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The Power Five => Big XII => Topic started by: CWSooner on September 13, 2021, 02:16:07 PM

Title: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 13, 2021, 02:16:07 PM
The birth of Sooner Magic: How Oklahoma used 2 trick plays on the final drive to defeat Nebraska in 1976

By Jason Kersey 2h ago

Editor’s note: This is the second of a six-part series examining some of the most iconic plays in the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry before the Huskers and Sooners meet Saturday in Norman.

Oklahoma halfback Elvis Peacock jogged onto the field at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium on Nov. 26, 1976, and gazed into the crowd. Peacock, who grew up in Miami, chose OU largely because he so loved watching the Sooners and Cornhuskers play as Big Eight rivals every year on television. Here he was, preparing for his third OU-Nebraska game and taking it all in.

His eyes locked on one spot in particular, where a fan held up a big, white cardboard sign with red lettering.

“PLUCK THE PEACOCK!”

“It was funny to me, but it also fired me up,” Peacock recalled in a recent phone interview. “They were obviously thinking about me.”

Those Nebraska fans were definitely thinking about him at the end of the game.

The Sooners mounted a last-minute comeback with two iconic trick plays on the same drive. Woodie Shepard, Dean Blevins, Steve Rhodes and Peacock, who would score all three of OU’s touchdowns in the 20-17 victory, forever etched their names in Sooners lore with the sequence. It became the impetus for the now oft-invoked phrase “Sooner Magic” and secured OU a share of the 1976 Big Eight title.

Said former OU coach Barry Switzer: “Kinda hard to do, two big-ass plays like that on the same drive.”

Rhodes signed with OU in 1976 out of Spruce High in Dallas. He arrived with big dreams, hoping and expecting to be a major part of the offense like he was in high school, in which he constantly had the ball in his hands. Unfortunately for Rhodes, Oklahoma had just ridden the wishbone to consecutive national championships, and split ends were mostly there to help block.

Early in the season, Rhodes repeatedly badgered his position coach, Don Jimerson, about needing the ball more.

“I was always, ‘Hey Coach, I’m open!’” Rhodes said. “‘I can do this, I can do that.’ I just wanted to contribute to the team.”

So around the middle of the year, Jimerson told Switzer about those conversations, earning Rhodes an invitation into Switzer’s office.

“Did you come to the University of Oklahoma to catch passes and score touchdowns? Or did you come here to win games?” Switzer asked him.

Rhodes responded that winning was the priority.

“Well, just know that’s why you’re here,” Switzer told him. “Pass catching and other things are secondary to the big picture.”

And the conversation was over.

But Rhodes’ role continued to evolve, and he actually ended up as OU’s leading receiver that season.

His stat line? Six receptions, 160 yards. Quite different from today’s Oklahoma football, when the leading receiver in any given season usually has north of 60 receptions.

“We went two or three games without throwing a single pass that year,” Rhodes said.

Two of his six receptions came against Nebraska. They were the only two passes the Sooners attempted the entire game, and both became unforgettable moments in the rivalry.

The Sooners entered the season ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press poll after their consecutive national titles, having lost quarterback Steve Davis, running back Joe Washington, defensive linemen Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon, receivers Billy Brooks and Tinker Owens and linebacker Jimbo Elrod, among others.

Nebraska began the season ranked No. 1.

But by the time the two rivals met, the stakes weren’t as high. Both teams were 7-2-1. It was a rare OU-Nebraska game in that neither squad remained in the national championship hunt, but a share of the Big Eight title was on the line. The winner would split the title with Colorado and Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma struck first with Peacock’s 1-yard first-quarter touchdown run. The Sooners led 7-3 at halftime, but the Cornhuskers broke a couple of big plays and scored twice in the third quarter, taking a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

The comeback began on Oklahoma’s first possession of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Thomas Lott pitched to Horace Ivory, who gained 12 yards to the OU 49-yard line. On the next play, Lott pitched to Peacock, who broke free for a 51-yard touchdown. The Sooners’ two-point conversion attempt failed, though, when a Nebraska defender stopped Peacock just short of the goal line, leaving OU down 17-13 with 12 minutes, 28 seconds to go.

Nebraska had a chance to put the Sooners away. The Cornhuskers recovered a Sooners’ fumble, then drove to the OU 16-yard line. Nebraska went for it on fourth-and-2, but OU safety Zac Henderson, who would become a two-time first-team All-American, broke up Vince Ferragamo’s pass intended for Dave Shamblin with 3:30 to go.

Oklahoma took possession and Shepard entered the game at left halfback. Shepard’s name should be familiar to OU fans as his brothers Darrell and Derrick Shepard also became Sooners. Derrick’s son Sterling starred at receiver for the Sooners from 2012 to 2015.

Here’s the thing about what happened next: Oklahoma under Switzer rarely ran trick plays because it almost never needed to. There was no mystery about what Switzer’s Sooners were going to do: line up in the wishbone and run the ball until the opponent proved it could stop them.

“We were gonna be fundamental,” Rhodes said. “We weren’t gonna take a lot of chances.”

But extreme situations require extreme measures so in came Shepard, who hadn’t played a snap in the game to that point and wouldn’t play another.

Oklahoma in those days typically went through its trick plays on Fridays. The Sooners tried to perfect them, but those times in practice were mostly about fun. OU gave several players a chance to throw the halfback pass in practice; Shepard’s arm proved the best.

So when Rhodes saw Shepard jogging in from the sideline, he knew what was up.

Lott jetted to his right on a triple option and pitched the ball back to Shepard, who had to scramble a bit to get room to throw. Shepard leaned as he threw the bomb all the way from the OU 10-yard line to just past the 50, where Rhodes hauled it in behind two Nebraska defenders.

“We always hoped that thing would be just a no-brainer touchdown,” Rhodes said. “But there were those guys right in front of me. Luckily, I got ahold of it.”

After the big gain, Blevins grabbed his helmet, put it on and stood next to Switzer.

Blevins started the first four games of the 1976 season — all wins — but became ill and had to be hospitalized just before the Texas game.

