Where would you change history?

[CincySooner]

I'll preface this with the boiler-plate statement...
"It's the offseason and I'm bored."

What single play in Sooner History would you want to change and why?

There should probably be two sub-categories: 1) Non-championship games and 2) championship games

1) 2001 OU/OSU: I would want TRRW to hang onto that Josh Fields intereception on their final drive instead of letting T.D. Bryant take it away from him.

2) 2004 Sugar Bowl: Jason White's interception to Marcus Spears for a TD. Later, in the fourth quarter, instead of trying for a game-tying TD late, OU would have been kicking for the win.

[bstuff1979]

Regular Season:
-Paul Thompson overthrows a wide open reciever in the opening series against TCU.

Post Season:
-allowing a touchdown pass to a fullback in to set the tone for the '88 Orange Bowl

[King Crimson]

Billy doesn't fumble in Lincoln and we win the 78 NC.

[Sooner24]

Billy doesn't fumble in Lincoln and we win the 78 NC.


That's the one I would pick.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

2005 OB, we don't muff the punt return on our own 5.

Also, the whole BRSI thing.

Shnelly..

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Oh, and banish miami from college football in the '80's

[goodonya]

1978 - Billy doesn't fumble in Lincoln

1976 - We hit the extra point in Dallas

1984(?) The referee would be allowed to bring his dog to see Stanberry intercept the ball in the rain in Dallas

[SteelClip49]

surprisingly no one has mentioned:

2007 Fiesta Bowl

2006 Oregon


Had those have been wins, it would be Oklahoma playing for it all

[Big Red Ron]

No question;

1) Billy's fumble

2) Stansberry's Int

[bstuff1979]

surprisingly no one has mentioned:

2007 Fiesta Bowl

2006 Oregon


Had those have been wins, it would be Oklahoma playing for it all


It's clear to me that, regardless of the plays made or plays that would have been made, the 2006 game at Nike would have turned out the same way. OU made the plays in that game up to the point that they should have won. Hense, I did not mention that exhibition (calling it a game implies that a winner would be determined based on talent, play-calling, play-making and that those factors would translate into points).
While I'm thinking about it, I would have liked James Allen to slip around Stoney Clarke and it would have been really cool if Lasher hit that field goal.

[Big Red Ron]

One that I'd change on just an anger deal, TT debacle.

[illinisooner]

Fiesta Bowl. Lewis Baker jacks up whoever gets the lateral, so there's no OT and ensuing loss. Then it becomes one of the greatest Sooner comebacks of all time...and not our national embarassment.

[illinisooner]

I wouldn't change the Oregon/Tech games because, regardless of the actual outcome, everyone knows who really won...it's not like anyone thinks TT or the Ducks actually won. Well, maybe except for Lubbock and Eugene, but then again, who cares about them?

[CU Sooner]

The Sooner Schooner stays off the field against Wahington in OB, momentum swing that cost the MNC.

[SoonerMachine]

-Somehow prevent Andre Johnson's car accident in 1984
-Billy Sims fumble in 1978
-Convince Demond Parker to come back in 1999
-Maintain Q’s redshirt status

[MojoRisen]

I have to go with the white interception myself - Sugar Bowl

[IndianJack]

2004: Not really a play, but it impacted so many plays to come. Dvoracek not becoming a version of some WWE drunken bully :mad: and getting dismissed from the team. We so sorely missed his presence in the middle of the D-line. It all starts up front, and not having his push up the middle to collapse the QB pocket (see: Leinart's 5 TD tosses) was a big reason for the OB debacle. Not saying we win that game, but it certainly changes SC's focus on who/how to block (Pendleton was a helluva a player and an even better man, but he didn't command the attention and double teams that Dvoracek did/would have).

2006: If OU (see: Peterson repeatedly running out of bounds) uses better clock management against Oregon (I have counted up between a minute and a half to two minutes of game clock handed to Oregon) then there is not enough time for the Duck-saster to occurr. Although the officials probably come up with some way to put the teams back on the field a la the '72 or '76 USA Olympic basketball farce against the CCCP. Was G. Reece a commie?

