In the storied history of LSU football, it’s the one event that was truly earth shaking. Exactly 20 years ago today, LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson connected with tailback Eddie Fuller in the back of Tiger Stadium’s north end zone for the game-winning points in a 7-6 victory against No. 4 Auburn.The touchdown set off a celebration in the stadium that registered on a seismograph in LSU’s Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex.LSU Associate Athletic Director and former LSU tight end Ronnie Haliburton was on the field for the birth of the legend.”Fuller came out of the backfield and ran straight up the middle, and I ran a post corner,” Haliburton said. “There were two defenders sitting right between us, and I thought they had tipped the ball. When he caught it, I ran over and grabbed him, and he said ‘Haliburton, you’re hurting me,’ because I had almost tackled him.”While athletes may often tune out the crowd’s noise in a game, Haliburton said there was a significance to the celebration that erupted after the play.”In a game … you’re only as good as your next play,” he said. “So you tend to block out all the noise. But for that moment, it was surreal. You could hear it, and it went on and on and on. All the way through the extra point people were just screaming.”As Haliburton mugged Fuller in the end zone, accounting professor Dave Anderson celebrated with the masses packed into Tiger Stadium.”I’ve only missed two home games in 45 years,” Anderson said. “And that was easily one of best five games. It was a huge defensive struggle, and I remember feeling pessimistic about our odds. So everybody was real down and all of a sudden, boom, you win.”Anderson said the noise level was more a matter of circumstance than anything else.”It was late in the game, and we had done nothing against    Auburn all night. At least against Florida and Auburn [in 2007] we were moving the ball,” he said. “And at that point in time, we hadn’t had many last-second wins at home. So I think the timing and importance of it, and the offensive struggles combined to make an earthquake.”It wasn’t just the fans that erupted after Fuller’s touchdown. Joe Cizello and Harold Lloyd have worked as Tiger Stadium game marshalls since 1974 and 1987, respectively, and said the celebrations permeated the entire stadium.”I was working in the press box at that time, and I promise you it was shaking,” Cizello said. “When that pass was completed, the press box quivered. That was the old press box, and there were a few nervous moments.”Cizello has witnessed nearly 50 years of LSU history, from Billy Cannon’s punt return to Demetrius Byrd’s last-second heroics against Auburn last season. He said the “Earthquake Game” was one of the loudest moments in the stadium’s history.”The talk about that game lasted longer than anything except maybe Cannon’s run,” Cizello said. “People stayed long after it was over, and they were partying hard.”Lloyd was stationed in Death Valley’s south end zone, several hundred feet away from the touchdown pass.”I was standing in one of the portals, and we didn’t have big video screens back then,” Lloyd said. “We heard the roar coming from north to south. I often think about the people who were outside the stadium. There must have been a vibration. [The noise] came up like a roll.”These are not the only earthquake survivors at LSU. Senior Associate Athletic Director Verge Ausberry played inside linebacker for the Tigers in 1988.As Hodson drove the offense downfield, Ausberry and the      defense watched anxiously from the sidelines. “I remember telling [LSU offensive guard] Ruffin Rodrigue, ‘If y’all score one touchdown, we’ll win this one,'” he said. “Everyone was off the bench, and I was on a knee — I’ll never forget it.”Ausberry credits the game for the birth of the LSU-Auburn rivalry that has intensified in recent years.”It’s always been an interesting game,” he said. “Whether it’s the fire at Auburn or the cigars … there’s always a history there. With us playing every year, it seems like the winner goes to the SEC Championship Game, and the Earthquake Game set that off.”With the game reaching its 20th anniversary, both Haliburton and Ausberry said it has taken on a greater meaning to them. Both players mentioned the pride felt from watching television replays of the game with their children.”When you’re a player, that game is over when you leave the stadium, win, lose or draw,” Ausberry said. “I didn’t realize the Earthquake Game was that big until the late ’90s. It’s when your career is over that it hits you.”- – – -Contact David Helman at [email protected]