T is for Tom Osborne's Face

"Hello?"

- Orange Bowl Guy

Hand it to OU fans - they treat their program's YouTube memories like a season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The more akward, the more embarrassing, the more pathetic and debasing, the better.

There are at least three videos available on the 1985 Orange Bowl (including a recent Sunday Sermon here) where the Sooners lost to UW after thier horse-and-wagon cost them a field goal.

And here, preserved by Lucky4OU / Jim's Oklahoma Sports Page, is another great moment in football akwardness.

In 1978, the Tom Osborne-led Husker upset #1 OU, with Hiesman winner Billy Sims, in their annual showdown, handing the Huskers the automatic Orange bid for the Big 8, and a showdown for the national title with Penn State. However, NU fell asleep at the wheel the next week losing to Missouri. This sent Penn State to the Sugar Bowl to Face Alabama for #1.

The Orange Bowl then turned around and offered the 'at-large' bid to... OU, setting up a rematch.

The Orange Bowl commissioner - just as General-Buck-Turgeson-straight as a 1978 Orange Bowl Committee chair could possibly be - called OU first to extend the bid and then Nebraska to break the news.

For some reason, and somehow, both ends of both calls were captured on video.

Watch Tom Osborne - every inch as young, dapper and shiny as RFK - react to the news.

OU beat the Husker in the 1979 Orange Bowl, 31-24.

Your Sunday Sermon

Barry Switzer reacts to the Sooner Schooner running onto the Orange Bowl at the wrong time, costing OU three points - and the lead - against Washington in 1985.



Early in the 4th, OU kicked a FG to go up 17-14 on Washington, prompting the Sooner Schooner crew to charge onto the field.

However, a penalty had been called on the kick, moving OU back. When the Schooner arrived, nearly knocking over several players, and then got stuck in the Orange Bowl mud, it bought OU a second penalty for 15 yards.

Then #2, OU likely would have been #1 in at least one of the polls with a win over 10-1, #4 Washington. But after the penalty, Washington blocked the re-kick, and soon after rolled off 14 points in 60 seconds to take control of the game.

A fantastic retelling of the game from the Seattle Times for UW's 2006 game at OU is here, including this picture of the moment.