Lott was better suited for Switzer’s wishbone — Blevins was more of a passer — and after starting the Texas game, he held onto the job. But something told Blevins that he might be needed at that moment in Lincoln.

OU-Nebraska games were typically played in cold weather, and 1976 was no exception. According to Weather Underground, the temperature hovered in the mid-30s, and the wind speed stayed north of 24 mph.

“So it’s freezing cold, it’s windy, and I’ve been on that damn bench except for a 20-minute break at halftime,” said Blevins, who has been sports director at Oklahoma City’s KWTV since 2001. “I’d been over there for like a day, just standing.

“That’s the crazy thing as I look back on it, being able to even function, let alone come off the bench and make a play.”

But before OU needed Blevins, the Sooners ran a few plays, including another, less-successful trick in an end around to Rhodes. He tripped before being handed the ball and lost 5 yards. On the next play, Nebraska sacked Lott for a 4-yard loss, bringing up third-and-19 with 1:10 left and the clock ticking. Oklahoma was out of timeouts.

“Nebraska was so concerned about the option that they played an eight-man front,” Switzer said. “A three-deep secondary. I was kinda shocked at that. Single coverage on Rhodes. Gave him a big cushion, so I thought, ‘Well, f[***], that’s perfect for the damn hook and lateral.’”

(A quick aside: Switzer has never understood why the media and fans call it “hook and ladder” colloquially. “What’s a ladder got to do with anything?” Switzer asked with a hearty chuckle. “It’s a hook and lateral. A lateral.”)

Switzer sent Blevins in for his first and only play of the day: 317 Stop and Lateral.

Blevins faked a handoff and quickly threw a pass on the run to Rhodes.

“It felt like a million bucks coming out of my hand,” Blevins said. “And Rodeo just never dropped a pass.”

Rhodes jumped straight in the air to catch the ball, then perfectly flipped it to Peacock, who had slipped out of the backfield from his left halfback position. Peacock barrelled down the sideline, getting all the way to the 2-yard line before Nebraska’s Kent Smith knocked him out of bounds.

“We’d practice that play once or twice a week in practice, and it was probably 50-50 on whether I’d pitch it right,” Rhodes said. “Sometimes I’d pitch it over Elvis’ head, sometimes it’d be late and he’d have to slow down. I was a little concerned when I split out there because the coverage was tight.”

Said Blevins: “It was just like clockwork. Beautiful. The most beautiful thing you could ever see, because the play just developed so perfectly.”

To this day, Peacock wishes he’d scored on the play. But on the very next snap, he snagged an option pitch from Lott and scored the game winner anyway.

“I always had a good game against Nebraska,” Peacock said. “When we’d have big games, I always kinda stepped up. I’ve never been the type of guy who wanted to boast about anything, but I was fortunate and blessed to make some plays to help us win some big games.”

Switzer would write about the win in his 1990 memoir, “Bootlegger’s Boy.”

“The term Sooner Magic really came into use in 1976,” Switzer wrote. “We were a young team, and Nebraska was clearly better than we were.”

Sooner Magic has since been used to describe hard-to-explain comebacks like the 2000 Texas A&M game and the 2019 Baylor game.

Rhodes worked in the elevator business in Oklahoma City for many years, retiring from ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas at the end of 2020. One of his last tasks before retirement was to help oversee the acquisition of an Omaha, Neb., company called O’Keefe Elevator.

That company, naturally, is full of Cornhuskers fans.

Rhodes traveled to Omaha near the end of last year to negotiate the deal. One manager opened a meeting by pointing at him and saying, “You’re the guy. You’re the guy that did it to us in 1976.”

“I was shocked,” Rhodes said, “that Nebraska people remembered that play so vividly.”
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 13, 2021, 09:03:17 PM
Here's the video of the OU comeback-with-trick-plays.  It starts with the Huskers facing 3rd and 9 at the OU 22.  They're leading 17-13.  OU's Zach Henderson (I remember him well) just broke up a nice pass from Vince Ferragamo on 2nd and 9.

A first down here means that the Huskers can lock up the game.

https://youtu.be/H2HDE4YXNd4?t=4099 (https://youtu.be/H2HDE4YXNd4?t=4099)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 14, 2021, 07:33:01 PM
I don't know anything about Sooner Magic but I'll be happy to get the chance to watch NU and OU renew their rivalry on Saturday.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 14, 2021, 10:28:42 PM
I remember that game.  I had to work that Saturday and had to listen to the game on a transistor radio (remember those) in my shirt pocket.  I had already conceded the game when that 3rd down came up.  It was hard to believe what happened.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 15, 2021, 09:35:48 AM
I like a good hook and ladder.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 15, 2021, 09:52:12 AM
I was -3 when this happened. 

I always thought football started in 1986 when dad took me to my first tigers/ole miss game.  Who knew?  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 15, 2021, 09:53:39 AM
Football started in 1977 when Earl Campbell won the Heisman.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 15, 2021, 10:06:51 AM
Does that mean Billy Cannon's halloween run was some sort of scrimmage? :'(
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 15, 2021, 10:10:45 AM
Wait.  If I don't allow football to start until 1977, then I'm eliminating 3 of Texas' four NCs.

So, I'll say it began in 1963.  Yeah, that's the ticket.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 15, 2021, 10:20:02 AM
football started in 1962 - I was born and Devaney came to Lincoln
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 15, 2021, 10:20:29 AM
(https://scontent.ffod1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/242185535_10220646180966976_451694301627213942_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=1qyLsrglh_AAX-OacMp&_nc_ht=scontent.ffod1-1.fna&oh=eadfa533a91ab9c354f30f76d6065672&oe=61475127)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 15, 2021, 10:38:22 AM
Trick question.

They are both the devil.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 15, 2021, 11:13:49 AM
it's not a question.  It's a statement
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 15, 2021, 09:28:59 PM
I like a good hook and ladder.
Do you also like a shuttle pass?
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 15, 2021, 09:56:23 PM
Tulsa World
Rich Glover returns to Norman to savor his Game of the Century masterpiece
Guerin Emig Sep 14, 2021

(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/79/77920613-1f7e-5173-95da-5bacf1c2afa5/613fdf137f577.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C955)

Rich Glover is returning. An 800-mile drive from his home in Snellville, Georgia, to Owen Field in Norman.

