You got that right! The players from this era for the most part, came from hard working regions. Whether they were from farms or factory towns or inner cities.
The fact that someone recorded this live in 1971 and then was able to keep converting it into more modern formats for almost 50 years before it finally ended up on UA-cam is absolutely insane. I have so much respect for all the people who archive history like this.
Well said!! And since today's players no longer tackle... but try to do it standing up, so they don't get their knees dirty... one has to watch these old games to see some real football!!
This is recorded straight through with all of the TV ads included. You don’t see that much. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the old advertising. That brought back a lot of memories and feelings. Thanks!
This was before the USA took it's looonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg nose dive into the shithole. That dive started in 1973 and is still going on to this day.
there could not be a better color man to help call this game than Bud Wilkinson....he was a football GENIUS....and such a gentleman ..one would hardly guess he was a football coach....he spoke like a college Math Professor and looked like a Dentist......truly one of them most respected men in college sports History....much like Rockne / Warner/ Stagg/ Spaulding were.....
Great comment. I've learned more about the game form Bud than anyone. But with all his scholarly analysis, he also had a sense of humor. "Pruitt is an All-American; but when there's nowhere to run, all the running backs look the same." !!!
You didn't have to be a fan of either school, just a fan of college football, appreciating two excellent teams. I miss those days...now, business interests have taken over.
I like hearing old terms such as monster man, clipping, flanker, and half back. They may be terms that are still used but, you don’t hear them. I also enjoyed the Sears commercials.
You should check out replays of his coaching show that aired on the Oklahoma Historical Society which are now on UA-cam. Much to learn do today’s coaches have from this man.
As a soccer fan, I find this an amazing contest. It's thrilling that the offensive players from both teams were introduced like they were prizefighters. My departed father was the football nut, but I respect and admire the physical and mental effort that it takes to play football. No doubt about it, this was THE game of the Twentieth Century. P.S. I wish that I could have a table top popcorn maker--just like Joe Namath had.
I played against Johnny Rogers in 1971. Then again in 1972 when he was the Heisman candidate. In 1972 I was Free Safety. Johnny did not catch a single pass in my zone. He did elude me on a kick-off return by using one of my teammates as a screen to block me. I punted that year, also. It was a pleasure to get the opportunity to cover Johnny.
This game lived up to the hype and then some and also lived up to the "Game of The Century" moniker. Possible National Championship on the line, the Big Eight championship and the Orange Bowl berth that goes with it on the line as well. I rank it among the top 5 College Football games of all-time.
I watch this game once a year, always in November. It never gets old - really a classic, not just hyperbole. This game plus the 1974 55-24 USC comeback vs. Notre Dame and 1973 Sugar Bowl ND vs. Alabama game I watch once a year. Golden age of great teams, coaches, players and rivalries. THANK YOU FOR POSTING.
Huge Nebraska fan here with a ton of respect for this Oklahoma team. Great guys - on both sides. My favorite game of all time. Announcers were sided toward Oklahoma which makes it a bit hard to listen to, but they did a good job. I watch this game every Thanksgiving - - going on 50 years now!
TheCream14: I found an Audio Album with "Greatest Sports Calls." Bobby Thompson. "Unitas gives to Ameche..." That sort of deal. They were so impressed by Lyell Bremser's interpretation of the 1971 Game's showcase moment that they included "Man, Woman, and Child! Did that put em in the Aisle!" on one of the CDs. And truthfully his was the better call about Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers!😉🎤🌽✈📻📺🏈B.W.
My Dad told my mom to delay our Thanksgiving dinner until after the game was played.....and Our Huskers won a dogfight for sure.....it was the Game of the Century....and not many games after this game.....will ever come close to it in every aspect....Sports Illustrated made a cover just for this game the week before.....the Immovable Object Vs the Irresistible Force.and I still have a copy ...wrapped in sealed plastic.....I also have a sealed Mag. of the Texas vs.Ark. 1969 game from S.I. with James Street on his rushing TD.
@@tanmaxwell4599 LOL. So Nebraska didn't cause the fumbles? The Oklahoma player just dropped the ball each time and expected his teammates to pick it up? That's comical.
Definitely the GAME OF THE CENTURY! I was living in NY back then and even there it got a tremendous build up. And the game did not disappoint. How lucky I was to have seen it live. What a time that was!
@@binkyxz3 ...Easily. The Texas-Arkansas was two years before (1969) and IMO they weren't even the two best teams that year. Arkansas went on to lose the Sugar Bowl. In 1971 Nebraska and Oklahoma were 3 touchdowns better than anyone else.
The Chiefs-Lions game started at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST. Besides, KC got their asses kicked, so most who were watching the Chiefs had this turned on well in time for the 1:50 CST kickoff.
What made this such a great rivalry is that so many of the players were actually from Oklahoma and Nebraska or at least their surrounding regions. Today, both teams' players are all from South Florida.
Rich Glover was an absolute beast....... and he weighed 235 pounds LOL like a small high school lineman today. I wish I could say I was at this game, dad had season tickets, but it was on Thanksgiving Day and mom put her foot down and said we weren't going to a football game.
It was a game of speedy and tough running backs ,and running back quarterbacks - never a dull play .Head busting defense on both sides .Nebraska had the best defense though in this game ,because the Sooners could not stop Tagee and Jeff Kinney. Johnny Rodgers was superman in this game. Ironman Rich Glover.
Exactly. I was 9 years old at the time and growing up in Kansas so I heard a lot about it. These two absolutely dominated the Big Eight for years. I can remember people talking about this game more than any other since then. The game lived up to the hype and to me was the Game of the Century.
