This week's RW report is still in the works, but in the meantime, enjoy this classic from 2000. You all know how it turned out, but it's fun to read about it again!
Originally published OCTOBER 9, 2000
DALLAS, TX - It's hard to determine what was the turning point of Saturday's historic 63-14 Sooner rout of Texas. One thing is for sure - it took place sometime before the Sooners and Longhorns ever made their way to Dallas. The Sooners were prepared and confident, while the Horns were hapless, helpless, and confused. The Sooner coaches had this one in the bag before they left home, because once the teams hit the field, the mismatch on the sidelines was painfully (for UT fans) obvious.
This one was one for the record books in many ways. The Sooners' 63 points were the most scored by either team in the series. The 49-point margin of victory was the largest since a 50-0 Sooner win in 1908, and the second largest in the history of the series. Sophomore running back Quentin Griffin broke an OU school record by running for six touchdowns on the day. The Sooner defense held UT to -7 yards rushing, which was a regular-season record for rushing futility by the Horns.
Sooner QB Josh Heupel was outstanding, throwing for 275 yards on 17 completions out of 27 attempts, with one TD and no interceptions. OU would run the ball more times than they passed it for the first time in the Stoops era, and would rack up 245 yards on the ground.
OU won the toss and deferred their selection to the second half. Tim Duncan boomed the first of many Sooner kickoffs on the day out of the end zone, and Texas started on their 20-yard line. Major Applewhite started under center for the Horns, but wasn't able to get anything going on the first series. A draw play and a motion penalty left UT in a second and 13 hole, and another draw play pushed them back another two yards. A pass to Roy Williams picked up only six, and Texas was forced to punt. It would become a theme on the afternoon.
UT's short punt gave OU excellent field position at their own 43. Heupel opened things up by hitting Josh Norman for 10 yards, then hit Antwone Savage on a slant for another 10 yards to the UT 37. A screen to Savage went for seven yards, then an incomplete pass left the Sooners facing their first third down play of the day. On third and two, Heupel ran what has become his patented "draw the defense offside and throw deep for a TD play. It worked last season on multiple occasions, and it worked this time, as well. UT didn't jump offside, but it didn't matter, as he lofted a perfect 29-yard pass to Andre Woolfolk down the left sideline for the TD and a 7-0 lead.
UT picked up their initial first down on the ensuing possession, but would not manage another until it was a moot point. The UT punt ended up at the Sooner 23, where the onslaught would begin anew. OU did nothing with their first two plays, but on third and 10, and scrambling Heupel hit Griffin for 13 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Griffin took a shovel pass 26 yards to the UT 40, then swept right for nine more. A Heupel sneak tallied a first down at the UT 29, then Matt Anderson hauled in his first catch of the year, a beautifully lofted pass down the right side that Anderson juggled and brought in at the 8. Trent Smith then took a pass on an out route and almost got into the end zone, but stepped out at the one. Two plays later, Heupel optioned left, then pitched to Griffin for the TD and a 14-0 lead with 3:30 to play in the first quarter.
Texas went three and out on their next possession, capped by a great play by Roy Williams to stuff Kenny Hayter on third and one. Another short punt gave the Sooners great field position in Texas territory. Facing third and 12 from the UT 45, Heupel found Damien Mackey across the middle for 19 yards to the UT 26. Griffin was dropped for a four-yard loss, but on the next play Heupel scrambled through a huge hole on the left side for a first down at the 13. After an incomplete pass, Heupel threw the fade to Mackey down the left side. UT's Quentin Jammer shoved Woolfolk to the ground and made a one-handed interception, but the flags flew, and the Sooners had a first and goal at the UT two-yard line. Griffin busted over the left side on the next play for his second TD of the game, and the Sooners were up 21-0 only 36 seconds into the second quarter.
Another three and out ensued for the Horns. This one featured a horrible pass by Applewhite on first down and a Torrance Marshall sack on third down. J.T. Thatcher took the ensuing punt at the Sooner 36, went left, then cut back to the middle of the field and set sail for the end zone. Jammer ran him down at the UT 10, but the Sooners had to start at the 25 after a personal foul call. It wouldn't matter. OU unveiled a hitherto unseen play, the quick sweep, where Curtis Fagan came in motion from right to left, then took a handoff as he passed behind Heupel. Fagan turned on the jets and took it all the way to the UT three-yard line. Griffin followed up with a three-yard plunge, and OU led 28-0. After the collapse of a 17-0 lead in 1999, no Sooner, whether on the field or in the stands, expected that the game was over. That would soon change.
