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This weekend means so much to so many people on both sides that sometimes you can lose track of the history of just how the Texas-OU game became such a vital part of College Football.
There is one individual who encompasses all the emotions, all the passion, and yes all the hate, that this game engenders.
There is also one game in his history of the series that, for me, put all of this on display more than any other — and it was a game that ended in a tie.
I am of course talking of Darrell Royal.
Royal is the only man who truly understands both ends of this bitter rivalry. His boyhood home was Hollis, OK, just five miles from the Texas border. Raised during the Dust Bowl Era, Royal was a HS star at Hollis who dreamed of playing at OU. However after graduating High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Force instead.
In 1946, when Royal was leaving the Air Force, he had a buddy of his, Kenny Baker, who had played freshman ball at Texas, write a letter of recommendation to the Longhorn coaches. Royal never heard from UT and went to OU, where he was an All-Ameircan and led OU to an unbeaten season and a Sugar Bowl win over LSU in 1948.
While At OU, Darrell Royal went 2-2 against Texas.
There are many reasons as to why Royal is the unique figure in this raging battle. Having played for one side, and then coaching for other is an obvious one.
He is the winningest coach in series history (12-7-1). In fact he is the only coach to win at least ten games in the series. Bud Wilkinson was 9-8, while Barry Switzer went 9-5-2 for the Sooners.
The numbers hardly reflect the visceral feelings generated, or how Royal was such a lightening rod for both sides. One game during Royal’s tenure is a virtual autopsy of the rivalry, both on and off the field. It was his last game in Dallas.
1976: MEAN, UGLY, BRUTAL
There is no other way to describe the week leading up to the game and the contest itself. This time it wasn’t about national rankings. This time it was two teams led by coaches who were spitting venom at each other in public.
The perception in 1976 was that Texas was faltering while OU was dominating the national scene. Actually since the 1971 season, Texas was 44-13 which is a 77% winning rate. But five of the losses had been to the Sooners, and OU was coming off back-to-back national championships. Royal hadn’t beaten Oklahoma since Chuck Fairbanks got his version of the Wishbone rolling in 1971. Fairbanks had been replaced by Barry Switzer in 1973 and he revved up the ‘bone until it ran like a Lamborghini in cleats.
But it is what was happening off the field that week that held the nation’s attention.
“SORRY BASTARDS”
Royal had been convinced for over 4 years that OU was spying on its opponents. He specifically believed that they knew beforehand that Texas was going to the quick kick in the 1972 contest. Royal had installed the quick kick into the playbook for the first time in four years the week leading up to the game.
With OU holding on to a slim 3-0 lead late in the 3rd quarter, Texas was pinned inside its own 10-yard line. There was only one sub for the play – center Greg Dahlberg – and when he went in, OU players immediately began to yell “quick kick, quick kick.” Texas didn’t change out of the play, and it was blocked. Lucious Selmon fell on it in the end zone and OU went on to win 27-0.
Royal was convinced that someone had entered Memorial Stadium disguised as a construction worker during stadium renovations and had spied on their practices. The charges all came to a head the week of the 1976 game. Royal had found out the name of the alleged spy. He was Lonnie Williams, who had ties to OU coaches Switzer and Larry Lacewell.
Royal went public with his accusations and even went so far as to offer to pay $10,000 to the favorite charities of Switzer and Lacewell if they took and passed lie detector tests. They of course denied all allegations.
When accused of spying, Barry Switzer replied by saying Royal was hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Switzer added that, “Some coaches would rather listen to guitar pickers than work hard,” taking a shot at Royal’s love of country music.
Royal gave an interview to Robert Heard of AP, where among other things he said he hoped Switzer and Lacewell would sue him for slander, so he could get them into court. Thinking the interview was over, Royal added, “Why those sorry bastards, I don’t trust ‘em on anything.”
When that quote hit print, the stakes were raised even higher.
I was a sports reporter in Austin in 1976 and spent the day of the game on the floor of the Cotton Bowl. It is easily the most bizarre, brutal and vicious athletic event I have ever witnessed. Anyone who has been in the Cotton Bowl for a Texas-OU contest knows that the intensity level is special, for the fans as well as the players.
This one was different.
This one was personal.
This one was “Eat Shit and Die.”
The pre-game warm up was tense. Hell, even the Texas fans showed up early to boo the opponent. The atmosphere was ugly. When Royal came out for pre-game, students and fans of his alma mater serenaded him with chants of “Sorry Bastards, Sorry Bastards.”
Then there was the pre-game coin toss. President Gerald Ford was on hand, and he was escorted out to the middle of the field by the two coaches. One OU fan yelled, “Who are the two assholes with Barry?”
Neither coach would acknowledge the existence of the other.
Even Pres. Ford knew that the boos cascading down from the Cotton Bowl were not for him.
