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| Roy Williams(38) makes his famous "Superman Play" in the 2001 Oklahoma-Texas game. |
Williams was a big part of the reason why the Sooners won their first national championship in 15 years as he recorded 12 tackles for loss as he part of a defense that allowed only 194 points during the season, including just two points in the National Championship Game against Florida State.
Oklahoma entered the game ranked #3 and were the defending national champions in head coach Bob Stoops' second year in Norman.
With All-American linebacker Torrence Marshall and All-American free safety J.T. Thatcher gone, Williams was going to have to step up his play if the Sooners were going to repeat as national champions in 2001.
The Sooners won their first four games of the season as their entered their annual showdown with the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, who also entered the game ranked in the top 5, coming in at the #5 spot.
Texas was led by head coach Mack Brown and junior quarterback Chris Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XXI MVP, Phil Simms, who was named the starting quarterback during 2001 spring practice, sparking a major controversy amongst Longhorn fans as he was replacing Major Applewhite, who had led Texas to 23 wins over the past three seasons and thrown for nearly 8,000 yards and 57 touchdown passes.
Even though Simms and the Longhorns looked impressive in their first four wins of the season, it was going to take a win over Oklahoma for Simms to quiet the critics.
After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Longhorns took over at their 20-yard-line and were able to drive to the Sooners' 45-yard-line thanks to a pair of completions from Simms to Texas' own Roy Williams that totaled 41 yards.
However, the drive to start to deteriorate from there as a holding penalty and a quarterback sack led to a 3rd & 20 where Simms was intercepted by Oklahoma defensive back Andre Woolfolk(who had been a wide receiver the year before)whose 39-yard return gave the Sooners an excellent scoring opportunity as they took over at the Longhorns 23-yard-line.
But the Texas defense did not allow a 1st down, forcing a 42-yard field goal attempt by Tim Duncan whose kick sailed wide left and no good keeping the game scoreless with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
The Longhorns would get the next great scoring opportunity when Sooners punter Jeff Ferguson shanked a 2nd quarter punt that only went 27 yards giving Texas the ball at the Oklahoma 47-yard-line.
A pass interference penalty and a 14-yard pass from Simms to Tony Jeffrey gave the Longhorns a 1st down at the Sooners' 18-yard-line, only to have the Oklahoma defense force a 35-yard field goal attempt by Dusty Mangum, which was blocked by Woolfolk and landed in the lands of Williams, whose 18-yard return gave Oklahoma the ball at their 39-yard-line with 10:30 left before halftime.
After two straight incomplete passes to start the drive, quarterback Nate Hybl connected with Mark Clayton for 11 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line as Texas defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs nailed Hybl after the pass was thrown.
Hybl would leave the game and not return, replaced by sophomore quarterback and future Heisman Trophy winner Jason White.
Following a four-yard run by Griffin on 1st down, White connected with Clayton for a eight-yard gain and a 1st down at the Texas 38-yard-line, which was followed by a five-yard loss by Griffin.
White would then hit Clayton on back-to-back completions totaling 13 yards and setting up a 4th & 2 situation from the Longhorns' 30-yard-line when Stoops decided to go for it.
The gamble paid off as Griffin ran for 17 yards to give Oklahoma a 1st down at the Texas 13-yard-line.
Then after a 11-yard run by White, Griffin punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give the Sooners a 7-0 lead with 5:56 left in the first half.
The Longhorns would begin their next drive from their 20-yard-line but in five plays would be in Sooner territory at the Oklahoma 36-yard-line after Simms completed four passes in a row, the last being a 25-yard completion to tight end Bo Scaife.
Victor Ike would pick up the next 15 yards on two straight running plays after Ike caught a four-yard pass on 3rd & 4, the Longhorns had a 1st & 10 at the 11-yard-line with under a minute to go.
But the Longhorns could not get into the end zone as a one-yard run by Ike and two straight incomplete passes led to a 27-yard field goal by Mangum to make a 7-3 game in favor of the Sooners as the first half came to a close.
Most of the third quarter would be a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts and combined for only two 1st downs until the Sooners took over at their 42-yard-line with 3:22 left in the quarter and put together the best drive of the second half.
The drive began with a 18-yard pass from White to Griffin to give the Sooners a 1st down at the Texas 40-yard-line.
