College Football Old School Game of the Week: Sanders Celebrates Heisman Trophy Win with Spectacular Performance in Japan

 

Barry Sanders would finish the 1988 regular season with another 300-plus rushing performance against Texas Tech in Tokyo, Japan.

When Barry Sanders won the 1988 Heisman Trophy, he was not in New York to accept the award.

Instead, he was in Tokyo waiting in the lobby of the Miyako Hotel in Tokyo, Japan just a few hours before he and the Oklahoma State Cowboys would take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 1988 Coca-Cola Classic at the Tokyo Dome.

Sanders had complied a season for the ages as he had run for 2,296 yards and scored 35 touchdowns as he broke 18 NCAA records including the one for most touchdowns in a season by one player as Oklahoma State as Barry needed just 47 seconds to break Marcus Allen's record for most rushing yards in a season which he set in 1981.

But Sanders was not alone as he was surrounded by quarterback and future Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and all-American wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes as they were a part of an offense averaged 47.7 points per game with their lowest total being 28 in their loss to Oklahoma(To read about the Oklahoma game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/college-football-old-school-game-of_19.html).

Under head coach Pat Jones, the Cowboys had already accepted an invitation to play the University of Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl at the end of December 1988, as Oklahoma State was two wins away from a second straight 10-win season and third in five years.

The Cowboys' opponent in Tokyo were the Red Raiders out of the Southwest Conference who entered the game with a 5-5 record under second year head coach Spike Dykes, who would not be participating a bowl game despite needing one more win to become bowl eligible.

The Red Raiders also had a explosive offense led by quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver as Texas Tech had averaged 34.4 points over its last five games as they had overcome a 1-4 start to give themselves a chance at a second straight winning season if they could upset the Cowboys in Tokyo.

Texas Tech would get the ball to start the game but would immediately give it right back to the Cowboys as Tolliver try to hit wide receiver Tyrone Thurman on a deep pass on the first play of the game, only to be intercepted by Oklahoma State cornerback Melvin Gilliam, whose eight-yard return gave the Oklahoma State offense the ball at their 43-yard-line.

The Cowboys would drive 57 yards in 10 plays with Sanders carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards with his last carry being a dive into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to give Oklahoma State a 7-0 lead.

The Red Raiders would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Tolliver would complete four of five passes for 53 yards on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with running back Jerry Gray punching it in for a one-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 5:15 left in the first quarter.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 21-yard-line for their next possession as Sanders needed just 16 yards to break Allen's single-season record.

Sanders would run for six yards on the opening play of the possession which was followed by an 11-yard run by fullback Garrett Limback to give the Cowboys a 1st down at their 38-yard-line.

Sanders would then lose four yards on 1st down which was followed by a one-yard pass from Gundy to Sanders on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 13 at the Oklahoma State 35-yard-line.

That is when Gundy handed the ball off to Sanders on a draw play that picked up 15 yards to break Allen's record and give the Cowboys a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

The Cowboys would drive to the Texas Tech 28-yard-line when faced with a 4th & 2 to start the second quarter, Jones decided to go for the 1st down instead of attempting a field goal, which would backfire as Gundy would trip over his center for a four-yard loss to give the Red Raiders the ball at their 32-yard-line.

After a Texas Tech punt, the Cowboys would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line only to turn it over on the first play of their ensuing possession as Gundy was intercepted by Red Raiders free safety Brian Dubiski to give Texas Tech the ball at the Oklahoma State 35-yard-line.

The Red Raiders would move to the Oklahoma State 25-yard-line until Scott Segriest would come on to attempt a 42-yard field goal which he would fail to make to keep the game tied at seven.

Following an Oklahoma State punt, the Red Raiders would begin their next drive at their 23-yard-line as they would drive 77 yards in eight plays as Tolliver completed all four of his passes on the drive for 60 yards with the last completion being a six-yard touchdown pass to Gray to give Texas Tech a 14-7 lead with 6:32 left in the second quarter.

Texas Tech quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver would throw for a then school record 446 yards on 28-of-41 passing.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 17-yard-line as they slowly move to their 44-yard-line until Gundy pitched the ball to Sanders, who then broke three tacklers on his way to a 56-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 14 with 4:28 to go in the second quarter.

The Red Raiders would start their next possession at their 27-yard-line as a 12-yard pass from Tolliver to Thurman plus a 15-yard penalty on the Cowboys and a 19-yard pass to running back Ervin Farris put Texas Tech at the Oklahoma State 27-yard-line.

However, penalties would push the Red Raiders all the way back to their 48-yard-line where they faced a seemingly insurmountable 2nd & 35 when Tolliver found Thurman for 24 yards then handed the ball off to Gray who ran for three yards to set up 4th & 8 at the Oklahoma State 25-yard-line.

