'82 Oklahoma Game
August 01, 2004 02:36 PM | General
May 10, 2002
NORMAN, OKLA. (Sept. 11, 1982) – West Virginia coach Don Nehlen was dead set on giving Oklahoma’s famed “Sooner Schooner” the day off.
 |
|
| Jeff
Hostetler passed for 321 yards and four touchdowns to lead
West Virginia to a 41-27 victory over Oklahoma (Sooner Illustrated photo) |
The last time West Virginia traveled to Norman for a game in 1978, the two ponies pulling the Sooner wagon nearly died from heat exhaustion after Oklahoma’s 52-10 rout of the Mountaineers.
West Virginia came into that game against No. 2-ranked Oklahoma with more than 50 freshmen and sophomores on its roster. Oklahoma, behind the running of Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims and the blocking of Outland Trophy winner Greg Roberts, scored the first three times it had the ball and led 45-3 midway through the third quarter.
“In that 1978 game,” recalled Nehlen, “Oklahoma’s starters didn’t even wear their shoulder pads the second half. They were on the sidelines and spent the whole half signing autographs and shaking hands with fans.
“I didn’t plan on taking my team out there and killing those horses; we planned on giving them plenty of rest,” he added.
West Virginia was coming off a surprising victory over Florida in the 1981 Peach Bowl, but gone from that team was record-setting quarterback Oliver Luck. West Virginia’s new quarterback, Penn State transfer Jeff Hostetler, was a talented but somewhat unproven commodity. He had started just two games for the Lions in 1980 before being beaten out by Todd Blackledge.
Nehlen knew Hostetler was good, but how would he operate against the nation’s No. 9-ranked team in his very first game?
Nehlen had other worries, too.
Could his defense hold up in the 100 degree heat at Memorial Stadium?
Could West Virginia adjust to Oklahoma’s blinding speed?
How would his team react if Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead?
Soon after the Peach Bowl win in early January, Nehlen began preparing for Oklahoma. He called some of his coaching friends in the Big 8 to get a better handle on Oklahoma’s wishbone offense. He studied film after film and demanded that his players get busy in the weight room.
“Our players had gotten stronger the winter before, but we weren’t strong enough yet,” Nehlen said in his book I’m Nobody Special.
During film study, he came to the conclusion that his team couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s wishbone with a regular defense. He knew that in a regular defense, Oklahoma would outnumber his defenders six-to-four at the point of attack, so he decided to gamble and move free safety Tim Agee up to the middle of the defense and key the fullback.
“We decided to dare them to throw,” said Nehlen. “We were sure they wouldn’t because they prided themselves so much on their ability to run.”
West Virginia’s defense had three terrific players returning in All-American linebacker Darryl Talley, middle linebacker Dennis Fowlkes, and defensive tackle Todd Campbell. Oklahoma might outrun them, but they weren’t going to blow them off the ball.
And offensively, despite having a new quarterback, Nehlen decided to air it out and see if Oklahoma’s secondary could cover his wide receivers.
While Nehlen spent the next eight months pumping his team up, he cried poor to the Oklahoma sportswriters about his team’s chances. “The heat we’ll face at Oklahoma is scary,” he moaned. “If we get a real hot day out there, we might not be able to come out for the second half. And if we do make it out for the second half, we’ll probably die in the fourth quarter.”
That was what he told everyone outside the Mountaineer locker room. Inside was a different story. “You aren’t going to die in that heat. That’s a bunch of crap!” he told his team. “We’re going to go out there and play our best football, especially in the fourth quarter. They think that’s when we’ll die, but that’s when we are going to beat them.”
Nehlen used this type of psychology before when his Bowling Green teams upset Purdue and Syracuse. He could see this team buying into it, too.
“Now look,” he said before the game, “don’t get discouraged if they pop a touchdown on us early. They probably will. In fact, because of their speed, they might pop two on us. It’s going to take a little while to adjust your angles of pursuit to combat their speed.”
Oklahoma did pop one early on West Virginia. In fact, the Sooners scored the first two times they had the football and the Mountaineers trailed, 14-0 with 4:22 left in the first quarter. It looked like Oklahoma was going to tack on another three points, but Mike Keeling’s 34-yard field goal attempt was no good.
“If it had been 17 or 21, that might have been the difference,” said Nehlen.
 |
|
| The West Virginia defense buries Oklahoma running back Weldon Ledbetter (MSN) |
“When they got up 14 they eased up on us,” admitted WVU tight end Mark Raugh. “I think they were thinking about the heat. They said it would get to us but I think it got to them.”
After an exchange of punts, West Virginia pieced together an eight-play drive that covered 64 yards all the way to the OU 11. A third down pass from Hostetler to running back Mickey Walczak fell incomplete, but Paul Woodside converted a 26-yard field goal to put West Virginia on the board.
Three minutes later, Hostetler hit a wide-open Raugh in the back of the end zone to close the Oklahoma gap to 14-10. Two plays earlier, Hostetler uncorked a pretty, long pass that Rich Hollins hauled in for 52 yards to the Oklahoma 10-yard line.
