Jacie
5/27/2009, 03:36 PM
Originally posted July 6, 1999. I am not the author.
1989: The Beginning of the Gary Gibbs Era
Entering 1989 there were many questions. How would the players respond when there would be no television exposure or bowl games to aim for? How would Gary Gibbs respond to immense pressure due to expectations? What kind of overall effect would probation have down the road? These were just a few of the questions I wondered about. OU started off with a bang under the Gary Gibbs era with a 73-3 pasting of New Mexico State. Obviously, OU was expected to decisively defeat New Mexico St., but it was reassuring that it happened in Gary Gibbs first game. It also introduced a young talented fullback duo in Kenyan Rasheed and Mike McKinley as well as a running back named Dewell Brewer. Along with that group in OU’s deep backfield they had a guy by the name of Mike Gaddis who was to be OU’s next Heisman Trophy winner and a up and comer named Ike Lewis who unfortunately had troubles hanging onto the ball. Also, worth mentioning on offense was highly regarded athlete named Rod Fisher who was a z-back in OU’s offensive scheme. He was sensational on reverses until he blew out his knee. The second game was supposed to be a little more challenging against Baylor. They were talented in areas and were led by all-American Santana Dotson on defense. OU methodically won this game and the final score being 33-7. So far with the new coach, there were two wins, both by decisive margins so things were looking good. OU’s third game of the season was a road trip to Arizona. Arizona was expected to be somewhat improved that season, but OU was expected to win nonetheless. It was a terrible game, plagued by many turnovers. If I remember correctly, Steve Collins was hurt and Chris Melson, who lost a few fumbles in the game, got a good chunk of playing time before being relieved in favor of Tink Collins. The game was tied 3-3 late in the game, Arizona unfortunately had the last possession and kicked the game winning field goal in the final seconds to win 6-3. My thoughts were that maybe Arizona is better than I anticipated and would prove that farther down the season as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But, a three-point loss at that time could be accepted because of the unknown, along with a new coach and the distraction of probation. After the Arizona loss, OU’s next game came against its perennial whipping child known as the Kansas Jayhawks. OU won going away 45-6 and then it was time to move on to Bedlam, err… I mean “slaughter”, “mismatch” or “annihilation”. This year, OU had a little more breathing room and defeated the OSU Cowboys 37-15. Once again, two decisive wins in a row, so it looked like OU was back on track. So here we were, back in the Red River War. I still rate this as my personal most disheartening OU loss of the post-Barry Switzer era. It was not just the loss, but how OU lost. This game was a typical OU vs. Texas shootout and in the second half Mike Gaddis who was having a big day, broke free for what was going to be a long touchdown run and would probably win the game for OU. Instead as Mike was dashing down along the sidelines, he made a cut back towards midfield and his kneed buckled on the Cotton Bowl turf completely untouched. It was one of the single most horrific plays in OU football in several years. It wasn’t about OU winning the game all of a sudden. It was about Mike being all right and about his Heisman chances getting dashed by an injury that he would never truly recover from. For the rest of the game, it was more about Mike’s status than about the game itself as he was such a big part of the Sooner team mentally and physically. However, in the end Peter Gardere found a wide-open Cash Brother who burnt Charles Franks for the game-winning touchdown. As we all know, almost the same thing happened a year later and the legacy of the Evil Gardere was born. Oh yea, the final score was Texas 28, OU 24. All of a sudden, things were not looking so rosy and OU was sitting at 4-2, but had an easy game coming up against the Cyclones. Well, not really. To many times, we regarded the name of “Cyclones” instead of “Jim Walden”. Iowa St. did some crazy things against OU under Jim Walden and a lot of times it paid off. Iowa St. opened the game kicking off and an example of Jim Walden’s risk taking when ISU kicked an on-side kick on the opening kickoff! Well, this game was not what I was expecting. The score being close was not an issue. But, the total breakdown of the Sooner defense was a major concern. Iowa St. burned OU through the air, but in the end, OU prevailed 43-40. Things were not going to get any easier the next game for OU, because they were going to play an undefeated Colorado team that returned the majority of starters that gave OU all they could handle the previous year. Colorado was also riding high on emotion due to the death of their starting QB Sal Aunese, which occurred in