It really is astounding that some of the greatest college football coaches in the history of the game were either from Arkansas, played for the Razorbacks, or coached the Razorbacks. Frank Broyles, Lou Holtz, Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson, Bear Bryant, just to name a few.
I was at this game. Coach Holtz had an awesome game plan. Hard hitting D with Big Dan Hampton leading the way. Loved the veer and mis direction O. Calcagni ran it to a T. He was a magician. Sitting around a big contingent of Sooner fans. We were taking abuse before the game about the point spread. After those first two stuffs, they looked a little concerned. Midway thru the third quarter it was just Hog fans around us. One of the best games I saw live. Yessir we partied to the wee hours after this one.
I was an eight-year-old when this game was played. I was living in Arkansas at the time. The principal at my elementary school had each class watch the edited game film in the days that followed. It was a great lesson, he said, about how people working together can overcome long odds.
I was a student at Arkansas in '78. Back then all our TV stations were in Tulsa, so we got a belly full OU hype for weeks before this game. We were already serious underdogs but then Holtz suspended his best two running backs and the line went straight up. Everybody knew that the Sooners were going to win; it was just a matter of by how much. You can't imagine the sweetness of this victory. WOOOOH PIG!
I am still haunted by this loss. The whole month of December all we talked about in Oklahoma was how many points did Switzer need to run up on Arkansas to get us into contention for the vote on the national title. No consideration at all that Arkansas might have had a pretty good team. And then Arkansas had some key players ruled inelegible and that just made it an absolute certainty that we were going to kill them. Then the game starts and it was the proverbial nightmare where you can't wake up.
I remember this game very well I just knew we was going to get stomped, I just couldn’t believe the way Arkansas played they came out with heart and probably a little bit of anger
It was an odd New Year's Day.3 of the 4 Bowl Games were lopsided.Only the Rose Bowl was close and that was a 4 loss 📉Washington team upsetting Michigan.
I was an eighth grader who loved both the NFL and college football during the 70s. New Year's 1978 was one of the best football days I can remember. Started off with watching Notre Dame upsetting undefeated the number one Texas in the Cotton Bowl, then saw Washington upset 11-1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl and top it off with this game that night (I didn't watch Alabama crush Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl). That year would have been a perfect season for a four team playoff. You had Notre Dame, Alabama, Arkansas and Penn State who all finished 11-1. I understand why the polls gave it to Notre Dame considering that they had flattened Texas in the Cotton Bowl but I honestly believe you could make a reasonable argument for each team as being worthy. Don't ever recall in my lifetime when you had four quality teams this close together at the end of the season. A playoff would have been awesome!
Earl Campbell was stopped cold. Outland winner McMichael was dominated and Montana was brilliant. What does a Texan fear most? A Catholic with a football. The Dome over all!!
I was a freshman at Arkansas that year. My roommate, my best friend from high school, was a student trainer for the team. He came in after practice one day bouncing off the walls with excitement. Told me we would win. Thought he was nuts. He said the coaches had picked up that one of the Oklahoma linebackers couldn’t change direction if you got him started in a certain direction. They knew they could break runs up the middle. I was fortunate to be able to go to the game. Back then CBs were popular. Oklahoma fans were chattering at every Arkansas car they saw on the way down. On the way home all you heard was Arkansas fans asking where the Oklahoma fans were and why wouldn’t they talk to us anymore.
I was born In 1963 and grew up close to Ark QB Calcagni in Youngstown Ohio . I remember this game like it was yesterday. My father and I were shocked that OU was beaten . And Roland Sales did what he did .
The funny thing about this was Oklahoma ran their version of the wishbone. Arkansas ran a split backs veer, and the Sooners attack was supposed to be much superior. Two weeks before the game, Holtz suspended three starters for disciplinary reasons. When that got out, no one gave Arkansas a snowballs chance in hell. I guess no one bothered to tell Arkansas that they didn't have a chance.
I was only 1 years old at the time of this game. My father talked about this game alot. I've been a hog fan since the 87 independence bowl loss vs georgia. My first memory of hog football.
Yeah I was in high school back then and thinking we were in trouble since Holtz was sitting those players out. I watched this game back then and it was a great day to be a hog fan! Thanks for including the quick kick, whenever I mentioned it no one else remembered it. Holtz was a master of football strategy.
Thx Steel!!! Hardest hitting defensive unit I've ever seen at THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS!!! How about Roland Sales??? How about Lou??? Calcagni was HUGE as well!!! Watch closely in the second half how Hogs got stronger, OU faded. Just wonder why every time Arkansas wins a big game against anyone in any sport the "announcers" spout something like their opponent didn't take them seriously or they didn't bring their A game??? University of Arkansas whipped that ass!!! Period!!! Enough said.
disco music intro.... classic. I was 13, and remember this like it was yesterday. I was so stoked after the win, I pulled out an unpeeled-off bumper sticker from the '76 Cotton Bowl win that my older brother had saved from 2 years earlier, and with black magic marker crossed it all out and wrote "Orange Bowl Champions '78". WAS HE EVER PISSED!
