I have a point to this sort of long story.
If you're old enough to remember OU football in 1971, you can relate to this. But even in you can't, maybe you will.
OU was less than two years from leaving the 60s, which was mediocre by Sooner standards. No NC's. Only two and a half conference titles. Bud's next to last season in '62, which still included losses in two of three non-conference games to ND and Texas. And 1967, when Mike Vachon, the RRR hero of 1966, missed three or four field goals in a 9-7 RRR loss, OUr only one of the season, we'd have won the NC over OJ's Trojans, because they had a conference loss to be 10-1.
We also tied a great Kansas team in '68 and beat them head to head. But we had three losses and added one more in the bowl game. Shocked by a point to SMU who was third or fourth in the SWC, after we lost OUr offensive and defensive MVP's in the second quarter of the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl. More disappointments in 69 and 70, both four loss seasons. The only real highlight, Steve Owens becoming the last Heisman winner who didn't play in a bowl game in 1969, my freshman year.
We came into 1971 a lot like we did this year. We'd spent nine games in the wishbone. Senior Jack Mildren was looking like he was mastering it. And we had two marvelous recruiting classes who were juniors and seniors to be. Of the previous five season's national champs, the only one not on OUr schedule, ironically was Ohio State. USC won it in 67. tOSU in 68. Texas in 69. Texas and Nebraska split it in 70. Texas' 30 game win streak was ended by ND in the Cotton Bowl. So Texas took the poll voted before the 70 bowl games. Nebraska the one voted after. We'd played Nebraska a great game in Lincoln, next to last regular season game, losing 28-21. Fairbanks was quoted as telling the team after, "anybody going to beat us, better do it quick."
So we entered with USC and Texas and Nebraska all on OUr schedule. But none of the pre-season magazines considered us an NC threat. One, Game Plan, had us 6th, but everybody else not in the top dozen. AP put us at 10 in the pre-season.
We opened at SMU on a rainy day in Norman which was wet all day. SMU under Stoops eventual mentor Hayden Fry, was decent in those days. They'd beaten us three years earlier in the AB bowl. Then we went to Pitt, who had slowish 4-3 defensive ends who didn't have a clue how to defend the wishbone. Jack Mildren told me afterward, "a couple of times I got to corner and wasn't sure what to do, because they didn't have a defensive guy for the quarterback or the pitch man. We won 55-29. It was over by halftime.
Then came USC. We were ranked 8th. USC was only 17th after opening 17-10 loss when Bama surprisingly debuted their version of the wishbone. They even did the I in their pregame. But USC had shut out consecutive cream puffs and was 2-1 entering. They didn't know how to defend the bone either, though they still had great athletes. The scored in the last 20 seconds to cut the final margin to 33-20. But we dominated them. Joe Wylie got hurt, and was never quite great again, though he had his moments.
Next up Texas. Two time defending champs by some accounts. 3-0 and ranked 3. We were still 8th. We had beating the Horns once in the previous 13 seasons. But we dominated them, very much like the Sooners dominated Ohio State last Saturday night.
That was the game changer. We didn't have the internet to look up info in those days, but as we started collecting on the grass practice fields Monday afternoon, the news started circulating. We were now ranked 2nd. Only top ranked Nebraska was ahead of us, and the other sharer of the NC the year before. OUr destiny was in OUr hands.
OU hadn't won an NC in the previous 15 seasons. Sooner Magic hadn't been born yet. But there was a whole new confidence. Some wondered how would we react to being number two. Nobody knew that OUr next opponent, Colorado would end up number three in the country at the end of the year. The only time ever that the top three in the country came from the same conference.
They came to Norman and we smoked them 45-17.
People wonder how this young 2017 team will behave. I can tell you how that is going to happen. This year's Sooners can now taste it. They get it. They know what it takes to have the possibility to become a national champion. They get that your best isn't just required. It's a responsibility to all of their teammates. Practices will be crisper. Focus will be at a max. They are entering a whole new level. They are going to kick butt for a while, led by a senior quarterback who is the key to the whole thing. Just like in 1971.
We fell four points short on Thanksgiving Day in the ipso facto NC game of 1971, the real Game of the Century. This year's team needs to be just a little better at the end. I think their defense might just help them accomplish that.