If that sounds like a long way to come for a football game, in this case Saturday’s tussle between Oklahoma vs. Nebraska, this is more about 50 years of history than three hours in the present.

“I want to see how it is going back into the snake pit,” Glover says, “and renewing it in my mind.”

Masterpieces should be savored. Glover presented his Thanksgiving Day 1971, when he grabbed hold of the “Game of the Century” and didn’t unclench until his Huskers had triumphed.

The archives claim Glover made 22 tackles from his nose guard position. Nope. That isn’t right. That isn’t enough. Just watch the game on YouTube.

No, just watch Glover.

Speed through Jeff Kinney’s 174 yards and four touchdowns and Johnny Rodgers’ famous/infamous punt return. Rewind to OU’s possessions, to the Sooners’ acclaimed wishbone combination of Jack Mildren, Greg Pruitt, Leon Crosswhite and Joe Wylie.

Watch Glover and you will see all of those Sooners, because all of them run smack into him. Then they go straight down. It is astonishing.

First play, down goes Crosswhite, the wishbone fullback.

Second series, down goes Pruitt with a pop so violent that ABC color commentator Bud Wilkinson goes: “Ooooo.”

Third series, down goes Wylie despite a double team from Tom Brahaney, OU’s All-American center, and guard Ken Jones.

Fourth series, down goes Pruitt again and there goes the ball, the result of Glover’s paw poking at it for one of OU’s three fumbles.

Barry Switzer, then OU’s 34-year-old offensive coordinator, still laments those fumbles.

“The game came down to those damn turnovers,” he says. “And we should have had Pruitt make something happen.”

I don’t believe Glover felt like allowing anything to happen. Or anyone.

He plugged the middle and erased OU’s fullbacks — his prime directive from Nebraska defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin — then started scraping off Brahaney, Jones and guard Darryl Emmert and running wide to hunt Mildren, the option-keeping quarterback.

“Glover wasn’t a massive guy,” Switzer says. “He was a runner. So quick. A great player. He had a hell of a game. He had to.”

The stakes dictated as much.

“Look what we were playing for,” Glover says. “The Big Eight championship, the Orange Bowl, the national championship, the best players in college football, Heisman guys, Lombardi guys... Things like that were all involved in that game.”

It became personal.

“As we were coming out to warm up before the game, they decided to run across us to go back into their locker room,” Glover recalls of OU antics. “Instead of waiting for us to come out, they bombarded us. ‘Wait a minute. They just disrespected us.’

“I had to take a picture with Tom Brahaney on the field before the game, a head shot. I just told him, ‘You don’t know what you’re in for today. I’m fired up.’”

Whatever the motivation, the finished product was defensive art. Seriously, watch the replay.

Last series of the second quarter, out goes the ball. Another OU fumble, this one by reserve fullback Tim Welch. Glover recovers.

Second play of the third quarter, down goes Crosswhite. Again.

Second series of the third quarter, down goes Mildren, again, despite Pruitt’s cut-blocking effort.

“I don’t recall ever seeing a middle guard that so dominates an offensive team as Glover,” Wilkinson marvels.


On and on it goes, right through OU’s final play. Mildren drops back to his 7-yard line. Glover rushes angrily.

“The ball is knocked down by guess who,” play-by-play man Chris Schenkel narrates.

“We just knew we had to win that game,” Glover says. “It was a big one for coach (Bob) Devaney. It was a big game for all of us.”

Fifty years later, a few days before he hits that 800-mile road, Glover looks forward to reliving it this weekend.

He sees Brahaney and Switzer at College Football Hall of Fame functions, says he is friendly with both. He anticipates seeing them and other dignitaries invited to Norman for the anniversary celebration.

The stories should be fun. Maybe the game will be close. He hopes so.

“I still bleed Big Red,” Glover says.

At any rate, this is more about the past than the present. This is about appreciating excellence. Kinney, Mildren, Rodgers, Pruitt, Jerry Tagge, Jon Harrison. No. 1 vs. No. 2. A treasured piece of college football history.

Glover knew it the day it went down.

“This is the most exciting game I’ve ever played in,” he told ABC-TV on the field postgame.

He savors it still.

“I go back and look at the game film. Oh yeah, man, I look at that game and I get goosebumps,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Wow.’”

Masterpieces do awe us. The Sooners and Huskers played in one 50 years ago.

Rich Glover, he played one.


(https://i.imgur.com/S23Cq0s.jpg)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 15, 2021, 10:01:06 PM
This is from a Nebraska football history website that seems not to have been updated since 2009.

Reasons the 1971 Nebraska Oklahoma game was the Game of the Century

Nebraska was the defending AP National Champion and ranked #1 with the first regular season poll, OU was #10 and by Oct. 11th, the Sooners were #2, so there was a long build up for the game featuring the # 1 & 2 teams in the country.
Nebraska had one of the top defenses in the country, giving up a total of 64 points in 10 games prior to the OU game, and only 70 yards per game rushing.  Oklahoma had one of the best offenses, leading the nation in total and scoring offense and  in rushing with over 430 yards per game on the ground.
The lead in the game changed 5 times, with the winning points scored with 1:38 left in the game.  Even then OU barely missed on a long pass that would have probably won the game.
Tom Osborne and Barry Switzer were the teams offensive coordinators.
Nebraska had 4 concensus first team All Americans ,  Oklahoma had 2.  With several others on both teams named 1st, 2nd, or 3rd by various selectors.
17 of the 22 first team All Big 8 players were in the game.    Both teams had several other players named to 2nd, 3rd teams by various selctors.  Almost every staring player from both teams.
The top 3 vote getters for the Heisman Trophy from the next season played in the game - Johnny Rodgers, Greg Pruitt, Rich Glover.  There were also 2 Lombardi award winners and an Outland winner - Larry Jacobsxen (Lombardi 1971) and RIch Glover (both 1972)
Both 1971 Nebraska and 1971 Oklahoma are still ranked as 2 of the best teams of all time by various selectors.
https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskafootballhistory/nu-oklahoma-1 (https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskafootballhistory/nu-oklahoma-1)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 16, 2021, 09:45:31 AM
So, are the Huskers going to be able to rustle up some magic of their own, to make this game competitive?