I remember this game well. I yelled myself hoarse and in the process, scared my 1 1/2 yr. old son. It amazed me how Arkansas played so well when 3 players (two of which had provided around 78% of Arkansas' total points throughout the season) were suspended from the game for team violations. I had not heard much of Roland Sales before that game, and never heard anything afterwards.
This was real college football. Not the lily white joke the game was before it. Particularly in the south. Had segregation not existed in its noxious state, southern football would have been as glorious as it is now. That is where the majority of the best talent is. In a darker shade of skin! Coaches like Frank Broyles, Bear Bryant and Darrell Royal would have been more dominant than they were. As a Michigan State fan, I am proud that my school helped integrate the landscape of college football. Duffy Daugherty raided the southern states. In the process forcing other schools to follow suit. Such college legends as Clint Jones, Gene Washington, Bubba Smith and George Webster elevated the Spartans to all time greatness. These four men were among the first 8 players selected in the 1967 NFL draft. An all time record! To get back to this game, look at the speed of this Arkansas team. Roland Sales ran himself into 😩 exhaustion gutting the Sooners. Oklahoma on the other hand was three steps behind all game. Their Wishbone high wire act continually blowing up in their faces. Switzer was a one trick Pony. His outmoded Wishbone offset by their great talent. Much of it illegally recruited! Teams of comparable speed gave the Sooners fits. As a fan of Nebraska, I loved the result of this game. The only problem for the Hogs was Lou Holtz never stayed anywhere long enough to hang his hat. Great game by a wizard of a coach.
I am a good friend of Roland Sales here in Dallas and I am a Oklahoma fan.... I tell him all the time we still hate the name sales in Oklahoma 🤣..... he told me that everybody thought they didn't have a chance in Hell to beat Oklahoma and they felt disrespected because they had a good team he said they came out played mad and they were focused and Lou Holtz had them sky-high
Game that made Lou Holtz a legend.Was discussing this game with a former Notre Dame player the other day. In retrospect would have been tough to award Natty to Oklahoma since they lost to Texas.Had to go to Notre Dame or Alabama.Would have been good year for Playoff.Arkansas lost to Texas too
Houston Nutt I was an incompetent coach! He was fortunate to have loyal energetic and talented football players who obviously did not need to be coached; they were naturals! The real heroes of Arkansas coaching history were in Lou Holtz, and Kenny Hetfield among other I'm sure. Nutt was a favorite of Frank Broyles due to his confidence that Nuut was a mediocre coach; unlike Holtz and Hatfield whom he fired!!
Actually the entire Razorback team were heroes. All their names were called during the game; every player played hard football is a violent game with some players intentionally trying to injure and eliminate the best players! Its still dangerous but back then it was lethal and great players suffer the effects their entire lives
As a Texas fan who was friends with nothing but Hog fans, this game was painful. As much as I dislike OU, Texas had just lost a national championship in the Cotton Bowl earlier that day. I had to go back to school in 9th grade and face a horde of taunting Hog fans lol. Great game though!
I was at this Game, UNREAL ELECTRICITY IN THAT PLACE!! Everybody was shocked Oklahoma got beat! (BTW...my best friend Steve and I were kicked off the field after the game!! Lol)
Ron Calgagni is an under rated Arkansas QB. He was elusive enough to extend plays in the passing game and had a decent, if not spectacular, throwing arm. He was also a solid runner, particularly in the mid-read option where gutting out a few tough yards on an inside run made the difference between a drive stalling out and scoring.
Being from PA I remember watching a bowl preview show discussing Pitt and penn st. But also other other bowls. They called this the biggest mismatch of all the New Year’s Day bowls. So I didn’t bother to watch only to find out the next day OU got demolished.
I watched this game on tv It was so awesome I liked both teams Roland sales was great Razorback had only one loss that year to texas By less than a touchdown Arkansas deserved at least a share of the national title
The biggest thing I got out of this game is how HARD Arkansas hit Oklahoma's offense!!! Every play they inflicted pain!!! Those stops hurt Oklahoma, don't think they didn't. Roland was a major part as well.
Oh boy I remember this. Think of it whenever Jan 1st is on a Sunday - the big bowls this day were unusually played on Jan 2, because back then they didn’t play college bowl games on Sunday. As an 11 yr old in western Arkansas this was the first year I was really a passionate football fan and I just went nuts, knew all the stats and players and game scores. I still remember some of those 1977 game scores. Calcagni was my hero. Of course OU was supposed to win big and there were even schoolyard traitors rooting for the Sooners. This was without doubt the sweetest victory of my life as a sports fan.