Then after Griffin was dropped for a four-yard loss on 1st down, White would hit Clayton for 10 yards on 2nd down, then Antwone Savage for five yards on 3rd down for another Oklahoma 1st down.
White picked up another Oklahoma 1st down when he kept the ball on a quarterback sneak on a 3rd & 1 at the Texas 20-yard-line as the third quarter came to a close.
After a seven-yard run by Griffin on 3rd & 1, the Sooners had a 1st & goal at the Texas three-yard-line with a chance to push the lead into double digits.
However, the Longhorns defense rose up and dropped Griffin for a four-yard loss on 1st down, then forced White to throw two straight incomplete passes, leading to seemingly what would be a chip-shot 24-yard field goal by Duncan.
But Duncan's kick sailed wide left and the Longhorns escaped still trailing 7-3 with the ball at their 20-yard-line and 13 minutes to go in the game.
Simms and the Longhorns would drive to the Sooners' 34-yard-line until Simms was picked off on a end zone pass by defensive back Antonio Perkins, ending the Texas scoring threat and giving Oklahoma the ball at their 20-yard-line.
The Sooners would able to drive deep into Texas territory primarily on the legs of White, who ran the ball five times for 36 yards on the drive and completed a 13-yard pass to Savage as well.
However, the drive stalled at the Longhorns' 27-yard-line as the Sooners faced a 4th & 16 with just over two minutes to go.
Conventional wisdom suggested a field goal to extend the lead to a touchdown, but with Duncan having missed field goals of 42 and 27 yards earlier in the game, Stoops did not have a lot of confidence in Duncan making a field goal.
But Stoops sent the field goal unit where it appeared they were lining up for a 44-yard field goal attempt only to have White, the holder, pitch the ball to Duncan who pooched punted the ball in an attempt to pin the Longhorns deep in their own territory.
The plan worked perfectly as Texas strong safety Nathan Vasher, thinking it was a pass, caught the ball at his own three-yard-line, meaning the Longhorns would have to drive 97 yards for a potential game-winning touchdown with 2:06 left.
But the drive never really got started as on the first play from scrimmage following the punt, Simms dropped back to threw a pass, only to have Williams jump over Texas running back Brett Robin and hit Simms' left arm just as he was about to throw, causing the ball to flutter into the hands of linebacker Teddy Lehman for a shocking touchdown to extend the Sooners' lead to 14-3 with 2:01 to go in the game.
One play after the ensuing kickoff, Williams would strike again as he would pick off Simms the Sooners the ball at their 47-yard-line with 1:46 left and a chance to run out the clock.
However, the Texas defense would force a three-and-out and after using all three timeouts, got their offense the ball back at their 15-yard-line with 74 seconds left to pull off a miracle.
But that miracle would not come as the Longhorns could not get a 1st down as Simms was sacked twice, forcing a turnover on downs, and giving Oklahoma the ball with 35 seconds left.
And after White took a knee, the Sooners had a 14-3 win, their 18th in a row.
Three weeks later, the Sooners' winning streak would end at 19 as they lost 20-10 to their other arch rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, then would be shocked by the Oklahoma State Cowboys 16-13 in the last game of the regular season, paving the way for Texas, who had not lost since their meeting with the Sooners, the Big 12 South title and a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game against Colorado.
With a chance to get into the BCS National Championship Game against Miami with a win, the Longhorns fell to the Buffaloes 39-37 as Simms' four 1st half turnovers put Texas in a 29-10 hole they could not get out of.
Both teams would finish the season with identical 11-2 records though Texas finished one spot ahead of Oklahoma in the final AP poll(Texas #5, Oklahoma #6) despite the loss to the Sooners.
As for Williams, he would win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy giving to the best defensive player in the country as well as the Jim Thorpe award given to the best defensive back for his 2001 season.
Williams entered the 2002 NFL draft and was selected with the #8 overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys, where he played for seven seasons at free safety and strong safety, being named to the Pro Bowl five years in a row(2003-2007).
Williams would be released by the Cowboys after the 2008 season, leading him to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals where he would play for two years before hanging up his cleats after nine seasons in the NFL.
