raced to remove the logs that had trapped and crushed some of the victims. At rival Texas, Longhorns players organized a blood drive to assist the survivors.
An investigation ordered by the school determined flawed construction led by unqualified student workers led to the collapse.
In 2003, the school dedicated a memorial on the spot where the stack fell. It includes a “Spirit Ring” with 12 portals representing those who were killed. Each portal contains an engraved portrait and signature of a victim and points toward their hometown. By stepping into the open archway, the visitor symbolically fills the void left by the deceased.
The annual Aggie bonfire was discontinued as an official school event after the deadly collapse.
The school considered reviving the tradition this year to coincide with the renewal of the Texas-Texas A&M football rivalry on Nov. 30. The rivalry split in 2012 when Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference, but has resumed this year as Texas joined the SEC.
A special committee recommended resuming the bonfire, but only if the log stack was designed and built by professional engineers and contractors. Some members of the public said it should not come back if it was not organized and built by students, according to tradition.
Welsh ultimately decided the bonfire would not return to campus.
"Bonfire, both a wonderful and tragic part of Aggie history, should remain in our treasured past,” the president said in June when he announced his decision.
Students have continued to organize and build unofficial off-campus bonfires over the years and plan to burn this year's edition on Nov. 29, the night before the Texas A&M-Texas football game.
FILE - Jerry Ebanks, left, whose son Michael Ebanks was killed in the 1999 bonfire collapse, speaks at the Bonfire Memorial dedication at Texas A&M University in College Station, Nov. 18, 2004. In back from left to right is University President Dr. Robert M. Gates; Texas Gov. Rick Perry; and Student Body President Jackson Hildebrand. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, File)
FILE - Texas A&M Emergency Care Team volunteer Linda Salzar, a recent masters graduate, kneels at the center pole marker at the Texas A&M Bonfire Memorial, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, in College Station, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
FILE - Emergency workers rush a student who was trapped for hours under a stack of logs which collapsed while being prepared for a pre-football game bonfire, Nov. 18, 1999, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. (Dave McDermand/College Station Eagle via AP, File)
FILE - Texas A&M students and rescue workers gathered at the base of the collapsed bonfire stack as the search continues for victims in College Station, Texas, Nov. 18, 1999. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — On a raucous Saturday night between the hedges, Carson Beck once again looked like a quarterback who could lead Georgia to another national title.
Showing off his arm and his legs, Beck silenced his critics by throwing for two touchdowns and running for another, leading the No. 11 Bulldogs to a 31-17 victory over No. 6 Tennessee that gave a huge boost to their College Football Playoff hopes.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 12 CFP) bounced back from a 28-10 loss at Ole Miss that left the Bulldogs just outside the provisional 12-team postseason field.
Now, they are positioned for a likely playoff berth — and a shot at winning their third national championship in four years — if they can close out the regular season with wins over UMass and Georgia Tech.
“Our kids showed resiliency. I'm proud of them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “A week ago, we were dead and gone. People had written us off.”
Tennessee (8-2, 5-2, No. 7 CFP) could have moved a big step closer to a berth in the SEC championship game, but the Vols' postseason prospects are now a whole lot murkier after what had all the makings of a playoff elimination game.
In the midst of a disappointing season, Beck came up huge for the Bulldogs when they needed him most, guiding them to a 29th straight home victory in an FBS-leading streak that dates to 2019.
“He gets judged on outcomes and stats, but we don't judge based on that,” Smart said. “We judge internally on what gives us the best chance to win. He's got poise, he's got composure. He gets us in the right play over and over again.”
Beck connected on a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Oscar Delp in the first half and scrambled for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, darting 10 yards to the end zone for his first rushing TD of the season.
Georgia sealed the victory with a 92-yard drive — its longest of the season — in the closing minutes. Freshman Nate Frazier finished it off with a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:26 remaining.
Beck, who had thrown 12 interceptions in the previous six games, didn't have any picks against the Volunteers. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards.
With quarterback Nico Iamaleava cleared to play after going through concussion protocol, Tennessee jumped to a 10-0 lead on Miles Kitselman’s 1-yard dive and Max Gilbert’s 52-yard field goal, dampening the mood of more than 93,000 at Sanford Stadium.
But the Bulldogs, after a sluggish start that has become their trademark, grabbed the lead as Beck connected with Delp on similar-looking scoring passes of 19 and 4 yards in the back of the end zone.
Dylan Sampson put the Vols back in front with his 21st rushing touchdown of the season, a 27-yard scamper through a huge hole right up the middle.
But Beck guided the Bulldogs into position for Peyton Woodring’s 36-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining in the half, sending the teams to the locker room tied at 17.
The Georgia quarterback isn't known as much of a runner, but he posted a career-high 32 yards on three carries — all of them huge plays for the Bulldogs.
A 14-yard run set up his first touchdown pass to Delp, an 8-yard run on third down extended the drive that led to Woodring's field goal near the end of the first half, and the touchdown run came on third-and-7 from the 10.
“He's a good athlete,” Smart said. “He can make plays with his feet.”
Tennessee: The Vols defense had not allowed more than 19 points all season, but they couldn't contain the Beck-led offense. Georgia piled up 453 yards and 24 first downs while converting eight of 13 third-down opportunities. Tennessee just doesn't have an answer for the Bulldogs, who have dominated the series with eight straight victories — all of them by margins of at least two touchdowns.
Georgia: The Bulldogs played without top running back Travis Etienne, who was sidelined by a rib issue, and the offense took another blow when receiver Dillon Bell went out with an ankle injury sustained on a hit along the sideline late in the first half. But Frazier, the first true freshman to start at tailback for the Bulldogs since 2014, rushed for 68 yard and London Humphreys stepped up to make three huge catches for 63 yards. Big kudos, as well, to the offensive line, which did not give up a sack after Beck was dumped five times the previous week by Ole Miss.
Tennessee: The Vols return home next Saturday to take on UTEP before wrapping up the regular season with a short trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Nov. 30.
Georgia: With their SEC schedule complete, the Bulldogs close out the regular season with two non-conference games at home. UMass (2-8) shouldn't present much of a problem next Saturday.
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Georgia wide receiver Nitro Tuggle (2) loses his helmet as he is tackled by Tennessee defensive back Andre Turrentine (2) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) reacts after a Georgia touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) and assistant coach Josh Crawford run off the field after defeating Tennessee in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel yells to an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia , Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia running back Nate Frazier (3) is stopped by Tennessee defensive back Andre Turrentine (2), defensive back Boo Carter (23) and linebacker Jeremiah Telander (22) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia tight end Ben Yurosek (84) run s after a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Tennessee
Tennessee running back Peyton Lewis (27) tries to brel free from Georgia's CJ Allen (3) and Jalon Walker (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia defensive lineman Warren Brinson (97) react after Bulldogs sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) thros a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) throws from behind offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild (53) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee , Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia wide receiver Cole Speer (83) can not reach a pass as Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) is sacked by Georgia defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod (94) and linebacker Chaz Chambliss (32) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) looks for an open receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