Thanks buck ! Again ! Remember this game . Grew up on Oklahoma Sooners football 🏈 I was 15 years old at the time . Everyone in Oklahoma was thinking another National Championship again ! In Oklahoma , Back then , We talked about National Championships more then Conference Championships ! All Oklahoma had to do that night just win ! Even if the score was 3 to nothing 0 ! And they would of been National Champions! That’s it ! But On no ! Wild Hogs from Fayetteville came calling and thump Oklahoma ! Big upset that year ! The quality of the video is great ! Thanks again Buck !😎👍🏈
Big upset, we only looking at one game leading up to this, actually we probably should've been co champs, since we were also a once loss team that beat a undefeated, and the other team won outright.
Derric Kennemee ; Your exactly right ! 100 % PERIOD ! That was a Great Razorback Team ! Lou Holts at the helm ! Should of been Co- National Champions ! 😎👍🏈🏆
Notre Dame was the media darlings back then. They would not have given the NC to Oklahoma even if they would have won by 50. They jumped then from #5 to #1 even though Bama at #3 crushed Ohio St in the Sugar Bowl 35-6.
1977 was my freshman year at Fayetteville. Texas and Earl Campbell came to town Sept. 9, my birthday and first Hog game to attend. If not for Campbell's long run off a screen pass we probably win. We went to Miami for Orange Bowl...the atmosphere was insane. Electric. Everything went hogs way even though Las Vegas took the game off the board after the suspensions. We were staying at same hotel as Oklahoma...their coaches were hysterical and frantic after the game. They were in shock. If not for Campbell's long run in Fayetteville the Razorbacks would have been national Champs. In my mind they always were.
Hampton on ark. Sims, king,overstreet, peacock. The field was a mess. Sooners could not run the pitch whitch is their bread and butter. I think the next year was ok vs Florida state. Sims pitch from lott was one hell of a play.
1978 Babies were born are Amara Tenoh, Michelle Kaioh, Serena Tsukino, Amy Anderson, Raye Hino, Mina Aino, Lita Kino, Christopher McLean, Elizabeth Foreman, Jillian Thorndyke (now McTech), Christopher Robin
What’s amazing is how much kicking games have improved over time. Steve Little was college football’s best kicker that year. Was even a first round NFL pick. Notice how the announcers rave about his kickoff going out of the end zone. That’s pretty routine now. Field goals of any distance were adventures back then. Now, anything 45 yards in is considered a gimme.
I was at the Texas vs Arkansas game early in this season and had the privilege of seeing Steve kick a 67 yd fg which tied Russell Erxlebens' record. IT WAS AMAZING.! Ball was on the 43 and expected a punt . R.I.P. Steve
Once heard that UA got plays from OU before the game. HORSESHIT!!! OU thought they could bone through this. UA defense HUGE!!! Lou's straight veer tore the Sooner's up. Every hit was hard by the Hogs!!!
Many people were shocked by what Roland Sales did in this game. But I was at the Red/White game that year. He broke off a long run for a touchdown and none of the cornerbacks could catch him. Afterward, I remember everyone talking about his speed.
I am neither an Oklahoma fan, nor Arkansas. HOWEVER, I won't forget watching the pre-game pep-talk Lou Holtz gave to his under-favored Razorback players - 18 point underdogs. Lou wasn't screaming or yelling - in fact, he looked pretty calm. Whatever he said worked, given him one of the biggest bowl game upsets in college football history. And of course, the preparation in the weeks before that game had a lot to do with it. And after living in Florida all these years, and watching these players fumble and slip, I believe there must've been some rain before the game.
That field was horrible. Dolphin games had torn up. It was painted. As game wore on it was obvious. I just think sooners played on turf and didnt realize that cleats were needed. Plus you can could unscrew cleats and put in 1 inch cleats.
Monte Kiffin was the Arkansas DC. He had seen the OU Wishbone for the previous decade while the DC at Nebraska. Kiffin had some young SMART assistants Pete Carroll and Bob Cope that helped provide new ideas on how to defense the Wishbone
I ran the bone as a high school coach. The best play in the whole offense is at 3:30. Looks like triple option but is an Iso (RB on LB) and could also be run with the Guard kicking out. And at 3:45 Arkansas just stuffs it. They were coaching too!
Seeing as the title winner's had one loss this year, Arkansas had a claim to the title. The only loss we had was Texas I think. Texas got destroyed, we beat OU, and Penn St. lost, we should've had this chip.
Running the veer offense helps the defense understand the bone. Holtz suspended forte and bobo? The soph sales was a instant hero to me. And im from chicago.
