NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chargers Knock off Dolphins in Another Playoff Thriller

 

Chargers cornerback Dwayne Harper celebrates after his team overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the Dolphins in the 1994 Playoffs.

On January 2, 1982, the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins participated in one of the greatest games in NFL history as the Chargers came away with a 41-38 overtime victory in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in a game had a combined 1,036 yards of total offense and push both teams to the brink of complete exhaustion under the hot, muggy conditions of south Florida.

Thirteen years later, the two teams participated in another postseason classic as the Dolphins traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers once again in the divisional round of the AFC Playoffs.

The Dolphins were coming off a 27-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs the week before as Miami quarterback Dan Marino completed 22 of 29 passes for 257 yards and threw two touchdowns in the game.

Marino, who was coming off a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury one year earlier, was hoping to lead the Dolphins back to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade who would become the first team in Super Bowl history to play the championship game in their home stadium as Joe Robbie Stadium was set to host the Super Bowl that year.

Standing in their way were the Chargers, who were the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 11-5 record which earned them the AFC West division title, the second division championship since Bobby Ross became the San Diego head coach in 1992.

On the field, the Chargers offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who had arrived in San Diego the same time as Ross did, and running back Natrone Means who ran for 1,350 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during the regular season.

The defense was led by all-pro linebacker Junior Seau, who led the team in tackles with 155(124 of them solo), and defensive end Lesile O'Neal who led the team in sacks with 12.5 as San Diego won their first six games of the '94 season before going 5-5 during the rest of the season.

The Chargers were also looking for revenge as it was the Dolphins who had eliminated the Chargers two years earlier in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs as Miami defeated San Diego 31-0 to end the Chargers' first trip to the postseason in a decade.

The Dolphins would start the game on offense as it took Miami just one play to get into Chargers territory as Marino completed a 31-yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the San Diego 35-yard-line.

But the Dolphins would move no further as two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack would force them to punt the ball to the Chargers, who would take over at their 20-yard-line.

After both teams went three-and-out, the Chargers got the ball back at their 14-yard-line as three runs by Means for 33 yards and a pair of completions by Humphries would move San Diego to the Miami 32-yard-line until Means caught a six-yard pass only to fumble when he was hit by Miami defensive end Marco Coleman as linebacker Jesse Soloman would make the recovery for the Dolphins at their 21-yard-line.

From there, the Dolphins would travel 79 yards in nine plays as Marino completed two passes to Irving Fryar for 37 yards on the drive which ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to give Miami a 7-0 lead with 2:24 to go in the first quarter.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 26-yard-line as they hold the ball for nearly seven minutes as they drove 72 yards in 14 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by John Carney that put San Diego on the scoreboard to make it a 7-3 game with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter.

The Dolphins would get great field position for their next possession as O.J. McDuffie would return the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Miami 48-yard-line as Marino would go a perfect 5-of-5 on the six-play drive which ended with another touchdown pass to Jackson, this one from nine yards out to extend the Dolphins' lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

The Chargers next drive would start at their 27-yard-line as Humphries would complete a nine-yard pass to Mark Seay which was followed by two straight carries by Means for 38 yards to put San Diego at the Miami 26-yard-line.

Eric Bieniemy would give Means a breather as he carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining a total of 20 yards to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Dolphins' six-yard-line.

However, the Chargers could not punch into the end zone as they settle for another 20-yard field goal by Carney that cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-6 with 2:47 left before halftime.

The Dolphins would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line as Marino would complete six of eight passes for 66 yards on the nine-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with Marino's third touchdown pass of the first half, a 16-yarder to wide receiver Mike Williams with 27 seconds left in the half to push Miami's lead back to double digits at 21-6.

The Chargers would try to get some more points before the end of the half but Humphries would be picked off by Miami defensive back Frankie Smith to end the first half with the Dolphins on top 21-6.

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards and threw three touchdowns in the first half.

San Diego would get the ball to start the second half as the Chargers would drive from their 28-yard-line to the Miami 25-yard-line until they were faced with a 4th & 7 situation when Ross decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.

The gamble would work as Humphries would complete a 15-yard pass to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Miami 10-yard-line as San Diego would advance all the way to the one-yard-line when they were faced with another 4th down situation as Ross once again went for it.