The talent level at Texas was improving going into 1976. Royal recruited well that year getting Johnny “Lam” Jones, an Olympic gold medalist in the summer of ‘76. The class included other top talent such as LB Lance Taylor, defensive linemen Steve McMichael and Henry Williams, along with DB’s Johnnie Johnson and Derrick Hatchett. Alfred Jackson was a deep threat at WR.
Earl Campbell was going into his junior season, as was Johnny “Ham” Jones. Royal relished the idea of Campbell at fullback with “Lam” and “Ham” supplying speed at the halfback positions and Jackson putting pressure on the opposing defenses from the wideout. The one glaring hole in the offense was at QB.
The season did not start out well. Texas would eventually settle on a walk-on, Mike Cordaro at Quarterback. Earl Campbell pulled a hamstring in the opening game against Boston College and it would haunt him the entire season. Injuries racked the team.
Johnny “Lam” Jones was expected to stretch the field with his olympic speed, but he would miss the 1976 OU game.
Both Johnnie Johnson and Lam Jones would miss the contest with injuries. Alfred Jackson would crack a couple of ribs early in the 2nd quarter and be out for the rest of the day.
OU came into the game unbeaten, but had its share of problems as well. OU would have to use a true freshman, Thomas Lott at QB. But he could count on three swift running backs in the Sooner Wishbone in Horace Ivory, Elvis Peacock and Kenny King.
Royal had his team cut to a razor’s edge, especially on defense. They were as focused a unit as I have ever seen. Once the game began, every play was a train wreck. You didn’t hear much trash talk, mainly because it was drowned out by the violent hits. No one stood around, because it was the best way to get de-cleated.
Texas had horrible field position all during the first quarter, and Campbell, slowed by the hamstring, did minimal damage. Texas did have the best punter in the country, and Russell Erxleben pushed OU into -27 yards of field position from his first punt to his third kick in that quarter. Erxleben averaged 48.5 yards on 9 punts that day.
The Texas defense was brilliant. Led by DL Brad Shearer, and linebackers Lionel Johnson and Bill Hamilton, the Horns shut down the freshman Lott and the OU Wishbone. How good was the Texas defense that day? OU’s wishbone produced 95 yards rushing on 50 carries for the afternoon. A 37-yard Erxleben field goal were the only points of the first half.
The second half was more of the same. The OU coaches had noticed that Campbell liked to get a rolling start on the snap count (he was a fullback in the Wishbone). They alerted the Big 8 officiating crew and he was called for illegal procedure five times in the game.
In the 3rd quarter, Ham Jones turned the corner with a pitchout and moved down the sidelines. OU linebacker Daryl Hunt clothes lined him. It was so vicious that not only was he flagged for the play, he was kicked out of the game. That led to another Erxleben field goal and a 6-0 Texas advantage.
The score remained 6-0 Texas over halfway through the 4th quarter. OU had not been shut out since 1968 when Notre Dame did the trick. Texas had the ball on the Horn 36-yard line and one more first down would probably seal the win.
Earl Campbell ended the day with 91 yards on 27 bruising carries. OU had 95 yards rushing as a team.
Royal actually wished he had put the quick kick back in the game plan. Instead he called a deep handoff to halfback Ivey Suber. If he didn’t make the first, well, Erxleben would punt OU deep into Sooner territory.
Five years later, Suber was a photographer at the TV station I was working. It took a while to work around to the subject of the 1976 contest. Ivey said that he spotted a gap on the right to shoot through to get the first, and as he planted his inside foot, he started to shift the ball from his left to his right, and it was stripped out.
OU got the ball back on the Texas 37-yard line with five minutes to go. The Sooners moved those 37 yards in 10 agonizing plays. It was like having bleacher seats at the siege of the Alamo – you knew how it was gonna turn out, but you couldn’t avert your eyes.
Horace Ivory finally scored to tie the game 6-6. Despite playing brilliant defensively (OU ended the day with 133 total yards on offense) the Horns were an extra point away from a devastating defeat.
In comes Uve Von Schamann – the OU placekicker who hit 140 consecutive extra points. But OU also had a walk-on deep snapper. He had been streaky earlier in the day, almost bouncing a couple of snaps to the punter.
Right before the snap, Lionell Johnson leaned in and said, “I bet you snap this over his head.”
Van Schamann, with his head down, never saw the ball as it sailed almost all the way to Waxahachie.
Game over. Everyone is pissed — players coaches, fans from both sides — everyone. It was an angry, sullen mob of over 75,000 who made their way out of the Cotton Bowl. Following the teams back up the ramp was a weird experience. No one said a word. Royal paused long enough at the ramp to retch.