If you're old enough to remember OU football in 1971, you can relate to this. But even in you can't, maybe you will.
OU was less than two years from leaving the 60s, which was mediocre by Sooner standards. No NC's. Only two and a half conference titles. Bud's next to last season in '62, which still included losses in two of three non-conference games to ND and Texas. And 1967, when Mike Vachon, the RRR hero of 1966, missed three or four field goals in a 9-7 RRR loss, OUr only one of the season, we'd have won the NC over OJ's Trojans, because they had a conference loss to be 10-1.
We also tied a great Kansas team in '68 and beat them head to head. But we had three losses and added one more in the bowl game. Shocked by a point to SMU who was third or fourth in the SWC, after we lost OUr offensive and defensive MVP's in the second quarter of the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl. More disappointments in 69 and 70, both four loss seasons. The only real highlight, Steve Owens becoming the last Heisman winner who didn't play in a bowl game in 1969, my freshman year.
We came into 1971 a lot like we did this year. We'd spent nine games in the wishbone. Senior Jack Mildren was looking like he was mastering it. And we had two marvelous recruiting classes who were juniors and seniors to be. Of the previous five season's national champs, the only one not on OUr schedule, ironically was Ohio State. USC won it in 67. tOSU in 68. Texas in 69. Texas and Nebraska split it in 70. Texas' 30 game win streak was ended by ND in the Cotton Bowl. So Texas took the poll voted before the 70 bowl games. Nebraska the one voted after. We'd played Nebraska a great game in Lincoln, next to last regular season game, losing 28-21. Fairbanks was quoted as telling the team after, "anybody going to beat us, better do it quick."
So we entered with USC and Texas and Nebraska all on OUr schedule. But none of the pre-season magazines considered us an NC threat. One, Game Plan, had us 6th, but everybody else not in the top dozen. AP put us at 10 in the pre-season.
We opened at SMU on a rainy day in Norman which was wet all day. SMU under Stoops eventual mentor Hayden Fry, was decent in those days. They'd beaten us three years earlier in the AB bowl. Then we went to Pitt, who had slowish 4-3 defensive ends who didn't have a clue how to defend the wishbone. Jack Mildren told me afterward, "a couple of times I got to corner and wasn't sure what to do, because they didn't have a defensive guy for the quarterback or the pitch man. We won 55-29. It was over by halftime.
Then came USC. We were ranked 8th. USC was only 17th after opening 17-10 loss when Bama surprisingly debuted their version of the wishbone. They even did the I in their pregame. But USC had shut out consecutive cream puffs and was 2-1 entering. They didn't know how to defend the bone either, though they still had great athletes. The scored in the last 20 seconds to cut the final margin to 33-20. But we dominated them. Joe Wylie got hurt, and was never quite great again, though he had his moments.
Next up Texas. Two time defending champs by some accounts. 3-0 and ranked 3. We were still 8th. We had beating the Horns once in the previous 13 seasons. But we dominated them, very much like the Sooners dominated Ohio State last Saturday night.
That was the game changer. We didn't have the internet to look up info in those days, but as we started collecting on the grass practice fields Monday afternoon, the news started circulating. We were now ranked 2nd. Only top ranked Nebraska was ahead of us, and the other sharer of the NC the year before. OUr destiny was in OUr hands.
OU hadn't won an NC in the previous 15 seasons. Sooner Magic hadn't been born yet. But there was a whole new confidence. Some wondered how would we react to being number two. Nobody knew that OUr next opponent, Colorado would end up number three in the country at the end of the year. The only time ever that the top three in the country came from the same conference.
They came to Norman and we smoked them 45-17.
People wonder how this young 2017 team will behave. I can tell you how that is going to happen. This year's Sooners can now taste it. They get it. They know what it takes to have the possibility to become a national champion. They get that your best isn't just required. It's a responsibility to all of their teammates. Practices will be crisper. Focus will be at a max. They are entering a whole new level. They are going to kick butt for a while, led by a senior quarterback who is the key to the whole thing. Just like in 1971.
We fell four points short on Thanksgiving Day in the ipso facto NC game of 1971, the real Game of the Century. This year's team needs to be just a little better at the end. I think their defense might just help them accomplish that.