I watched the Sooner-Tulsa game, and to me the score looked a little closer than the game.  If the Sooners can get back to at least mid-season form from last year, they should win this one by a hefty margin.  Maybe something like 35-14.

Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 10:28:19 AM
I, of course, would like to see the Husker rustle up a little something for at least a half.  I'm doubtful

the Sooners would need to play poorly and help keep it close IMO

I'm guessing 28 point difference in the end
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 10:33:14 AM
Do you also like a shuttle pass?
I like a good fumblerooski
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: longhorn320 on September 16, 2021, 10:52:03 AM
Nebraska is going to have to play like Tulane did and Im not sure the husker players will be that inspired


This game should be over by half time
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 16, 2021, 10:53:29 AM
My i s c & a aggie wife likes the flea-flicker.

I think it's mostly just because she likes the name.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 16, 2021, 11:12:56 AM
Do you also like a shuttle pass?

Guess it depends on where the shuttle is going.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 16, 2021, 11:23:37 AM
My i s c & a aggie wife likes the flea-flicker.

I think it's mostly just because she likes the name.

Mrs. DeLonghorn has a favorite penalty, hands to the face.  

Your guess is as good as mine.  She says she thinks it has a funny cadence when the refs call it, and it makes her giggle every time.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 16, 2021, 02:07:29 PM
So, are the Huskers going to be able to rustle up some magic of their own, to make this game competitive?

I watched the Sooner-Tulsa game, and to me the score looked a little closer than the game.  If the Sooners can get back to at least mid-season form from last year, they should win this one by a hefty margin.  Maybe something like 35-14.
I'm assuming that you meant the Tulane game.  I think you're right about the score being a little closer than the game was.  But the Sooner offense went dead in the 2nd half.  Even a few first downs, without drives ending in scores, would have left Tulane without enough time to make it as close as it was.
Lincoln Riley sometimes seems to forget about the run other than in the context of using it to set up the pass.  We didn't run either enough or effectively enough in the 2nd half of that game.
I don't know what can be learned from seeing OU thrash a bad FCS team.  So I'm not firmly convinced that OU will dominate the Huskers.  The Sooners should win.  They could win by 30+ points.  But they could also get shredded by Adrian Martinez' scrambles, and play a brain-dead half on offense, in which case the game could be in doubt.
I think Nebraska has to be thinking about keeping it close going into the 4th quarter.  The longer the underdog can stay in the game, the stronger he gets, and the weaker the favorite team gets.  So, for the Huskers, keep it close and try to pop a big play late in the game to pull out the win.  They should know about this--it's what OU did a few times to beat superior Tom Osborne-coached Husker teams who were leading late.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 16, 2021, 02:08:48 PM
Guess it depends on where the shuttle is going.
Or, more correctly, the shovel.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 02:21:45 PM
I think Nebraska has to be thinking about keeping it close going into the 4th quarter.  The longer the underdog can stay in the game, the stronger he gets, and the weaker the favorite team gets.  So, for the Huskers, keep it close and try to pop a big play late in the game to pull out the win.  They should know about this--it's what OU did a few times to beat superior Tom Osborne-coached Husker teams who were leading late.
yup, and I think the Husker players and coaches are plenty motivated
motivation alone doesn't seem to limit their bonehead mistakes in all 3 phases of the game, unfortunately
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 02:23:47 PM
CW,

Will you be in town for the game?

or any other Sooners that might want to get together for a beer or whatever?

No promises, my Sooner host has a client he needs to entertain and this Sooner is my meal ticket, game ticket, and round buyer, so I will be following his lead.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 02:47:38 PM
CWSooner,

Got your PM.  Sorry you won't be enjoying the heat with me this weekend.

Enjoy the game
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 02:51:21 PM
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32204968/behind-scenes-stories-oklahoma-nebraska-college-football-greatest-game (https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32204968/behind-scenes-stories-oklahoma-nebraska-college-football-greatest-game)

On Thanksgiving Day 1971, Nebraska and Oklahoma achieved "perfection," as reporter Dave Kindred described it in the Louisville Times.

"Sometimes it don't live up to the billing," said Oklahoma halfback Greg Pruitt. "That one did."

Billed as "The Game of the Century," Rodgers' epic punt return for a touchdown -- and Lyell Bremser's indelible radio call -- helped top-ranked Nebraska defeat No. 2 Oklahoma, 35-31, in a classic whose mystique has carried over, well past the life of the rivalry itself. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the game, the Sooners and Cornhuskers will meet again Saturday for the first time since 2010. Their rivalry might effectively be dead. But that game still lives.

"It had everything," said Bill Hancock, who then worked in Oklahoma's communications department before overseeing the Final Four for 13 seasons and becoming the executive director of the BCS and the College Football Playoff since 2009. "A perfect combination of things that made it the biggest game I've ever been associated with, and ever will be associated with."

The showdown featured 17 of the 22 first-team All-Big Eight selections that season and 27 starters who would get drafted into the NFL. The two staffs combined would produce 12 future FBS head coaches, including Barry Switzer, Tom Osborne and Jimmy Johnson.

Oklahoma's wishbone offense averaged 472 rushing yards, an NCAA record that still stands; Nebraska's Blackshirts defense was giving up only six points a game.

That day, 55 million people tuned in to ABC to see what would happen, then a record television audience for a college football game.

The Huskers went on to win a second consecutive national championship that year, crushing Alabama by 32 points in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma, meanwhile, would go 43-2-1 over the following four seasons, with two national titles.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 16, 2021, 07:18:32 PM
CWSooner,

Got your PM.  Sorry you won't be enjoying the heat with me this weekend.