[Collier11]

2005 OB, we don't muff the punt return on our own 5.



Do you really think it changes anything? If you want to take that back, also take away JW's interceptions where he is just throwing the ball up in the air like I would do. Atleast MB was trying to make a play, he screwed up no doubt but I doubt it makes a diff

[bstuff1979]

whoever neg spek'd me ( "OU football began prior to 2000" ), you're a coward. leave your name if you're going to be a punk. second, don't be a moron. I know OU's tradition began prior to 2000. The Stoney Clarke play was NOT after 2000, neither was Lashar's missed field goal that would have beaten texas. I mentioned both of those. If you still doubt that I know Sooner Football, how about OU not giving up that TD run against ND in '57? Thanks again for being a punk, now go back to texas.

[Collier11]

whoever neg spek'd me


You know I used to be like you when I first joined as were alot of people, but you need to realize as I did that IT IS JUST SPEK, IT IS JUST A COMMENT, GET OVER IT!!! Stop taking a damn message board so seriously, most likely the only reason that they negged you was to get a reaction out of you so you lose and they win, congrats!

[Octavian]

Non-championship Games:

1.) OU beats Notre Dame in Norman 1957....and the winning streak goes well beyond 50. The Irish fanbase count that game as one of their most cherished wins in school history...it's always in the top 3 or 4 in the ND publishings. It also happened on the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood (FWIW)....and it's likely we would've 3-peeted had we won. Of all the programs in the country, I wish Notre Dame hadn't ended the streak.


2.) RD Lasher hits the last second FG in Dallas in 1990 and OU wins 16-14. Gundy is a true freshman in Gibbs's second year. OU is ranked #4 in the country. That loss was the painful foreshadow for the decade to come. Maybe it was all in the cards...maybe we would've never ended up landing Stoops had RD hit that last second FG that day in Dallas. But it still hurt like hell when it faded away.


Championship Games:

1.) '78 Orange Bowl - Arkansas. We completely collapsed in the worst loss of the Switzer era. Lott, Simms, and the Wishbone looked awful. Our vaunted defense got shredded. It's probably the biggest win in Arkansas school history. OU wins that night and we claim our 3rd NC in a 4 year span during the '70s - and the debate about the Team of the Decade comes to an end.


2.) '04 Sugar Bowl - LSU. Even with a hobbled quarterback, we could've won our second crystal ball in the '00 Decade in the Cajuns' backyard had we stuck with the running game in the 4th. Jason's Heisman and his legacy would've been much prettier and the media buzzards would've had to get off our backs. Also...if that group of players came back and won the Sugar and hoisted the crystal ball, they might've had a better mental edge to not fold against SC a year later in the Orange.

[CincySooner]

whoever neg spek'd me ( "OU football began prior to 2000" ), you're a coward. leave your name if you're going to be a punk. second, don't be a moron. I know OU's tradition began prior to 2000. The Stoney Clarke play was NOT after 2000, neither was Lashar's missed field goal that would have beaten texas. I mentioned both of those. If you still doubt that I know Sooner Football, how about OU not giving up that TD run against ND in '57? Thanks again for being a punk, now go back to texas.


heh... yeah... I got one of those too. Someone out there sure has their panties in a wad.

I will admit I wasn't a fan until 98, but I am aware of the history. I'm not going to talk about games that I didn't witness.

[CatfishSooner]

This thread make me sick to my stomach...

[SteelClip49]

damn damn damn Eric Crouch in 2001.

also in 2001, even though we did win the KSU game, should had never been decided in the end like that. Up 36-14, go on to win 38-37.

Also, the 1999 game against Notre Dame. It was a fun trip but the loss by 4 after being up by 14.

[Sooner98]

The plays that I would most like to change are the ones that, had they gone differently, we would have had at least a shot at the NC that year. Off the top of my head:

78 - Sims' fumble at Nebraska
01 - Roy, you should have INT'D that damn Fields pass
03 - Sugar Bowl, the first play from scrimmage (long run by Vincent) set the tone for the whole game

[bstuff1979]

You know I used to be like you when I first joined as were alot of people, but you need to realize as I did that IT IS JUST SPEK, IT IS JUST A COMMENT, GET OVER IT!!! Stop taking a damn message board so seriously, most likely the only reason that they negged you was to get a reaction out of you so you lose and they win, congrats!