Texas brought Chris Simms in for Applewhite on the next possession and, as it has all season, the move paid off - for the opposition. Three plays into his first series, Simms telegraphed a slant pass, and Rocky Calmus was all over it. Calmus left the man he was supposed to be covering and jumped the slant route. The gamble paid off, as Simms drilled it right to Calmus at the UT 41. Rocky called upon some of his old high school running back moves, juking Simms at the 20, then cutting back to the middle of the field and rolling into the end zone untouched. The Sooners led by an incredible 35-0 with 11:30 to play in the first half.
Another Texas three and out was followed by another Sooner TD drive. Griffin got things started with a nine-yard run where he juked a pair of UT defenders out of their shorts. A couple of plays in a row resulted in Sooners slipping down, but UT helped out on the second one, as they had 12 men on the field. The flag moved the ball to the Sooner 47, then Heupel hit Works for nine yards. Five plays later, Norman made a great catch down the left side for a first down at the Texas 28. On third and one from the 19, Seth Littrell carried the pigskin to the eight, and Fagan carried it in on the quick sweep two plays later for a 42-0 lead with 4:43 still to play in the first half. The game was effectively over.
UT mounted an 80-yard TD drive on their final possession of the half, helped along by several Sooner penalties. OU ran out the clock and went to halftime leading 42-7. For the half, the Sooners had more touchdowns (6) than Texas had first downs (5).
The Sooners executed their only punt of the game after going three and out on the opening possession of the second half, but that misfortune would not last long. Two plays later, Thatcher picked off Applewhite at the 50 and returned the ball to the UT 23. Heupel wasted no time in hitting Norman at the eight-yard line. The ball was knocked away, but Norman made a good play to recover his own fumble at the UT three. Another Griffin TD run, and it was 49-7. Even the most pessimistic of Sooner fans knew it was all over then but the shouting.
A missed field goal and a pair of fumbles would be the only things left in the game that would keep the Sooners from scoring. Texas' defense surely couldn't do the job. On this day, only the Sooners could stop the Sooners, and that was the only thing they didn't do well. Savage's quick sweep for 30 yards set the Sooners up in prime scoring position, but a fumbled handoff between Littrell and Heupel gave it over to UT.
Two plays later, though, cornerback Michael Thompson put the Sooners back in the scoring business with perhaps the best individual defensive play of the day. After Simms hit Montrell Flowers in the left flat, Thompson broke down on him, wrapped him up, then stripped the ball from his hands and recovered the fumble at the UT 17. Two plays later, Griffin high-stepped in from eight yards out and it was 56-7 with 1:26 to play in the third.
A long return of the ensuing kickoff would set up the Horns' second TD of the game, but the Sooners would answer even that. What was perhaps the best individual offensive play of the day would set up the Sooners' final score. Heupel was flushed, scrambled right, and then threw back left across his body to Smith wide open in the middle. Smith rambled 51 yards down to the UT one-yard line. Three plays later, Griffin had TD #6 on the day, and the rout was complete at 63-14 with 9:32 to play.
Calmus and Thatcher were named Big XII defensive and special teams players of the week, respectively, for their efforts against UT. The Sooners were rewarded by moving up to #8 in both polls, with #2 (or #3, depending on the poll) Kansas State on the slate for next Saturday. OU stands alone in first place in the South Division of the Big XII.
So, were the Horns as bad as they looked or were the Sooners just that good? We'll find out on Saturday in Manhattan, KS, in the biggest football game for the Sooners in many a year. Win, with Nebraska coming to Norman, and we'll be saying something that hasn't been heard in Norman in 13 years - the Sooners will be one win away from a likely #1 national ranking and the inside track to the Orange Bowl. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. KSU will be by far the sternest test these Sooners have faced. It will be their first true road game, and before a hostile crowd to boot.
The KSU game will be televised by ABC, starting at 2:30 p.m. ESPN's College GameDay TV crew will be on hand live at KSU Stadium for their weekly show from 10-11 a.m.
The next Road Warrior Report will transmit on Wednesday, October 11, 2000. Until then, vaya con Dios, and BEAT KANSAS STATE!!
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