Enjoy the game
Thanks, Fearless.  I hope you enjoy everything else.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 16, 2021, 09:48:35 PM
sleep easy, I live life to enjoy it

Boomer!

planning a visit to Cattleman's for a dry aged steak and a bottle or two of wine Friday evening
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 16, 2021, 11:04:39 PM
Or, more correctly, the shovel.
Or is it the shuffle pass?
I call it the Utah pass as it leaves no doubt.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 17, 2021, 12:56:15 PM
Or is it the shuffle pass?
I call it the Utah pass as it leaves no doubt.
Utah pass works.  But if it's going to be one of those "S" words, it's "shovel pass."
You can talk about the Space Shuttle, you can Shuffle off to Buffalo, but if you're referring to football, it is a shovel pass.
Unless you also say "I could care less."
Generic "you," of course.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 17, 2021, 01:06:59 PM
Utah pass works.  But if it's going to be one of those "S" words, it's "shovel pass."
You can talk about the Space Shuttle, you can Shuffle off to Buffalo, but if you're referring to football, it is a shovel pass.
Unless you also say "I could care less."
Generic "you," of course.

I can go along with this, as long as you agree that chili has no beans, and there's no such thing as a chicken fajita.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 17, 2021, 01:18:25 PM
I've never argued against either of those propositions.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 17, 2021, 01:23:18 PM
I've never argued against either of those propositions.
It was the general "you" for the benefit of all. :)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 17, 2021, 01:24:02 PM
Got it!  ;)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 17, 2021, 02:00:07 PM
There's also no such thing as a sausage kolache.  People need to get this stuff straight.

Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 17, 2021, 05:30:17 PM
Oh brother.

Tell me, what is an acceptable kolache, oh wise and food-omnipotent one.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 17, 2021, 07:17:45 PM
CBS Sports
50 years later, the Game of the Century resonates as Nebraska, Oklahoma rekindle faded rivalry
A half-century later, one of college football's most famous games is a relic amid continued conference realignment
By Dennis Dodd
Sep 15, 2021 at 11:40 am ET


(https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2021/09/15/b69e46df-6530-4b48-8380-a3d557c37ca3/thumbnail/770x433/2d76b3b197e1229aafbf35a369710485/nebraska-oklahoma-1971-game-of-century-g.png)
Getty Images

They'll play a game Saturday morning in which the home team is a 22-point favorite. The game was deemed so non-competitive that the visiting team tried to cancel it a scant six months ago.

Forget about the label once affixed to the most notable game in this rivalry's history: Game of the Century. Nebraska-Oklahoma is not even the game of the day headed into Week 3 of the 2021 college football season.

The rivalry is a shell of its former self, the threads of history yanked apart by time and conference realignment. A rivalry that used to measure itself against any Iron Bowl or Ten-Year War you can name has dimmed, but it is not … quite … gone.

Look into the 70-year-old eyes of Johnny Rodgers. Saturday marks the 50th anniversary the Game of the Century, which ended with No. 1 Nebraska on top of No. 2 Oklahoma, 35-31, on Thanksgiving Day 1971.

That's why Rodgers is in Norman, Oklahoma, this week to relive and celebrate and hug. The Cornhuskers' legendary wingback from the early 1970s loves a reunion, and in this series, Saturday's is one of the biggest.

The anticipated blowout still means something if only because there are still two Big Reds out there who used to hate each other.

"I don't know if I'm the one to say this," began Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, the man who oversaw the program's migration to the SEC this summer. "History and tradition, sometimes that gets kicked to the curb. Sometimes, it's only about the moment."

Nebraska and Oklahoma used to fight bitterly for turf and Orange Bowls in the old Big Eight. They haven't met since 2010 when the Sooners squeezed out a 23-20 win in the Big 12 Championship Game. Two years later, the Huskers were in the Big Ten. Sometime in the next four years, Oklahoma is expected to start play in the SEC.

So yeah, it's a lot about the moment.

But half a century ago, Rodgers might have made the biggest play in the biggest game that featured nine touchdowns, 829 combined yards and went down to the final minutes. It was Rodgers' 72-yard punt return in the first quarter that may have been the difference in Nebraska's victory.

"Time went by past," he said. "We really did think we had something special with Nebraska and Oklahoma at that time. It was the biggest game we had ever played in and people had ever seen."

Shake hands with Castiglione. As a 14-year-old in South Florida, he remembers watching the Game of the Century at his grandmother's house. Back then, a 23-inch black-and-white television was considered a big screen.

"That was my first real recollection watching at Oklahoma football game," Castiglione said. "That's when I became familiar with Oklahoma. It was that game."

When he was introduced as OU's 11th athletic director in 1998, Castiglione noted in his introduction that number matched the uniform of Jack Mildren, Oklahoma's quarterback in the Game of the Century.

When it was revealed Nebraska coach Scott Frost had tried to drop Oklahoma earlier this year for Old Dominion or New Mexico State to pick up an easy win, Castiglione's jaw dropped.

"Disappointed wasn't the right word," he said. "It was surreal. It didn't make any sense."

You don't play catch with fine china. You don't wear white to a mud fight.

Nebraska-Oklahoma is a jewel that shouldn't be scratched. At least not the one that shone so brightly for decades before the annual meetings stopped more than a decade ago.

Have a drink with Barry Switzer. Sports Illustrated legends Dan Jenkins and Bud Shrake certainly did that week. That's one of Switzer's fondest memories from the Game of the Century: going out on the town.

As for the actual game, Oklahoma's offensive coordinator that day still laments not getting the ball more to halfback Greg Pruitt, a two-time All-American. Switzer went on to win three national championships in 16 seasons at OU's head coach, but call him this week, and it's what didn't happen that Thanksgiving Day a half a century ago that still bothers him.

"Tracks meets every week," Switzer recalled of the Sooners rushing offense that still holds the single-season record at 472 yards per game. "That will never be broken. Just think about that: 472 yards per game."

On that raw, 47-degree day, the halfback who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting after averaging 9 yards per carry that season, contributed only 53 yards on 10 rushes.

"I was a young offensive coordinator. I probably should have made sure Greg Pruitt carried it 25 times," Switzer said.

