College Football Old School Game of The Week: 'The Kick' Lifts Sooners Past Buckeyes

Uwe von Schamann(10) kicks his game-winning 41-yard field goal with three seconds left that would become known in Oklahoma football lore as "The Kick.

There have been many memorable last-second field goals in college football history like Rob Houghtlin's 29-yard field goal as time expired to give #1 Iowa a 12-10 win over #2 Michigan in 1985 or David Gordon's 41-yard field goal to give Boston College a 41-39 upset win over #1 Notre Dame in 1993.But there is only one "The Kick" and that belongs Uwe von Schamann of Oklahoma whose game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the Sooners' game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio gave Oklahoma a memorable win in 1977.

The Sooners entered the game ranked #3 with a 2-0 record under head coach Barry Switzer, who in just his fifth season as Oklahoma head coach, had complied a 43-2-1 record and two national championships.
But it would not be easy for Switzer to pick up career win #44 as the Sooners would be on the road to face #4 Ohio State and legendary head coach Woody Hayes, who was in his 27th season as head coach of the Buckeyes.
While the game might have been a toss-up, one thing was for sure: they were going to be very few passes through as both teams operated through the wishbone offense as Ohio State ranked 2nd in the country in running the ball as they averaged 336 yards per game on the ground while Oklahoma was not far behind at #6 as they rushed for nearly 315 yards per game.
After the Buckeyes went three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, the Sooners got the ball at their 39-yard-line and proceeded to run the ball five straight times as they drove to the Ohio State 33-yard-line where they had a 1st-and-10.
That is when quarterback Thomas Lott and fullback Kenny King mishandled a handoff resulting in a fumble that hit the foot of Ohio State defensive end Paul Ross and into the hands of senior halfback Elvis Peacock, who then ran in for the  touchdown to give Oklahoma a 7-0 lead  three minutes into the game.
Things didn't get much better for the Buckeyes on their next play from scrimmage as Gerald was hit by Sooners linebacker Darryl Hunt, causing a fumble that was recovered by Hunt's fellow linebacker, George Cumby at the Ohio State 17-yard-line.
After a two-yard run by Lott, Sims was given the ball and ran in for a 15-yard touchdown to give Oklahoma a shocking 14-0 lead just 3:55 into the game.
The Oklahoma defense forced another three-and-out, giving their offense the ball at their 40-yard-line and proceeding to drive to the Ohio State 13-yard-line on eight straight running plays with Sims carrying the ball on four of those plays for 23 yards, including converting a 4th-and-1 at the Ohio State 18-yard-line.
However, an illegal procedure penalty on the Sooners stalled the drive and Oklahoma was forced to call on von Schamann to kick a 23-yard field goal, which he made to increase the Sooners' lead to 17-0 with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
The game looked like it was going to be a rout as the Buckeyes went three-and-out again on their ensuing possession, punting the ball back to the Sooners who took over at their own 45-yard-line as Lott carried the ball on five of Oklahoma's next seven plays, gaining 23 yards until his last carry, a 4-yard run to the Buckeyes 13-yard-line, knocked him out of the game as the junior quarterback pulled a hamstring.
Lott was replaced by the man he had replaced, Jay Jimerson, whose first snap under center was a eight-yard-run by freshman halfback David Overstreet, who picked eight yards for an apparent 1st down, only to have the play called back because of an illegal motion penalty, forcing a 3rd-and-9 at the Ohio State 18-yard-line.
Jimerson only ran for two yards on the third down  forcing the Sooners to settle for another von Schamann field goal, this one from 33 yards out to extend the Oklahoma lead to 20-0, two minutes into the second quarter.

Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer consults with running back Elvis Peacock on the sidelines before the Sooners' game with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Now needing three touchdowns to take the lead, the Buckeyes tried to go to the air on their next drive which started from 19-yard-line.
Gerald threw a incomplete pass on 1st down, then was forced to scramble where he gained nine yards, but drew a 15-yard late hit penalty on the Sooners to give Ohio State its initial first down of the game as they moved the ball to their own 44-yard-line.
The Buckeyes went back to the ground for the next five plays of the drive, with the last one being a 30-yard touchdown run by Springs on a option play to the left that put Ohio State on the scoreboard for the first time in the game as they trailed 20-7 with 10:32 left in the first half.
Lott returned to the game on the Sooners' next possession which started at their 20-yard-line but quickly ended when Lott and Peacock bothced an exchange, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Ohio State linebacker David Adkins at the Oklahoma 19-yard-line.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Gerald took the ball and ran around the right side for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes its second touchdown in 46 seconds and to cut the deficit to six points, 20-14 with 9:46 to go before halftime.
The fumble would be Lott's last play of the game as Jimerson was once again inserted into the game, who promptly gave the ball back to the Buckeyes as his pitch on the first play from scrimmage went behind Sims and was recovered by Ohio State defensive back Leonard Mills at the Sooners' 20-yard-line, giving the Buckeyes an excellent chance to score thier third touchdown in a matter of minutes and take the lead.
After three straight runs gained eight yards, the Buckeyes were faced with a 4th-and-2 at the 12-yard-line, presumably forcing a field goal attempt by kicker Vlade Janakievski.
But Hayes gambled and went for the 1st down as halfback Joel Payton took a handoff from Gerald and went up the middle, only to stopped inches short of the 1st down, giving the ball back to the Sooners at thier 11-yard-line almost halfway through the second quarter.
After an exchange of punts, the Sooners got the ball back at their 20-yard-line, only to turn the ball over for the third time in four possessions as Overstreet lost the ball which was recovered by Buckeyes defensive lineman Kenny Beacon at the Oklahoma 33-yard-line, giving Ohio State a chance to take the lead as they had 2:27 left before halftime and just 33 yards for a touchdown.
 But once again the Sooner defense held the Buckeyes and forced a turnover on downs as defensive lineman Barry Budget dragged Gerald down for a five-yard loss on 4th-and-2, ending the Buckeyes' drive.
The Sooners ran out the clock to end the first half as they took a 20-14 lead into the halftime break and would be getting the ball to start the second half.

1978 Heisman Trophy Winner Billy Sims(20) ran for 60 yards on 11 carries and scored a touchdown before leaving the game with a sprained ankle.

But the Sooners coughed up the football for the fourth time in the game as Jimerson was nailed by Buckeyes defensive lineman Kelton Dansler on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, leading to Mills' second fumble recovery of the game.
The Buckeyes started the drive at the Oklahoma 23-yard-line but quickly went backwards as Gerald was sacked by Sooners defensive end Dave Hudgens on 2nd down, losing 14 yards and forcing a 54-yard field goal attempt by Janakievski that fell short, keeping the Sooners in the lead for the time being.
The Ohio State defense forced the Sooners to punt and got the ball back at the Oklahoma 48-yard-line when on 2nd-and-8 from the 46, Gerald stepped back and fired a deep pass intended for tight end Bill Jaco that was incomplete, but drew a interference penalty on Sooners defensive back Darrel Ray, to give the Buckeyes 30 yards(pass intereference was a spot foul back in 1977) and a 1st down at the Ohio State 16-yard-line.
Six plays later, the Buckeyes were in the end zone as Payton punched it in from the one-yard-line that with Janakievski's extra point gave Ohio State its first lead of the game, 21-20 with 8:04 to left in the third quarter.
With his offense stalled as they had picked up only two 1st downs in their previous seven possessions and Lott out of the game, Switzer replaced Jimerson at quarterback with senior Dean Blevins in hopes of jumpstarting the Sooners offense.
But on the third play of the drive, Blevins was intercepted by Dansler, whose subsequent six-yard return give the Buckeyes offense the ball at the Oklahoma 33-yard-line and a chance to increase the lead.
However, that chance to increase the lead looked like it took a turn for the worse when Gerald injured his wrist on a quarterback keeper, forcing sophomore Greg Castignola to enter the game at quarterback.
After a six-yard run by Jeff Logan, the Buckeyes were faced with a 3rd-and-4 at the Oklahoma 16-yard-line.
That is when Castignola dropped back and fired a pass toward the end zone, that was deflected by Oklahoma safety Bud Hebert and into the hands of Buckeyes tight end Jimmy Moore that with the extra points, extended the Ohio State lead to 28-20 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.
The Oklahoma offense seemed to finally awaken on its ensuing possession as they drove 29 yards from their own 20-yard-line, only to have Blevins be picked off for the second time as Mike Guess made the interception to give the Buckeyes the ball at their 25-yard-line.
With all the momentum, the Buckeyes drove to the Sooners 42-yard-line where they had a 3rd-and-1, only to have Oklahoma defensive lineman Bruce Taton and defensive back Zac Henderson drop Ray Griffin for a one-yard-loss, forcing Ohio State to punt the ball back to Oklahoma, who took over at their 20-yard-line with 13:37 left in the game.

Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes saw his Buckeyes score 28 unanswered points after falling behind 20-0 to the Oklahoma Sooners.

