Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Five classic games in the OU-Nebraska gridiron rivalry

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 13: Wide receiver Mark Bradley #1 of the University of Oklahoma Sooners runs upfield against defensive back Cortney Grixby #26 the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers during the game on November 13, 2004 at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Nebraska 30-3. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 13: Wide receiver Mark Bradley #1 of the University of Oklahoma Sooners runs upfield against defensive back Cortney Grixby #26 the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers during the game on November 13, 2004 at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Nebraska 30-3. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Runningback Roy Helu Jr. #10 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers carries the ball and scores against the Oklahoma Sooners.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Runningback Roy Helu Jr. #10 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers carries the ball and scores against the Oklahoma Sooners.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

3. 1976 — No. 8 Oklahoma 20, No. 10 Nebraska 17

The Oklahoma Wishbone offense encountered windy conditions in Lincoln, Nebraska in late November in 1976. Those conditions would have a negative impact on a team that relied on throwing the football. That was not the Sooners’ game, though. OU quarterback Thomas Lott hadn’t completed a pass in five games.

Coming off back-to-back national championship seasons in 1975 and ’75, Oklahoma came into the 1976 game with a 7-2-1 overall record, but had lost two of its last three games. Nebraska had begun the 1976 season ranked No. 1, but entered the OU game with the same 7-2-1 record as the Sooners.

Oklahoma scored first on a one-yard touchdown run by Elvis Peacock in the first quarter, and the Sooners made that stand up for a 7-3 advantage at halftime. Nebraska roared back with a couple of third-quarter touchdowns to take a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter. That’s when some Sooner Magic took over.

Peacock ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run on the Sooners’ first possession of the fourth quarter, to pull OU within three points of the Cornhuskers at 17-14.

Late in the fourth quarter and with Nebraska still leading by a 17-14 margin, Sooner head coach Barry Switzer used a couple of trick plays to grab victory from the jaws of defeat and literally steal this game away from the Huskers.

OU halfback Woodie Shepard took a handoff, then stepped back and launched a pass to Steve Rhodes for a 47-yard gain. Two plays later, with the Sooners facing a third-and-20 situation, backup QB Dean Blevins completed a short pass to Rhodes, who promptly lateraled the ball to Peacock, who was trailing the play (known in football terms as the ‘hook and ladder” play), for another large gain. Peacock finished off the drive, scoring the winning touchdown with just 38 seconds left in the game.

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