Oct 3, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners mascots celebrate after a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Sept. 24, 1977 – Oklahoma 29, Ohio State 28
This intersectional, nonconference matchup of national powers featured the No. 3-ranked Sooners against No. 4 Ohio State. This would be the first time these two historic programs had met on the football field.
Oklahoma opened up the scoring. Elvis Peacock finished up a six-play, 61-yard drive on the Sooners’ opening possession, picking up a fumble by quarterback Thomas Lott and racing 33 yards to the end zone. That opening drive took some of the air out of the 88,000 fans who were in Ohio Stadium that early fall afternoon, but what would happen next was even more deflating for the Buckeye faithful.
The Buckeyes fumbled on their very first play from scrimmage following the OU kickoff and the Sooners’ George Cumby fell on the loose ball on the Ohio State 17-yard line. A couple of plays later, Billy Sims dashed 15 yards for a second Sooner touchdown, putting Oklahoma up 14-0 very early in the game.
“This game had more tension, more drama, than any game I have been associated with.” —Barry Switzer
A pair of Uwe von Schamann field goals upped the Sooner lead to 20-0 with 12:28 remaining in the second quarter. That’s when the Ohio State offense finally got rolling, scoring on two successive possessions in the second quarter to draw within six points, 20-14, at the half.
The Buckeyes scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter and had the lead at 28-20 heading into the final quarter. The score remained that way until late in the fourth quarter, when the Sooners recovered a second Ohio State fumble at the OU 43-yard line. Peacock capped off a 57-yard Sooner drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 1:29 remaining on the game clock to make the score 28-26 in favor of the home team Buckeyes. A two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game failed, and it appeared at that point that the Sooners would come up short.
But a splash of Sooner Magic said otherwise. With three seconds remaining in the game, von Schamann booted a 41-yard field goal through the uprights, leaving the highly partisan Ohio State home crowd stunned beyond belief and handing the Sooners a dramatic 29-28 victory.
Sooner head coach Barry Switzer told the press after the game: “This game had more tension, more drama, than any game I have been associated with. That last field goal was one of the greatest plays I have ever seen in intercollegiate football…but we were still lucky.”
Next: Jan. 2, 1978 - Arkansas 31, Oklahoma 6