The Red Raiders would go for the 1st down which they got as Tolliver completed a 21-yard pass to Farris to give Texas Tech a 1st & goal at the Oklahoma State four-yard-line when Gray ran it in for the four-yard touchdown to give the Red Raiders a 21-14 led with 1:47 left before halftime

Taking over at their 22-yard-line, the Cowboys would turn to Sanders to get them down the field as he would run the ball four times for 53 yards to get Oklahoma State down to the Texas Tech 14-yard-line until Gundy was sacked by Red Raiders defensive lineman John Elliott for a 11-yard-loss, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard as time expired in the first half with the Red Raiders ahead 21-17.

Oklahoma State would get the ball to start the second half as the Cowboys would get the ball at their 23-yard-line as they would drive 77 yards in nine plays with the drive being capped off with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Gundy to Dykes to give Oklahoma State a 24-21 lead.

The Cowboy defense would force the Red Raiders to punt on their next possession to give their offense the ball back at their 20-yard-line as a penalty would push Oklahoma State back to its 10-yard-line to face a 1st & 20 when Gundy found Dykes for a 32-yard completion to give the Cowboys a 1st down at their 42-yard-line.

Disaster nearly struck for the Cowboys on their next play from scrimmage when Sanders fumbled the ball at the end of a 23-yard run only to be saved by tight end Robert Kirksey, allowing Oklahoma State to keep possession at the Texas Tech 35-yard-line.

Six plays later, the Cowboys were back in the end zone as Gundy hit Dykes for a six-yard touchdown to increase Oklahoma State's lead to 31-21 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Red Raiders would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Tolliver completed a pair of 14-yard pass to Farris and two passes to Thurman that totaled 43 yards to set up Gray's one-yard touchdown run which cut the Oklahoma State lead to 31-28 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where after a two-yard run by Sanders to start the drive, the Heisman Trophy winner would catch a swing pass from Gundy and turn into a 66-yard play to put Oklahoma State at the Texas Tech 12-yard-line.

Three plays later, Sanders would punch it in for a two-yard touchdown which pushed the Cowboys' lead back to 10 points at 38-28 with 27 seconds left in the third quarter.

It would take the Red Raiders three plays to get back into the end zone as running back Clifford Winston would run for 40 yards on the first play of Texas Tech's ensuing possession, then run for eight more yards to set up Tolliver's 37-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Sprinkles on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut Oklahoma State's lead to 38-35.

The Cowboys would start their next possession at their 14-yard-line as five plays took them to their 35-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 situation when Jones decided to gamble and go for the 1st down which he got when Sanders ran for six yards to give Oklahoma State a 1st down at their 41-yard-line.

After two passes to Limbrick gained eight yards, Gundy had a pass batted down on 3rd & 2 to bring up 4th down when the Cowboys lined up to punt, only for them to run a fake as the snap went to Limbrick who ran for five yards to give Oklahoma State a fresh set of downs at the Texas Tech 47-yard-line.

Following a Sanders run that went for no gain, Limbrick would run for 16 yards that got 15 yards added on to it because of a Texas Tech penalty to put the Cowboys at the Red Raiders 16-yard-line.

Sanders would then run for two yards which would be followed by a 11-yard pass from Gundy to tight end Vance Vice to give Oklahoma State a 1st & goal at the Texas Tech three-yard-line as Sanders would run it for a three-yard touchdown to make it a 10-point game once again as Oklahoma State took a 45-35 lead with 9:28 left in the game.

Back came the Red Raiders as a 59-yard bomb from Tolliver to Rodney Blackshear on the opening play of Texas Tech's next drive would lead to a two-yard touchdown run by Isaac Garrett cut the Cowboys' lead to 45-42 with 7:43 to go in the game.

Sanders accepts the award for MVP of the Coca-Cola Classic.

The Cowboys would then hold the ball for over five minutes as they drove from their 29-yard-line to the Texas Tech 45-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Red Raiders who would take over at their 15-yard-line with a chance to salvage a tie or win the game.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Tolliver would complete a 24-yard pass to Travis Price, only for it to be downgraded to a four-yard pass because of a clipping penalty as the Red Raiders would face a 2nd & 6 at their 19-yard-line.

Tolliver would then complete passes of nine yards to Farris and 24 yards to Price to put Texas Tech at the Oklahoma State 48-yard-line when Anthony Lynn fumbled the football after catching a short pass as Cowboys defensive tackle Brandon Colbert would recover the fumble to give the Cowboys the ball at their 48-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock.

The Cowboys would fail to pick up a 1st down as they would punt the ball back to the Red Raiders who would take over at their 18-yard-line with only a handful of seconds to play.

Tolliver would throw one incomplete pass before firing a desperation Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game which would be picked off by Gilliam to end the game with the Cowboys on top 45-42.

Sanders would finish the game with 332 yards on 44 carries, the fourth time he rushed for more than 300 yards in a game, to bring his season total to 2,628 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Almost a month later, Sanders would suit up one final time for the Cowboys as he would run for 222 yards on 29 carries and score five touchdowns in a 62-14 thrashing of Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl to give Oklahoma State its 10th win of the season as they would finish ranked #11 in both the final coaches and AP polls.

Sanders would then go on to be selected with the #3 overall pick in the 1989 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions as he would go to have a Hall-of-Fame career as he ran for 15,269 yards over ten seasons.