Heeeey, if your telling me not to take it so seriously...don't tell me this with cap-locks. Sorta defeats your argument. Anyway, I was a little more peeved over the principle of the thing than the "spek points". Just bugs me a bit when someone doesn't have the guts to let you know who they are when they're taking out a grudge on you. In any event, I haven't just recently joined, I just don't post all that much. Back to the original topic, I was/am trying to keep the "what could you change" to the games I actually attended. ie, the lashar field goal miss against texas, stoney clarke, and so on. After thinking a little while about it, the moment that made me throw up a little in my mouth was Wes Caswell (I'm pretty sure that's his name) catching a 99 yard td. The '92 usc game was a tough pill (mostly watching the usc players throw ice at OU fans/players from the sidelines) and even though it was a win, the '94 Syracuse game was really irritating up untill the last series. There was a chubby little 'cuse fan behind me that was quite possibly the most obnoxious thing on the planet outside of austin. Yeah, he cried after the field goal and no, the Carrier Dome isn't all that loud (and it's not air conditioned...even with the sponser being what it is.)

[SteelClip49]

bstuff, some of the spekers here don't believe you can have an opinion so they give you the orange and red. But you are doing fine. You are still a glorious beacon of light while I am off the scale...one bad dude, in which I used to think was a good thing.

[CobraKai]

I'll preface this with the boiler-plate statement...
"It's the offseason and I'm bored."

What single play in Sooner History would you want to change and why?

There should probably be two sub-categories: 1) Non-championship games and 2) championship games

1) 2001 OU/OSU: I would want TRRW to hang onto that Josh Fields intereception on their final drive instead of letting T.D. Bryant take it away from him.

2) 2004 Sugar Bowl: Jason White's interception to Marcus Spears for a TD. Later, in the fourth quarter, instead of trying for a game-tying TD late, OU would have been kicking for the win.

You know what...those are two pretty darn good ones right there. I'll go with yours. :)

[CobraKai]

No question;

1) Billy's fumble

2) Stansberry's Int

How would you change #2? Make it where he DID NOT intercept it? ;)

[HTown77095]

I wish the french would have kept the statue of liberty so as to not give anyone any ideas for any trick plays.

I wish for refs that can see clearly and aren't crooked (UO and TTech games).

I wish we would have at least showed up to play at '05 Orange Bowl and '04 Big 12 title games..

[Seamus]

heh. n00b ire ;)

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Do you really think it changes anything? If you want to take that back, also take away JW's interceptions where he is just throwing the ball up in the air like I would do. Atleast MB was trying to make a play, he screwed up no doubt but I doubt it makes a diff

Yes, I think it changes a lot. This was the play that started everything downhill. Either him not try and get it or, he doesn't fumble, I would like to see how the rest of the game played out. JW may have been more calm and not thrown so many up. The whole game after that muff everyone was trying to make plays and it just worked against them. My memory may not be the greatest and all the mistakes after that still could have happened, but I think this was a bad bounce that turned the game around and never could recover.

[Collier11]

we could have possibly been alot more competitive, but I think that suc team was just better

[silverwheels]

Non-championship Games:

1.) OU beats Notre Dame in Norman 1957....and the winning streak goes well beyond 50. The Irish fanbase count that game as one of their most cherished wins in school history...it's always in the top 3 or 4 in the ND publishings. It also happened on the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood (FWIW)....and it's likely we would've 3-peeted had we won. Of all the programs in the country, I wish Notre Dame hadn't ended the streak.

That was my first thought. Damned Notre Dame and their slimy espionage tactics.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

we could have possibly been alot more competitive, but I think that suc team was just better


Perhaps. Damn I hated that day :mad: my seats were right behind the suc band :mad:

[CincySooner]

I wish we would have at least showed up to play at '05 Orange Bowl and '04 Big 12 title games..

I'm sure you meant 03 Big XII Title game.

[rainiersooner]

Do you really think it changes anything? If you want to take that back, also take away JW's interceptions where he is just throwing the ball up in the air like I would do. Atleast MB was trying to make a play, he screwed up no doubt but I doubt it makes a diff

It might not have made a difference, but momentum is huge in a game like that.

[IndianJack]

'04 Sugar Bowl: 4th quarter. JW has K. Jones wide open in the endzone and badly overthrows him on what amounted to about a 10 yard pass. I almost jumped through the roof of Harrah's ballroom.


'85 Texas/Miami: What genius scheduled these two back to back? Casillas' injury in the Texas game caused him to miss UM. An all-american DT in the lineup always makes for a different kind of game.