But this time the gamble would not pay off as Means would take it outside and get pushed out of bounds by Coleman and strong safety Michael Stewart to end the Chargers' 15-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock only to result in zero points.

However, the Chargers would get two points on the Dolphins' next play from scrimmage as defensive tackle Reuben Davis would tackle running back Bernie Parmalee in the end zone for a safety to cut the Miami lead to 21-8 but more importantly give the ball right back to the Chargers following the Dolphins' free kick.

Starting at their 46-yard-line, the Chargers would drive to the Miami 24-yard-line until Means took a handoff from Humphries around the right side, broke through a few Miami tackles, then carried Dolphins cornerback J.B. Brown for the last seven yards into the end zone for an amazing 24-yard touchdown run that with the extra point cut the Dolphins' lead to 21-15 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers caught a break on the touchdown as replays showed that Means had stepped out of bounds at the two-yard-line but with no instant replay in the NFL in 1994 the touchdown stood.

After both teams traded punts, the Dolphins had the ball at their 15-yard-line when the most bizarre play of the game occurred as Marino completed a 20-yard pass to Jackson, who while being dragged down by Charger defenders, tried to lateral the ball to Fryar, only for the ball go forward and be recovered by the Chargers.

But instead of getting the ball in Miami territory with a chance to drive for the go-ahead touchdown, the officials ruled that Jackson had thrown an illegal forward pass which negated the fumble and allowed the Dolphins to keep the ball after a five-yard penalty and loss of down.

The Dolphins would end up punting the ball back to the Chargers who took over at their 19-yard-line with 8:03 left in the game and needing seven points to take the lead.

The drive would begin with two runs by Means for 13 yards followed by Humphries completing three of his next four passes for 31 yards to move San Diego to the Miami 37-yard-line when the game's next controversy occurred.

Humphries would threw deep for Shawn Jefferson in the end zone, who would make the catch and get both feet in bounds for an apparent touchdown only for the officials to say he did not get both feet in bounds to make the pass incomplete and bring up 2nd & 10 at the Miami 37-yard-line.

That is when disaster struck for the Chargers as Humphries would be picked off as Miami cornerback Troy Vincent would tip a pass intended for Martin that ended up in the hands of Stewart to give the Dolphins the ball at their 24-yard-line with 4:24 left on the clock and a chance to milk some time off the clock.

However, the Chargers' defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard-line with 3:16 left to go in the game and all three timeouts in San Diego's pocket plus the two-minute warning.

Chargers running back Natrone Means ran for 139 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown.

The drive would begin with a nine-yard pass from Humphries to Ronnie Harmon, followed by a three-yard-run by Means to pick up a San Diego 1st down and then a 10-yard pass from Humphries to Martin for another Chargers 1st down at the Miami 39-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

Humphries would then complete a six-yard pass to Harmon on 1st down, throw an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and then hit Martin for 15 yards to give San Diego a fresh set of downs at the Dolphins' 18-yard-line with a little over a minute to go.

Harmon would get his hands on the ball on the next two plays, first catching a eight-yard pass from Humphries and then running for one yard to set up a 3rd & 1 when Means got the call as he was able to pick up the needed yard to give San Diego a 1st & goal at the Miami eight-yard-line.

That is when Humphries hits a wide open Seay, who catches the ball at the four-yard-line, then runs in untouched for the eight-yard touchdown that with Carney's extra point gave the Chargers their first lead of the game at 22-21 with just 35 seconds left in the game.

The Dolphins would get one last chance to win the game as Carney would squib the ensuing kickoff to give Miami good field position as they would take over possession at their 38-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Marino would throw deep for Fryar, who drew a pass interference penalty on Chargers defensive back Eric Castle, resulting in a 32-yard gain to give Miami a 1st down at the San Diego 30-yard-line with 17 seconds remaining.

The Dolphins would travel no further as Marino would throw two straight incomplete passes before Shula sent in Pete Stoyanovich to go and try to win the game with a 48-yard field goal.

The snap from center Jeff Dellenbach was high but holder John Kidd was able to catch it and get a good hold for Stoyanovich, whose kick was long enough but sailed wide left and no good as the Chargers would come away with the 22-21 victory and advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 13 years.