Arkansas was an 18 point underdog in this game. Which tells me the experts and this Oklahoma team didn’t take them seriously,or considered them to be a championship calibre team.
Still pisses me off, that Notre Dame, my second favorite college team, got him, because Frank Fucking Broyles didn't think Assistant coaches deserved good money.
I was a 10th Sooner fan at the time. Lou Holtz had suspended about 3 of his starters for breaking team rules. Yet the Hogs defeated my Sooners. Coach Switzer and team were over confident and never thought of Arkansas as a threat. Well he was wrong. The following preseason Arkansas was ranked #1 on Sports Illustrated. That following Fall, Hogs travelled to Stillwater OK to play Okla. State and defeated OSU 20-10.
Both teams only loss of the regular was against Texas, who was undefeated before losing to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl earlier that day.....the winner of this game had a claim to the national championship! (In my mind)
For Sooner fans this was a brutal loss. Lou Holtz literally dared Oklahoma to throw and stacked the box sometimes with 9 players and took away the run. Switzer had no answers.
Actually, Arkansas was the pre-season #1 team for the 1978 season, but finished 9-2-1 after tying UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl, 10-10. The Hogs didn't play Alabama until the "79 season finale in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, a 24-9 Tide win. Arkansas finished that season 10-2 and won a share of the SWC championship, but Bama finished 12-0 and won Bear Bryant's sixth and final national title.
This game made me sick # 1Texas had lost earlier in the day in the Cotton Bowl and a win by Oklahoma would have given them at the very least a piece of the national championship. But i just knew after that disaster of a 1st drive that Oklahoma was in trouble. Man Switzer really was overrated as a coach why didn't he have these players working on their ball skills and how they should have been handling the ball. A Oklahoma game without at least 4 or 5 fumbles was rare.
Truth was Oklahoma thought Arkansas would be a pushover, and most of the team partied hard the night before. Arkansas made them pay. However, instead of just letting the win go, Hog fans continued to brag from 1978 onward. Until....rematch in 1987. There was big payback. Oklahoma never forgot it. Oklahoma 42 Arkansas 8. That put an end to the Hog fans delirium.
WOW, SO OBVIOUS HERE, OUTPLAYED BOTH SIDES OF LINE, PASSING WAS JUST THROWING THE BALL AWAY REALLY, THEY GOT RUN OVER THAT GAME, SLOW OU VS QUICK, SPEEDY HOGS, HARD TO WATCH (B.S.), BUT A GOOD LESSON, PASSING HAS TO BE PRACTICED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was the year that Holtz suspended 4 Arkansas starters and OU overlooked them. Backup RB Roland Sales rushed for over 200 yards. Imagine what starting RB Ben Cowins (who rushed for over 1,000 yards three years in a row) would have done to them!
The playbook incident is mentioned here page 228. It is neither confirmed nor debunked. It may have been floated as an excuse for OU getting beat by 17 point underdog. books.google.com/books?id=mdust8NM51IC&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228&dq=bowl+game+arkansas+got+the+oklahoma+play+book&source=bl&ots=7uPw5fnVs1&sig=ACfU3U3bjQnwFPNeP_ATHzdVahrIYmXpjA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqho6Bw8znAhUIQK0KHa3SBFkQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=bowl%20game%20arkansas%20got%20the%20oklahoma%20play%20book&f=false
No thats the year exRazorback Barry Switzer got his butt kicked by his old college team he of all people should have known not to take the Razorbacks lightly guess it was an Okie ego thang.
It really is astounding that some of the greatest college football coaches in the history of the game were either from Arkansas, played for the Razorbacks, or coached the Razorbacks. Frank Broyles, Lou Holtz, Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson, Bear Bryant, just to name a few.
I just wish we could have kept a few more coaches in the state.
Don't Forget: Fred Akers, Ken Hatfield, Houston Nutt, maybe not great coaches....But Decent !!!
I think I read somewhere that a young Pete Carroll was on the Arkansas staff during this game.
@@ynp1978 Yes he was!
Why is that astounding? Until we went SEC, we were perinnially in the top ten every year.
I was at this game. Coach Holtz had an awesome game plan. Hard hitting D with Big Dan Hampton leading the way. Loved the veer and mis direction O. Calcagni ran it to a T. He was a magician. Sitting around a big contingent of Sooner fans. We were taking abuse before the game about the point spread. After those first two stuffs, they looked a little concerned. Midway thru the third quarter it was just Hog fans around us. One of the best games I saw live. Yessir we partied to the wee hours after this one.
Oklahoma fans still tremble at the name Roland Sales. That was one of the most electrifying performances ever!
Something like 212 yards that game I think.