The locker room was surreal as media members tried to find anyone who could put into words what exactly they had witnessed. Royal looked like he had aged 10 years in 3 hours. It was in the weeks after the OU game that rumors of Royal’s resignation really took hold.
SPYGATE: THE AFTERMATH
With Royal’s resignation after the 1976 season, the “spygate” story moved off the front pages of the sports sections. But it never did really go away.
Barry Switzer
In his autobiography, “Bootlegger’s Boy,” published in 1990, Switzer admitted to the spying. “It did happen,” Switzer wrote. “As it turned out, although I didn’t know it at first, Darrell was right to accuse us of that. It was my fault because I was the head coach, it happened.”
Later, Switzer changed his tune, saying he was trying to make Royal happy. Switzer said, yes OU did spy on Texas, but it stopped after 1972, when he was merely the offensive coordinator. “It just took three or four years of our people mouthing off for the word to trickle back to Texas,” said Switzer.
“Hell no we didn’t spy…well, we spied, but I was an assistant..I just wanted to make Darrell Happy…Hell no, we didn’t spy”
In recent years Switzer added that spreading the spy story back in 1976 was simply Royal’s way” to vent his frustration over being dominated by Oklahoma.”
Switzer also predicted that his former assistant, Lacewell, “might run his mouth off.”
Larry Lacewell
Lacewell, who had a falling out with Switzer years later, readily admits his involvement in the spying. “We were young and foolish,” said Lacewell. “If I had to do it again today, I wouldn’t do it, particularly against Coach Royal. I don’t think any of us would.”
“Oklahoma-Texas is too great a rivalry to mess with.”
Lonnie Williams
Williams, an oil and gas executive was at the heart of the scandal. A long-time friend of Lacewell and other OU coaches, he has basically kept quiet on the subject.
Back then published reports had him spying on other teams as well, not just Texas. The Dallas Times Herald reported that Williams had snuck into Texas Stadium to watch California hold closed practices before heading up to Norman for a game in 1972. The Sooners won the contest 28-17. The Dallas Morning News had stories putting Williams in Lincoln, NE. watching the Cornhuskers practices at one time.
Since then, Lonnie Williams has spent a good portion of his time being in the employ of one Jerry Jones.
DARRELL ROYAL
Royal has kept his feelings about all of this pretty much to himself since he left the game. “There’s no sense picking old scabs,” Royal said, “or digging up bones.”
From his unique position as a player for one side, and then head coach for the other, Royal went 14-9-1 in the series.
In the 104-year old series, Darrell Royal spent 24 years in the arena. In that time, both sides used him like a blackboard to transfer onto any and all emotions that flow throughout the rivalry. Both sides could lay claim to him, and both showered him with affection and/or anger, depending on the scoreboard at the time.
1976 marked the end of Royal’s career as a Head Coach. But the status of OU under Switzer, combined with Royal’s ideals about sharing information helped to define the differences at the heart of each program.
On one hand, OU was run by Switzer, full of landslide victories powered by the Wishbone, braggadocio, probations, spying, and eventually a program so out of control it would turn on him.
Royal meanwhile, saw his power base eroded basically because OU was beating him regularly with an offense that he helped them put in.
Royal decided to help OU and coach Chuck Fairbanks put in the Wishbone offense.
Emory Bellard, the inventor of the Wishbone offense while at Texas, said Royal felt it was their duty to help out fellow coaches who wanted to implement the new offense — even arch rival OU.
Darrell came into my office one day” said Bellard, “and we’d already just wore Oklahoma out a couple years and he said, “Chuck is in trouble, he’s gonna lose his job and they want to put in the Wishbone. Barry is gonna be calling you, help him all you can.”
Bellard went on, I shook my head, I said, “Darrell, you got to be joking?” He said, “No, I wanna help him.”
Royal later admitted to Bellard that he might not be as benevolent if he had it to do over again.
A game that ended in a 6-6 tie 33 years ago can still stir the emotions of those who witnessed it as strongly as any of the games between Texas and OU that have been played since.
It’s just another reason why so many of us will follow Scipio’s timeline to the letter leading up to kickoff.
Saturday cannot get here soon enough.
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Scipio Tex said:
October 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Great piece.
Must read for anyone who wants to get a sense of the rivalry.
I’ve seen footage of the Ford coin flip with Switzer and Royal and it was more uncomfortable than a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.
henley said:
October 13th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
That is a damn fine piece of writing. I tip my cap to you, sir.
magnusbleuveigner said:
October 13th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
That is a fantastic write up sir. Thank you for that.
I bet many would call that ‘76 game boring if it happened today. That’s a shame.
texastough said:
October 13th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Thank you srr50. I was born in ‘77, and I didn’t know a lot about the rivalry before that time.