One week later, the Chargers' magical season would continue with a 17-13 upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers as linebacker Dennis Gibson would knock down Steelers quarterback Neil O' Donnell's pass intended for running back Barry Foster on 4th & goal late in the game to preserve the San Diego victory and send the Chargers to first ever Super Bowl.

However, the Chargers would be unable to lift the Lombardi Trophy as they were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX behind 49ers quarterback Steve Young's record six touchdown passes.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Sooners Clinch Big 8 Title in Top 3 Showdown with Cowboys

 

Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson scored the first touchdown of the 1984 "Bedlam Series" meeting.

Of the 118 times the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys met in the annual "Bedlam Series" perhaps no meeting was bigger than the one in 1984 when the #2 Sooners faced the #3 Cowboys in Norman with the Big 8 conference championship on the line.

Oklahoma came into the game with a 8-1-1 record under head coach Barry Switzer, who was in his 12th season as the head coach of the Sooners, in the hunt to return to the Orange Bowl for the first time in four years after going 23-12-1 from 1981-1983 after an eight-year run where Oklahoma won at least 10 games in every season but one and two national championships.

The Sooners offense was its classic wishbone option led by quarterback Danny Bradley and a backfield which featured Steve Sewell and Spencer Tillman to go along with a defense led by All-American defensive tackle Tony Casellias and freshman linebacker Brian Bosworth.

 While the Sooners were returning to the nation's elite, the Cowboys were having a season for the ages as they came into the 1984 edition of "Bedlam" with a 9-1 record, one win from the school's first ever 10-win season.

Oklahoma State was led by first-year head coach Pat Jones, who had taken over the head coaching job in Stillwater after his predecessor, Jimmy Johnson, left to become the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes.

The Cowboys used a pro-style attack for their offense which was led by quarterback Rusty Hilger and running back Thurman Thomas while the defense was led by All-American defensive end Leslie O' Neal.

Both teams came into the game with identical 5-1 conference records as the Cowboys' lone loss had been to the Nebraska Cornhuskers while the Sooners' loss came at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks(their tie came against the Texas Longhorns in a non-conference game).

If the Sooners won the game, they would share the Big 8 championship with Nebraska, who was idle with a 6-1 conference record, with the tiebreaker going to Oklahoma as they had defeated the Cornhuskers the week before by the score of 17-7.

If the Cowboys won or the game finished in a tie, the Cornhuskers would go the Orange Bowl for the fourth year in a row though Oklahoma State would receive an invitation to a New Year's Day bowl game if they could knock off the Sooners.

The Sooners got the ball to start the game as it took them seven plays to drive 42 yards to the Oklahoma State 38-yard-line until the Cowboys' defense rose up and pushed the Sooners back 15 yards to their 47-yard-line where Oklahoma would punt the ball back to Oklahoma State.

Just like the Sooners did on their opening possession, the Cowboys would drive into Oklahoma territory as they drove 23 yards in five plays to the Sooners' 48-yard-line until the drive stalled and Oklahoma State was forced to punt the ball back to Oklahoma.

After another exchange of punts, the Sooners had the ball at their 28-yard-line when they put together a nine-play, 72-yard drive that would result in the game's first touchdown.

The drive would begin with a 10-yard run by Tillman followed by a 11-yard run by Damon Stell to give the Sooners a 1st down at their 49-yard-line.

Following another run that went for three yards, Bradley went to the air as he completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson to give the Sooners a fresh set of downs at the Cowboys' 24-yard-line.

The Sooners would eventually drive to the Cowboys' six-yard-line when Bradley fired a pass for Jackson who was wide open in the left corner of the end zone.

Jackson would make the catch for the six-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to give Oklahoma a 7-0 lead.

Oklahoma State quarterback Rusty Hilger would throw for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

From there, the game would turn into a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until late in the second quarter when the Cowboys forced the game's first turnover as defensive tackle Rodney Harding deflected a Bradley pass which fell into the hands of Oklahoma State defensive end Warren Thompson to give the Cowboys the ball at the Sooners' 30-yard-line with 1:23 left before halftime.

