Jacie
6/6/2009, 09:44 AM
1996: The Beginning of the John Blake Era
President Boren really respected Barry Switzer and asked him for input on OU’s next coaching hire. This was a pivotal time for OU as it could not afford to look for new coaches every three years if it wanted to be successful again. This was also the debut year of the Big 12 Conference so it was important to get off to a great start. Boren got input from Barry Switzer, Steve Owens who took over as AD for Donnie Duncan, regents and Dr. Cross. There was a strong sense of urgency to inject some immediate talent into OU and most felt that John Blake, while extremely young and inexperienced, could hire competent assistants and “grow” into the job. After all was said and done with, John Blake became OU’s 3rd coach within a seven-year period on December 31st, 1995. Opinions on John Blake’s hiring were mixed. Some thought it was the right thing to do at the time while others thought it was a big time gamble because of his lack of experience.
OU began the 1996 season with an easy road trip against TCU. Well, John Blake’s debut as head coach and Dick Winder’s debut as offensive coordinator at OU was a complete mess. OU struggled to move the ball all day long and while TCU didn’t do much better, they were able to score. TCU won the game 20-7 and it was time to hit the panic button! OU had its first losing record at any point in a season in several years. OU’s next game was against San Diego St. in which OU discovered a future star in redshirt freshman De’Mond Parker as he ran for over 200 yards in the game. OU’s offense was not much of a problem, but strangely not only did OU fail miserably to stop the pass, the rushing defense was just as bad in this game. It was another embarrassing loss 51-31 to San Diego St. and OU began the season in a 0-2 hole. Luckily, Tulsa was up next on the schedule, a team that OU not only beats, but beats bad. Tulsa jumped out to a shocking big lead in the 1st half and OU came storming back, but Wes Caswell’s 99-yard TD reception was too much and OU lost a shocker to Tulsa, 31-24. Just guessing, but I bet there were quite a few folks calling for John Blake’s head after this one. Things just got worse and worse as OU’s traditional whipping boy teams were giving it back. The Kansas Jayhawks did it for a second year in a row and defeated OU 52-24. OU was off to it’s worst start in well over 50 years at 0-4. Things weren’t looking up as OU faced a Top 25 Texas squad. OU came into this game as pretty sizeable underdogs, but we all know with the Sooners and Longhorns; you never favor one of these teams heavily, because that is when things get strange. OU kept pace in this game as James Allen and De’Mond Parker both had roughly 100 yards at halftime. John Blake decided to go full time with James Allen in the second half, which I thought was a mistake considering how well the young De’Mond Parker was doing. James Allen continued to run with reckless abandon, breaking tackles and making spin moves that he hadn’t displayed since his freshman year. Jarrail Jackson returned a punt return for a TD in the second half that proved vital for OU. It was the second biggest play of the game, being second only to what occurred in overtime. However, without that play, OT would never have happened. Anyway, the game goes into overtime and Texas blows their chance and it was OU’s turn. This scenario was eerily similar to two years before when James Allen was stopped short of the goal line. That was the same play that kept replaying in my mind as OU approached the five-yard line. Anyway, the call was made for James Allen and through heavy traffic he dived in, albeit barely, for the game winning TD. That was not only a great and emotional win considering the way the season went, I was so happy for James Allen. He went from a kid that totally lost his confidence on one play and always being remembered for getting stopped short of the goal line by Stoney Clark, to yet another player that will be in the books of OU/TX folklore. Suddenly OU’s 0-4 start didn’t seem so bad, knowing what John Blake did for that kid. Luckily, things have worked out well for James and he showed tremendous promise with the Chicago Bears. Good luck to James in the NFL! Following OU’s emotional win over Texas, there were some concerns whether the team would be focused for Baylor or not. A team regardless of schedule, OU should beat. Well, the proverbial Texas hangover was indeed in full force as OU got down 21-0 to Baylor. However, the Sooners came storming back late in the 3rd quarter with Eric Moore leading the charge. OU’s defense only gave up a field goal after the 21-0 Baylor lead and OU went on to win 28-24 to improve to 2-4 on the season. OU’s next opponent was the no longer pathetic Kansas State Wildcats, a team that had to be taken seriously. KSU was ranked #17 in the nation jumped out to a 28-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. OU made yet another miraculous comeback, but the clock expired on their final possession. KSU won the game 42-35, but for three weeks in a row, OU showed tremendous heart and never gave up in each of the games. Hopefully, OU would have gained some confidence from the near comeback, but that didn’t do much good the next game as OU suffered they’re most lopsided loss ever against the #6 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. The score was 73-21 and OU fell to 2-6 on the season. Some “normalcy” returned the following game as OU got revenge from the embarrassing 12-0 loss to OSU the year before and won 27-17. Following the OSU game, OU played against Texas A&M, which was not expected to be fun. And it wasn’t as OU lost 33-16, but sadly, it was like a sigh of relief after what happened in the Nebraska game. OU closed the season with a team that OU could always rely on to lose and that was Texas Tech. Well, this was truly a bad year, as even Texas Tech defeated OU 22-12 and OU finished at 3-8 for the season. It was the first losing season in over 50 years and arguably OU’s worst team ever. I would personally rate it as OU’s worst team ever, just based on the overall record and some of the scores.
John Blake’s season debut was obviously not a smashing success. But we knew how OU was in a fragile time with its 3rd coach in three years, so “some” patience was in order. There was some obvious concern about OU’s play, but we were going to give John Blake some time to bring in the talent we all originally envisioned. The things I viewed as good were what happened for James Allen and the team’s desire not to quit. I never quite figured out what happened in the Nebraska game, but I will tell you something: You turn the ball over five times in the 1st quarter inside of your own 35 yard line and you are going to get your tail kicked no matter who you are!