“Oklahoma plays in a conference that doesn’t pass that much,” said Raugh. “We showed them sets and patterns they haven’t seen before.”
West Virginia stopped Oklahoma on its ensuing possession and regained the football at its own 22. After two runs netted 14 yards, Hostetler again went deep, this time to a wide open Willie Drewery for 49 yards to the Oklahoma 15. An apparent TD pass to Darrell Miller was nullified due to holding call, and WVU was forced to settle for another Woodside chip shot to make it, 14-13 Oklahoma with just 13 seconds left in the half.
Figuring he had nothing to lose, Nehlen gambled and called for an onside kick. Woodside scrubbed a bouncer down the middle of the field and WVU’s Brad Minetree pounced on the football at the Oklahoma 33.
With just 10 seconds left in the half, Hostetler called “81 deep” to Miller, who set sail down the far sideline toward the flag. Hostetler floated a perfect spiral that Miller caught over his shoulder just before falling out of bounds. “I looked at the referee to see if he was going to call the touchdown, because I knew I had scored,” said Miller.
The referee hoisted both arms over his head and West Virginia went into the locker room with a stunning 20-14 lead. The Mountaineers had scored four times on Oklahoma in a span of just six minutes.
Oklahoma came out of the locker room recharged in the second half, and regained the lead on a 23-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kelly Phelps. But West Virginia answered on its first possession with a six-play drive that covered 53 yards. The sortie was set up on a 45-yard kickoff return by Willie Drewery that placed the ball at midfield.
On second and 10 at the OU 30, Hostetler found a wide-open Curlin Beck over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown. Woodside’s extra point gave WVU the lead again, 27-21.
 |
|
| Linebacker Darryl Talley and tight end Mark Raugh greet the Oklahoma captains before the game (MSN) |
Minutes later, Oklahoma was the beneficiary of some poor West Virginia special teams play when Darrell Songy blocked a West Virginia punt and Keith Stanberry pounced on the football in the end zone for a Sooner touchdown. Keeling’s extra point attempt was tipped by Chuck Harris, making the score 27-all.
“We didn’t have a block on but Songy got to it and I saw it all the way,” said Stanberry.
On its second possession of the fourth quarter, West Virginia snapped the tie when Hostetler fired his fourth TD pass of the day to Wayne Brown from nine yards out. Another long bomb to Hollins two plays earlier moved the football 42 yards to the OU nine.
Six minutes later, West Virginia closed the deal when Nehlen crossed up the Oklahoma defense with a draw play to Beck. Fullback Cam Zopp buried Oklahoma linebacker Jackie Shipp at the line of scrimmage, and Beck raced untouched 43 yards for the touchdown. “The hole was so big I could have driven a truck through it,” Beck said. “Nobody laid a finger on me.”
After its disastrous start, West Virginia outscored Oklahoma 41-13 in the final three quarters. In those three quarters, West Virginia outgained the Sooners, 443-239, and had 19 first downs to OU’s 11.
“We got forced out of our game plan,” said Phelps. “We had intended to run the ball in the second half.”
Hostetler burned the Oklahoma secondary for 321 yards and four touchdowns. “For a guy who had never taken a snap at West Virginia University, and then to come out and do what he did today – well, I don’t have the right words to describe it,” said Nehlen.
“It feels great,” added Hostetler. “I guess this is the biggest game I’ve ever been involved in, even the ones with Pitt. This is certainly the biggest win. Everybody was nervous starting out. We dropped passes, overthrew, missed assignments. Then we calmed down and started to play up to our potential.”
Beck and King Harvey combined to rush for 98 yards and West Virginia had 458 yards of total offense.
Oklahoma got 83 yards from fullback Weldon Ledbetter and Phelps completed just seven-of-18 passes for 84 yards.
“When you come here to Oklahoma, with their great strength and tradition and go against a veteran defensive team like they have – and then you take out guys like (offensive guard Andre) Gist and (defensive tackle Todd) Campbell and you still win – well, it’s got to be the greatest win of my career,” Nehlen said after the game. “I’ve only been here three years, but it’s sure as hell the greatest victory in the last 25 games, anyway.”
 |
|
| The famed "Sooner Schooner" had an easier time of it this time around (MSN) |
“I told our team before the game that there is no easy team in the world any more,” said a dejected Switzer. “I was never comfortable during this game. There was never a time when I wasn’t concerned. Their quarterback passed well and was well protected by his offensive line. Their receivers made some outstanding catches. What we didn’t expect was that they could throw the long bomb and control the ball on us.”
“You can tell them there are three teams in the East now,” shouted linebacker Dennis Fowlkes above the jubilation in the West Virginia locker room.
He was referring to perennial top 10 teams Pitt and Penn State.
After West Virginia’s win over the No. 9-ranked team in the country they, too, joined Pitt and Penn State in the Top 20.
And yes, the “Sooner Schooner” managed to survive the heat that day, thanks to West Virginia’s shocking upset victory.