I've always been more of an NFL guy but Howard Don and Frank were promoting this one so much I gave it a go, lots of fun great game people who enjoy the pro game now would have loved the college game then
Remarkable listening to the brilliant analysis of Bud Wilkinson. A man even more articulate than his reputation as a coach. This game is still the gold standard for all matchups in college football history. Oklahomas radical Wishbone offense. Flinging the ball around like a Frisbee. Nebraskas powerful defense. Crushing in its power and speed. More than that, beautifully coached. A team that gave up only 3 points a game by its starting unit entering this contest. This against the nation's toughest schedule. As spectacular as Oklahoma was, they were not as complete as Nebraska. Offense, Defense and Special Teams. No team until that time was as complete. Or perhaps since. The Big Eight finished One, Two, Three in the National polls that season. Unequaled since. Against this brutal schedule Nebraska outscored its 13 opponents 507-104! Their great and modest, coach Bob Devaney once called Bear Bryant, "Simply the best there ever was." I might beg to differ. In only 11 seasons at Nebraska, Devaney transformed the school from a chump to champion. Winning back to back titles with powerful flawless football. Look at the cohesiveness of this Nebraska team. The technical precision of the offensive line. The discipline of the defense. After dispatching the Sooners, the Cornhuskers annihilated Bear Bryant's Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 38-6! Bryant himself called Devaneys Cornhuskers the greatest he'd ever seen. More than that, Devaney had the greatest Exit Strategy of any coach in college history. He hand picked his brilliant successor Tom Osborne to take over the reins of the Cornhuskers. No coach, Bryant, Royal, Hayes or McKay had such a plan. The Devaney/Osborne teaming is the greatest two man collaboration in college football history. In 36 seasons these giants produced a record of 356-69 and five National Championships! This dynasty of success has no parallel in the history of intercollegiate football. Nebraska fan or not, one thing is brutally clear. Bob Devaneys career was unsurpassed in college football history.
Who else is watching 50 years later, the day OU and NU play again? I’ve missed this game. This truly was the greatest football game of all time. Best of luck today Huskers. We miss you guys.
I'm watching it. Born in LINCOLN MOVED TO DENVER IN 1972 MY DAD GOT TRANSFERED HERE. MY BROTHER PLAYED IN HIGH SCHOOL AGAINST JOHNNY ROGERS .HE RAN ALL OVER THEM!!. GLAD TO SEE HUSKERS D I'M REALLY LIKING WHAT I SEE WITH THIS TEAM GOING TO TAKE OUT SOME TEAMS THIS YEAR
As a Husker fan, I still have a lot of respect for Oklahoma, but times have changed to the point that it just doesn't have the same feeling when these two teams meet. Part of the problem is Nebraska isn't a competitive team now thanks to a couple of pricks, Steve Pederson and Shawn Eichorst who hired a couple of shitty coaches, Bill Calahan and Mike Riley. I don't know if Matt Rhule can turn things around, but I will say that I certainly wouldn't have hired Rhule over Luke Fickel, or better yet, try to lure Urban Meyer to Nebraska with the same ridiculously large 72-million-dollar contract that was given to Matt Rhule.
Those of us who lived at that time recall the unbelievable build-up to this game. That year (1971) ABC was in its second year of broadcasting NFL Monday Night Football, and they used each Monday night to promote this Thanksgiving day showdown. Never have I witnessed a year in which a single game had this kind of national build-up. Those who lived during that time know what I'm talking about. It was like a count-down to Armageddon. Great memories...
The Big 8 knew exactly what it was doing by giving NU and OU an open date the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Alabama and Auburn also had open dates before that year's Iron Bowl. Too bad the game in Birmingham tuned into a dud.
You are absolutely correct. People were anticipating this game more than a month before it was played. And why wouldn't they? These two teams were three touchdowns better than any other team in the nation in 1971 and that was proven by the fact that they both beat #3 Colorado by at least three touchdowns.
They did a regional game in early November between Colorado and Nebraska ( which Nebraska won 31-7) the broadcasters couldn't focus on that game all they could talk about was the big one a few weeks ahead
@@martinpuiggari2427 Wylie landed on his back and then rolled towards the sideline, away from where the hit came from. You think block in the back?... then he would have landed face down, probably slides forward a bit, for an obvious penalty. Didn't happen.
I had to watch this after the game today , even though tm a sooner fan , my 2nd is the huskers I loved the defense huskers put out today made me shake in my shoes good game y'all
Being a 15 year old in 1971 I never appreciated what a great analyst Bud Wilkerson was. He was really great. These talking heads these days pale in comparison.
Nebraska ended up playing AL in the Orange Bowl and OK played Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Later that night Pat Sullivan would be named as the winner of the Heisman Trophy .
I remember how mad I was that the game started at 3PM....right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner with the family. No way my parents were letting me watch the game during dinner. Hearing Bill Flemming's voice again gives me chills.
@Matt Pizzano the T.V.ratings for the college classic were almost twice the Lions Game. The Texas and Texas A and M game that night out drew live gate Cowboys game ,and won the ratings as well.Game was layer in afternoon due to the huge number of High School games in about 45 states. NOBODY slept through Sooner Husker Classic in 1971.Tear away jersey's miss them.Who knew Mildren could throw like he did.And the 4 point stance for the o line of Oklahoma.Normal sized big players. White face masks.Game was better back then. Players maybe not, game,hell yeah!
@@davidwadsworth8982 That is not surprising. The NFL, while big in 1971 was nowhere close to the 800-pound gorilla of sports it is now. Of course Texas A & M would outdraw the Cowboys, their stadium was bigger than Texas Stadium (which had just opened and hosted its first Thanksgiving day game) and had a bigger capacity I believe. What also helped college football on Thanksgiving was in those days, viewers in Detroit and Dallas could not see their teams play on TV, the blackout policies would not change until two years later in 1973. Now, you only get a handful of Thanksgiving games as college basketball and made-for-TV tournaments other than the NFL dominate Thanksgiving (in those days the college basketball season was much shorter and everything was compressed into a far shorter period for CBB than it is now).
@@WaltGekko, A&M's stadium KYLE FIELD was only 51, 000 then. Now, its 108,000 the first or second largest in Tex maybe ahead or behind DK ROYAL MEMORIAL.. The A&M- U.T. game was played along side the NU V. OU game, as Schenkel was updating that UT-TAMU score all throughout the OU V. NU GAME..
I'm an LSU fan but you may be right about that. They were certainly the two best teams that year by far which is why I think this may have been the greatest game ever played.
Merle Harmon, interviewing Bear Bryant on the phone, and Bud Palmer on the Prudential College Scoreboard brings back a flood of memories. Dave Dial replaced Merle when the latter went to do the Milwaukee Brewers on RADIO&TV. Eventually, Dave became the lone host on the Prudential show. Great to see that again. One thing about it, today's tv guys are much smoother with the highlights.
