Barry Switzer had the Sooner Schooner running at full blast during the 1970s and the final year of the decade wasn’t much different. Oklahoma was a regular on the New Year’s Day stage and had won consecutive national titles as recently as 1974-75. The 1979 Oklahoma football team came into the season with the reigning […]
The 1979 Nebraska football team flirted with greatness and settled for being really good. For better or for worse, the ’79 Cornhuskers fit the program profile during this era. READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Nebraska had been a consistent winner since Tom Osborne took over for the legendary Bob Devaney in 1973, but the […]
It was a new era for 1979 Ohio State football. The Buckeyes had a relatively disappointing season in 1978 and it was followed by a disastrous ending in the Gator Bowl when legendary head coach Woody Hayes punched an opposing player and was fired. Earle Bruce was the new coach and had healing to do […]
The 1979 USC football program entered the season on a high. They had reached the Rose Bowl twice in the previous three years under fourth-year head coach John Robinson and won both times. In 1978, they were voted a share of the national championship, splitting the title with Alabama. Those same two teams, the Trojans […]
Alabama had split the national title with USC in 1978. The Crimson Tide were ranked #2 to start the new season, so they would open needing at least a little bit of help—it was their old nemesis out west in USC that was ranked #1. The bowl structure of the time meant that the SEC […]
The late 1970s were a dry time for football in East Lansing. The program had not seen the national elite since Duffy Daugherty’s big years in 1965 and 1966. Daugherty’s successor, Denny Stolz had a couple seven-win seasons, but also left the program on NCAA probation that barred it from postseason play. The 1978 Michigan […]
Bo Schembecler’s Michigan program entered the season with a good bit of momentum on their side. The legendary “Ten-Year War” between Bo and Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was nearing the end and the tide was moving in the Wolverines direction. They had won two consecutive Big Ten titles. The 1978 Michigan football team was aiming […]
USC was in their third year under the coaching stewardship of John Robinson. In his rookie year of 1976, Robinson beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and finished #2 in the nation. Even though the Trojans slipped in 1977, expectations were still high. The 1978 USC football team was ranked ninth in the preseason polls. […]
The 1978 Alabama football team felt like they had something to prove. They finished #2 in the polls in 1977 and felt like they were robbed of the top spot. They had gone undefeated in 1966 and been overlooked. While Bear Bryant’s program had consistently dominated the SEC over the past several years, they were […]
Barry Switzer led the Oklahoma Sooners to national championships in 1974 and 1975 and nearly won another in 1977 before a stunning Orange Bowl defeat cost them the final #1 ranking. Expectations in Norman were that the beat would go on, and 1978 Oklahoma football was #4 in the preseason polls. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart […]
Penn State produced unbeaten but uncrowned teams in 1968, 1969 and 1973. Much to the chagrin of the Nittany Lions, their rival Pitt was honored with a national title after a perfect season in 1976. After two years out of the major bowl picture, Joe Paterno’s 1978 Penn State football team was ready to return […]
Nebraska last won it all when they went back-to-back in 1970-71 with Bob Devaney as the head coach. Since Tom Osborne, Devaney’s offensive coordinator, had taken over, the Cornhuskers kept winning, but had a monkey on their backs out of Oklahoma. As if to affirm that Osborne had a black cloud following him around, the […]