Tulsa World: OU Finally Gets Big-Game Monkey Off Gibbs' Back

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Bookmark

OU Finally Gets Big-Game Monkey Off Gibbs' Back

By BILL CONNORS
Published: 11/24/1990
Last Modified: 2/27/2007 9:35 AM

NORMAN - Something had to give. Collectively, Nebraska and
Oklahoma were 1-17 in big games since 1987.
The Cornhuskers had the only victory - 7-0 over OU in 1988
- and were 1-7 against the last eight ranked teams they
played. The Sooners had lost 11 straight big games since
1987 and defeated only one team with a winning record in
two seasons (6-5 Iowa State last year).
This drought only made OU's 45-10 victory on Friday tastier
for the Sooners. Tying for second place in the Big Eight
Conference and being 8-3 might seem so-so to OU's football
legions. But four weeks after being in the throes of a three-game
losing streak and under attack, Gary Gibbs can comfortably
begin thinking about 1991.
OU's second-year coach got the big-game monkey off his back.
It can no longer be said that Gibbs has not won a big game
or defeated a good team.
Oh, perhaps it can be said the Sooners did not defeat a
good team on Friday. The No. 10 Cornhuskers looked terribly
overrated, while playing without sharpness, emotion or luck.
Their offense disintegrated with seven turnovers after quarterback
Mickey Joseph suffered a severely lacerated leg on his team's
sixth play and did not return. Their defense, which compiled
glossy statistics on a nine-game diet of white meat, looked
ordinary except when end Mike Croel made rattling tackles.
"This was probably one of our poorest performances in my
28 years at Nebraska," coach Tom Osborne said.
It was a toss-up on who was more embarrassed, the Citrus
Bowl officials who came to officially make the offer they
extended two weeks ago or the Cornhuskers. Their season
apparently ended when they caved in to Colorado in the fourth
quarter of their one-game season two games ago.
No matter. The Sooners acted as if they had won a championship.
Noting OU's defense caused many of the turnovers, Gibbs
said, "This was a great way to end the season. This was
a big win. It was the biggest game we have won in a while.
Nebraska is Nebraska. We are a good football team and I
thought we would win but I did not expect us to win by this
kind of score."
Gibbs said he told Osborne that he "hated" to run up the
score by allowing R.D. Lashar to kick a 24-yard field goal
for the final points with nine seconds left. But Lashar
needed the field goal to become the Big Eight's career scoring
leader for kickers.
A rivalry that has been remarkably free of controversy and
dirty play apparently was not tarnished by the play that
disabled Joseph. OU drew a 15-yard penalty for tackling
Joseph several yards out of bounds.
But end Reggie Barnes, who made the hit on Joseph, OU coaches,
Osborne and several Nebraska players said it was not a malicious
play.
"I didn't know I was out of bounds when I hit him," Barnes
said. "But I could see the stadium wall coming up. I tried
to hold up and the ground was slick and I couldn't stop."
Three OU players - tailback Dewell Brewer, who considered
going to Nebraska, and wide receivers Corey Warren and Greg
Ervin - talked with Joseph as he was taken from the field.
Barnes said he would "try to send him a card or something
or call him. I don't like to see anybody get hurt. But that's
football."
Barnes also made the second biggest tackle of the game when
he shattered wingback Nate Turner on a pass reception that
resulted in a fumble that linebacker Frank Blevins recovered
to set up OU's second touchdown.
"That was my No. 1 hit of all time," Barnes said. "I
never got one like that in high school or anywhere."
In a year when OU's offense overachieved and the defense
was maligned for blowing the Texas and Iowa State games,
Gibbs said he was "especially happy that our defense played
so well today."
Barnes, linebacker Joe Bowden and tackle Scott Evans agreed
Nebraska's no-frill style made it easier for the Sooners
to play their basic defense.
"Nebraska does not try to trick you," Evans said. "They
line up someone on you on every play and it's a matter of
them blocking us or us stuffing them. We play better against
that kind of style. We stuffed them."
Gibbs said, "I wouldn't say we stuffed them, but we forced
them into uncharacteristic turnovers."
But for all the vindication the OU defenders felt, they
and their coach could not forget what might have been.
"We should have had a great defense but we let ourselves
and the coaches down in the Texas and Iowa State games,"
Evans said.
Gibbs said, "I felt we could have won every game. I think
we should have beaten Texas and Iowa State. I am disappointed
we did not beat Colorado but they were the better team and
the best team in the Big Eight."
But being 8-3 instead of the 10-1 Gibbs alluded to did not,
at the moment, cause his grin to fade. There was no cause
to frown and plenty of reason to smile.
The big-game monkey was finally off Gibbs' back.
By BILL CONNORS

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

0 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.