4-For-4 - Part 1

 

I was at the University of Oklahoma from 1984-1988. During that time, the Sooners never lost to Texas or Nebraska. Equally cool, is the fact that in each of the 4-wins over the Cornhuskers, there was a play so memorable that it has a name. So, in honor of the renewed Oklahoma - Nebraska rivalry this weekend, I thought I’d go back 38-years and 50-lbs ago … to relive 4-for-4.

4-For-4 - Part 1

THE STAND - 1984

#6 Oklahoma (7-1-1) @ #1 Nebraska (9-1)

November 17^th, 1984

 It was my freshman year at OU and I watched the game with my Delt pledge brothers at Jeff Posey’s apartment in Norman.

Barry Switzer’s 6^th ranked Sooners, who went into Lincoln having lost three in a row to the Cornhuskers, were a blend of young and old. The Sooners wishbone attack was driven by senior QB Danny Bradley. Freshman Lydell Carr, who lined-up at fullback, was flanked by junior Spencer Tillman and senior Jerome Leadbetter at the halfback positions. The OU defense was spearheaded by precocious freshman linebacker Brian Bosworth and junior tackle Tony Casillas.

Nebraska, ranked #1 and the owners of a 27-game conference win streak, were led by QB Travis Turner, fullback Tom Rathman, halfbacks Doug DuBose and Jeff Smith, and the top ranked defense in all of college football.

With nine-minutes to go in the game and trailing 10-7, Nebraska took over at their own 11-yard line and methodically marched down inside the OU 10-yard line. On third and goal from the Oklahoma 2, senior fullback Scott Porter was stopped just inches short of the goal line by linebacker Dante Jones and tackle Richard Reed, setting up a crucial 4^th down, season defining decision by Husker head coach Tom Osborne. Having watched his kicker miss 3-field goal attempts on the day, Osborne never hesitated.

The play, as we now know, was called "49 pitch," which was a quick pitchout to tailback Jeff Smith. As Smith ran toward the edge, OU senior cornerback Brian Hall came up strong, shed a block and dropped Smith for a small loss, giving Oklahoma the ball back with just 5:32 to play. It was the second time that the defense had stuffed the Huskers in the shadows of their own goal posts – and it is now forever known as … The Stand.

 

THE REVERSE

#2 Nebraska (9-1) @ #5 Oklahoma (7-1)

November 23^rd, 1985

 

It was a gray, late November day, picture-perfect for football.  I was sitting halfway up section 28, which was the student section … and don't tell my mom, but I was hammered. It’s hard to fathom now, but in 1985, you could actually bring a backpack into the game. Needless to say, if you were to take a peek inside mine, you weren’t going to find Einstein’s The Meaning of Relativity, not unless somebody stuffed it inside a Coors Light 12-pack carton. While there was about a 10-15% chance that someone might check for contraband, it dropped to 0% if you handed the guy $10.00. Man, those were the days.  

 

On the Sooners second possession of the game, they broke the huddle looking at second and 7 from their own 12-yard line. What happened next is now known simply as … The Reverse.

 

The Sooners would go on to win 27-7, a final score that doesn’t do justice to the way Oklahoma dominated the game. A stat from that game that always jumps out at me is the fact that the Sooners only threw the ball 4-times that day, completing 1, for 38-yards. Can you imagine in today’s college football, completing 1-pass all day – and still beating the #2-ranked team in the country by 20?

 

I also remember the tradition of bringing oranges to the game – which we would launch onto the field after OU scores – symbolic in that the winning team was most likely going to the Orange Bowl. That tradition backfired on me one time, however. After the game, as we were storming the field to go tear down the goal posts in the south endzone, I got nailed by an orange thrown from the stands. It hit me so hard it knocked me down (my lack of motor skills and sobriety may have also played a part in me going all Humpty-Dumpty at the 42-yard line). The funniest part was the next day you could literally read part of the word Sunkist on my forehead. Backpacks, oranges, and The Reverse - Good Times!

 

Part 2 Next

Just the Opinion of One Mildly Interested Guy

 

Buddy Putty

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

*Gary McKnight - this font size is for you!