Exciting and gut wrenching game, especially for a 12 yr old boy and rabid OU fan! Consider this , the BIG EIGHT had the top 3 teams in the final rankings. Neb, Ou, and Colorado went 34-3 that amazing year
47:23 ~ a tackle the way it is supposed to be done: tackle low and wrap both arms around his legs. Sadly, this scientific approach to defense seems to be in decline nowadays as coaches seem to be teaching players to hit but not to properly tackle runners. Small wonder why offensive stats are so much higher today than in the past.
Plemons Residence Amen Plemons. Liberals and morons have and are continuing to destroy our game of Football. When are we as Americans going to finally have enough. I’m ready right now to take it to them all WHATEVER IT TAKE!! Wake up people your country and traditions are being stolen from you. I BEG YOU WAKE UP. I’m willing to die to take back this country!!! What about the rest of you?
@@robertnoble6600 That is one of the most stupid posts I have ever seen in YT or anywhere else. In case you didn't know it, most of the players in the NFL are liberals as are the majority in the NCAA and throughout the Land. The game has evolved but politics has absolutely nothing to do with it. If you had so much as half a brain you would have realized that.
Drew Bruton Right on the money. The ‘95 Huskers would still be spankin’ the teams of today. Some 25 years later. That team would dominate in any decade.
And.... an argument can be legitimately made that Oklahoma was just as good as Nebraska that year and likewise deserves to be considered co-winner of the "best team(s) ever." I recall virtually everyone saying before this game that whoever got the ball last would probably win. Turned out to be true. Yes, OU got the ball again at the end but there was only a little over a minute left in the game which gave them no chance to drive the field with a wishbone attack. The very next week, Sports Illustrated stated that Neb. and Okla. were dead even, and the third best team was "light years behind both of them." That statement turned out to be prophetic. After the Bowl games, Neb. and Okla. finished 1-2 in the final polls and Colorado at 10-2 finished 3rd (getting totally destroyed by both OU and NU during the regular season). A "team for the ages" can be equally applied to both of these teams.
Johnny Rodgers ! 73 CFL Rookie of the Year with Montreal , in 74 won a Grey Cup . I think a 3 time CFL MVP. Think he went to the NFL after 4 or 5 seasons in Montreal. Chargers i think ....idk . Exciting player.
@@michaelleroy9281 He joined the Chargers in '77. Tommy Prothro was fired four games into '78 season, and Don Coryell had no use for Johnny R. Superstar.
Big Ten could expel Nebraska since it isn't a member of the American Association of Universities anymore. There has been talk of that. While the Big Ten is at it, expel Rutgers and Maryland too.
To all the people with short-term memory who think the 1995 Huskers were better than the 1971 Huskers...NO. Beating the #2, #3 and #4 teams in the final AP poll settled it once and for all. Alabama and Oklahoma each ran the Wishbone; Oklahoma pretty much ran over everyone except Nebraska, and Alabama did to everyone except Nebraska and LSU. Colorado was good enough to go into Death Valley and win by 10 in a game which wasn't as close as the final (Alabama won by 7 on the same field, and LSU crushed Notre Dame 28-8). Don't forget Iowa State was 7-4 that year and made its first bowl game.
The oddity was for Oklahoma back then (and this would continue until OU and Nebraska no longer met every year because of first how the Big 12 was split up and then with Nebraska going to the Big 10) was that while Texas was to fans and alumni OU's biggest rival, nationally THIS was THE RIVALRY in ALL of college football.
@@rooh5825 I used to deal with a lot of OU alumni. They ALWAYS considered their game with Texas at The Cotton Bowl to be the big one, with Nebraska second. Nationally, OU-Nebraska was bigger because it was at the end of the season, however, many OU alumni I knew have always considered Texas their big rival, and this was long before that became a conference game.
I remember in the 70s the Saturday after Thanksgiving it was Ohio State-Michigan, then Nebraska- Oklahoma and finally it was USC-UCLA. This rivalry was as good as any in those days.
2:47:16 This might be the play of the game. If Rodgers doesn’t make that catch, Nebraska probably doesn’t win this game. It was 3rd &8, on the game-winning drive.
That and Johnny R's magnificent punt return, one of the best that I've seen anywhere. He was a bust as a pro, though. Injuries and maybe illegal drugs if memory serves, did him in at SAN DIEGO. He was a super-spectacular returner on the college level, maybe the best NCAA'ER PUNT RETURNER EVER, better than Dev Hester.
If any college team was undisputed national champion in 1971, the Huskers were it. This was the ONLY game in which Nebraska did not score a blowout during the entire season. Always like the old commercials.
Yes, no one could ever dispute the 1971 Cornhuskers. Nebraska wound up beating Oklahoma, who finished #2 in the AP Poll; Colorado, who finished #3; and Alabama, #4. Those last two Nebraska destroyed. I wonder how many other teams beat #2, #3, and #4 in the final poll.
I watched the game live on TV. Nebraska and OU were two of the earliest teams to dip into the veterinary medicine bag of tricks. Nebraska would bring in linemen and redshirt them for a year so they could put on "40-50 pounds". Anyone who has lifted seriously knows you don't put on that kind of weight (all muscle) in a year without serious help. Would be interesting to follow the health records of these players and see how many of them died young.
Under the NCAA's television policy at the time, no team could appear more than three times a season on live TV, and no more than two of those could be nationally-telecast. I seem to recall that the NCAA, under pressure from ABC, eventually allowed the latter to televise this game, even though both schools had used up their maximum number of televised games that year.
You're thinking of Notre Dame-Michigan St. in 1966 that ABC begged the NCAA to add as an extra telecast because the Irish and Spartans had used up their appearances. This game was selected by ABC at the beginning of the season. ABC passed on OU-Texas, gambling that the Sooners would get past the Longhorns and stay undefeated until the Huskers invaded Norman . Nebraska-Oklahoma moved to Thanksgiving (as it was in '72 and '73) because ABC wanted it as a national telecast. The same thing happened in 1969. Texas-Arkansas moved from mid-October to the first weekend in December. ABC thought both teams would be undefeated. Had Ohio St. defeated Michigan, the game would have meant nothing other than the SWC championship, because the Buckeyes were unanimous #1 in the polls prior to losing to the Wolverines. ABC's big bets paid off handsomely with two of the highest-rated and two of the best games it has ever televised.
The fight song in background while Fleming-Wilkinson preview the game. So thankful I experienced the color & pagentry of 1970s cfb - something nvr matched by the succeeding generations of cfb (🙄).