When I was real little I thought it was about cotton candy and the funhouse. A couple years later (around ‘87) I was schooled:
My dad and a couple of his buddies knew the guys keeping Bevo, and also had some OU acquaintances. The night before the game, we brought Bevo over to a house hosting an OU party and waltzed right down the driveway into the backyard. It was hilarious and instigated a lot of good-natured smack talking, but I will never forget the image of Bevo crapping all over the side of the sooner fans’ pool.
The games in the cotton bowl were the only times I saw my dad scream at the top of his lungs (he doesnt have a temper and would just calmly spank the shit out of me when I was bad). From then on, I knew that OU would suck forever.
HOOK ‘EM!
Minnesotahorn said:
October 13th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
It’s truly Texas OU week now. Srr50’s retrospectives are a key element in making this game and its lead up my true Christmas season.
CloseToJumping said:
October 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
srr50–
Thanks for the write-up. I really enjoyed it and appreciate the history. I’ve often heard about this game from my father and others. To me, you’re correct, it embodies in a single event the fundamental differences between the schools, from the states, to the players, to the fans.
magnus–
I have never heard anyone, on either side, call the 2001 game “boring”. I can’t imagine 1976 played now would be much different.
Go Ask Alice said:
October 13th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I just stumbled across this obscure blog many months ago. I think its addictive. The comments, the essays, the Bloggers-or should I say “Personalities”. This is the finest blog on the Web. keep up the fascinating work. i especially enjoy reading pieces such as these. Thank you.
Woody Bombay said:
October 13th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Thanks for the excellent writeup, srr.
I was a kid then and just starting to really get into the Horns. That game was a gut-wrencher for me, and I was too young to know about (or care, or make heads or tails of, even if I did know) exactly how scummy Barry and his boys were. Sure, I hated them because my older brother instilled good UT values in me, but it was pretty eye-opening to find out later there were plenty of damn good reasons to hate them.
blackscholes said:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
You’re a treasure, srr. Thanks.
Blueshorn said:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I graduated UT the year this game was played. As one of the old farts who follows this site and is a card-carrying disciple of DKR, I appreciate pieces such as this. Anyone who reads this should understand why we never root for those “sorry bastards” under any circumstances. Fuck OU and everything they stand for.
texexinwa said:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Good read as always SSR50. You nailed it. It was my 1st Tex-OU in person and I drew 50 yd line seats for this one. Minor fYI, Thomas Lott was a RS Freshman as he, Derrick Hatchett and I were teammates at SA Jay. Hurry up Saturday!
Eskimohorn said:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
This would make a much more compelling movie than “The Express.” Royal, Switzer, Earl, Lam Jones, Gerald Fold, Willie Nelson. Bitterness, cheating, drama. Could be the best football movie ever.
burnt orange outrage said:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Great post, srr.
I have more respect for Darrell Royal than for any man I have ever met. Just being around him, you know you’re in the presence of a great man, someone with principles and integrity and class — basically, the antithesis of Barry Switzer.
I was a smart-aleck sportswriter for the Daily Texan when I first met Coach Royal — I was writing a story about Coach Gus as he was about to surpass the record for most wins in D1A baseball; I had talked with everyone I needed for the story except Coach Royal, and I was up against deadline. One of the assistant SIDs gave me his home phone number and I remember being scared shitless as I dialed around 9 p.m. Coach Royal’s wife Edith answered and when in my cotton-mouthed terror I finally conveyed that I would like to speak with her husband if it was okay, she very warmly said, “Oh sure, he’s right here…Darrell, a young man from the school paper wants to talk to you.”
You’d have thought I was an old friend Coach Royal hadn’t talked with in years the way he treated me during that phone call. He asked where I was from, what I was studying, just took a genuine interest in someone who had rudely interrupted his quiet evening. I’m sure my bumbling and falling all over myself trying to ask a few simple questions was plenty irritating, but he never let on and even ended our talk with “You call back anytime, OK?” All of my subsequent meetings with him only reaffirmed what I already knew, that this is a man of rare character.
It’s a damn shame Switzer, Lacewell and Williams didn’t have the balls to fess up at the time about the spying, but time has vindicated Coach Royal. The most painful thing is that OU and Switzer gladly accepted Coach Royal’s help in learning and installing the Wishbone, then used it to establish a 5-year run of dominance in the series and win consecutive national championships.
Looking forward to another chapter in this great rivalry being written Saturday. Hopefully it’ll be the kind of game people will still be talking about 30-40 years from now — not because of spying or cheating or who was injured and didn’t play, but because it was a helluva great game.
BTW, it’s 10:12 p.m. and OU STILL SUCKS
beowulf said:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I’ve got a huge knot in my stomach right now, Steve. I recall vividly where I was watching that game. The last few minutes were total agony.
Absolutely a superb write up. Greatness.
That game also marked the last OU game that would see Texas line up in the Wishbone.