I was an eight-year-old when this game was played. I was living in Arkansas at the time. The principal at my elementary school had each class watch the edited game film in the days that followed. It was a great lesson, he said, about how people working together can overcome long odds.
The game that made Lou Holtz a legend
Good thing for him too. Because he was only a year off completely bombing out as coach of the NY Jets.
Lou Holtz is not a legend. He got gifted the title in 88, on that bogus Cleveland Gary play!!!
MIAMI NEVER LED IN THAT GAME MIIAMI GOT AWAY WITH SOME CALLS ATD THE REC NEVER CAUGHT ND SHOULD HAVE WON BY 2 SCORES
I was a student at Arkansas in '78. Back then all our TV stations were in Tulsa, so we got a belly full OU hype for weeks before this game. We were already serious underdogs but then Holtz suspended his best two running backs and the line went straight up. Everybody knew that the Sooners were going to win; it was just a matter of by how much. You can't imagine the sweetness of this victory. WOOOOH PIG!
I call bullshit, no way you were in Fayetteville Arkansas, and only got Tulsa stations, in 1978, quit lying.
@@heatherphillips5983 Were you there? I sure was. No cable either. Kiss my ass.
@@heatherphillips5983 channel 8, channel 6 and channel 2 all in Tulsa. 5 in Ft. smith
I am still haunted by this loss. The whole month of December all we talked about in Oklahoma was how many points did Switzer need to run up on Arkansas to get us into contention for the vote on the national title. No consideration at all that Arkansas might have had a pretty good team. And then Arkansas had some key players ruled inelegible and that just made it an absolute certainty that we were going to kill them. Then the game starts and it was the proverbial nightmare where you can't wake up.
And you learned a valuable lesson from that experience, well something good came of it 🤣
I remember this game very well I just knew we was going to get stomped, I just couldn’t believe the way Arkansas played they came out with heart and probably a little bit of anger
There were 3 key players that Holtz suspended for the game, they were not ruled ineligible.
@@Texashog11 Exactly, all Lou Holtz would say is they broke team rules.
It was an odd New Year's Day.3 of the 4 Bowl Games were lopsided.Only the Rose Bowl was close and that was a 4 loss 📉Washington team upsetting Michigan.
I was an eighth grader who loved both the NFL and college football during the 70s. New Year's 1978 was one of the best football days I can remember. Started off with watching Notre Dame upsetting undefeated the number one Texas in the Cotton Bowl, then saw Washington upset 11-1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl and top it off with this game that night (I didn't watch Alabama crush Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl). That year would have been a perfect season for a four team playoff. You had Notre Dame, Alabama, Arkansas and Penn State who all finished 11-1. I understand why the polls gave it to Notre Dame considering that they had flattened Texas in the Cotton Bowl but I honestly believe you could make a reasonable argument for each team as being worthy. Don't ever recall in my lifetime when you had four quality teams this close together at the end of the season. A playoff would have been awesome!
Similar to ‘74, when Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State each had strong cases for a title vote.
If Penn State deserved consideration in 77 season then Arizona State deserved Natty in 75.
@@brianarbenz1329 I was 1 years old and I root against all three of those teams and Oklahoma also. Ironically I despised that clown Lou Holtz also!!!
Earl Campbell was stopped cold. Outland winner McMichael was dominated and Montana was brilliant. What does a Texan fear most? A Catholic with a football. The Dome over all!!
I was a freshman at Arkansas that year. My roommate, my best friend from high school, was a student trainer for the team. He came in after practice one day bouncing off the walls with excitement. Told me we would win. Thought he was nuts. He said the coaches had picked up that one of the Oklahoma linebackers couldn’t change direction if you got him started in a certain direction. They knew they could break runs up the middle.
I was fortunate to be able to go to the game. Back then CBs were popular. Oklahoma fans were chattering at every Arkansas car they saw on the way down. On the way home all you heard was Arkansas fans asking where the Oklahoma fans were and why wouldn’t they talk to us anymore.
I WAS THERE, MAN!!!! On Oklahoma side but still gave the SUUUU-EEE chant! Arnold Palmer was 2 rows above us!
Arkansas should have been voted national champs that year. Got screwed by ND.
These was great days of college 🎓 🏈 football games 🤛👊🤜💪👍
I was born In 1963 and grew up close to Ark QB Calcagni in Youngstown Ohio . I remember this game like it was yesterday. My father and I were shocked that OU was beaten . And Roland Sales did what he did .
The funny thing about this was Oklahoma ran their version of the wishbone. Arkansas ran a split backs veer, and the Sooners attack was supposed to be much superior.
Two weeks before the game, Holtz suspended three starters for disciplinary reasons. When that got out, no one gave Arkansas a snowballs chance in hell. I guess no one bothered to tell Arkansas that they didn't have a chance.
