Toby Rowland discusses Josh Heupel’s permanent spot in Oklahoma football history
No. 3 Oklahoma (2-0) will host Nebraska (2-1) Saturday.
Kickoff is slated for noon EDT. FOX will televise the renewed rivalry.
The Sooners and Cornhuskers have not played since 2010. Oklahoma holds a 45–38–3 record against Nebraska.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest, the voice of Oklahoma football Toby Rowland joined the show “Football Two-A-Days” and discussed the rivalry and matchup.
Rowland discussed Josh Heupel leading Oklahoma to victory against Nebraska in 2000.
Heupel completed 20-of-34 passes for 300 yards and one touchdown. The Sooners’ 31-14 victory ended a seven-game losing streak to Nebraska. Oklahoma would finish the 2000 season undefeated and BCS national champions.
“I was talking with Bob Stoops yesterday, he is going to be in town with FOX this week, and we were talking about some of the great OU-Nebraska memories of the past,” Rowland said. “I think, in my opinion, there could be some historians out there who could make a case for a different game, I think it is the biggest game that has has ever been played on Owen Field, or the biggest win that Oklahoma has ever had in Norman. You have got to remember what Oklahoma had been through during the entire decade of the 1990s. They really were irrelevant for the entire decade, and it was Bob Stoops that kind of turned that around when he was hired in 1999.
“Had a good year in 1999, got them back in a bowl game after a drought, and then in 2000 they got off to a great start, rocketed up the rankings, but here came No. 1 Nebraska and Eric Crouch into Norman. They were significant underdogs, Oklahoma was on their home field, and fell behind 14-0 in that game. Then shutout them the rest of the way to go ahead and win. That’s the game that kind of put Oklahoma back on the map, stormed the field, tore down the goalposts, bunch of fans got peppered sprayed. There are stories about it from everyone. There are 300,000 people that say they were at that game that day. It put OU back on track as a contender and they went on to win the national championship that year, haven’t won one since then, but certainly have been a contender many times since then. Huge game, Josh Heupel has a permanent spot in OU football history as being a part of the resurgence, huge part of the resurgence, of Sooner football.”
The entire show with Rowland can be listened to here or below.