Nik said:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Awesome write-up. Brings back great memories of my Dad telling me the story of that game as he was there and was a student at the time. My anxiety started immediately after the game Saturday night. Now, only Jack Daniels and a 70-0 win can ease it.
srr50 said:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Scip – thanks.
Watching the three (Switzer, Ford, Royal) walk towards mid-field with a chorus of boos cascading down — from both sides, you had the thought that Pres. Ford might have wondered if he has stepped back into the middle of the Watergate debacle.
CTJ – That 1976 game emobidies all that you said for me as well. I look upon it as the best theatre I have ever witnessed. Like all great drama, it has a central character with a tragic flaw (sharing offensive secrets with the enemy) good vs. evil, and a final resolution that is no real resolution at all, instead letting the audience try to figure out just what in the hell it all means to them.
‘Wulf – thanks, and that huge knot in my stomach is why I wrote this. I thought it might help ease the mind games leading up to this weekend.
No such luck.
henley, magnus, texastough, minny, blacksholes, et al thanks for the kind words. We are all in the same boat, just killing time anyway we can.
Chooky said:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
That is simply superb, srr. Thank you.
I’m sending this to my grandfather now, as he will understand it far more than I ever will.
I’ve been barraged with this same sentiment since I learned to speak. Leave it to you to firmly place the magnitude of this game with experience and an absolute command of the history, rather than just childish barbs and knee-jerk venom. However, some of that is certainly suitable, as you’ve already illustrated.
When I was about eight-years-old I made the mistake of injecting my take on the upcoming rivalry into a conversation between my father and grandfather. Taking the cue from the spirit of soccer and the women in my family, I stated that, afterall, it was “just a game.” My nervousness set in when immediate silence covered the room like a blanket. My grandfather smiled and my dad told me that “there is much more at stake here than “just a game.’ It’s as black and white as right and wrong.” I remained silent for the remainder of that conversation.
Again, thanks for the piece.
charley varrick said:
October 13th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
“Lacewell, who had a falling out with Switzer years later…” To put it mildly.
BEHorn said:
October 13th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Barry Switzer left a stink on college football that, like stadium bat-crap, can ne’er be told. The fact that he cheated to win games is, in a sense, one of his lesser offenses. The fact that he repeatedly fielded teams replete with dangerous felons who, in the immortal (cover story) words of Sports Illustrated, “terrorized” their campus, is to me far more disgusting.
Sooner Fan’s willing embrace of such a scumbag is really the principal source of my distaste for them. Darrell Royal surely had his flaws, as do we all, but compared to the Bootlicker’s Boy he’s Saint fucking Darrell. (And he’s a true gentleman, as others have noted.)
trkhorn said:
October 13th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
That was outstanding. Thank you.
I was nine years old when that game was played. Having become an instant die-hard when I was 5 or 6 I had only experienced losing to OU up to that point(blowouts in 72/73 followed by close calls in 74/75). It is one of three UT games in my lifetime that are the most discomforting to me, that literally cause me mental anguish just to think about(the other two were played in 1984 and 2001, respectively, surprise-surprise). Painful enough at the time, but even moreso as I got older and began to understand the rest of the drama surrounding this game.
Suber’s fumble and OU’s subsequent TD can be likened to Eve taking the apple – it wasn’t supposed to happen but it did. Then the Football Gods intervened on the extra point so as not to allow further damage. But the damage was done.
Again, utterly fantastic write-up. Painful but riveting all the same… should be required reading for all UT fans.
AZHorn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Thanks you srr50. I was a year old when that game was played, my dad had married my mother and adopted me that year, as well as received his diploma from UT. It was a big year for us both. He turned out to be much like Coach Royal as you described him in your story: not without flaws, but they were flaws only an honorable man was capable of having. Thanks again, I’m looking forward to sharing this with my dad and hearing his memories of the game.
UT wildcatter said:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Wow, I have to make my dad read that. He never went to Texas, but as a small boy I remember him sitting in the corner of different living rooms for many RRS games just asking the football gods, “Can we please beat these lying cheaters”.
Sums it up to me. With all the ex-UT football players I know now, mainly fathers of my friends, my father’s hatred is what I will first remember from this game. That’s as it should be guys
blackscholes said:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I think I would have liked both Chooky’s and AZHorn’s Dad’s.
I can only hope I do as well. It’s a lot trickier when you’re living in freaking Northern California.
TKO said:
October 14th, 2009 at 4:42 am
“Royal had his team cut to a razor’s edge, especially on defense. They were as focused a unit as I have ever seen. Once the game began, every play was a train wreck. You didn’t hear much trash talk, mainly because it was drowned out by the violent hits. No one stood around, because it was the best way to get de-cleated.”
Wow. That’s writing: Sharp, spare and vivid.