Even though he went on to have a stellar career in the NFL, Williams is still best remembered for the "Superman Play" in the 2001 edition of the Red River Rivalry.
In fact, a plaque of the play is on the wall of the Roy Williams Strength & Speed Complex on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.
With All-American linebacker Torrence Marshall and All-American free safety J.T. Thatcher gone, Williams was going to have to step up his play if the Sooners were going to repeat as national champions in 2001.
The Sooners won their first four games of the season as their entered their annual showdown with the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, who also entered the game ranked in the top 5, coming in at the #5 spot.
Texas was led by head coach Mack Brown and junior quarterback Chris Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XXI MVP, Phil Simms, who was named the starting quarterback during 2001 spring practice, sparking a major controversy amongst Longhorn fans as he was replacing Major Applewhite, who had led Texas to 23 wins over the past three seasons and thrown for nearly 8,000 yards and 57 touchdown passes.
Even though Simms and the Longhorns looked impressive in their first four wins of the season, it was going to take a win over Oklahoma for Simms to quiet the critics.
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| Texas quarterback Chris Simms would threw four interceptions, three of them in the 4th quarter. |
After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Longhorns took over at their 20-yard-line and were able to drive to the Sooners' 45-yard-line thanks to a pair of completions from Simms to Texas' own Roy Williams that totaled 41 yards.
However, the drive to start to deteriorate from there as a holding penalty and a quarterback sack led to a 3rd & 20 where Simms was intercepted by Oklahoma defensive back Andre Woolfolk(who had been a wide receiver the year before)whose 39-yard return gave the Sooners an excellent scoring opportunity as they took over at the Longhorns 23-yard-line.
But the Texas defense did not allow a 1st down, forcing a 42-yard field goal attempt by Tim Duncan whose kick sailed wide left and no good keeping the game scoreless with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
The Longhorns would get the next great scoring opportunity when Sooners punter Jeff Ferguson shanked a 2nd quarter punt that only went 27 yards giving Texas the ball at the Oklahoma 47-yard-line.
A pass interference penalty and a 14-yard pass from Simms to Tony Jeffrey gave the Longhorns a 1st down at the Sooners' 18-yard-line, only to have the Oklahoma defense force a 35-yard field goal attempt by Dusty Mangum, which was blocked by Woolfolk and landed in the lands of Williams, whose 18-yard return gave Oklahoma the ball at their 39-yard-line with 10:30 left before halftime.
After two straight incomplete passes to start the drive, quarterback Nate Hybl connected with Mark Clayton for 11 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line as Texas defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs nailed Hybl after the pass was thrown.
Hybl would leave the game and not return, replaced by sophomore quarterback and future Heisman Trophy winner Jason White.
Following a four-yard run by Griffin on 1st down, White connected with Clayton for a eight-yard gain and a 1st down at the Texas 38-yard-line, which was followed by a five-yard loss by Griffin.
White would then hit Clayton on back-to-back completions totaling 13 yards and setting up a 4th & 2 situation from the Longhorns' 30-yard-line when Stoops decided to go for it.
The gamble paid off as Griffin ran for 17 yards to give Oklahoma a 1st down at the Texas 13-yard-line.
Then after a 11-yard run by White, Griffin punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give the Sooners a 7-0 lead with 5:56 left in the first half.
The Longhorns would begin their next drive from their 20-yard-line but in five plays would be in Sooner territory at the Oklahoma 36-yard-line after Simms completed four passes in a row, the last being a 25-yard completion to tight end Bo Scaife.
Victor Ike would pick up the next 15 yards on two straight running plays after Ike caught a four-yard pass on 3rd & 4, the Longhorns had a 1st & 10 at the 11-yard-line with under a minute to go.
But the Longhorns could not get into the end zone as a one-yard run by Ike and two straight incomplete passes led to a 27-yard field goal by Mangum to make a 7-3 game in favor of the Sooners as the first half came to a close.
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| Oklahoma quarterback Jason White would come off the bench and account for 146 yards of total offense(108 passing, 36 rushing). |
Most of the third quarter would be a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts and combined for only two 1st downs until the Sooners took over at their 42-yard-line with 3:22 left in the quarter and put together the best drive of the second half.
The drive began with a 18-yard pass from White to Griffin to give the Sooners a 1st down at the Texas 40-yard-line.
