Published: October 31, 2008 10:25 pm         

Memories linger for OU, Huskers

Today’s Oklahoma-Nebraska game isn’t your father’s version of this historic rivalry.

OU is in its accustomed role in the top five (No. 4) but the 5-3 Cornhuskers couldn’t be found in this week’s rankings.

That’s a jolt for someone who has seen 18 meetings between the two schools when both were ranked in the top 10.

The OU-Nebraska rivalry was different than the Sooners’ rivalries with Texas and Oklahoma State.

There was more respect than hate. The two teams don’t go head-to-head for 365 days a year like OU does with Texas and OSU for recruits or fan loyalty.

A Sooner fan likely won’t come into contact with a Husker fan on a daily basis, although there are some big NU fans here in Enid.

The nature of the game changed with the Big 12. If the Sooners lost to Texas before 1996, they could point toward the Big Eight championship and a probable showdown with Nebraska.

Now with UT in the same division and OSU moving up, Nebraska has less significance.

No game, though, probably had more drama than OU-Nebraska.

Is there a Sooner fan who can watch a tape of Johnny Rodgers returning a punt for a touchdown in the 1971 Game of the Century without hollering about the two clips on the play?

Watonga faithful won’t forget the hit local boy Larry Roach put on Rodgers the next year in a 17-14 OU win.

One remembers the somber mood listening to the 1963 OU-Nebraska game on the radio after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Was there ever a better defensive performance by a Sooner team than the 1973 27-0 shutout of the Huskers? Nebraska didn’t snap the ball in OU’s territory.

Were Sooner fans ever sicker than they were when Nebraska upset No. 1-ranked OU 17-14 in Lincoln in 1978? Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims fumbled on the Nebraska three-yard line with 3:27 remaining. That was one of six fumbles OU lost on the day.

Was there ever sweeter revenge for the Sooners than beating the same Husker team 31-24 in the Orange Bowl?

Did OU football ever drop lower than the 73-21 and 69-7 losses to Nebraska in 1996 and 1997? The Sooners had lost to the Huskers 37-0 in 1995. On the ABC broadcast, Brent Musberger said OU coach Howard Schnellenberger looked like Captain Kangaroo. There’s no word whether Captain Kangaroo sued.

We still remember Keith Jackson’s 88-yard run on an end-around in a 27-7 Sooner rout in 1985 and the Huskers scoring on a fumblerooski in a 17-14 loss to the Sooners in 1979.

Future Heisman winner Billy Vessels burst on the national scene with 205 yards in a wild 49-35 win over the Huskers in 1950.

Future Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens would rush for 172 yards in a 47-0 of the Huskers in 1968 but was held to 71 in a 44-14 loss the next year.

OU’s kickers have seem to always come through under pressure in the last seconds against Nebraska — Mike Vachon’s field goal with 48 seconds left gave OU a 10-9 upset win on Thanksgiving Day in 1966 and Tim Lashar’s field goal with six second left gave the Sooners a 20-17 comeback win 20 years later.

In 1959, Nebraska would break the Sooners’ 74-game conference winning streak with a 25-21 stunner in Lincoln.The Huskers were only 2-4 going into the game.

OU fans never stormed the field as they did after the Sooners beat the the No. 1-ranked Huskers 31-14 in 2000. Police had to use pepper spray to control the crowd.

It was the true sign that Sooner football was back.