I was born after this game but I remember the wishbone and I would yell with my father. Hold on to the ball. So as I watching I saw Mildren handle the ball carelessly I caught myself saying OMG Jack hang on to the ball!
notable personnel: ou -- greg pruitt, gary gibbs, galen hall (wr coach), barry switzer (oc), larry lacewell (dc) and jimmy johnson (ol coach). neb -- john dutton, willie harper (grandfather to rapper saweetie), david humm, monte johnson, johnny rodgers and tom osborne (oc).
@ 1:22:49 "...give it the good old college try..." Crowd card tricks! How do you keep an Sooner busy? Write 'Please turn over' on both sides of a piece of paper. @ 3:27:09 promo for 'Brian's Song'
These guys were just studs! Real football and no showboating. Ckassic announcers and Classic commercials. Thanks for posting
You got that right!
The players from this era for the most part, came from hard working regions.
Whether they were from farms or factory towns or inner cities.
"No showboating." That's what I liked. Then the 80s Miami Hurricanes stained the game of college football.
These guys would get destroyed in todays game lmao
@@mryolodikswagger6309 I doubt it
@@thegefster1988 Yeah they would boomer. Your glory days are in the past, move on
The fact that someone recorded this live in 1971 and then was able to keep converting it into more modern formats for almost 50 years before it finally ended up on UA-cam is absolutely insane. I have so much respect for all the people who archive history like this.
Well said!! And since today's players no longer tackle... but try to do it standing up, so they don't get their knees dirty... one has to watch these old games to see some real football!!
This is recorded straight through with all of the TV ads included. You don’t see that much. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the old advertising. That brought back a lot of memories and feelings. Thanks!
This was before the USA took it's looonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg nose dive into the shithole. That dive started in 1973 and is still going on to this day.
My grandpa donald westbrook was in the game he was number 81 I'm pretty sure he played for the patriots from 1977-1981
The TV ads r the best part - an Americana time capsule. So great.
@@Lfg117 And one minute commercial breaks. Not the 3 and half minute ones they have now.
there could not be a better color man to help call this game than Bud Wilkinson....he was a football GENIUS....and such a gentleman ..one would hardly guess he was a football coach....he spoke like a college Math Professor and looked like a Dentist......truly one of them most respected men in college sports History....much like Rockne / Warner/ Stagg/ Spaulding were.....
Great comment. I've learned more about the game form Bud than anyone. But with all his scholarly analysis, he also had a sense of humor. "Pruitt is an All-American; but when there's nowhere to run, all the running backs look the same." !!!
To me, this is still the best football game I’ve ever watched.
You didn't have to be a fan of either school, just a fan of college football, appreciating two excellent teams. I miss those days...now, business interests have taken over.
I hear ya. I couldn't watch it myself, but I did hear it on radio.
ESPN calls it the sports only perfect football game. I agree.
In my top 5
The '06 Rose Bowl; USC vs Texas, Miami vs. Nebraska, the 31-30 games were amazing as well.
I always liked the way Bud Wilkinson explained football to the common fan.
Bud was the best.
I like hearing old terms such as monster man, clipping, flanker, and half back. They may be terms that are still used but, you don’t hear them. I also enjoyed the Sears commercials.
You should check out replays of his coaching show that aired on the Oklahoma Historical Society which are now on UA-cam. Much to learn do today’s coaches have from this man.
Bud was great. I miss him.
As a soccer fan, I find this an amazing contest. It's thrilling that the offensive players from both teams were introduced like they were prizefighters. My departed father was the football nut, but I respect and admire the physical and mental effort that it takes to play football. No doubt about it, this was THE game of the Twentieth Century. P.S. I wish that I could have a table top popcorn maker--just like Joe Namath had.
The Golden Age Of Football. How I miss those days .......
Unusual thanksgiving game.
Sitting in living room smelling the turkey roasting as a huge snowfall blanketed montpelier vt
Living in Nebraska, I always called this game the Indigestion Game.
I was a senior in high school when I watched this game. Johnny Rodgers was spectacular.
I played against Johnny Rogers in 1971. Then again in 1972 when he was the Heisman candidate. In 1972 I was Free Safety. Johnny did not catch a single pass in my zone. He did elude me on a kick-off return by using one of my teammates as a screen to block me.
I punted that year, also.
It was a pleasure to get the opportunity to cover Johnny.
This game lived up to the hype and then some and also lived up to the "Game of The Century" moniker. Possible National Championship on the line, the Big Eight championship and the Orange Bowl berth that goes with it on the line as well. I rank it among the top 5 College Football games of all-time.
IT CERTAINLY DID LIVE UP TO THE HYPE
Two great teams in a great game. I miss teams running the wishbone option.
I watch this game once a year, always in November. It never gets old - really a classic, not just hyperbole. This game plus the 1974 55-24 USC comeback vs. Notre Dame and 1973 Sugar Bowl ND vs. Alabama game I watch once a year. Golden age of great teams, coaches, players and rivalries. THANK YOU FOR POSTING.
Love 1970s college football too, usc vs Ohio state, Oklahoma vs Nebraska, Alabama vs USC, etc etc.
Those were all good games.
Craig,
Good call on the USC / Notre Dame game. That game was my favorite. Anthony Davis was amazing that day.
Huge Nebraska fan here with a ton of respect for this Oklahoma team. Great guys - on both sides. My favorite game of all time. Announcers were sided toward Oklahoma which makes it a bit hard to listen to, but they did a good job. I watch this game every Thanksgiving - - going on 50 years now!
TheCream14: I found an Audio Album with "Greatest Sports Calls." Bobby Thompson. "Unitas gives to Ameche..." That sort of deal. They were so impressed by Lyell Bremser's interpretation of the 1971 Game's showcase moment that they included "Man, Woman, and Child! Did that put em in the Aisle!" on one of the CDs. And truthfully his was the better call about Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers!😉🎤🌽✈📻📺🏈B.W.
You must've not been listening when Chris Schenkel goes on and on about Johnny Rodgers and Rich Glover
My Dad told my mom to delay our Thanksgiving dinner until after the game was played.....and Our Huskers won a dogfight for sure.....it was the Game of the Century....and not many games after this game.....will ever come close to it in every aspect....Sports Illustrated made a cover just for this game the week before.....the Immovable Object Vs the Irresistible Force.and I still have a copy ...wrapped in sealed plastic.....I also have a sealed Mag. of the Texas vs.Ark. 1969 game from S.I. with James Street on his rushing TD.