President Boren really respected Barry Switzer and asked him for input on OU’s next coaching hire. This was a pivotal time for OU as it could not afford to look for new coaches every three years if it wanted to be successful again. This was also the debut year of the Big 12 Conference so it was important to get off to a great start. Boren got input from Barry Switzer, Steve Owens who took over as AD for Donnie Duncan, regents and Dr. Cross. There was a strong sense of urgency to inject some immediate talent into OU and most felt that John Blake, while extremely young and inexperienced, could hire competent assistants and “grow” into the job. After all was said and done with, John Blake became OU’s 3rd coach within a seven-year period on December 31st, 1995. Opinions on John Blake’s hiring were mixed. Some thought it was the right thing to do at the time while others thought it was a big time gamble because of his lack of experience.
OU began the 1996 season with an easy road trip against TCU. Well, John Blake’s debut as head coach and Dick Winder’s debut as offensive coordinator at OU was a complete mess. OU struggled to move the ball all day long and while TCU didn’t do much better, they were able to score. TCU won the game 20-7 and it was time to hit the panic button! OU had its first losing record at any point in a season in several years. OU’s next game was against San Diego St. in which OU discovered a future star in redshirt freshman De’Mond Parker as he ran for over 200 yards in the game. OU’s offense was not much of a problem, but strangely not only did OU fail miserably to stop the pass, the rushing defense was just as bad in this game. It was another embarrassing loss 51-31 to San Diego St. and OU began the season in a 0-2 hole. Luckily, Tulsa was up next on the schedule, a team that OU not only beats, but beats bad. Tulsa jumped out to a shocking big lead in the 1st half and OU came storming back, but Wes Caswell’s 99-yard TD reception was too much and OU lost a shocker to Tulsa, 31-24. Just guessing, but I bet there were quite a few folks calling for John Blake’s head after this one. Things just got worse and worse as OU’s traditional whipping boy teams were giving it back. The Kansas Jayhawks did it for a second year in a row and defeated OU 52-24. OU was off to it’s worst start in well over 50 years at 0-4. Things weren’t looking up as OU faced a Top 25 Texas squad. OU came into this game as pretty sizeable underdogs, but we all know with the Sooners and Longhorns; you never favor one of these teams heavily, because that is when things get strange. OU kept pace in this game as James Allen and De’Mond Parker both had roughly 100 yards at halftime. John Blake decided to go full time with James Allen in the second half, which I thought was a mistake considering how well the young De’Mond Parker was doing. James Allen continued to run with reckless abandon, breaking tackles and making spin moves that he hadn’t displayed since his freshman year. Jarrail Jackson returned a punt return for a TD in the second half that proved vital for OU. It was the second biggest play of the game, being second only to what occurred in overtime. However, without that play, OT would never have happened. Anyway, the game goes into overtime and Texas blows their chance and it was OU’s turn. This scenario was eerily similar to two years before when James Allen was stopped short of the goal line. That was the same play that kept replaying in my mind as OU approached the five-yard line. Anyway, the call was made for James Allen and through heavy traffic he dived in, albeit barely, for the game winning TD. That was not only a great and emotional win considering the way the season went, I was so happy for James Allen. He went from a kid that totally lost his confidence on one play and always being remembered for getting stopped short of the goal line by Stoney Clark, to yet another player that will be in the books of OU/TX folklore. Suddenly OU’s 0-4 start didn’t seem so bad, knowing what John Blake did for that kid. Luckily, things have worked out well for James and he showed tremendous promise with the Chicago Bears. Good luck to James in the NFL! Following OU’s emotional win over Texas, there were some concerns whether the team would be focused for Baylor or not. A team regardless of schedule, OU should beat. Well, the proverbial Texas hangover was indeed in full force as OU got down 21-0 to Baylor. However, the Sooners came storming back late in the 3rd quarter with Eric Moore leading the charge. OU’s defense only gave up a field goal after the 21-0 Baylor lead and OU went on to win 28-24 to improve to 2-4 on the season. OU’s next opponent was the no longer pathetic Kansas State Wildcats, a team that had to be taken seriously. KSU was ranked #17 in the nation jumped out to a 28-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. OU made yet another miraculous comeback, but the clock expired on their final possession. KSU won the game 42-35, but for three weeks in a row, OU showed tremendous heart and never gave up in each of the games. Hopefully, OU would have gained some confidence from the near comeback, but that didn’t do much good the next game as OU suffered they’re most lopsided loss ever against the #6 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. The score was 73-21 and OU fell to 2-6 on the season. Some “normalcy” returned the following game as OU got revenge from the embarrassing 12-0 loss to OSU the year before and won 27-17. Following the OSU game, OU played against Texas A&M, which was not expected to be fun. And it wasn’t as OU lost 33-16, but sadly, it was like a sigh of relief after what happened in the Nebraska game. OU closed the season with a team that OU could always rely on to lose and that was Texas Tech. Well, this was truly a bad year, as even Texas Tech defeated OU 22-12 and OU finished at 3-8 for the season. It was the first losing season in over 50 years and arguably OU’s worst team ever. I would personally rate it as OU’s worst team ever, just based on the overall record and some of the scores.
John Blake’s season debut was obviously not a smashing success. But we knew how OU was in a fragile time with its 3rd coach in three years, so “some” patience was in order. There was some obvious concern about OU’s play, but we were going to give John Blake some time to bring in the talent we all originally envisioned. The things I viewed as good were what happened for James Allen and the team’s desire not to quit. I never quite figured out what happened in the Nebraska game, but I will tell you something: You turn the ball over five times in the 1st quarter inside of your own 35 yard line and you are going to get your tail kicked no matter who you are!