Like others above, just had to say how much I appreciated the piece. Very well done.
TaylorTRoom said:
October 14th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Thanks for the great read. Does this show how unique Royal’s friendship with Broyles was, that two rival coaches could compete head to head for high stakes every year, and still remain friends?
magnusbleuveigner said:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:42 am
CloseToJumping,
I meant a classic from the average fans perspective. The type of game that two co-workers who generally don’t talk sports would bring up. Generally for a game to be considered a classic by the masses it would have to be high scoring. 45-35, 41-38, or the Boise St. vs. OU games are examples. When I think of 6-6, I picture my girlfriend getting up and doing the laundry no matter how much I would find it riveting. Now, since this site doesn’t cater to dip-shit CFB fans my statement didn’t have much relevance.
I prefer football games to take on the characteristics of a gang fight. Defensive struggles are awesome but are only for people that can truly appreciate the game. Like a pitchers duel.
blackscholes said:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Then you must love the SEC.
TexasFootball said:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Thanks for the great read Steve.
stuckinmn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I remember that I was 6 when this game was played and my mother had to explain to me the meaning of the bumper sticker that said “Will Rogers never met Barry Switzer”. I didn’t relly get the humor in it at the time, all I understood is that Switzer was an evil, evil man. Close enough, sometimes the world is so black and white even a 6 year old can understand it.
ransomstoddard said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:20 am
What a great story.
JUICE said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:28 am
I was nine years old as I watched this on a tiny black and white television in my grandmother’s duplex in Austin. I suspect that my dad was covering Baylor or A&M, which is where he usually was on OU weekend, as his boss was based in Dallas. But, because he covered the team when they were in Austin, I probably had a better sense of the rivalry than the average nine year-old. I knew we were beating the odds, that Erxleben and the defense were keeping the Visigoths at bay. I recall being absolutely despondent when Suber fumbled. As I bemoaned the inevitability of a loss, my grandmother said, ‘You’re such a pessimist, just like your father.”
Even today, I try to think about that bad snap on their extra point when the sense of doom sets in on me like a fog at Longhorn sporting events.
It’s odd. This is my favorite weekend of the year, but so much of it isn’t at all fun.
Huckleberry said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:45 am
This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
TxTower said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:51 am
To me, the 1976 game was the defining game of the series. So much of what happened in that game still echos today. Thanks for the time capsule.
lurkerinthedark said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:03 am
I was a member of the LHB for the 70, 71, and 72 games. I remember leaving the Cotton Bowl in 70 after Texas thrashed OU 41-9 thinking “what’s the big deal?” The next year, I watched Greg Pruitt et al run all over the Longhorns. Then the 72 game. I remember telling my dad, an OU grad but not an OU fan (he always thought they were a bunch of arrogant pricks; he only went there for the pharmacy school), that “OU’s not that great. I bet they lose to Colorado.” He looked at me like I was crazy. And they DID lose to Colorado.
The only time in my college football viewing career that I was absolutely prophetic.
Anyway, I certainly had “Got it” by then. Five years of losing to those bastards ate at my insides like acid. The ‘76 game nearly killed me because of the expectation of winning, then the agony after the fumble, then the total numbing letdown of the tie. Then Royal retired. The five years 71-75 indelibly etched my hatred of all things OU deep into my orange soul.
Fuck’em, Horns!
bullittx said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:03 am
the only time in my adult lift that I came within an eyelash of punching another adult was after this game. a truly great article.
stuckinmn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Did you punch kids instead?
Drouillard said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:11 am
The game had less impact on my memory than most of you because I had already spent twenty years honing my contempt and disdain for the sorry bastards. In 1958 we had lost 6 in a row and used the brand new 2 point conversion to win 15-14. Then we ran off 8 straight and it was a good time to be a young Longhorn. I always hoped I would learn I was Royal’s illegitimate son.
texoz said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Thank you, srr50. That was a great piece. It should be required reading by UT fans and especially the football team in the week leading up to the game.
Some may argue that it’s ancient history, but as the saying goes those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. UT must endeavor to slay the beast over and over until there’s no trace of systemic cheating that was endowed by Switzer.
j.r.69 said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Excellent write-up, SRR50. I’ve been watching this series since the early 50s, and the ‘76 game stands out with the ‘58 and ‘68 games as the best of the lot. The ‘58 game, in Royal’s second year, because it ended OU’s (and Wilkinson’s) long dominance; ‘68 because it proved the efficacy of the wishbone offense and started the 30-game win streak that led to two NCs.
The ‘76 game was notable for being Royal’s last game as well as for the ferocity with which it was played. The UT defensive effort that day was heroic, and its players possessed. The ending of that game was anti-climactic, if tragic.