4 starters
I was only 1 years old at the time of this game. My father talked about this game alot. I've been a hog fan since the 87 independence bowl loss vs georgia. My first memory of hog football.
Yeah I was in high school back then and thinking we were in trouble since Holtz was sitting those players out. I watched this game back then and it was a great day to be a hog fan! Thanks for including the quick kick, whenever I mentioned it no one else remembered it. Holtz was a master of football strategy.
@@scottymatlock6799 That wasn't 1987, it was 1991 when Arkansas played GA in the Independence Bowl.
@@abbadabbba232 my bad I meant liberty bowl
Thx Steel!!! Hardest hitting defensive unit I've ever seen at THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS!!! How about Roland Sales??? How about Lou??? Calcagni was HUGE as well!!! Watch closely in the second half how Hogs got stronger, OU faded. Just wonder why every time Arkansas wins a big game against anyone in any sport the "announcers" spout something like their opponent didn't take them seriously or they didn't bring their A game??? University of Arkansas whipped that ass!!! Period!!! Enough said.
disco music intro.... classic. I was 13, and remember this like it was yesterday. I was so stoked after the win, I pulled out an unpeeled-off bumper sticker from the '76 Cotton Bowl win that my older brother had saved from 2 years earlier, and with black magic marker crossed it all out and wrote "Orange Bowl Champions '78". WAS HE EVER PISSED!
I remember this game well. I yelled myself hoarse and in the process, scared my 1 1/2 yr. old son. It amazed me how Arkansas played so well when 3 players (two of which had provided around 78% of Arkansas' total points throughout the season) were suspended from the game for team violations. I had not heard much of Roland Sales before that game, and never heard anything afterwards.
This was real college football. Not the lily white joke the game was before it. Particularly in the south. Had segregation not existed in its noxious state, southern football would have been as glorious as it is now. That is where the majority of the best talent is. In a darker shade of skin! Coaches like Frank Broyles, Bear Bryant and Darrell Royal would have been more dominant than they were. As a Michigan State fan, I am proud that my school helped integrate the landscape of college football. Duffy Daugherty raided the southern states. In the process forcing other schools to follow suit. Such college legends as Clint Jones, Gene Washington, Bubba Smith and George Webster elevated the Spartans to all time greatness. These four men were among the first 8 players selected in the 1967 NFL draft. An all time record! To get back to this game, look at the speed of this Arkansas team. Roland Sales ran himself into 😩 exhaustion gutting the Sooners. Oklahoma on the other hand was three steps behind all game. Their Wishbone high wire act continually blowing up in their faces. Switzer was a one trick Pony. His outmoded Wishbone offset by their great talent. Much of it illegally recruited! Teams of comparable speed gave the Sooners fits. As a fan of Nebraska, I loved the result of this game. The only problem for the Hogs was Lou Holtz never stayed anywhere long enough to hang his hat. Great game by a wizard of a coach.
He led Arkansas in rushing in 1979 when they went 10-2 and lost to NC Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
best UA football game I've ever seen. we hit SO HARD!!!
I am a good friend of Roland Sales here in Dallas and I am a Oklahoma fan.... I tell him all the time we still hate the name sales in Oklahoma 🤣..... he told me that everybody thought they didn't have a chance in Hell to beat Oklahoma and they felt disrespected because they had a good team he said they came out played mad and they were focused and Lou Holtz had them sky-high
Really wish Arkansas would go with this classic uniform again, ditch the new school crap. It’ll never last.
Ron Calcagnie Roland Sales. Now there’s a couple of blasts from the past.
Lou Holtz was one hell of a coach.
I remember this game. Oklahoma was a big favorite. But somebody forgot to tell Arkansas.
Game that made Lou Holtz a legend.Was discussing this game with a former Notre Dame player the other day. In retrospect would have been tough to award Natty to Oklahoma since they lost to Texas.Had to go to Notre Dame or Alabama.Would have been good year for Playoff.Arkansas lost to Texas too
Houston Nutt...the man who brought Ole Miss football down!
Ole Miss football was down way before Houston Nutt showed up.
Houston Nutt I was an incompetent coach! He was fortunate to have loyal energetic and talented football players who obviously did not need to be coached; they were naturals! The real heroes of Arkansas coaching history were in Lou Holtz, and Kenny Hetfield among other I'm sure. Nutt was a favorite of Frank Broyles due to his confidence that Nuut was a mediocre coach; unlike Holtz and Hatfield whom he fired!!
The real heroes of the seven overtime game with Ole Miss was Matt jones, Cedric Cobbs, George Wilson and Fred Talley
Actually the entire Razorback team were heroes. All their names were called during the game; every player played hard football is a violent game with some players intentionally trying to injure and eliminate the best players! Its still dangerous but back then it was lethal and great players suffer the effects their entire lives
I will always hate Nutt!
