1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game

In 1971, Nebraska and Oklahoma were each among the best teams of the era, combining for seventeen of twenty-two all-Big Eight selections and twelve staff members who became FBS or NFL head coaches.^[5] The headline matchup of the "Game of the Century" was Nebraska's defense (allowing 6.4 points per game and leading the country in total defense) against Oklahoma's new wishbone offense (scoring 44.6 points per game and leading the country in total offense).^[6] Heading into their November 25 meeting in Norman, the closest game for either team was a 20–3 OU victory over Missouri.

When OU's offense struggled to begin 1970, fifth-year coordinator Barry Switzer led a switch to the wishbone, made famous by Red River rival Texas. In its first full season using the formation, Oklahoma averaged an NCAA-record 472 rushing yards per game.^[d][7] The attack relied on quick decision-making by "wishbone wizard" Jack Mildren, who was joined in the backfield by Heisman Trophy contender Greg Pruitt and speedy split end Jon Harrison, while All-American center Tom Brahaney anchored the offensive line.^[8] OU began the season ranked tenth nationally but ascended to second after dominant wins over USC and Texas.^[8]

Nebraska's offense – less prolific than Oklahoma's, but still among the country's best – followed a similar path. After a pair of 6–4 seasons in the late 1960s, head coach Bob Devaney gave offensive control to thirty-one-year-old I formation disciple Tom Osborne.^[9] Osborne's later teams were famous for their use of the run-heavy I-form option, but his first offenses relied on a more balanced attack with similarities to modern spread formations.^[10] Nebraska was the country's top-ranked team for nearly all of 1971, winning each of its first ten games by at least twenty-seven points behind a dominating defense led by Rich Glover and Outland Trophy winner Larry Jacobson.

Though the Big Eight title was yet to be determined, both teams' postseason destinations were set. Defending national champion Nebraska would face Alabama in the Orange Bowl and Oklahoma would play in the Sugar Bowl, thanks to a gamble by Orange Bowl officials that the No. 1 Cornhuskers and the No. 3 Crimson Tide, facing undefeated Auburn two days after the Game of the Century, would win their respective rivalry matchups.^[11]

Both teams had extra time to prepare, as neither played the weekend of November 20. The buildup to the Thanksgiving Day game – assigned various nicknames, including "Game of the Century," "Game of the Decade," "The Big One," and "Game for All Decades" – was unprecedented.^[8][12][13] Oklahoma expanded the press box at Owen Field to accommodate credential requests from over one hundred reporters across sixty-five newspapers and twenty states, some of which still had to be denied.^[4][5] The November 22 cover of Sports Illustrated featured nose-to-nose photographs of linebacker Bob Terrio and running back Greg Pruitt with the headline "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska."^[13]

Nebraska was installed as a narrow favorite, with famed bookmaker Jimmy the Greek saying "it should be the most interesting and exciting football game played in the last fifteen years."^[1] State governors David Hall and J. James Exon both attended, and bet a hundred pounds of Oklahoma peanuts against a hundred pounds of Nebraska beef.^[11] Resale tickets became so expensive the IRS issued a warning that their price violated the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970.^[14]

Some Oklahomans waved banners and fingers at the Nebraska buses during the forty-five minute trip from Will Rogers Airport to Norman, and students jeered the Cornhuskers during on-campus walkthroughs.^[15] OU coach Chuck Fairbanks shut off phones in the football dormitory, while Nebraska brought its own provisions to Norman to avoid the risk of food poisoning.^[5] A chance encounter between the teams on Wednesday evening was followed by a restless night and nervous morning, and players recalled vomiting from anxiety leading up to kickoff.^[5]

Former Oklahoma head coach Bud Wilkinson, ABC's color analyst for the game, received an ovation when he emerged from the tunnel before kickoff. The game began shortly after 1:50 p.m. CST on a cloudy, crisp fall day in front of a record crowd at Owen Field that included an estimated five thousand Nebraska supporters.^[16] Oklahoma won the toss and elected to kick.^[8]

After a three-and-out by each team, Nebraska took a 7–0 lead on a seventy-two-yard punt return by wingback Johnny Rodgers. Though it was early in the first quarter, the return became the game's and one of college football's signature moments, largely due to play-by-play announcer Lyell Bremser's radio call: "holy moly! Man, woman, and child did that put 'em in the aisles! Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers just tore 'em loose from their shoes!"^[17][18][19] After stopping an eighty-five-yard Oklahoma drive short of the end zone, a second Nebraska touchdown stretched the lead to 14–3 early in the second quarter.

Devaney and defensive line coach Monte Kiffin (the unit's de facto coordinator) had stressed the importance of containing Pruitt on the wide tosses and sweeps that made the wishbone so explosive.^[20] Kiffin also rotated his secondary so better-tackling defensive backs were closer to the middle of the field, presenting soft coverage on the perimeter with the belief Mildren posed little threat as a passer (OU averaged less than seven pass attempts per game).^[20] The emphasis on Pruitt made Mildren, Leon Crosswhite, and the inside run game the focal point of Oklahoma's attack, which initially struggled without production from its star back. Glover, with Brahaney blocking him one-on-one, wreaked havoc in the OU backfield, finishing with twenty-two tackles.^[20]

Trailing 14–3, Mildren led a pair of long touchdown drives around a missed NU field goal, capping the second with two deep passes to Harrison (left in man-to-man coverage against an out-of-position Bill Kosch) that gave OU a 17–14 halftime lead.^[13] Nebraska suddenly faced its first deficit of the season against an offense that had already accumulated more yards than NU had allowed in an entire game.^[16]

Nebraska made sweeping changes to its gameplan at halftime, committing to the run game on offense and providing support to its overwhelmed secondary.^[13] Oklahoma forced a quick punt to start the second half, but fumbled back to Nebraska near midfield. A long run by quarterback Jerry Tagge set up a touchdown to retake the lead, and minutes later, a third Kinney score made it 28–17 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter. Oklahoma again faced an eleven-point deficit, responding with a lengthy drive highlighted by a fifty-one-yard reverse pass from Harrison to Al Chandler.^[13] A Tagge fumble in OU territory was followed by a twelve-play drive and a second Jon Harrison touchdown, giving the Sooners a 31–28 lead with 7:10 to play. It was Oklahoma's fifth scoring drive of over sixty yards, causing the normally even-tempered Devaney to lash out at his defense: "why don't you guys give Rich Glover some help once in a while?"^[21]

With rain beginning to fall, Tagge methodically led the Cornhuskers down the field, converting a third down on a diving catch by Rodgers.^[21] Once in the red zone, Kinney carried four consecutive times, the last of which gave Nebraska a 35–31 lead with 1:38 remaining. Kinney's dive into the end zone with his tearaway jersey in tatters became one of the game's iconic images.^[5] Mildren overthrew a potential touchdown to Harrison on the ensuing possession, and Nebraska forced a turnover on downs to seal the victory.

Nebraska players carried Devaney off the field in celebration of what he called "the biggest win of my career."^[13] The game featured 829 offensive yards, four lead changes, and just two penalties.^[e][16] Kinney rushed for 151 second-half yards in support of a stagnant Nebraska passing game that netted just sixty-five yards.^[15] Oklahoma was held to a season-low in rushing, but its 467 total yards were nearly 200 more than Nebraska allowed in any other game.

• Referee: Vance Carlson
• Umpire: John Keck
• Linesman: Wendell Winkler
• Field judge: Chet Laney
• Back judge: Skip Meyerfield
• Alternate: John McClintock