Eight plays later, the Cowboys were at the Sooners' one-yard-line with 17 seconds left and no timeouts remaining when Hilger handed the ball off to Thomas who was stopped for no gain.

As Hilger tried to get the Oklahoma State offense to line up so he could stop the clock, the Oklahoma defenders took their time as they slowly took their time in getting up as they hope time would run out in the first half.

But the Cowboys would get a reprieve as the officials briefly stopped the clock which allowed Oklahoma State to get one play off before the end of the first half as Hilger would loft a pass for Jamie Harris in the right corner of the end zone, who outleapt Sooners safety Tony Rayburn to grab the one-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half with the game tied at 7.

Oklahoma State would get the ball to start the second half as they began their initial possession of the half at their 20-yard-line with two plays that gained three yards to set up 3rd & 7.

That is when Hilger, who fumbled the snap from center, was able to pick up the football, scramble around, and then fire a pass for Malcolm Lewis, who made a juggling catch at around the Sooners' 30-yard-line and then outran the Oklahoma defense for a shocking 77-yard touchdown to give Oklahoma State a 14-7 into the second half.

The Sooners would respond with a 14-play, 72-yard drive which featured Oklhoama converting on four straight 3rd down situations and did not end until Tillman took a pitch from Bradley and took around the left side for a three-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 14 midway through the third quarter.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as their ensuing possession began with a 20-yard pass from Hilger to tight end Barry Hanna to put Oklahoma State at its 44-yard-line when disaster struck as the Cowboys botched the handoff between Hilger and fullback Kelly Cook, leading to a fumble recovery by Sooners linebacker Dante Jones at the Oklahoma State 45-yard-line.

From there, the Sooners would drive 35 yards in nine plays to set up a 27-yard field goal by Tim Lashar to give Oklahoma a 17-14 lead with 2:58 left in the third quarter.

The score would remain 17-14 until early in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys' Bobby Riley muffed a punt that was recovered by Oklahoma linebacker Kert Kasper to give the Sooners the ball at the Oklahoma State 25-yard-line.

After one play which picked up five yards to set up 2nd & 5, Bradley pitched the ball out to Tillman, who ran down the left sideline untouched for a 20-yard touchdown to push the Sooners' lead to 24-14 with 13:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma running back Spencer Tillman carried the ball 25 times for 102 yards and scored two TDs.

Tillman's second touchdown would prove to be the back-breaker for the Cowboys as they could no further than their 41-yard-line on their remaining possessions of the game as the Sooners would come away with the 24-14 victory to clinch the Big 8 title and send the Sooners to the Orange Bowl.

The Cowboys would end up accepting an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl where a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hilger to Hanna with a little over a minute left in the game would give Oklahoma State a 21-14 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks as the Cowboys would finish the 1984 season with a 10-2 record and #5 ranking in the final coaches poll and #7 ranking the final AP poll.

As for the Sooners, they would lose in the Orange Bowl to the Washington Huskies 28-17 thanks in large part to the infamous Sooner Schooner incident as Oklahoma would finish the season with a 9-2-1 record and #6 final ranking in both the AP and the coaches poll.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Sooners Use Passing Game to Come Back From 10-Point Deficit to Beat Nebraska for Big 8 Title

 

Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson makes what would be the catch to set up the Sooners' game-winning field goal over Nebraska in 1986.

During head coach Barry Switzer's tenure as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners from 1973 through 1988, the Sooners were known for their wishbone offense and would rarely put the ball in the air as their quarterbacks often attempted only a handful of passes throughout the season.

However, the Sooners would need their passing game to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their final game of the 1986 regular season where the winner would win the Big 8 conference championship ane earn a berth to the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Oklahoma entered the game ranked #3 with a 9-1 record behind their dominant defense led by All-American linebacker Brian Bosworth that had only given up 56 points during the entire season with half of those points coming a 28-16 loss to the Miami Hurricanes.

On offense, quarterback Jamelle Holieway led the wishbone attack which featured a secret weapon in All-American tight end Keith Jackson, who had only caught 12 passes in the season, but four of them for touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Huskers also came into the game with a 9-1 record and ranked #5 under head coach Tom Osborne, who had never lost more than three games in a season since he became the Nebraska head coach back in 1973.