Many, MANY Thanks!! I will tell every fan that I know about this complete record of one of The Greatest College Football Games of All Time.
FUMBLES was what beat the Sooners in this game - not Nebraska.
@@tanmaxwell4599 LOL. So Nebraska didn't cause the fumbles? The Oklahoma player just dropped the ball each time and expected his teammates to pick it up? That's comical.
Wished Sooners had won - and would have - hadn't they had too many turnouvers.
@@tanmaxwell4599 Nebraska had a key turnover the next to last drive
@@tanmaxwell4599, Nebraska forced the fumbles, and played a damned near flawless game. Three errors..
Live with it.
I miss this great rivalry
I'm an Alabama fan but this is still the greatest game of all time in my opinion.
My grandpa donald westbrook was in the game he was number 81 I'm pretty sure he played for the patriots from 1977-1981
This was all it was hyped to be and more. One of the all time great games. Everything on the line too.
Definitely the GAME OF THE CENTURY!
I was living in NY back then and even there it got a tremendous build up. And the game did not disappoint. How lucky I was to have seen it live. What a time that was!
Ahead of the Texas - Arkansas game the year before ?
@@binkyxz3 Easily
@@binkyxz3 ...Easily. The Texas-Arkansas was two years before (1969) and IMO they weren't even the two best teams that year. Arkansas went on to lose the Sugar Bowl. In 1971 Nebraska and Oklahoma were 3 touchdowns better than anyone else.
@@binkyxz3
FAR ahead.
@@charleswest9181 1. Nebraska
2. Oklahoma 3. Colorado. Never happened before or since, has it?
This game was so big on ABC it CLOBBERED an NFL game (Chiefs-Lions at Tiger Stadium in Detroit) airing on NBC.
The Chiefs-Lions game started at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST. Besides, KC got their asses kicked, so most who were watching the Chiefs had this turned on well in time for the 1:50 CST kickoff.
@@DNSKansas And later that day in the first Thanksgiving Day game at Texas Stadium (Rams -Cowboys , won by the Cowboys 28-21)
What made this such a great rivalry is that so many of the players were actually from Oklahoma and Nebraska or at least their surrounding regions. Today, both teams' players are all from South Florida.
Oklahoma's players mostly come from Texas.
Not true most of Oklahoma players are from Texas. Nebraska most of there players are definitely not from S.Fla
Rich Glover was an absolute beast....... and he weighed 235 pounds LOL like a small high school lineman today. I wish I could say I was at this game, dad had season tickets, but it was on Thanksgiving Day and mom put her foot down and said we weren't going to a football game.
My sweet Dad took me to my first OU game when I was 4 years old. Took my son to his first game in Norman at age 6. Great memories.
A game of great offense,great defense, great band music, pretty cheerleaders - and torn jerseys lol
It was a game of speedy and tough running backs ,and running back quarterbacks - never a dull play .Head busting defense on both sides .Nebraska had the best defense though in this game ,because the Sooners could not stop Tagee and Jeff Kinney. Johnny Rodgers was superman in this game. Ironman Rich Glover.
@@tanmaxwell4599 Ah yes the tear away jerseys
That was Jeff Kinney with the most torn jerseys
Personally I think the OU majorette was cute and had better form but those Nebraska girls dancing with machetes take the prize
The hype for this game started the opening weekend of the season
Exactly. I was 9 years old at the time and growing up in Kansas so I heard a lot about it. These two absolutely dominated the Big Eight for years. I can remember people talking about this game more than any other since then. The game lived up to the hype and to me was the Game of the Century.
And back then, these games went directly opposite the NFL.
I remember that year, I was 10 and watching my first OU-Texas game. They were talking so much about the OU-Nebraska game, I thought it was next week.
10:00 THAT'S Why Bud Wilkinson was a Hall of Famer! GREAT Instructions and I was a Wishbone Halfback and didn't know all of this :-D
He broke down a complicated offensive scheme so that the average fan could understand what Oklahoma was doing
Really, wow,
Love those commercials :)
Why? 10-15-2021
I've always been more of an NFL guy but Howard Don and Frank were promoting this one so much I gave it a go, lots of fun great game people who enjoy the pro game now would have loved the college game then
Remarkable listening to the brilliant analysis of Bud Wilkinson. A man even more articulate than his reputation as a coach. This game is still the gold standard for all matchups in college football history. Oklahomas radical Wishbone offense. Flinging the ball around like a Frisbee. Nebraskas powerful defense. Crushing in its power and speed. More than that, beautifully coached. A team that gave up only 3 points a game by its starting unit entering this contest. This against the nation's toughest schedule. As spectacular as Oklahoma was, they were not as complete as Nebraska. Offense, Defense and Special Teams. No team until that time was as complete. Or perhaps since. The Big Eight finished One, Two, Three in the National polls that season. Unequaled since. Against this brutal schedule Nebraska outscored its 13 opponents 507-104! Their great and modest, coach Bob Devaney once called Bear Bryant, "Simply the best there ever was." I might beg to differ. In only 11 seasons at Nebraska, Devaney transformed the school from a chump to champion. Winning back to back titles with powerful flawless football. Look at the cohesiveness of this Nebraska team. The technical precision of the offensive line. The discipline of the defense. After dispatching the Sooners, the Cornhuskers annihilated Bear Bryant's Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 38-6! Bryant himself called Devaneys Cornhuskers the greatest he'd ever seen. More than that, Devaney had the greatest Exit Strategy of any coach in college history. He hand picked his brilliant successor Tom Osborne to take over the reins of the Cornhuskers. No coach, Bryant, Royal, Hayes or McKay had such a plan. The Devaney/Osborne teaming is the greatest two man collaboration in college football history. In 36 seasons these giants produced a record of 356-69 and five National Championships! This dynasty of success has no parallel in the history of intercollegiate football. Nebraska fan or not, one thing is brutally clear. Bob Devaneys career was unsurpassed in college football history.
Bill Fleming was my favorite all time ABC announcer.
The inteview with Bear Bryant at the end may be the only time I ever understood a word he was saying.
A strong contender for greatest college football game ever...as Howard would say, just telling it like it is.
