Oklahoma Football: 30 Best Games in School History

Oct 18, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cheerleaders during the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Nov. 15, 1975 – Oklahoma 28, Missouri 27

Just one week after suffering his first loss in three seasons as Oklahoma head coach, Barry Switzer found his Sooners on the verge of losing for a second-straight week. OU had dropped in the national polls from No. 2 to No. 6 after inexplicably losing at home to unranked Kansas the week before.

The Sooners had built a comfortable 20-0 lead at halftime, and it was 20-7 after three quarters in Columbia, Mo. OU appeared to be cruising along to its ninth win of the season. The game was far from finished, however.

Missouri, which came into the game ranked 18th in the nation, exploded for 20 points in the final quarter and stormed by the surprised Sooners, surging ahead by a score of 27-20 late in the game.

Oklahoma was faced with a critical fourth-down-and-one at its own 29-yard line. Quarterback Steve Davis took the snap, took off toward the right edge and, at just the right moment, artfully pitched the ball to the trailing Joe Washington. That’s when some Sooner Magic, as Switzer liked to call it, took hold and Washington broke free for a 71-yard dash to the end zone and an Oklahoma touchdown. You could have heard a pin drop in the stadium at that moment. Relive that magical moment in OU football history by clicking on this video.

Washington’s TD run just made the score 27-26. There was still work to be done, and Switzer was left with a game-changing decision: Go for one and tie the game or try for two and go for the win? The OU head coach decided to go for two. Washington got the call again, and picked up the two-point conversion to put the Sooners back on top by a single point at 28-27.

The way the Tigers were moving the ball in the fourth quarter, however, you got the feeling the game was far from finished (Editor’s note: I know this from first-hand experience, because I was there at the game.). And that proved to be absolutely correct.

The Sooners had to survive two missed field-goal attempts by Missouri in the final two minutes, but escaped with a dramatic one-point victory.

Were it not for that miraculous comeback finish, Oklahoma would not have won its fifth national championship that season and back-to-back championships.

Next: Sept. 24, 1877 - Oklahoma 29, Ohio State 28