Nebraska - Oklahoma... THE Rivalry above all rivalries

ColoradoHusk said:
Just because the Blackshirts haven't been great, doesn't mean the Blackshirts don't mean anything.
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Well they don't act like it means anything. They will talk about it meaning something at the podium during a post game news conference, but show me it means something when Minnesota is lining up play after play after play and continues to just run it straight at the defense picking up 6-12 yards a carry. 

 
BoNeyard said:
Because when was the last time the Blackshirts actually played like Blackshirts all season long? Suh 2009? And before that it wasn't since sometime in 2000. IMO, the Blackshirts died in Boulder, Colorado in 2001.
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I think back to the 80s and there were some tears they weren’t up to what you would consider blackshirt level. They looked great because they were playing ISU, Kansas, KSU…etc. when they met OU and Miami at the end of the year, they were exposed. 

 
I never experienced the 60s, 70s and 80s Rivalry of the Huskers & the Sooners.  I experienced the Huskers dominating the 90s as my introduction to Husker Football, but I understood the importance of the Oklahoma game when I was growing up.  I don't expect all College Football Players to know their programs/teams history, especially nowadays when the current players know nothing about it other than from what's written about it, but respecting or learning the importance of a game like this is great too.

After we lost in 2000 to the Sooners after being up 14-00 I remember being pretty devastated.  I made my mind up that Off-Season that I wanted to go to the Oklahoma game in Lincoln the following year for revenge if at all possible & thankfully I was able to experience that. 

The 2001 Oklahoma Game is one of my favorite memories of All-Time and one of my favorite Father-Son moments.  It was a cold morning and both Defenses were salty and as advertised.  It was loud from start to finish, just as it should have been.  Every snap felt like it could be a turning point as what was dubbed the Game of the Century already.  I still remember watching Black 41 Flash Reverse unfold sitting in the Northwest Part of the Stadium.  There was some running around & then all of a sudden the ball was in the air [something we hardly ever did back then] and I looked down the sideline & everyone, and I mean I saw everyone in the East/South Stadium stand up to get a better glimpse of the play and someone in Red caught the ball and the crowd roared down there first followed by the rest of the Stadium once we all realized what had just happened!!! We looked on the Video Boards & saw that Eric Crouch was in the End-Zone.  Somehow, someway, Eric got in the End-Zone!!!  It was fun to see the replay in the Stadium to see what had actually happened.  We pulled off a great one!  What a great radio call that was for that play as well!  After a great day of Defense by both teams, we pulled some magic out of our hat to put the game on ice with some Offense.  It was one of the greatest roars I've ever heard in Memorial Stadium.  They had the Eric Crouch Heisman graphic ready to go on the Video Boards.  It was truly magical & I'll never forget it for as long as I live.  It's just too bad that season ended the way it did.

I was attending UNL at the time of the 2009 Oklahoma game & had Student Tickets. That was the loudest Husker Game I've ever attended.  Every snap, every play was like a Rock Concert when Oklahoma was on Offense.  Our Offense was ugly as it had been all year, but watching the 2009 Blackshirts go to work and do everything they could to get the team in position to win was unbelievable & euphoric!  This win saved our season! Our voices were gone by the time the end of the game!  The hits, how great Suh played, how great the Defense played as a unit, Henery's kicking, Prince's Interception that set up a Touchdown, Roy Helu running hard, Matt O'Hanlon having a whale of a ball-game and picking off Landry Jones three times and the last time to end the game.  Wow!  That entire night was just loud, loud, LOUD!!!!  I had to work the next morning & someone came in and said they heard the final roar from the crowd from their house on the last Interception.  That's what historic Rivalry Games are all about!!! 

We ended up attending the Big XII Championship against Texas as well that year, and it's too bad that game also ended the way it did too & we almost/should have/did pull it off!!!  That loss still hurts!  It's hard to think about both of these wins knowing how both seasons ended.  It's also upsetting that we didn't get our revenge in the Big XII Championship on the way out the door the next year too.  A Big XII title against Oklahoma would have been a fitting way for us to leave the Big XII.  Bo should have had Back to Back Conference Championship wins!  It's too bad the way things ended with the Big XII.  I still wish we could have made it work in a way with the other 11 original teams in a way but that's for another topic of discussion.

Again, I don't expect the current players to understand or feel the whole history of the Oklahoma series, just like I couldn't relate to the years I wasn't alive when it was the biggest thing when Thanksgiving came, but I learned to understand it as I grew in my Husker fandom.  It also helped growing up as a Husker fan around those who experienced it as well, as not all of our players did, but hopefully they understand some of the history between both programs and try to make some history themselves.

I just hope we make it respectable this weekend.  Give ourselves a chance to take the game deep, don't beat ourselves, and try to get something going on Offense.  I don't expect us to win, much less compete the whole game, but I just hope something gives for our Offense to make it interesting & we make enough plays on Defense to have a puncher's chance to be a give them some problems on Saturday.  