IMO it is.
Or like you think it is, both are pretty close (as Dandy Don might add)
Great college game between the 2 best teams in 1971.Remains one of the best ever played imo.
Who else is watching 50 years later, the day OU and NU play again? I’ve missed this game. This truly was the greatest football game of all time.
Best of luck today Huskers. We miss you guys.
I'm watching it. Born in LINCOLN
MOVED TO DENVER IN 1972 MY DAD GOT TRANSFERED HERE. MY BROTHER PLAYED IN HIGH SCHOOL AGAINST JOHNNY ROGERS .HE RAN ALL OVER THEM!!. GLAD TO SEE
HUSKERS D I'M REALLY LIKING WHAT I SEE WITH THIS TEAM
GOING TO TAKE OUT SOME TEAMS THIS YEAR
Too naturally unenhanced as well
As a Husker fan, I still have a lot of respect for Oklahoma, but times have changed to the point that it just doesn't have the same feeling when these two teams meet. Part of the problem is Nebraska isn't a competitive team now thanks to a couple of pricks, Steve Pederson and Shawn Eichorst who hired a couple of shitty coaches, Bill Calahan and Mike Riley. I don't know if Matt Rhule can turn things around, but I will say that I certainly wouldn't have hired Rhule over Luke Fickel, or better yet, try to lure Urban Meyer to Nebraska with the same ridiculously large 72-million-dollar contract that was given to Matt Rhule.
I watched this game at agw 8. Greatest game Ive ever seen
What a great game, one of the best ever.
Those of us who lived at that time recall the unbelievable build-up to this game. That year (1971) ABC was in its second year of broadcasting NFL Monday Night Football, and they used each Monday night to promote this Thanksgiving day showdown. Never have I witnessed a year in which a single game had this kind of national build-up. Those who lived during that time know what I'm talking about. It was like a count-down to Armageddon. Great memories...
And the game lived up to its billing.
The Big 8 knew exactly what it was doing by giving NU and OU an open date the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Alabama and Auburn also had open dates before that year's Iron Bowl. Too bad the game in Birmingham tuned into a dud.
You are absolutely correct. People were anticipating this game more than a month before it was played. And why wouldn't they? These two teams were three touchdowns better than any other team in the nation in 1971 and that was proven by the fact that they both beat #3 Colorado by at least three touchdowns.
They started building up this game the first Saturday of the season
They did a regional game in early November between Colorado and Nebraska ( which Nebraska won 31-7) the broadcasters couldn't focus on that game all they could talk about was the big one a few weeks ahead
Johnny Rodgers.....One of the greatest punt returns Ever !!!
Cough….block in the back.. cough
@@martinpuiggari2427 SHUT UP THAT WAS LEGAL BACK THEN IT COUNTS TOUCHDOWN NEBRASKA
@@martinpuiggari2427 Wylie landed on his back and then rolled towards the sideline, away from where the hit came from. You think block in the back?... then he would have landed face down, probably slides forward a bit, for an obvious penalty. Didn't happen.
Got my vote Canadian football league legend
I had to watch this after the game today , even though tm a sooner fan , my 2nd is the huskers I loved the defense huskers put out today made me shake in my shoes good game y'all
Being a 15 year old in 1971 I never appreciated what a great analyst Bud Wilkerson was. He was really great. These talking heads these days pale in comparison.
Johnny Rodgers was the win for Nebraska. Two amazing runbacks and that great catch of the winning drive.
Johnny Roger's played in Canadian football league,,
I remember watching this game. I was 7.
What a day that was. Have never seen a game like that. My favorite game though was the ‘96 Fiesta Bowl l
1971 Nebraska was the first team in college football to go 13-0 for a season
I've been watching college (and pro) football since 1961. This is one of the games I still remember.
Since 64 and one of the best
I'm getting to be a geezer as I remember watching part of this game 50 years ago.
Nebraska ended up playing AL in the Orange Bowl and OK played Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Later that night Pat Sullivan would be named as the winner of the Heisman Trophy .
nebraska destroyed alabamer...ou destroyed auburn....colorado destroyed houston....
@@graciemaemarie11jones16 Since LSU beat Iowa State in the Sun Bowl, LSU was really the best team in the SEC in 1971. I kid.
31:06 - The big moment of the game.
OU fans are still triggered to this day
@@StFidjnr After almost 50 years? Seriously?
I remember how mad I was that the game started at 3PM....right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner with the family. No way my parents were letting me watch the game during dinner. Hearing Bill Flemming's voice again gives me chills.
We ate in the living room. See I returned from deployment on 15 November, so I had it my way.Great great game.In early AM went to High School game.
@Matt Pizzano the T.V.ratings for the college classic were almost twice the Lions Game. The Texas and Texas A and M game that night out drew live gate Cowboys game ,and won the ratings as well.Game was layer in afternoon due to the huge number of High School games in about 45 states. NOBODY slept through Sooner Husker Classic in 1971.Tear away jersey's miss them.Who knew Mildren could throw like he did.And the 4 point stance for the o line of Oklahoma.Normal sized big players. White face masks.Game was better back then. Players maybe not, game,hell yeah!
My dad was totally the opposite. We had the game on during dinner.
@@davidwadsworth8982 That is not surprising. The NFL, while big in 1971 was nowhere close to the 800-pound gorilla of sports it is now. Of course Texas A & M would outdraw the Cowboys, their stadium was bigger than Texas Stadium (which had just opened and hosted its first Thanksgiving day game) and had a bigger capacity I believe.
What also helped college football on Thanksgiving was in those days, viewers in Detroit and Dallas could not see their teams play on TV, the blackout policies would not change until two years later in 1973. Now, you only get a handful of Thanksgiving games as college basketball and made-for-TV tournaments other than the NFL dominate Thanksgiving (in those days the college basketball season was much shorter and everything was compressed into a far shorter period for CBB than it is now).
@@WaltGekko, A&M's stadium KYLE FIELD was only 51, 000 then. Now, its 108,000 the first or second largest in Tex maybe ahead or behind DK ROYAL MEMORIAL..
The A&M- U.T. game was played along side the NU V. OU game, as Schenkel was updating that UT-TAMU score all throughout the OU V. NU GAME..
I'm a huge Alabama fan but that may be the two best teams ever in Norman that day.