As a Texas fan who was friends with nothing but Hog fans, this game was painful. As much as I dislike OU, Texas had just lost a national championship in the Cotton Bowl earlier that day. I had to go back to school in 9th grade and face a horde of taunting Hog fans lol. Great game though!
I was at this Game, UNREAL ELECTRICITY IN THAT PLACE!!
Everybody was shocked Oklahoma got beat! (BTW...my best friend Steve and I were kicked off the field after the game!! Lol)
I was 16 on this wonderful day absolutely loved it
I had just turned 26!!!
I was still 14 on this now classic day ! Great times indeed to be a young boy growing up in the bay area.*
Forever etched in time.
Bay Area fans that day got a preview of the decade to come when Joe led the Irish to a juggernaut title win.
Ron Calgagni is an under rated Arkansas QB. He was elusive enough to extend plays in the passing game and had a decent, if not spectacular, throwing arm. He was also a solid runner, particularly in the mid-read option where gutting out a few tough yards on an inside run made the difference between a drive stalling out and scoring.
I like to watch the older games because players knew how to tackle and didn't just try to bump the runners until they fall down.
Being from PA I remember watching a bowl preview show discussing Pitt and penn st. But also other other bowls. They called this the biggest mismatch of all the New Year’s Day bowls. So I didn’t bother to watch only to find out the next day OU got demolished.
That intro was the most 70s thing ever
I watched this game on tv
It was so awesome
I liked both teams
Roland sales was great
Razorback had only one loss that year to texas
By less than a touchdown
Arkansas deserved at least a share of the national title
The biggest thing I got out of this game is how HARD Arkansas hit Oklahoma's offense!!! Every play they inflicted pain!!! Those stops hurt Oklahoma, don't think they didn't. Roland was a major part as well.
Oh boy I remember this. Think of it whenever Jan 1st is on a Sunday - the big bowls this day were unusually played on Jan 2, because back then they didn’t play college bowl games on Sunday. As an 11 yr old in western Arkansas this was the first year I was really a passionate football fan and I just went nuts, knew all the stats and players and game scores. I still remember some of those 1977 game scores. Calcagni was my hero. Of course OU was supposed to win big and there were even schoolyard traitors rooting for the Sooners. This was without doubt the sweetest victory of my life as a sports fan.
LOU HOLTZ WAS ONE OF THE BEST BIG GAME COACHES THERE WAS IF I NEEDED ONE COACH TO COACH ATEAM IN A BIG GAME IT WOULD BE HOLTZ
boy football players hit hard in the 70s and 80s
Didn’t have to worry about targeting , it was real football.
"Jerry Jones was the co-captain of Arkansas' national championship team, a squad that rallied in the waning minutes of the 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic,"
Thanks buck ! Again ! Remember this game . Grew up on Oklahoma Sooners football 🏈 I was 15 years old at the time . Everyone in Oklahoma was thinking another National Championship again ! In Oklahoma , Back then , We talked about National Championships more then Conference Championships ! All Oklahoma had to do that night just win ! Even if the score was 3 to nothing 0 ! And they would of been National Champions! That’s it ! But On no ! Wild Hogs from Fayetteville came calling and thump Oklahoma ! Big upset that year ! The quality of the video is great ! Thanks again Buck !😎👍🏈
Meant on one line of the comment ! But O “ no !
Big upset, we only looking at one game leading up to this, actually we probably should've been co champs, since we were also a once loss team that beat a undefeated, and the other team won outright.
Derric Kennemee ; Your exactly right ! 100 % PERIOD ! That was a Great Razorback Team ! Lou Holts at the helm ! Should of been Co- National Champions ! 😎👍🏈🏆
Notre Dame was the media darlings back then. They would not have given the NC to Oklahoma even if they would have won by 50. They jumped then from #5 to #1 even though Bama at #3 crushed Ohio St in the Sugar Bowl 35-6.
1977 was my freshman year at Fayetteville. Texas and Earl Campbell came to town Sept. 9, my birthday and first Hog game to attend. If not for Campbell's long run off a screen pass we probably win. We went to Miami for Orange Bowl...the atmosphere was insane. Electric. Everything went hogs way even though Las Vegas took the game off the board after the suspensions. We were staying at same hotel as Oklahoma...their coaches were hysterical and frantic after the game. They were in shock. If not for Campbell's long run in Fayetteville the Razorbacks would have been national Champs. In my mind they always were.
this game had a few future NFL stars
Hampton on ark. Sims, king,overstreet, peacock. The field was a mess. Sooners could not run the pitch whitch is their bread and butter. I think the next year was ok vs Florida state. Sims pitch from lott was one hell of a play.