There were no other goats that day, only G.O.A.T.S. Nebraska's offensive coordinator, Tom Osborne, had two national championships on his resume before he replaced Bob Devaney -- the beloved Bobfather -- as coach in 1973.

Huskers middle guard Rich Glover posted a defensive performance for the ages: 22 tackles going against All-America center Tom Brahaney, who went on to play nine NFL seasons.

Nebraska I-back Jeff Kinney etched himself into program history with 171 yards and four touchdowns. Halfway through the first quarter, Mildren was playing with his jersey halfway ripped off. The future lieutenant governor of the state carried it 31 times for 130 yards, accounting for four touchdowns himself.

"It was probably the greatest offensive football game I've ever seen," Alabama coach Bear Bryant, who already had four national championships to his name, said on ABC's postgame show.

Bear would bear witness. Nebraska went on to thrash Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl to clinch a second consecutive national title.

The Game of the Century was that big, that shocking, that amazing. Kinney scored the game-winning touchdown with 98 seconds left. Rodgers kept the winning drive alive catching a third-and-8 pass from Jerry Tagge, inches from the ground, at Oklahoma's 35.

"Our rule was, if you touch, you can catch it," said Rodgers, who won the 1972 Heisman. "I caught it."

Look it up; the grainy footage is still there. Over the five decades since, the "Game of the Century" label has been tossed around like loose change. But Saturday's anniversary reminds there is still only one. The nation's No. 1 offense (Oklahoma) went up against the nation's No. 1 defense (Nebraska).

Fifty-five million people watched on ABC, the largest college football audience at that time. The telecast was laden with car commercials, not too much different than today. The first ad was for Brylcreem. (Ask your grandfather.)

Two ABC broadcasters referred to Oklahoma's Owen Field as "Owen Stadium." Analyst Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma's legendary former coach, was prescient. He broke down Nebraska's I-formation offense noting it sometimes shifted into "the spread." The graphic showed a four-receiver set that is all too familiar in 2021.

The wishbone, used by Oklahoma, was still new, adopted by coach Chuck Fairbanks at the urging of Switzer.

"We'd have been that good in 1970 if Chuck had let me go to it in the spring," Switzer said. "It was something about copying Texas. If it works, who gives a shit?"

You could set your football clock to Nebraska-Oklahoma. They played 86 times, every year from 1921 to 2010. It was a time when coaches were gods, not living trust funds. Osborne used to make filibustering a fine science, going down the entire roster in preseason pressers so he wouldn't have to answer questions.

That was the polar opposite of Switzer, who once held court with writers at Kansas City's Union Station the night before the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. His wingman that night was a fur-coat wearing Tony Casillas, a defensive tackle who won championships playing for Switzer at Oklahoma and with the Dallas Cowboys.

There was the 1987 game referred to as "Game of the Century II". No. 1 Oklahoma beat No. 2 Nebraska, 17-7, eventually losing the national championship to Miami in the Orange Bowl. There was the 2001 game when Eric Crouch pretty much won the Heisman in October. Nebraska's quarterback caught a 63-yard touchdown pass.

Osborne became the Nebraska AD, then a U.S. Congressman. He was the impetus behind the Texas-loathing move to the Big Ten. How has that one worked out?

Nebraska has lost its way outside the Big 12.

Five decades ago, the Big Eight was the nation's strongest conference, and it wasn't close. The league finished the season with teams ranked No. 1 (Nebraska), No. 2 (Oklahoma) and No. 3 (Colorado). The Thanksgiving Day game marked only the fifth such No. 1 vs. No. 2 game ever. That's routine these days given the BCS and College Football Playoff.

"… it is impossible to stir the pages of history and find one in which both teams performed so reputably for so long throughout the day," Jenkins wrote in his game account the next week. He was right.

The stakes were so high, Nebraska brought its own meals to Oklahoma just to avoid food poisoning.

"We don't want to take any chances on anything," Rodgers said.

Rodgers claimed to have never fair caught a kick or punt. He certainly didn't in this game, returning the opening kickoff from 6 yards deep in the end zone. On punts, Rodgers theorized, defenses would trade a 15-yard personal foul by hitting him early rather than risk a long return.

"Fifteen yards was a smaller number than what I would have gotten had I returned it," Rodgers said.

It was a different TV age. In those days, only a handful of games were aired. Cable TV was still about nine years away. Nebraska-Oklahoma was followed by Georgia-Georgia Tech at night. The Heisman was awarded at halftime of the latter game. Two days later, it was Army-Navy and Auburn-Alabama. That was it.

Saturday's game will be part of the typical 12-hour blizzard of televised matchups. By the end of the day and the anticipated Oklahoma rout, history may be but a footnote.

Ten years ago, when Nebraska was making its way from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, Oklahoma's Castiglione wanted to grab a piece of that history. He approached Osborne, then Nebraska AD, with a proposition: Let's play again.

It turned out the first opening for both teams was Saturday, 50 years after the Game of the Century. The Cornhuskers will get a return game in Lincoln, Nebraska, next year.

But on Friday night, they will laugh, drink, shake hands and talk about history that still should be talked about five decades later.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: longhorn320 on September 17, 2021, 07:39:27 PM
predicted score

blow u   42

bug eaters  10
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 17, 2021, 08:07:08 PM
sleep easy, I live life to enjoy it

Boomer!

planning a visit to Cattleman's for a dry aged steak and a bottle or two of wine Friday evening
This may be too little, too late, but if you can't get into Cattleman's for some reason, McClintock's just NE of there is pretty good too.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 17, 2021, 08:12:33 PM
Oh brother.

Tell me, what is an acceptable kolache, oh wise and food-omnipotent one. 
Kolaches have fruit, cream cheese, or poppy seed fillings.