I'm an LSU fan but you may be right about that. They were certainly the two best teams that year by far which is why I think this may have been the greatest game ever played.
Well my Tide and Tiger fans its time OU dances with your teams on a regular basis..I can't wait to join SEC
I am a ND fan but I agree with you
Saw that this was the best team in college football history so I gotta see it for myself
@Plemons Residence And the greatest dominated 10 years after that
Retweet
Hell of a game!!!
Only behind the Texas/USC RB as best game I've ever watched.
What a game 50 years later
.Sep. 25, 2021.
November 25 2021 was the 50th anniversary
Merle Harmon, interviewing Bear Bryant on the phone, and Bud Palmer on the Prudential College Scoreboard brings back a flood of memories.
Dave Dial replaced Merle when the latter went to do the Milwaukee Brewers on RADIO&TV. Eventually, Dave became the lone host on the Prudential show. Great to see that again. One thing about it, today's tv guys are much smoother with the highlights.
Exciting and gut wrenching game, especially for a 12 yr old boy and rabid OU fan! Consider this , the BIG EIGHT had the top 3 teams in the final rankings. Neb, Ou, and Colorado went 34-3 that amazing year
Nebraska and Oklahoma were in a division of their own that year. And to think that both NU and OU beat the Buffalos 31-7 and 35-10 respectively.
31:05 The Johnny Rodgers Punt Return for TD!
I saw this game what a game.
A great college football game! 🏈
Great to see the old Texaco commercials! 40:31
Great to see ALL of the old commercials! :)
That Texaco commercial was nearly a throwback to a 1950s version back when Milton Berle had his variety show.
This game had a higher TV viewing than the 2 NFL games that day
47:23 ~ a tackle the way it is supposed to be done: tackle low and wrap both arms around his legs. Sadly, this scientific approach to defense seems to be in decline nowadays as coaches seem to be teaching players to hit but not to properly tackle runners. Small wonder why offensive stats are so much higher today than in the past.
Plemons Residence Amen Plemons. Liberals and morons have and are continuing to destroy our game of Football. When are we as Americans going to finally have enough. I’m ready right now to take it to them all WHATEVER IT TAKE!! Wake up people your country and traditions are being stolen from you. I BEG YOU WAKE UP. I’m willing to die to take back this country!!! What about the rest of you?
I agree! Nowadays, they are taught to try and strip the ball away on each tackle.
@@robertnoble6600
That is one of the most stupid posts I have ever seen in YT or anywhere else. In case you didn't know it, most of the players in the NFL are liberals as are the majority in the NCAA and throughout the Land. The game has evolved but politics has absolutely nothing to do with it. If you had so much as half a brain you would have realized that.
@@merccadoosis8847 Hey clueless wonder!!!!!!!! Go take a nap. The adults are talking.
@@robertnoble6600
"clueless" - yeah right
It was called The Game Of The Century!
Just like Notre Dame and Michigan State in 1966 and Texas and Arkansas in 1969
I was only 7, but this was back when real football was played.
This Nebraska team was just voted College Football's all time #1 team.
yea,but i'm not sure it was even the best Nebraska team ever.i think that was the 83 team.
@Diane Newman No controversy. It was
Marc Sawatzki Yeah the ‘95 team is truly in a league of its own.
Drew Bruton Right on the money. The ‘95 Huskers would still be spankin’ the teams of today. Some 25 years later. That team would dominate in any decade.
And.... an argument can be legitimately made that Oklahoma was just as good as Nebraska that year and likewise deserves to be considered co-winner of the "best team(s) ever." I recall virtually everyone saying before this game that whoever got the ball last would probably win. Turned out to be true. Yes, OU got the ball again at the end but there was only a little over a minute left in the game which gave them no chance to drive the field with a wishbone attack. The very next week, Sports Illustrated stated that Neb. and Okla. were dead even, and the third best team was "light years behind both of them." That statement turned out to be prophetic. After the Bowl games, Neb. and Okla. finished 1-2 in the final polls and Colorado at 10-2 finished 3rd (getting totally destroyed by both OU and NU during the regular season). A "team for the ages" can be equally applied to both of these teams.
-full stadium, no masks, great game - this is my idea of back to "normal"
Johnny Rodgers ! 73 CFL Rookie of the Year with Montreal , in 74 won a Grey Cup . I think a 3 time CFL MVP. Think he went to the NFL after 4 or 5 seasons in Montreal. Chargers i think ....idk . Exciting player.
That is correct. Rodgers did play for the Chargers after his time in Canada. He only played 17 games for them due to injury unfortunately.
@@DanConroy78 ok thank you!
Washed out at SAN DIEGO..injuries, and maybe drugs, if memory serves.
He went to the Chargers in 1978
@@michaelleroy9281 He joined the Chargers in '77. Tommy Prothro was fired four games into '78 season, and Don Coryell had no use for Johnny R. Superstar.
I want Nebraska back in the big 12
Big Ten could expel Nebraska since it isn't a member of the American Association of Universities anymore. There has been talk of that. While the Big Ten is at it, expel Rutgers and Maryland too.
@@DNSKansasnot going to happen
To all the people with short-term memory who think the 1995 Huskers were better than the 1971 Huskers...NO. Beating the #2, #3 and #4 teams in the final AP poll settled it once and for all. Alabama and Oklahoma each ran the Wishbone; Oklahoma pretty much ran over everyone except Nebraska, and Alabama did to everyone except Nebraska and LSU. Colorado was good enough to go into Death Valley and win by 10 in a game which wasn't as close as the final (Alabama won by 7 on the same field, and LSU crushed Notre Dame 28-8). Don't forget Iowa State was 7-4 that year and made its first bowl game.
🔥 : As a kid, watched that gm on nat'l tv (from Michigan). RichardGlover, JohnnyRogers(sp?) & GregPruitt. Greatness.
Old school football
That's the way it should be! It was so much fun - great game, great atmosphere, and the cheerleader girls looked so wholesome.
@@merccadoosis8847 Fun and carefree days.
Commentators:
Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson & Bill Flemming.
Chris Schenkel was the best behind the mic!
Chris was excellent but Keith Jackson was the greatest
The oddity was for Oklahoma back then (and this would continue until OU and Nebraska no longer met every year because of first how the Big 12 was split up and then with Nebraska going to the Big 10) was that while Texas was to fans and alumni OU's biggest rival, nationally THIS was THE RIVALRY in ALL of college football.