With all this background of rivalry, cheating, hatred of Texas, etc., by Okies, I never have, and never will, understand why so many good Texas players choose to go to OU when they have other options, e.g., UT, TTU, TCU, TAM, etc. Where in the hell are their fathers, uncles, etc., when it comes time to advise them about college?
trahan said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I met Mr. Royal at a wedding when I was about nine years old. He told me, “I had a lot of freckles just like you when I was your age. My friends used to tease me saying that I swallowed a dollar and it broke up into pennies in my face.”
Classic
Art Vandelay said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Thanks Steve. I’m sending now to a co-worker that isn’t convinced TX/OU is the best College Football rivalry going.
We all have great memories of the game. The ‘76 game stands out because it’s the only time I’ve seen my mom scream and cuss. She’s 5′2″ and never, ever says a negative word about others. I was 10 years old and at some point in the game she screamed “Switzer Sucks!!” with evil in her eyes to a loud OU fan behind us.
bullittx said:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I did not punch the kids. That is only a rumor.
BRAGGonUT said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Great stuff, srr50. As always.
BoomerFreakinSooner said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:33 am
So Darryl helped OU install the wishbone? Damn, how nice of him. Maybe we should recommend him for sainthood.
vahorn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Wow – what a list of participants on the UT side of the ball – legends like Shearer, Lam Jones, Erxleben, and, of course, Cambell. OU sucked hard even then. What a bunch of cheating shits. This is why I hate them – they win, but they do it dirty and low.
vahorn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Should be Cambell.
vahorn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:57 am
where’s the fucking “b” on my keyboard?
Levander Williams said:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Good stuff, srr.
Can anyone provide some texture on the rivalry pre-Switzer? I’m well-acquainted with the nastiness associated with OU from that point forward (I firmly believe Switzer is, in fact, the Antichrist), but I have no feel for the sense of the rivarly prior to that.
How bad was the blood, and how deep did it go?
charley varrick said:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am
A friend and I got tickets on the day of the game in 1972 outside of the Cotton Bowl. They were in the middle of the OU section in the end zone close to the blocked quick kick. We were young, stupid and feeling no pain. It was two and a half quarters of smack down in the middle of Big Red. Regardless of the outcome it still is one of my favorite Tx/OU games. Cheatin’ %&*@#$%&^&&*!@#$%^$%@@&^%$#@#$%%^&**s.
ctex80 said:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:48 am
“It’s odd. This is my favorite weekend of the year, but so much of it isn’t at all fun.”
Exactly.
The Bobs said:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Great article! And, oh man, what a game. Glory and heartbreak utterly entwined.
My girlfriend’s roommates had pulled tickets, and there were two at about the 35, and two right smack dab on the goal line. They decided that since I was the football fan, and they were mostly interested in the halftime bands and such… that they’d let us have the goal-line seats. Making the best of it, I kept saying the game would come down to an epic goal-line stand and we’d be right there for it… Yeah, didn’t quite work out that way – after the fumble (which for some reason I spent the greater part of my adult life thinking was by Earl…) the Sooners took a bunch of plays, but finally got a first-and-goal deep inside the 10, and while I was still thinking I’d truly been prophetic, they scored on the very next play. I did get a great look at the bad snap though…
Maybe the worst memory of that game though (and, like the “Earl fumbling” thing, I would dearly love to find out I was hallucinating) was the final play. My recollection is that after a couple of almost disastrous passing attempts by Mike Cordaro, on fourth down Royal had Erxleben punt rather than try another one… accepting the tie, so to speak. I think Darrell was just plain worn down by everything at that point – the whole Meat on the Hoof controversy (again, just contrast with Switzer – do you think Barry would have lost a minute of sleep worrying about what some career backup wrote about him?), the new wave of college coaches, personified by Switzer. I don’t think Royal was constructed to thrive on hate, and there was no other rational response to Switzer by then.
That was a tough, tough year. I seem to recall that at some point something like 20 of the original 22 starters missed games with injuries, and of course, the entire year Campbell was hobbled.
I’d love to see you write a similar article about the next year’s game though – still my very favorite OU game. After all the previous years’ heartaches and painful memories, after all the times we thought we’d finally, at long last turned the corner just to have Switzer’s deal with the devil pay off again for him, that win was just an epic feeling, like all our sins were washed away.
Plus it was a truly great game. Down to a 3rd string quarterback early in the game… Earl, finally unleashed from the wishbone, putting all our hopes and fears and dreams on his back… Erxleben with maybe the greatest clutch punt of all time from the back of his own end zone… plus we finally got that goal-line stand – Johnny Johnson is still my hero, and his tackle on Thomas Lott is my very favorite Longhorn defensive play.
sorry for the long, rambling comment – you know how it is when you get old farts reminiscing during OU week…
Holy Cow said:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Freaking outstanding. I love your stuff srr50. This is the kind of insight sadly lacking in print journalism and the one reason it is fading. Thanks for posting this piece.
srr50 said:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I’d love to see you write a similar article about the next year’s game though – still my very favorite OU game.