Then after Griffin was dropped for a four-yard loss on 1st down, White would hit Clayton for 10 yards on 2nd down, then Antwone Savage for five yards on 3rd down for another Oklahoma 1st down.
White picked up another Oklahoma 1st down when he kept the ball on a quarterback sneak on a 3rd & 1 at the Texas 20-yard-line as the third quarter came to a close.
After a seven-yard run by Griffin on 3rd & 1, the Sooners had a 1st & goal at the Texas three-yard-line with a chance to push the lead into double digits.
However, the Longhorns defense rose up and dropped Griffin for a four-yard loss on 1st down, then forced White to throw two straight incomplete passes, leading to seemingly what would be a chip-shot 24-yard field goal by Duncan.
But Duncan's kick sailed wide left and the Longhorns escaped still trailing 7-3 with the ball at their 20-yard-line and 13 minutes to go in the game.
Simms and the Longhorns would drive to the Sooners' 34-yard-line until Simms was picked off on a end zone pass by defensive back Antonio Perkins, ending the Texas scoring threat and giving Oklahoma the ball at their 20-yard-line.
The Sooners would able to drive deep into Texas territory primarily on the legs of White, who ran the ball five times for 36 yards on the drive and completed a 13-yard pass to Savage as well.
However, the drive stalled at the Longhorns' 27-yard-line as the Sooners faced a 4th & 16 with just over two minutes to go.
Conventional wisdom suggested a field goal to extend the lead to a touchdown, but with Duncan having missed field goals of 42 and 27 yards earlier in the game, Stoops did not have a lot of confidence in Duncan making a field goal.
But Stoops sent the field goal unit where it appeared they were lining up for a 44-yard field goal attempt only to have White, the holder, pitch the ball to Duncan who pooched punted the ball in an attempt to pin the Longhorns deep in their own territory.
The plan worked perfectly as Texas strong safety Nathan Vasher, thinking it was a pass, caught the ball at his own three-yard-line, meaning the Longhorns would have to drive 97 yards for a potential game-winning touchdown with 2:06 left.
But the drive never really got started as on the first play from scrimmage following the punt, Simms dropped back to threw a pass, only to have Williams jump over Texas running back Brett Robin and hit Simms' left arm just as he was about to throw, causing the ball to flutter into the hands of linebacker Teddy Lehman for a shocking touchdown to extend the Sooners' lead to 14-3 with 2:01 to go in the game.
However, the Texas defense would force a three-and-out and after using all three timeouts, got their offense the ball back at their 15-yard-line with 74 seconds left to pull off a miracle.
But that miracle would not come as the Longhorns could not get a 1st down as Simms was sacked twice, forcing a turnover on downs, and giving Oklahoma the ball with 35 seconds left.
And after White took a knee, the Sooners had a 14-3 win, their 18th in a row.
Three weeks later, the Sooners' winning streak would end at 19 as they lost 20-10 to their other arch rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, then would be shocked by the Oklahoma State Cowboys 16-13 in the last game of the regular season, paving the way for Texas, who had not lost since their meeting with the Sooners, the Big 12 South title and a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game against Colorado.
With a chance to get into the BCS National Championship Game against Miami with a win, the Longhorns fell to the Buffaloes 39-37 as Simms' four 1st half turnovers put Texas in a 29-10 hole they could not get out of.
Both teams would finish the season with identical 11-2 records though Texas finished one spot ahead of Oklahoma in the final AP poll(Texas #5, Oklahoma #6) despite the loss to the Sooners.
As for Williams, he would win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy giving to the best defensive player in the country as well as the Jim Thorpe award given to the best defensive back for his 2001 season.
Williams entered the 2002 NFL draft and was selected with the #8 overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys, where he played for seven seasons at free safety and strong safety, being named to the Pro Bowl five years in a row(2003-2007).
Williams would be released by the Cowboys after the 2008 season, leading him to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals where he would play for two years before hanging up his cleats after nine seasons in the NFL.
Even though he went on to have a stellar career in the NFL, Williams is still best remembered for the "Superman Play" in the 2001 edition of the Red River Rivalry.
In fact, a plaque of the play is on the wall of the Roy Williams Strength & Speed Complex on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.
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