Like the Sooners, Nebraska's offense was predicated on the run as it was an I-formation option offense led by quarterback Steve Taylor, which going into the Oklahoma game averaged nearly 40 points per game.

Nebraska was hoping to win the Big 8 title for the first time since 1983 when the Huskers famously went for two instead of going for the tie in their heartbreaking 31-30 loss to Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl.

 The Huskers avoided disaster on the second play of the game when Taylor tried to pitch the ball to running back Keith Jones only to have the ball go over Jones' head and bounced toward the Nebraska end zone until Taylor was able to fall on the football before Oklahoma safety Sonny Brown could recover it at the four-yard-line.

Nebraska would be forced to punt from the four-yard-line as the Sooners would take over at the Huskers' 44 and drive 30 yards to the 14-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1.

Switzer decided to go for the 1st down instead of kicking a 31-yard field goal which backfired on the Sooners as Holieway fumbled the snap from center leading to running back Spencer Tillman recovering it for an one-yard loss and a turnover on downs.

Nebraska would take over at its 15-yard-line where it took six plays for the Huskers just to drive to their 35-yard-line when Taylor put the ball in the air and completed a 39-yard pass to wingback Dana Brinson for a 1st down at the Oklahoma 26-yard-line.

Taylor followed this up with a 11-yard completion to Rod  Smith for another Nebraska 1st down at the Sooners' 15-yard-line.

From there, Jones would get the ball on three of the Huskers' next four plays, culminating with a two-yard touchdown to complete the 12-play, 85-yard drive to give Nebraska a 7-0 lead with 6:27 left in the first quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor completed nine of 20 passes for 131 yards and ran for 44 yards on 23 carries.

The Sooners would get the ball back at its 30-yard-line but seemed poised to go three & out as running back Patrick Collins was stopped for no gain on 3rd & 6, only to have Nebraska be called for a five-yard face mask penalty to give Oklahoma another chance on converting the 3rd down when Nebraska cornerback Brian Davis was called for a late hit after Sooners fullback Leon Perry was stopped for no gain, giving Oklahoma 15 yards and a 1st down at the Nebraska 46-yard-line.

After two runs for no gain, the Sooners went to the air on 3rd down as Holieway was able to find Jackson for a 29-yard completion and a 1st down at the Nebraska 17-yard-line.

Three plays later, the Sooners were in the end zone as Holieway kept for a four-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 7 with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

Both teams would trade punts as the game moved into the second quarter still tied 7-7 when the Huskers got the ball at their 28-yard-line where they put together a 12-play, 58-yard drive which saw Taylor complete three passes for 38 yards to set up a 32-yard field goal by Dan Klein to give Nebraska a 10-7 lead with 4:48 remaining in the second quarter.

Neither team would mount another scoring threat in the final minutes of the first half as Nebraska went to the locker room with a 10-7 halftime lead as the Huskers finished the first half with 164 yards of total offense, barely eclipsing the 163.7 average that the Oklahoma defense had allowed per game.

The Sooners got the ball to start the second half but were forced to punt the ball back to Nebraska who would take over at the Oklahoma 28-yard-line following a 48-yard punt return by Brinson.

Taylor would run for three yards on 1st down, then went back to the air as he fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith to increase the Huskers' lead to 17-7 with 10:48 left in the third quarter.

Following another Oklahoma punt on its ensuing possession, the two teams would trade turnovers as Sooners linebacker Dante Jones intercepted a Taylor pass to give Oklahoma the ball back at its 29-yard-line, only to have Holieway throw an interception to Nebraska linebacker Marc Munford, whose 15-yard return gave Nebraska the ball at the Oklahoma 40-yard-line when Bosworth made his presence felt as he jarred the ball loose from Jones, leading to a fumble recovery by Sooners defensive back Scott Garl at the Oklahoma 35-yard-line.

The Sooners would stabilize things with a 11-play,58-yard drive which did not end until 10:39 left in the fourth quarter when kicker Tim Lashar kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the Nebraska lead to 17-10.