Wit all that said and all the memories, I just wish we were further along in the Frost Era.  We've never lost to Oklahoma when I've attended [97, 01, 09] so maybe I should make a special trip down to Norman this weekend! :bigredn:

 
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The thing about the rivalry was you didn’t have to be a Husker or Sooner fan to enjoy it. Living in Louisiana, I’ve had no less than 10 old men reminisce about watching those game over the years. They all had different favorite games/plays, but they all spoke very nostalgic about them. Then the shoe drops and the nostalgia turns to WTH. 

I think it had alot to do with tryptophan hangovers and getting away from their MILs.  
 

 
I’ll never forget at  9yrs old watching the Boz walk out for pregame warmups and enticing the crowd. He looked like the Warrior from WWF. The boo’s and curses were strong that day lol. 

What a disappointment that day was but the excitement, fans, energy of that day…whew, I can remember it well.
Was on the sideline for a lot of the game and ended up watching the 4th qtr from there. The hitting and intensity was like nothing I’d seen up to that point.
It was that day I thought Switzer was the devil and all things OU were his demons. until I was like 20 I hated that maroon corps. I relished our dominance of them in the 90s and their downfall. It was a true, bones in rivalry. The B12 crushed it, along w our downfall. 
 

now, sadly it’s just another game I hope we play well in. I have no ill feelings for OU anymore, actually kinda respect what they’ve done. But damn, if for some God like intervention we win…I’ll be teeping my 2 OU buddies houses and texting them every time I feel like it for the next 5 yrs to remind them. 
 

im 44 and remember what it felt like to really, nearly, hate another team.  I’ve grown to dislike iowa and Wiscy but nothing compared to the N/OU rivalry. 

 
Perspective from the Tulsa World and other writers covering OU

Sooners focused on 2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers, not the Game of the Century | OU Sports Extra | tulsaworld.com

Oklahoma Sooners: Lincoln Riley high on Adrian Martinez, expects Nebraska Huskers' best (247sports.com)

Oklahoma's Interior Pass Rush Could be the Key to Slowing Nebraska - Sports Illustrated Oklahoma Sooners News, Analysis and More

When the Oklahoma Sooners and the Cornhuskers renew their rivalry inside Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, a mobile Martinez will be at the helm of the ‘Husker attack.

This one Adrian Martinez, not Taylor, also excels at attacking defenses both through the air and on the ground.

A year ago, Martinez threw for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns in seven appearances for Nebraska. While completing 71.5 percent of his passes and only throwing three interceptions, he also added 521 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 91 carries.

On Tuesday, OU head coach Lincoln Riley acknowledged the threat that Martinez brings to the table.

“He’s a good player,” Riley said on Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “We recruited him a little bit. Very very athletic. Knew that coming out of high school, and he's improved there. He’s one of those guys you can have somebody account for him, but at the same time, sometimes, he can just beat that guy, too. His athleticism, it jumps off the screen.”

On top of his ability to extend plays with his legs, Riley said he things that Martinez has leveled up in other areas of his game as well.

“I think he's really improved as a passer,” Riley said. “You can tell they’re, I think, settling down with what they want to do with him, and he does it well. So, he looks it to me improved on the on-script stuff and then the things that get off script is when he gets really, really good.  

“It’ll be a big challenge, and he’ll be as athletic as we play all year.”

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch acknowledged the treat of Martinez and the Nebraska rushing attack as a whole, highlighting generating pressure from the interior as a key to slowing down the Cornhuskers.

“Initially what can feel like a plus play defensively that can quickly turn into a negative,” Grinch said on Tuesday. “Being sound in the rush lanes and part of that is from the coverage standpoint to give yourselves a chance for those guys on the interior to have an impact.

A big key to OU’s interior pass rush will be nose guard Perrion Winfrey, who is looking to increase his production and finish off more plays to build on a solid first year at the heart of the Oklahoma defense last year.
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“Obviously you'd love to get rush on the edges and all that,” Riley said, “but if you really wide up the edges you can open up big holes whereas that interior pass rush, sometimes hard to get away from.

“You’ve got to be really disciplined when you rush the passer against this guy and obviously Perrion and all of our inside guys, any inside push and pressure we can get is going to make things tougher on any quarterback especially one as athletic as Adrian.”
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1 hour ago, suh_fan93 said:

Last game between Nebraska and Oklahoma.

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That one was a hard pill to swallow. UP 17 - 0.  We had a good lead on them and came out flat after half time.  Should have won that championship game as well as the the previouis one against Texas the year before.  Would've been a nice way to leave the Big 12    We were ranked # 13 going into that game - when we were still relevant - great D.  Crick, David, Prince, Haag, on D.  Helu, Burkhead, TM, on offense & Alex Henery kicker.  Really our last really good team

 
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This was the Tshirt I would always wear when Nebraska would play Oklahoma.  I miss those days. 

 
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Does anyone else remember seeing Switzer do this on the sideline of a OU/NU Nebraska game?  I remember he realized the cameras  were on him and he palmed the cigarette after that

 
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