Oklahoma football: Five unforgettable OU-Texas battles of the last 50 years

1984 — Oklahoma 15, Texas 15

It was fitting that this OU-Texas slugfest could better be described as a slogfest, given the rainy, wet conditions — would end in a tie. Both teams entered the game — the 79th in the long rivalry series — as the top two ranked teams in the country, with Texas holding down the top spot.

The Sooners were coming off of three straight four-loss seasons under Barry Switzer but had begun the 1984 campaign with four consecutive wins. But OU was faced with a major challenge going up against a Longhorn offense that was averaging 33 points a game. Fortunately, the Sooners boasted the country’s second-best defense back then, which set up a key matchup between top-ranked Texas’ offensive firepower and No. 2 Oklahoma’s stellar defense.

Texas drew first blood with a first-quarter touchdown set up by a mishandled Oklahoma punt. The Longhorns added a field goal in the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

OU offensive coordinator Mack Brown (yes, that same Mack Brown that a decade later would patrol the Texas sidelines) made some halftime adjustments, altering the Sooner running game to be more physical and operate more north-south instead of trying to make things happen laterally, counting on speed to get around the corner.

The adjustment proved fortuitous as the wet weather worsened in the second half. Brian Bosworth forced a Texas fumble early in the second half, and Steve Sewell capitalized for the Sooners, running it for the score to cut the Longhorn lead to 10-7.

Oklahoma picked up two more points on the ensuing Texas possession when the Texas long-snapper sailed the ball over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. The Sooners added another third-quarter touchdown, with Sewell again furnishing the finishing touches, to take their first lead at 15-10 with three minutes to go in the quarter. A two-point attempt failed, and the score remained 15-10.

The defenses prevented any other scoring until about six minutes were left in the game. Pinned up against its own goal line on fourth down, Oklahoma opted to take a safety and count on its defense to shut the door on the Texas offense.

Aided by a couple of critical penalty calls against the Sooners, Texas was able to move the ball to the Oklahoma 15-yard line. With under 10 seconds to go in the game Longhorn quarterback Todd Dodge attempted a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by the Sooners’ Keith Stanberry. An official, however, ruled that Stanberry did not have complete control of the ball when he went out of bounds, therefore rendering the pass incomplete.

Texas settled for a game-tying field goal as time ran out, and the battle between 1 and 2 ended in a no-decision and a 15-15 tie.