The ones with meat, pig-in-the-blanket and other savory styles, are actually called "klobasnek."
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 18, 2021, 04:06:06 PM
I agree with shovel pass.  I hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did.  Now that was how OU/NU should be.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 18, 2021, 05:47:37 PM
I agree with shovel pass.  I hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did.  Now that was how OU/NU should be.
Congratulations to the Huskers.  They came to play, they made a game of it, and with fewer self-inflicted mistakes they could have won it.  That's how OU-Nebraska games were in the '70s and '80s.
I had to run errands for my mother after the game.  I heard a national radio show, with CFN's Pete Fiutak on the phone, discussing how the Big Ten did Nebraska no favors with the Week 0 conference game.  Without that game, Nebraska could have been 2-0 or 3-0 going into today's game.
They certainly looked better today than they did at Illinois.
That being said, I think OU's got problems on both sides of the ball, especially on offense.  If not for the runback of the blocked Husker PAT, the score would have been 21-17--way too close for comfort.
And our play in the last 7-8 minutes of the game looked like rag-tag sandlot football, including the offensive play calling.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 19, 2021, 09:18:56 AM
I didn't get to watch as originally planned, since we ended up driving all across Texas and making our Saturday into a UT-TAMU double-header.

It certainly ended up a lot closer than I expected.  Are the Huskers maybe putting together a little something?  Did the Sooners overlook them, getting ready for what's likely to be a very competitive matchup against the 'eers?

Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 19, 2021, 10:39:13 AM
Sooners are not as good as advertised and the Huskers played a solid game.  Sooners really miss Creed Humphrey at center.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 19, 2021, 10:47:52 AM
I will add that Adrian Martinez dropped some real dimes out there.  It was by far his best outing this year IMO.  I do believe Nebraska is going to have a good season.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 19, 2021, 11:48:37 AM
I didn't get to watch as originally planned, since we ended up driving all across Texas and making our Saturday into a UT-TAMU double-header.

It certainly ended up a lot closer than I expected.  Are the Huskers maybe putting together a little something?  Did the Sooners overlook them, getting ready for what's likely to be a very competitive matchup against the 'eers?
I'm with Thumper.  The Sooners are not as good as advertised.  And we might have a QB problem.  Spencer Rattler is playing himself out of Heisman consideration.  The quietly expressed hopes to see some some packages put in for backup freshman Caleb Williams are becoming a little less quiet.
I do think that the Huskers might be better than advertised.  I hope that's the case, anyway.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 19, 2021, 12:43:37 PM
Rattler was pretty darned effective last season.  Any reason why he might be less so, this year?
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 19, 2021, 12:47:01 PM
I've speculated that he may have tweaked his throwing shoulder.  Others have said that his mechanics are bad.  It could be both, I suppose.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 19, 2021, 01:53:54 PM
So that's where Connor Culp ended up.  Kid was always inconsistent.  The way that game went Big Red might've had a different game cooking at the end if not for his ongoing case of the whiffles.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 19, 2021, 10:33:46 PM
Rattler was pretty darned effective last season.  Any reason why he might be less so, this year?

The biggest difference is that Creed Humphrey is protecting Patrick Mahomes now and doing a darn fine job.  He allowed 0 sacks last year and very few pressures.  His replacements are nowhere near as good.  Rattler is getting a lot of rush up the middle and he is having to dump off short.  As CW said, he relies too much on his arm talent and his mechanics are often sloppy.  His completion percentage is very good but YPG and YPA are way down from last year.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Mr Tulip on September 20, 2021, 10:15:28 AM
Rattler' definitely in a sophomore slump. Both sides of the Sooner team aren't quite what they were made out to be. On a regular day, that might come into play.

The Nebraska game and the Texas game aren't regular days. The Huskers put together their best ball in a while, and gave their fans something to build on.

For all the ballyhoo about the awesome one handed diving interception (and it was awesome, no doubt), that play actually gave the Huskers a chance to win. If he'd dropped it, the Sooners would have had possession at the 25 yard line. As it was, they had it at the 3. They ended up punting from their end zone.

Still, i guess it's tough to slap the ball down in that situation. If he'd have punched it, it may have stayed up and been caught by a receiver.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 20, 2021, 10:27:32 AM
The biggest difference is that Creed Humphrey is protecting Patrick Mahomes now and doing a darn fine job.  He allowed 0 sacks last year and very few pressures.  His replacements are nowhere near as good.  Rattler is getting a lot of rush up the middle and he is having to dump off short.  As CW said, he relies too much on his arm talent and his mechanics are often sloppy.  His completion percentage is very good but YPG and YPA are way down from last year.

I guess the benefit of Texas having a completely crappy o-line over the past 15 years is that there's not any major decline year over year when someone graduates.  It's all still just crap.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 20, 2021, 02:59:04 PM
After rewatching, some things stood out.  
When the Sooners were on offence, Nebraska was often dropping 8 into coverage and playing soft.  They were giving the underneath passes and making OU drive the field. Sad to say the 3 man rush was disruptive even though they didn't get a sack and only 4 tackles for loss. It sure looked like more. NU just dared the Sooners to rush the ball.  They were moderately successful rushing for 5.5 yards per carry and should have run the ball more.
On defense OU loaded up to stop the run and dared Martinez to pass.  They were successful against the run, NU averaged just 2.5 per carry.  They got 10 TFL, 5 sacks and 4 QB hurries  but Martinez handled it well and had one of the best days of his career.  
Nebraska also had long drives so the Sooners only had 9 possessions. Four of those were punts, one was a missed FG and one ended the half.  On the plus side, the Sooners didn't turn the ball over.
I don't think OU played badly.  NU had a good game plan and executed it and OU didn't try to take them out of it.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: longhorn320 on September 20, 2021, 03:04:48 PM
The bottom line is OU won and until they dont then they are taking care of business as they should be
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: Thumper on September 20, 2021, 07:05:43 PM
Yep.  I enjoyed the game.  I liked seeing long drives, defensive stands, etc. I like that more than getting into a shootout and hanging on at the end.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 20, 2021, 08:25:19 PM
This may be too little, too late, but if you can't get into Cattleman's for some reason, McClintock's just NE of there is pretty good too.
our plan for Cattleman's Friday night went to hell, so my brother called Saturday night and it was a 1 hour 15 minutes wait, so we ate some good chicken wings
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 20, 2021, 08:35:10 PM
Frost actually coached a good game and Martinez played a good game, this gave them a chance to pull the upset

unfortunately, the very poor O-line play, the mistakes, penalties, and Conner Culp took that chance away in the end

Connor Culp had a very nice season last year. 
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 20, 2021, 09:18:54 PM
Few players took the brunt of the blame for Saturday's loss at Oklahoma than placekicker Connor Culp.