That was the first UT football game I ever worked as a broadcaster — and I have thought about making a post, but as the week winds down, I’m not sure I can do it justice, so I may wait until next year for the 1977 story.
thebeeve said:
October 14th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Here it is, Wednesday, and I hadn’t yet developed the “I’m worthless at work because it is OU week” syndrome. I was a bit proud of myself, took it as a sign of maturity. I didn’t get the feeling like I’ve had three cups of coffee too many, which will last until about 4pm Saturday, until I read this piece.
The ‘76 game was my first TX/OU game. I’ll never forget the hitting or the atmosphere which you’ve done a great job in replicating just the way I recalled it.
Doperbo said:
October 14th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I’m really glad you’re on our side.
arrowden said:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I watched this game from the last row on about the 30 or 40 yard line. Up by the press box. With the President at the game security was tight. Police and Secret Service all over the stadium. It was the 1st Texas Ou game that I attended. Even from the top row the hitting was amazing. I remember the disgust I felt when Ivey fumbled. It was followed by relief that the game ended in a tie. Ive never wanted UT to win a game as badly as I wanted a win that day. It was all based on wanting it for Royal. The tragic part is Barry and the cheating in the SWC drove Darrell out of coaching before his time. The real “sorry bastards”.
blackscholes said:
October 14th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I think the ‘77 game was my personal favorite.
Randy McEachern agrees.
NorthDallasSooner said:
October 14th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Great write up, sir. I travel 80% of the time for my job and it’s hard to get it through to people just how intense and unique this rivalry is. OU/TX gameday is simply my single favorite day of the year. I look forward to it like no other day of the year. Not Christmas, or my birthday or anything else, because, quite simply, a win over Texas makes me happier than any of those other things. Demented, perhaps, but I can write it here because I know that 90%+ of you agree. Even though I firmly believe I’m going to my beloved Cotton Bowl for an ass whipping on Saturday, there’s still no other place I’d rather be.
See you guys Saturday. Beer stands open at 8.
dallascowpoke said:
October 14th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I hate these mother fuckers with every electron, proton, and neutron of my being…one of my finest moments and contributions to human kind was immediately after the 1989 game. I ran and jumped the wall at the Cotton Bowl and sprinted to the middle of the field right in front of the ou band and flipped double birds screaming at the top of my lungs. Luckily I was faster and more elusive than all of the Dallas PD chasing me and I jumped the wall and out of the stadium untouched.
It’s not that I like it…….I have to have it.
dallascowpoke said:
October 14th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Just to follow that up……..at another game in the 90’s I had a finer moment when I got so mad at our performance I blacked out while standing and screaming and landed in my chair……came too with a litlle old lady checking on me….how can some people not get it??
The General said:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Minnesotahorn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I’ve been pestering Srr50 to write a book for years and I’d be remiss if I didn’t renew my plea. Get it done Steve. Your abilities and experiences are too unique to hoard.
stuckinmn said:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Damn, that video has my middle aged body ready to run through a wall and reminds me exactly how much I hate those fuckers.
It is kind of pathetic that I can think back to every OU game since I was 11 and remember where I was when I watched it, what happened, what was going on in my life. I kind of mark years of my life with this game.
1981, we fall behind 14-0, I start whining and insist my mom takes me to the video arcade. She picks me up later and informs me that we blew them out. 1983, no TV because the felons are on probation, Dad drives us to the Astrodome to watch the game on the jumbotron. 1988, I get so drunk Friday night my date ditches me for the game, yet I still manage to close the deal with her Friday night. 1993, 30 seconds before game time a Jehova’s witness has the misfortune of ringing my doorbell.
shevisirons said:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I was a freshman at UT in 76. The last three fights I’ve been in were before that game, during halftime of that game and then after that game. For the record it was “lost,” “push” (we both ran out of Cotton Bowl bathroom chased by police) and “won” big-time. I’m 51 and I remember that whole day like it was yesterday.
About ten years ago I played golf with Coach Royal at Barton Creek. We shared a cart. It was hard to keep a clear head because all day long I wanted to ask him about that ONE day in 76. Never did though. One of the best decisions of my life.
God Bless the man.
huge said:
October 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
thank you for the writeup
beegtatas said:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Lightning, not lightening. That bothers me.
Good read otherwise.
53 Veer Pass said:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
That was the first UT football game I ever worked as a broadcaster …
Believe it or not, srr, I have a pair of DVDs that have the entire ‘77 game on them with none other than yourself doing the commentary. Don’t ask where I got them. What an epic game that was.