After throwing two interceptions, Blevins was replaced by Jimerson, who could only lead the Sooners 11 yards before punting the ball back to Ohio State, who had a chance to put the game away with 9:45 to play and the ball at their 31-yard-line.
The Buckeyes drove to the Sooners' 46-yard-line when Oklahoma nose tackle made a game-changing play as senior defensive lineman David Hudgins knocked the ball loose from Castignola, forcing a fumble that was recovered by nose guard Reggie Kinlaw to give the Sooners the ball at the Ohio State 43-yard-line with 6:24 to go and a chance to tie the game.
Switzer reinserted Blevins back in the game as the Sooners got four yards from Overstreet to start the drive, which was followed by a 10-yard run by King for a 1st down at the Ohio State 29-yard-line.
Then after Peacock lost a yard on 1st down, Blevins connected with wide reciever Steve Rhodes for only the Sooners' second completed pass of the game, a 10-yard gain that set up 3rd-and-1, which the Sooners converted as Overstreet picked up two yards.
Two straight runs by Overstreet for five yards and a one-yard run by Peacock forced a potential game deciding 4th-and-4 at the Buckeyes 12-yard-line with 2:59 to go.
It looked like the Buckeyes had the Sooners stopped as King gained three yards, but Ohio State nose guard Aaron Brown had jumped offsides, giving Oklahoma five yards and the 1st down at the seven-yard-line.
Three more OU runs picked up six yards forcing another 4th down, this time from the one-yard-line.
That is when Blevins pitched the ball to Peacock, who ran to the right side and dove into the end zone for a touchdown to bring the Sooners to within a two-point conversion of tying the game.
But lightning did not strike twice for Peacock as he was stopped for no gain, keeping Ohio State in the lead at 28-26 with 1:29 left.
With the Sooners down two, everybody at Ohio Stadium knew what was coming next: an onside kick by Oklahoma in hopes of the Sooners recovering it to keep their hopes of a win alive.
von Schmann kicked the ball to the left side which bounced off the hands of Ohio State's Michael Straheen and into the hands of Oklahoma defensive back Mike Babb at the 50-yard-line with 1:21 to go and giving the Sooners a chance to get into field goal range and win the game.
That is when Blevins dropped back and fired a pass towards Rhodes, who made the catch at the 40 yard-line and then picked up eight more yards for a 18-yard gain and a 1st down at the Ohio State 32-yard-line.
King got the ball on the next play and picked up six more yards, which was followed by Overstreet being stopped for no gain on 2nd down, leading to Switzer to call a timeout with 18 seconds left.
Switzer decided to run the ball one more time and got three more yards courtesy of King, then called timeout with six seconds left and called on von Schamann to kick the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out.
In an attempt to psych out the Oklahoma kicker, Hayes called timeout to have von Schmann ponder the kick as the Ohio State crowd yelled "Block that kick".
But the chants from the Buckeyes faithful only seem to encourage von Schamann, as he took off his helmet and waved his arms to lead the cheer.
Then the two teams lined for the 41-yard field goal attempt that would decide the game.
Center Mark Lucky snapped the ball perfectly to holder Bill Herbret, who placed the ball down for von Schmann, whose kick was able to miss the outstretched hands of Mills and Brown in an attempt to block it, and sailed through the uprights to give Oklahoma a 29-28 lead with three seconds to go.

The Buckeyes had one last chance at a miracle as they took over at their 33-yard-line with two seconds left only to have Castignola ran for 14 yards before he was tackled by Hudgins to end the game and secure the 29-28 win for the Sooners.
The next day, the Sooners jumped to the #1 spot in the AP poll while the Buckeyes fell only two spots to #6.
However, the #1 ranking did not last long for OU as two weeks later they lost to rival Texas, their only loss of the regular season as the Sooners finished the regular season 10-1 to win the Big Eight conference title and berth to the Orange Bowl while Ohio State would not lose again until their regular season finale with Michigan, forcing the Buckeyes to settle for a berth in the Sugar Bowl.
While the Buckeyes were blown out by Alabama 35-6 in the Sugar Bowl, the #2 ranked Sooners had a chance to win the national title as #1 Texas fell to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, only to have Oklahoma be shocked by 31-6 by Arkansas in the Orange Bowl, paving the way for the national title for the Irish.
As for von Schmann, he would kick for the Sooners one more year before he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins, where he served as the team's placekicker for six seasons as he scored 540 points as he kicked 101 field goals and 237 extra points, including a then-NFL record 70 extra points in 1984, and kicked in two Super Bowls where he made a combined four field goals.
von Schmann left football after the '84 season and entered the insurance business and since 2001 has served as the director of development and fundraising for the J.D. McCarthy Center in Norman, Oklahoma with the center's goal to help give children with special needs the best treatment they can have possible.
But to Sooner fans, von Schmann will always be best known for "The Kick".