[HTown77095]

I'm sure you meant 03 Big XII Title game.

'03 is what I meant, thanks. These years are starting to run together.

'04 was when we righteously clobbered CO

[Big Red Ron]

'04 Sugar Bowl: 4th quarter. JW has K. Jones wide open in the endzone and badly overthrows him on what amounted to about a 10 yard pass. I almost jumped through the roof of Harrah's ballroom.


.It never should have come to that. Chuck tried to show everyone how smart he was instead of just feeding the ball to Jones. I knew then that Chuck was not all he was cracked up to be for sure.

[Collier11]

whoever neg spek'd me ( "OU football began prior to 2000" ), you're a coward. leave your name if you're going to be a punk. second, don't be a moron. I know OU's tradition began prior to 2000. The Stoney Clarke play was NOT after 2000, neither was Lashar's missed field goal that would have beaten texas. I mentioned both of those. If you still doubt that I know Sooner Football, how about OU not giving up that TD run against ND in '57? Thanks again for being a punk, now go back to texas.


youre an idiot and you should know what I am talking about...I guess you proved your point huh?

[goingoneight]

Fiesta Bowl. Lewis Baker jacks up whoever gets the lateral, so there's no OT and ensuing loss. Then it becomes one of the greatest Sooner comebacks of all time...and not our national embarassment.

No one should be embarassed by how that one turned out. The comeback was great, the fireworks were awesome. But like Stoops, Switzer and Wilkinson always said, there's nothing wrong with competing. If you've never lost, then you've never played the game. I'd be willing to bet more people would harass us if we DID beat BSU barely. Instead, people see the game for what it is, a miraculous performance by an underdog. Don't listen to whorns and aggies, they suck at life, so they don't count.


That said, three recent things I would change:

1. Recruiting Bomar... what good really came of that? Bad publicity and an 8-4 season. Shiny whale trophy.
2. Let Auburn get their asses whooped in the game which we do not speak of. Since they honestly believed they would have done better.
3. Hold onto the football in the RRS last year. Than we'd either have played Ohio State for the MNC, or forever be known as the team Oregon gypped out of a National Title Game.

I wouldn't change anything about Switzer's or Bud's times at OU except maybe I'd drop a hint to a certain OSU running back that all he had to do was try out in Norman to win a championship.

[rhombic21]

- Sims' fumble in '78 definitely has to be the top of the list because we probably would have won the NC without that play.

- In my lifetime, I'd have to go with Roy missing the INT against OSU in '01. If he makes that play, I genuinely feel that we beat Colorado in the Big 12 title game, and then play Miami for the NC (where we'd probably have been overmatched, but I would have liked to see what our defense could have done against their offense). If that play goes the other way, OU would have played in 6 of the last 7 Big 12 title games (winning 5), and 4 of the last 7 BCS Championship games.

- I would also nominate Peterson's TD run that broke his collarbone against ISU. It wouldn't have resulted in any more wins or championships for us, but there's a pretty solid chance (given Troy Smith's lack of outstanding statistics) that Adrian would have won the Heisman last year if he didn't get hurt. Sadly, we were essentially robbed of the chance to see one of the greatest players to ever come to OU put together a single season without major injury (people sometimes forget thatl, despite the great statistics he put up, he played his Freshman year with a badly injured shoulder).

- I don't think the Oregon game or the Fiesta Bowl are good candidates. At the end of the day, unless we beat Texas, we wouldn't have been playing for the NC. And based on what I saw out of PT in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm not altogether sure that we'd have belonged in a NC game against Ohio State or Florida.

Of course, it goes without saying that just as easily as you can pick any one or two plays that could have gone our way and resulted in a Conference or National championship, you can also find, in almost every season, a couple plays that could have gone the other way and cost us the Championships that we won.

[bstuff1979]

youre an idiot and you should know what I am talking about...I guess you proved your point huh?

The thread's about OU football, not you trying to call me out. I would assume that everyone else would rather hear what you've got to say about OU football much more than your ill-concieved ideas about me. Don't be a such negative nancie, let's turn that frown upside down. Lighten up

[SoonerDood]

Do you really think it changes anything? If you want to take that back, also take away JW's interceptions where he is just throwing the ball up in the air like I would do. Atleast MB was trying to make a play, he screwed up no doubt but I doubt it makes a diff

Jason's heave-hos were Chuck Long's fault. Didn't you get that memo?;)

I would definitley change that punk Vincent's run on the 1st play of the Sugar Bowl. Put us in a hole from the very beginning. Or maybe I would change how his career turned out. After that game he never did anything of note. Further proof for my theory that everyone plays The Game of Their Life against Oklahoma.