It looked like "Sooner Magic" was going to strike again especially after Bosworth forced another fumble when his hit of Keith Jones led to a recovery by defensive back Derrick White to give Oklahoma the ball at the Nebraska 33-yard-line with 8:36 left in the game.

However, the Sooners would give it right back to the Huskers when Holieway lost the football after he was hit by Nebraska defensive tackle Neil Smith as Munford would fall on the fumble to give the ball back to Nebraska at its 25-yard-line.

The Sooners would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 27-yard-line when Switzer went into his bag of tricks and called for a hook-and-ladder play as Holieway completed a pass to Derrick Shepard who was supposed to lateral the ball to running back Anthony Stafford.

But Shepard and Stafford could not make the connection leading to another Sooners fumble that was recovered by Nebraska strong safety Brian Washington at the Oklahoma 44-yard-line.

The Huskers would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Sooners who would take over at their six-yard-line with 4:10 and needing a touchdown plus extra point to win the Big 8 title.

Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle Holieway accounted for 222 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.

Three running plays picked up nine yards to set up a 4th & 1 at the Sooners' 15-yard-line as Switzer decided to go for the 1st down instead of punting the ball away and hoping for another stop by his defense.

Holieway kept the ball and ran around the right side for five yards until he fumbled the football which was recovered by Davis to give the ball back to the Huskers  only to have the turnover nullified by a face mask penalty on Nebraska defensive end Broderick Thomas which allowed the Sooners to keep the football and a new set of downs at their 25-yard-line.

An eight-yard pass from Holieway to Carl Cabbiness would set up 3rd & 2 from the Sooners' 33-yard-line when Holieway found Shepard for 35 yards to give Oklahoma a 1st down at the Nebraska 32-yard-line.

The Sooners would keep on the ground for the next four play totaling 15 yards to set up 2nd & 7 from the Nebraska 17-yard-line Holieway dropped back and connected with Jackson for the 17-yard touchdown to bring Oklahoma to within a point.

Knowing a tie would clinch the Big 8 title for his team, Switzer sent in the field goal unit to kick the extra point instead of potential attempting a two-point conversion which if failed would keep the Sooners out of the Orange Bowl as Lashar successfully made the kick to make it 17-17 with 1:22 left in the game.

The Huskers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line hoping to drive down the field for a potential game-winning field goal that would send them to Miami for the Orange Bowl.

But after two runs by Taylor four yards and an incomplete pass later, the Huskers were forced to punt the ball away to the Sooners who took over at their 35-yard-line with 50 seconds left on the clock.

Holieway handed the ball off to Carr who ran for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Oklahoma 47-yard-line which was followed by an incomplete pass and a holding penalty that pushed the Sooners back 10 yards to their 37-yard-line where Holieway ran for eight yards to set up 3rd & 12 from the Sooners' 45-yard-line.

That is when "Sooner Magic" struck again as Holieway threw a pass  for Jackson, who made a spectacular one-handed catch and then ran down the sideline until he was knocked out of bounds at the Nebraska 14-yard-line with nine seconds to go.

Switzer decided not to take any chances and sent in Lashar to attempt the game-winning field goal, which the fifth-year senior calmly made to give Oklahoma a 20-17 lead with six seconds to go.

A 15-yard excessive celebration penalty on the Sooners following the field goal  plus a short kick on the kickoff that was returned 15 yards by Doug Dalton gave the Huskers the ball at the Oklahoma 42-yard-line with one second on the lock, just enough time for one last play.

However, defensive tackle Steve Bryan would sack Taylor to end the game and secure the 20-17 Oklahoma victory for the Sooners as they clinched their third straight Big 8 conference championship.

The loss to Oklahoma sent the Huskers to the Sugar Bowl where they would defeat the LSU Tigers 30-15 as Nebraska would finish the season with a 10-2 record and top 5 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls while the Sooners would dismantle the Arkansas Razorbacks  42-8 in the Orange Bowl to finish with a 11-1 record and #3 ranking in final AP & Coaches polls.

One year later, Oklahoma would return to Lincoln to haunt the Huskers once again as the #2 Sooners defeated #1 Nebraska 17-7 in the "Game of the Century II"(To read all about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/09/college-football-old-school-game-of_15.html)to win the Big 8 conference for the 4th year in a row.