Agreed. Some schools play a very soft schedule now.
I didn't know any OU fans back then that thought of Texas as the bigger rivalry than Nebraska, that's just crazy talk.
@@rooh5825 I used to deal with a lot of OU alumni. They ALWAYS considered their game with Texas at The Cotton Bowl to be the big one, with Nebraska second.
Nationally, OU-Nebraska was bigger because it was at the end of the season, however, many OU alumni I knew have always considered Texas their big rival, and this was long before that became a conference game.
I remember in the 70s the Saturday after Thanksgiving it was Ohio State-Michigan, then Nebraska- Oklahoma and finally it was USC-UCLA. This rivalry was as good as any in those days.
First.. born 1956.. started watching college ball 1968.. difficult to get ABC ..GOATS everywhere... coaching
It's a shame good rivalry Nebraska Oklahoma went away , same thing with Texas Arkansas
Same with Nebraska-Colorado, Oklahoma-Colorado, Oklahoma-Missouri, Nebraska-Missouri, Missouri-Colorado, Missouri-Kansas, Texas-Texas A&M, Baylor-Texas A&M, TCU-Texas A&M, Texas Tech-Texas A&M, LSU-Tulane, Auburn-Georgia Tech
Texas-Arkansas resumes in 2025 in the SEC. So will Texas-Texas A&M and MIssouri-Oklahoma
@@DNSKansas And Texas and Texas A and M will play around the Thanksgiving holiday, just like before
I love it, old school Nebraska beating ranked teams
I love a coach that looks from players from it's own state
2:47:16 This might be the play of the game. If Rodgers doesn’t make that catch, Nebraska probably doesn’t win this game. It was 3rd &8, on the game-winning drive.
That and Johnny R's magnificent punt return, one of the best that I've seen anywhere. He was a bust as a pro, though.
Injuries and maybe illegal drugs if memory serves, did him in at SAN DIEGO.
He was a super-spectacular returner on the college level, maybe the best NCAA'ER PUNT RETURNER EVER, better than Dev Hester.
If any college team was undisputed national champion in 1971, the Huskers were it. This was the ONLY game in which Nebraska did not score a blowout during the entire season. Always like the old commercials.
Yes, no one could ever dispute the 1971 Cornhuskers. Nebraska wound up beating Oklahoma, who finished #2 in the AP Poll; Colorado, who finished #3; and Alabama, #4. Those last two Nebraska destroyed. I wonder how many other teams beat #2, #3, and #4 in the final poll.
Nebraska played no one all year either until OU
@@kennethprice8710they played the number 3 ranked Colorado a few weeks before this
@@georgehenan853 Colorado had a very good team but was beaten handily by both NU and OU in 1971. The next year CU dealt OU their only loss.
I watched the game live on TV. Nebraska and OU were two of the earliest teams to dip into the veterinary medicine bag of tricks. Nebraska would bring in linemen and redshirt them for a year so they could put on "40-50 pounds". Anyone who has lifted seriously knows you don't put on that kind of weight (all muscle) in a year without serious help. Would be interesting to follow the health records of these players and see how many of them died young.
The greatest college football game of all time.
12:52 LOOK at that hit on Darryl Lamonica :-D
THAT HIT WOULD GIVE YOU THE ELECTRIC CHAIR IN TODAYS GAME
Under the NCAA's television policy at the time, no team could appear more than three times a season on live TV, and no more than two of those could be nationally-telecast.
I seem to recall that the NCAA, under pressure from ABC, eventually allowed the latter to televise this game, even though both schools had used up their maximum number of televised games that year.
You're thinking of Notre Dame-Michigan St. in 1966 that ABC begged the NCAA to add as an extra telecast because the Irish and Spartans had used up their appearances.
This game was selected by ABC at the beginning of the season. ABC passed on OU-Texas, gambling that the Sooners would get past the Longhorns and stay undefeated until the Huskers invaded Norman . Nebraska-Oklahoma moved to Thanksgiving (as it was in '72 and '73) because ABC wanted it as a national telecast.
The same thing happened in 1969. Texas-Arkansas moved from mid-October to the first weekend in December. ABC thought both teams would be undefeated. Had Ohio St. defeated Michigan, the game would have meant nothing other than the SWC championship, because the Buckeyes were unanimous #1 in the polls prior to losing to the Wolverines.
ABC's big bets paid off handsomely with two of the highest-rated and two of the best games it has ever televised.
That Jeff Kenny was a great rb
The beginning is a nice reminder of how things used to be with top matchups, unlike now where it’s the same 3 teams every g*ddamn year.
Another really good game is 1977 Nebraska vs Alabama
The fight song in background while Fleming-Wilkinson preview the game. So thankful I experienced the color & pagentry of 1970s cfb - something nvr matched by the succeeding generations of cfb (🙄).
Brylcream looked to be on it’s last legs. Bill Fleming might have been still using it, but nobody else.
I gave up Brylcream and Vitalis ASAP.
What about Elvis? Then the Honky Tonk Man revitalized it during his WWF run
CLASSIC
GO BIG RED!!
Which big ♥️ red?
I was born after this game but I remember the wishbone and I would yell with my father. Hold on to the ball. So as I watching I saw Mildren handle the ball carelessly I caught myself saying OMG Jack hang on to the ball!
notable personnel:
ou -- greg pruitt, gary gibbs, galen hall (wr coach), barry switzer (oc), larry lacewell (dc) and jimmy johnson (ol coach).
neb -- john dutton, willie harper (grandfather to rapper saweetie), david humm, monte johnson, johnny rodgers and tom osborne (oc).
Being an OU fan I still can see Rodgers running and running and running.😳
I love tear away jerseys
Jeff Kinney was the one wearing a tear away jersey
3:27:13 James Can?
@ 1:22:49 "...give it the good old college try..." Crowd card tricks!
How do you keep an Sooner busy?
Write 'Please turn over' on both sides of a piece of paper.
@ 3:27:09 promo for 'Brian's Song'
Ou Nebraska turkey day so good❤❤❤
26:16 is the time of the kickoff
Thanksgiving Day 1971. Where you at, D. B. Cooper?
In 2024, most likely dead, he may have survived the jump out of the plane, but not old age
1:44:25 Don't touch your set, it's just the reflection off a horn.