[PLaw]

Regular Season: Mildren hits Harrison on post - game over. Sooners are National Champs in '71.

Post Season: Switzer and crew take OB against Holtz's hogs serious and cut back on the SOBE partying. OU wins game and yet another National Championship.

BOOMER
PLaw

[CincySooner]

Color me puzzled... I had no idea this thread would make so many people mad.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Color me puzzled... I had no idea this thread would make so many people mad.

Why not? this topic brings back memories we don't like ;)

[IndianJack]

It never should have come to that. Chuck tried to show everyone how smart he was instead of just feeding the ball to Jones. I knew then that Chuck was not all he was cracked up to be for sure.


True enough. However, if an OC's job is to design a play that will produce an open receiver, then his call on that down certainly was successfull, at least in part. I know this is a coach speak cliche, but players have to execute. There was not a Bayou Bunghole within yards of Jones, and IF JW just punts it in there to him, our defense was playing well enough to maybe pull it out in OT. I agree that more handoffs to Jones take more out of the execution equation and certainly forecloses the Ockham's razor aspect. Wonder how the Aztec's are looking.

[MojoRisen]

I have to go with the white interception myself - Sugar Bowl

I got negged for this, whatever.... Then I will have to go with the over throw on a play that just needed to be lobbed. No offense to Jason but dang... I am sure he wishes those plays back.

My old man tells a story of when he lost the little league world series by letting a ball go bewteen his leggs. He says that he thinks about it everytime he goes to the bathroom and only remembers his father shaking his head.

[goingoneight]

- Sims' fumble in '78 definitely has to be the top of the list because we probably would have won the NC without that play.

- In my lifetime, I'd have to go with Roy missing the INT against OSU in '01. If he makes that play, I genuinely feel that we beat Colorado in the Big 12 title game, and then play Miami for the NC (where we'd probably have been overmatched, but I would have liked to see what our defense could have done against their offense). If that play goes the other way, OU would have played in 6 of the last 7 Big 12 title games (winning 5), and 4 of the last 7 BCS Championship games.

- I would also nominate Peterson's TD run that broke his collarbone against ISU. It wouldn't have resulted in any more wins or championships for us, but there's a pretty solid chance (given Troy Smith's lack of outstanding statistics) that Adrian would have won the Heisman last year if he didn't get hurt. Sadly, we were essentially robbed of the chance to see one of the greatest players to ever come to OU put together a single season without major injury (people sometimes forget thatl, despite the great statistics he put up, he played his Freshman year with a badly injured shoulder).

- I don't think the Oregon game or the Fiesta Bowl are good candidates. At the end of the day, unless we beat Texas, we wouldn't have been playing for the NC. And based on what I saw out of PT in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm not altogether sure that we'd have belonged in a NC game against Ohio State or Florida.

Of course, it goes without saying that just as easily as you can pick any one or two plays that could have gone our way and resulted in a Conference or National championship, you can also find, in almost every season, a couple plays that could have gone the other way and cost us the Championships that we won.

I was with you until the PT comment... I respectfully disagree and will tell you that despite a few bad breaks (Iggy ran the wrong route on the first INT, MK goes down) PT was a GAMER that night. I don't recall any other Sooner QB's we've had under Stoops who put together drives like he did in the BIG 12 CCG and in the 4th of the Fiasco Bowl... that guy was flat-out determined to win, whether he is NFL caliber/Heisman/MVP or not.

[Big Red Ron]

I was with you until the PT comment... I respectfully disagree and will tell you that despite a few bad breaks (Iggy ran the wrong route on the first INT, MK goes down) PT was a GAMER that night. I don't recall any other Sooner QB's we've had under Stoops who put together drives like he did in the BIG 12 CCG and in the 4th of the Fiasco Bowl... that guy was flat-out determined to win, whether he is NFL caliber/Heisman/MVP or not.Yep.

[goingoneight]

Seriously, for all the crap he takes from "fans," he flat-out took over those games. Unfortunately, his defense didn't help out too much, but oh well.