the off-season. Colorado was very talented and was led by a versatile option QB named Darian Hagan, who could throw effectively left or right handed. On top of that, they had a solid running back in Eric Bienemy and a backup named J.J. Flannigan. To add to the mix, they had a utility player that was every bit as good as Raghib Ismail and his name was Mike Pritchard. He was comparable in some stats and better in others compared to the “Rocket”. On the defensive side of the ball, Colorado had Knavis McGhee and some other talented players. OU stood close with defense, but the Sooner offense could never get untracked and Colorado won 20-3. OU then rebounded the next week with an easy win over Missouri by the score of 52-14 and piled up the rushing yards. While OU’s season was starting to shape up to be a major disappointment, one thing was for sure, they still took care of business against the teams they had several year winning streaks over, like OSU, KU, KSU, Missouri etc. OU’s next game was against the Kansas St. Wildcats and what should be another easy win. Well, it wasn’t like I was expecting. OU won, but had a slow start and only won 42-19. Yes, I said, “only won”, as a 23-point victory margin against the likes of KSU was not OU-like. Could this be a sign of future things to come? Unfortunately, as we have now found out, yes. OU closed the season with Nebraska and there were some exciting plays in this game, including what I believe was last game the “Fumblerooski” was run in college football before the NCAA banned it. Then you had the usual flea flicker run by both teams at least once. Ah, that was what OU vs. Nebraska was all about! Neither side holding punches and doing whatever it took to gain the edge. In the end though, Nebraska won 42-25.
So the beginning of the Gary Gibbs regime started with a 7-4 season. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but understood the current situation that OU was in with probation and all. I sincerely believed the season was nothing more than an aberration due to injury, probation and breaking in a new coaching staff. Later on, we found out this was not the case. Of course, not everyone was patient; there were chants on a radio call-in show shouting, “Bring back Switzer!” Funny, that’s a chant that has never really died and it might not ever truly die. Just comes to show you the true power and respect of a legend! Now let’s move onto the 1990 season. A season that I thought would be a fresh start and a chance to bury the disappointing 1989 season.
1989: The Beginning of the Gary Gibbs Era
Entering 1989 there were many questions. How would the players respond when there would be no television exposure or bowl games to aim for? How would Gary Gibbs respond to immense pressure due to expectations? What kind of overall effect would probation have down the road? These were just a few of the questions I wondered about. OU started off with a bang under the Gary Gibbs era with a 73-3 pasting of New Mexico State. Obviously, OU was expected to decisively defeat New Mexico St., but it was reassuring that it happened in Gary Gibbs first game. It also introduced a young talented fullback duo in Kenyan Rasheed and Mike McKinley as well as a running back named Dewell Brewer. Along with that group in OU’s deep backfield they had a guy by the name of Mike Gaddis who was to be OU’s next Heisman Trophy winner and a up and comer named Ike Lewis who unfortunately had troubles hanging onto the ball. Also, worth mentioning on offense was highly regarded athlete named Rod Fisher who was a z-back in OU’s offensive scheme. He was sensational on reverses until he blew out his knee. The second game was supposed to be a little more challenging against Baylor. They were talented in areas and were led by all-American Santana Dotson on defense. OU methodically won this game and the final score being 33-7. So far with the new coach, there were two wins, both by decisive margins so things were looking good. OU’s third game of the season was a road trip to Arizona. Arizona was expected to be somewhat improved that season, but OU was expected to win nonetheless. It was a terrible game, plagued by many turnovers. If I remember correctly, Steve Collins was hurt and Chris Melson, who lost a few fumbles in the game, got a good chunk of playing time before being relieved in favor of Tink Collins. The game was tied 3-3 late in the game, Arizona unfortunately had the last possession and kicked the game winning field goal in the final seconds to win 6-3. My thoughts were that maybe Arizona is better than I anticipated and would prove that farther down the season as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But, a three-point loss at that time could be accepted because of the unknown, along with a new coach and the distraction of probation. After the Arizona loss, OU’s next game came against its perennial whipping child known as the Kansas Jayhawks. OU won going away 45-6 and then it was time to