The 2020 Big Ten Kicker of the Year continued his baffling regression in Norman by missing two more of his three field-goal attempts in the loss.

Culp, who made 33 of 35 total kicks last season, is now 3-of-8 on field goals with two missed extra points through four games this year.

Despite his struggles, Culp's teammates gave him their full support on Monday.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 20, 2021, 10:50:24 PM
Nebraska generally followed the recipe that I laid out last week.  Play a conservative game, don't turn the ball over, keep it close into the 4th quarter.  Martinez was better than I thought he would be.

I'm looking forward to the rematch in Lincoln next year.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 21, 2021, 08:39:58 AM
come on up

I'll play host
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 21, 2021, 09:19:39 AM
Sounds like a trap...
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 21, 2021, 09:28:03 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/V9DoJyv.jpg)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 21, 2021, 09:31:17 AM
Love me some Admiral Ackbar.  

I really wish the Ole Miss students had adopted him as their new mascot a few years back...
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 21, 2021, 09:31:26 AM
Culp, who made 33 of 35 total kicks last season, is now 3-of-8 on field goals with two missed extra points through four games this year.

The last part is unfortunately what we remember him for, but I'm glad he had a good year last year.  Seemed like a good kid.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 21, 2021, 09:34:31 AM
Love me some Admiral Ackbar. 

I really wish the Ole Miss students had adopted him as their new mascot a few years back...

Ackbar is a perennial meme for us for the Magnolia Bowl, particularly in years when Ole Miss isn't good.  Of course, that originates from a time when LSU was good, so I'm not sure how much of a trap that game can actually be anymore.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 21, 2021, 09:44:52 AM
LSU might actually be MORE of a trap game now.  When you're good, ain't nobody gonna overlook you.

Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 22, 2021, 09:51:50 AM
* Martinez is still facing pressure far too often. OU’s athletic defensive front gave the Huskers problems throughout the day even though rarely brought more than four defenders.

According to Pro Football Focus data, Martinez was pressured 18 times in 36 drop-backs. The Journal Star credited Martinez with seven scrambles for 42 yards (including one play that was logged as a sack) and then he was sacked four other times.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 22, 2021, 06:51:57 PM
* Martinez is still facing pressure far too often. OU’s athletic defensive front gave the Huskers problems throughout the day even though rarely brought more than four defenders.

According to Pro Football Focus data, Martinez was pressured 18 times in 36 drop-backs. The Journal Star credited Martinez with seven scrambles for 42 yards (including one play that was logged as a sack) and then he was sacked four other times.
Man!

It's funny how sometimes stats completely belie what one thinks he saw in live-streaming color.  A lot of OU fans are with me in feeling that Martinez had too much time to pass.

~???
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 22, 2021, 10:16:46 PM
well, when the QB seems to have some time and then completes a good ball for a first down or better yet a TD, the opponent is likely to think there's NO pass rush

most Husker fans think there wasn't nearly enuff pressure on Rattler
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: CWSooner on September 22, 2021, 10:38:31 PM
well, when the QB seems to have some time and then completes a good ball for a first down or better yet a TD, the opponent is likely to think there's NO pass rush

most Husker fans think there wasn't nearly enuff pressure on Rattler
I don't think that there was as much pressure on Rattler as Rattle thought there was.  He did not do a good job of stepping into the pocket.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 22, 2021, 11:51:12 PM
Man!

It's funny how sometimes stats completely belie what one thinks he saw in live-streaming color.  A lot of OU fans are with me in feeling that Martinez had too much time to pass.

~???

As a neutral observer, I did not think Martinez had much time.  OU seemed to be harassing him most of the day.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 08:21:53 AM
I didn't see the game, but I'm 100% certain that ou sucks.

That is all.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 08:37:30 AM
folks in Norman on Saturday in both shades of RED agreed that "TEXAS SUCKS"

and that's a fact, Jack
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 08:47:40 AM
folks in Norman on Saturday in both shades of RED agreed that "TEXAS SUCKS"

and that's a fact, Jack
You say hurtful things.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 10:21:54 AM
I'm an old man

we tell it the way we see it, without remorse
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 10:23:42 AM
Pot stirring is the opposite of straight shooting, oldtimer.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 11:34:05 AM
I'm  ambidextrous
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 23, 2021, 02:46:41 PM
You say hurtful things. 

Just wait'll you get in a conference with the coonasses.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 03:20:02 PM
and woo pig sooies

(https://media1.giphy.com/media/3o7aDgVpRcWW3I4f4c/200.gif)
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 03:32:41 PM
Oh I remember the pig people from way back in the SWC days.  I've been to a game in Fayettenam.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 03:39:13 PM
WAY worse than the Husker Prick Squad
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 03:43:43 PM
WAY worse than the Husker Prick Squad
Not being as bad as arkie fan, is still nothing to be proud of, son.
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: FearlessF on September 23, 2021, 03:47:26 PM
agreed
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: MikeDeTiger on September 23, 2021, 05:10:53 PM
If Arkansas-fan is considered bad, the sips have a lot of unpleasant introductions about to be made.  Wait'll they meet the Gumps. 

We yell clever insults, but at least we feed you well while you're on campus.  
Title: Re: OU-Nebraska: The Birth of Sooner Magic
Post by: utee94 on September 23, 2021, 05:18:13 PM
If Arkansas-fan is considered bad, the sips have a lot of unpleasant introductions about to be made.  Wait'll they meet the Gumps.

We yell clever insults, but at least we feed you well while you're on campus. 
Eh the gumps don't hate us.  The pigs do. 

You've never experienced any kind of bad fans, until you walk into Fayettenam wearing burnt orange.  It's like the demilitarized zone, full of inbred hilljacks.  Except way worse.