Thanksgiving Day 1971

[cs6000]

We all know what I'm talking about. I was 9 years old, and we had gone down to see my mom's family in Lindsay, OK. That was in the days when boys my age were afraid of the menfolk, and kept quiet and out of the way.
I can't claim to have watched the whole game, as we were in and out playing football in the front yard. I do remember something big was happening every time I got a glimpse of the TV, and my supercool teenaged girl cousins cooing over Jack Mildren.
Surprisingly, those scary menfolk took the loss well, no spoiling Thanksgiving.
Wish I was more like them.

[Harry Beanbag]

I was -5 days old.

[Flagstaffsooner]

I was there, and very angry at the end of the game.

[StormySooner-IN]

I was -21 years old. ;)


And yes, that must have been a heart spoling day. :(

[texas bandman]

I was there in the student section with my Dad. It was cold and wet, but one of the most memorable days of my life. Damn blind refs!

[King Crimson]

supercool teenage girls cooing, rawr.

"so, do you girls like vodka?"

my grandad was at that game in section 20 and he said we got ****ed in the nose (not his exact quote--he would never curse like me), and he wasn't one to blame the refs for anything.

RIP Joe R. I love you.

[85Sooner]

I was 7 and remember that day Damn illegal block

[Jacie]

Of every Sooner loss I have experienced, this game is the one I'd like to have back.

[swardboy]

I was a senior in high school...I remember a nice pre-game piece (was it ABC?) on Greg Pruitt. Then I remember Johnny Rodgers doing some things I'd never seen before!

At the end, I felt like we got beat by a very boring team...wasn't really aware of the bad calls at the time. Interestingly enough, I don't think instant replay could have changed any of them.

[King Crimson]

I was a senior in high school...I remember a nice pre-game piece (was it ABC?) on Greg Pruitt. Then I remember Johnny Rodgers doing some things I'd never seen before!


like rob a gas station?

[Lott's Bandana]

Of every Sooner loss I have experienced, this game is the one I'd like to have back.


Seconded.

[Leroy Lizard]

I remember the game quite well. In fact, it was the first Sooner game that I can remember real vividly. The team wasn't on tv as much back then.

I would rather have the 1978 OU/Nebraska game back.

[tulsaoilerfan]

How was the reaction on Soonerfans.com back then? which coaches did they want ran out of town after that loss? Was it all blamed on the refs? :)

[Little Al]

No such thing in 1971.

[jdsooner]

No. 1 Nebraska @ No. 2 Oklahoma
Game of the Century
Nov. 25, 1971


The Thanksgiving Day showdown between unbeaten, top-ranked Nebraska and unbeaten, second-ranked Oklahoma is no turkey. This is one "Game of the Century" that lives up to the hype.

Johnny Rodgers starts the fireworks with a scintillating 72-yard punt return to give Nebraska an early 7-0 lead. Twice, the Cornhuskers lead by 11 points, 14-3 in the second quarter and 28-17 in the third.

But each time, the Sooners come back against the nation's No. 1 defense. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Jack Mildren to Jon Harrison midway in the fourth quarter gives them a 31-28 lead. The Cornhuskers, though, are confident they can score again. "We wanted to use up as much of the clock as possible," quarterback Jerry Tagge says. "We didn't want them to have time to score again."

They use 5½ minutes to go 74 yards and the fourth short touchdown run of the game by Jeff Kinney (174 yards on 30 carries) -- this one from two yards -- enables Nebraska to regain the lead with 98 seconds left. When the defense, led by middle guard Rich Glover (22 tackles), stops Oklahoma's final possession, the Cornhuskers are Big Eight champions with their 35-31 victory. It is the 21st consecutive win and 30th game without a loss for coach Bob Devaney's juggernaut.

[BoulderSooner79]

I was in junior high just starting to follow the Sooners. I thought NU controlled the line on both sides of the ball and that OU was extremely gritty to stay in the game and almost pull it out. But I remember thinking the better team won (fixed starting in '72 when the defense got mean). But what a game; still referred to as the game of the century by many.

If I could trade OU/NU history, I'd trade the '76 win for '78 loss. The '76 team was a rebuilding year while the '78 team was the best OU team not to win it all. It was terrible weather in Lincoln that allowed an inferior NU team to win. The Orange bowl rematch was such a let down to me.

[TUSooner]

I was 14 and at the game, up in the NW corner where Dad had season tix. I don't remember rain or cold, but I do remember that last Nebbish drive on which Tagge coverted a zillion 3d downs. And I remember Mildren just missing Harris on a bomb on OU's last possession :( That game bummed me out for a year, but it was a very exciting roller-coaster ride.
We went home for Thanksgiving dinner after the game, and one of the neighbors (a Mississippian) was saying he really thought Alabama could beat Nebs in the Orange Bowl. They didn't, of course. I also remember that the next week we walloped Pokie 66-6; then we snuffed Auburn in the Sugar to finish ranked #2. I dont remember who was #3, but they were way behind NU and OU, who were in a league by themselves that year. I still have the ticket stub, and I almost never cry when I think about it these days. :)

[TUSooner]

Of every Sooner loss I have experienced, this game is the one I'd like to have back.

Well, that one, or maybe the 78 Orange bowl or our last 2 BCSNCG losses.....

[lexsooner]

How was the reaction on Soonerfans.com back then? which coaches did they want ran out of town after that loss? Was it all blamed on the refs? :)

The Chuck Chuck slogan was sent out via mass internet mailings right after the game. The clip a Neb player made on our guy during the JR punt return was reviewed and replayed on YouTube, with many angry OU fans leaving comments, including our hopes the courts would send Johnny to the military and Vietnam for robbing the gas station. I remember it vividly!

Seriously, I was eight and went to the game with my Dad, who had bought faculty tickets for first time ever. Funny, I don't recall getting too mad after the game, even though when I was a kid I was furious when we lost. It was so crowded and I had trouble seeing, but I still remember the late td pass from Mildren to Fulcher (sp?) near the end of the first half, going left to right into the South endzone, and how we all went crazy. If only Ray Hamilton had been there to stuff Jeff Kinney at the goal line. Oh well, I got to enjoy four national titles since then . . . .

[TUSooner]

I recall Fulcher being the kicker who slotted home the game winner vs Neb in 72. That win took some of the sting away

[lexsooner]

I remember the game quite well. In fact, it was the first Sooner game that I can remember real vividly. The team wasn't on tv as much back then.

I would rather have the 1978 OU/Nebraska game back.

Give us back the Game of the Century, the Sims fumble at the Neb 2 yd. line in 1978, the Jason White overthrow in the endzone in the fourth quarter in the Sugar Bowl against LSU (we would have beat them the way our d was playing if we had tied it), the Boise St. fourth down play in regulation, the botched extra pt. snap in the 1976 Texas game, . . . . .

[kc sooner]

I wasn't born yet, but my dad was in the Navy, stationed in Virginia at the time, my mom refers to 1971 as Black Christmas because my dad is also a huge Chiefs fan and the Chiefs lost to Miami that year on Christmas day in the longest game in NFL history. Add that to the Sooners losing on Thanksgiving, and it was a pretty bad Christmas season that year.

[Lott's Bandana]

I would rather have the 1978 OU/Nebraska game back.


I bet Billy would too.




Damn fumble.


:(

[TUSooner]

Thanks, Sooner04. Colorado was #3 in 1971, they lost only to OU & NU. Great year for the Big 8.