move on to Bedlam, err… I mean “slaughter”, “mismatch” or “annihilation”. This year, OU had a little more breathing room and defeated the OSU Cowboys 37-15. Once again, two decisive wins in a row, so it looked like OU was back on track. So here we were, back in the Red River War. I still rate this as my personal most disheartening OU loss of the post-Barry Switzer era. It was not just the loss, but how OU lost. This game was a typical OU vs. Texas shootout and in the second half Mike Gaddis who was having a big day, broke free for what was going to be a long touchdown run and would probably win the game for OU. Instead as Mike was dashing down along the sidelines, he made a cut back towards midfield and his kneed buckled on the Cotton Bowl turf completely untouched. It was one of the single most horrific plays in OU football in several years. It wasn’t about OU winning the game all of a sudden. It was about Mike being all right and about his Heisman chances getting dashed by an injury that he would never truly recover from. For the rest of the game, it was more about Mike’s status than about the game itself as he was such a big part of the Sooner team mentally and physically. However, in the end Peter Gardere found a wide-open Cash Brother who burnt Charles Franks for the game-winning touchdown. As we all know, almost the same thing happened a year later and the legacy of the Evil Gardere was born. Oh yea, the final score was Texas 28, OU 24. All of a sudden, things were not looking so rosy and OU was sitting at 4-2, but had an easy game coming up against the Cyclones. Well, not really. To many times, we regarded the name of “Cyclones” instead of “Jim Walden”. Iowa St. did some crazy things against OU under Jim Walden and a lot of times it paid off. Iowa St. opened the game kicking off and an example of Jim Walden’s risk taking when ISU kicked an on-side kick on the opening kickoff! Well, this game was not what I was expecting. The score being close was not an issue. But, the total breakdown of the Sooner defense was a major concern. Iowa St. burned OU through the air, but in the end, OU prevailed 43-40. Things were not going to get any easier the next game for OU, because they were going to play an undefeated Colorado team that returned the majority of starters that gave OU all they could handle the previous year. Colorado was also riding high on emotion due to the death of their starting QB Sal Aunese, which occurred in the off-season. Colorado was very talented and was led by a versatile option QB named Darian Hagan, who could throw effectively left or right handed. On top of that, they had a solid running back in Eric Bienemy and a backup named J.J. Flannigan. To add to the mix, they had a utility player that was every bit as good as Raghib Ismail and his name was Mike Pritchard. He was comparable in some stats and better in others compared to the “Rocket”. On the defensive side of the ball, Colorado had Knavis McGhee and some other talented players. OU stood close with defense, but the Sooner offense could never get untracked and Colorado won 20-3. OU then rebounded the next week with an easy win over Missouri by the score of 52-14 and piled up the rushing yards. While OU’s season was starting to shape up to be a major disappointment, one thing was for sure, they still took care of business against the teams they had several year winning streaks over, like OSU, KU, KSU, Missouri etc. OU’s next game was against the Kansas St. Wildcats and what should be another easy win. Well, it wasn’t like I was expecting. OU won, but had a slow start and only won 42-19. Yes, I said, “only won”, as a 23-point victory margin against the likes of KSU was not OU-like. Could this be a sign of future things to come? Unfortunately, as we have now found out, yes. OU closed the season with Nebraska and there were some exciting plays in this game, including what I believe was last game the “Fumblerooski” was run in college football before the NCAA banned it. Then you had the usual flea flicker run by both teams at least once. Ah, that was what OU vs. Nebraska was all about! Neither side holding punches and doing whatever it took to gain the edge. In the end though, Nebraska won 42-25.
So the beginning of the Gary Gibbs regime started with a 7-4 season. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but understood the current situation that OU was in with probation and all. I sincerely believed the season was nothing more than an aberration due to injury, probation and breaking in a new coaching staff. Later on, we found out this was not the case. Of course, not everyone was patient; there were chants on a radio call-in show shouting, “Bring back Switzer!” Funny, that’s a chant that has never really died and it might not ever truly die. Just comes to show you the true power and respect of a legend! Now let’s move onto the 1990 season. A season that I thought would be a fresh start and a chance to bury the disappointing 1989 season.