SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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Alabama and Oklahoma meet in the Sugar Bowl tonight. They are two of the most famous football schools in the country. The Tide has been voted national champion in the writer's or coach's poll or won the BCS title game in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011 and 2012. Football historians also credit them with national titles in 1925, 1926, 1930 and 1934, although those are not unanimous. The Sooners were voted #1 in 1950, 1956, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985 and won the 2000 BCS title.
These teams have been so good over the years that when I watch a game their in, I assume that they will dominate and come out the winner. Even when they play great rivals like Tennessee and LSU or Texas and Nebraska, the other team always seems like the underdog. Thus, it's fun to see them play each other.
The fact that they have similar uniforms, (biggest difference: the script "OU" on the Sooner's helmets) and both are the state universities of states that have Indian names ending in "A" and that their football teams are primarily what their states are known for underscores the similarities.
It's unfortunate that they haven't played each other nore often in their history. They've met four times with the Sooners holding a 2-1-1 edge. I remember their first meeting, the 1/1/63 Orange Bowl, a coaching battle of titans, Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson, which Bryant's team won 17-0, thanks to 31 tackles by linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. The met again in the 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl,a time when both teams were in a down period and experimenting with the wishbone triple option attack as a possible answer. They played to a 24-24 tie. Both became dominant programs the rest of the decade, the Tide going and the Sooners while they won a combined five national titles. Unfortunately, they didn't play each other, wishbone to wishbone, again in that era.
They had their only regular season battles, a home and home series, a decade ago, Oklahoma winning 37-27 in Norman and then 20-13 in Tuscaloosa. At that point the Alabama program was down and Oklahoma was very much up but the games were still very competitive. Right now Alabama has to be the clear favorite but I hope for a competitive game again tonight.
These teams have been so good over the years that when I watch a game their in, I assume that they will dominate and come out the winner. Even when they play great rivals like Tennessee and LSU or Texas and Nebraska, the other team always seems like the underdog. Thus, it's fun to see them play each other.
The fact that they have similar uniforms, (biggest difference: the script "OU" on the Sooner's helmets) and both are the state universities of states that have Indian names ending in "A" and that their football teams are primarily what their states are known for underscores the similarities.
It's unfortunate that they haven't played each other nore often in their history. They've met four times with the Sooners holding a 2-1-1 edge. I remember their first meeting, the 1/1/63 Orange Bowl, a coaching battle of titans, Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson, which Bryant's team won 17-0, thanks to 31 tackles by linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. The met again in the 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl,a time when both teams were in a down period and experimenting with the wishbone triple option attack as a possible answer. They played to a 24-24 tie. Both became dominant programs the rest of the decade, the Tide going and the Sooners while they won a combined five national titles. Unfortunately, they didn't play each other, wishbone to wishbone, again in that era.
They had their only regular season battles, a home and home series, a decade ago, Oklahoma winning 37-27 in Norman and then 20-13 in Tuscaloosa. At that point the Alabama program was down and Oklahoma was very much up but the games were still very competitive. Right now Alabama has to be the clear favorite but I hope for a competitive game again tonight.