Wish Arkansas would go back to this look
Being from Arkansas I’m kind of prejudiced those boys played one heck of a game night night
1978 Babies were born are Amara Tenoh, Michelle Kaioh, Serena Tsukino, Amy Anderson, Raye Hino, Mina Aino, Lita Kino, Christopher McLean, Elizabeth Foreman, Jillian Thorndyke (now McTech), Christopher Robin
Great video!!! THX STEEL!!!
This was the best game Arkansas ever played in the school's history
Oklahoma QB Dean Blevins passed for 347 yards... for the whole 1977 season!! Boy, have times changed in Norman (OK)...
What’s amazing is how much kicking games have improved over time. Steve Little was college football’s best kicker that year. Was even a first round NFL pick. Notice how the announcers rave about his kickoff going out of the end zone. That’s pretty routine now. Field goals of any distance were adventures back then. Now, anything 45 yards in is considered a gimme.
I was at the Texas vs Arkansas game early in this season and had the privilege of seeing Steve kick a 67 yd fg which tied Russell Erxlebens' record. IT WAS AMAZING.! Ball was on the 43 and expected a punt . R.I.P. Steve
The sounds and graphics take me bck
Once heard that UA got plays from OU before the game. HORSESHIT!!! OU thought they could bone through this. UA defense HUGE!!! Lou's straight veer tore the Sooner's up. Every hit was hard by the Hogs!!!
They should have a rivalry every year.
One of my fav 🫏 whooping of all time. OU talked about how they were gonna run up the score to win the national title. (Hang a half a hundred on them).
Many people were shocked by what Roland Sales did in this game. But I was at the Red/White game that year. He broke off a long run for a touchdown and none of the cornerbacks could catch him. Afterward, I remember everyone talking about his speed.
That music though 😂😂😂😂
It's gonna be a good year for the Hogs. Wps!
I knew Notre Dame was going to beat Texas but I couldn't see the result of this game coming.
I am neither an Oklahoma fan, nor Arkansas.
HOWEVER, I won't forget watching the pre-game pep-talk Lou Holtz gave to his under-favored Razorback players - 18 point underdogs. Lou wasn't screaming or yelling - in fact, he looked pretty calm. Whatever he said worked, given him one of the biggest bowl game upsets in college football history. And of course, the preparation in the weeks before that game had a lot to do with it.
And after living in Florida all these years, and watching these players fumble and slip, I believe there must've been some rain before the game.
That field was horrible. Dolphin games had torn up. It was painted. As game wore on it was obvious. I just think sooners played on turf and didnt realize that cleats were needed. Plus you can could unscrew cleats and put in 1 inch cleats.
About to be in the same conference.
Monte Kiffin was the Arkansas DC. He had seen the OU Wishbone for the previous decade while the DC at Nebraska. Kiffin had some young SMART assistants Pete Carroll and Bob Cope that helped provide new ideas on how to defense the Wishbone
I ran the bone as a high school coach. The best play in the whole offense is at 3:30. Looks like triple option but is an Iso (RB on LB) and could also be run with the Guard kicking out.
And at 3:45 Arkansas just stuffs it. They were coaching too!
coach was great coach
Funny how Lou Holtz played a big part in Notre Dame winning the National Title this year.
Seeing as the title winner's had one loss this year, Arkansas had a claim to the title. The only loss we had was Texas I think. Texas got destroyed, we beat OU, and Penn St. lost, we should've had this chip.
@@heatherphillips5983 Did you forget Bama"s demolition of Ohio State earlier that day?
Running the veer offense helps the defense understand the bone. Holtz suspended forte and bobo? The soph sales was a instant hero to me. And im from chicago.
I was sick as a dog that day and on top of that we lost what a suck ass day
Arkansas was an 18 point underdog in this game. Which tells me the experts and this Oklahoma team didn’t take them seriously,or considered them to be a championship calibre team.
"Sam Klampman #63 a FULL BLOODED INDIAN on the right side:.... LOL
Lou Holtz was Tremendous!! Go Irish!!
Still pisses me off, that Notre Dame, my second favorite college team, got him, because Frank Fucking Broyles didn't think Assistant coaches deserved good money.
Lou Hoktz suspended 3 star players for this game. That's the reason for the 18 point spread!
Everybody on both sides is HITTIN'
I miss the swc and the big 8
This ain’t no country for old men….
I prefer the 87 orange bowl
I'm a die hard Sooners fan. But if it weren't for Barry Switzer we would still be at 3 Natties wondering why! I love 'em both!
Arkansas shoulda paid Lou Holtz the entirety of the vault at Fort Knox to keep him instead of letting Notre Dame get him. They wouldve run the 80s
I was a 10th Sooner fan at the time. Lou Holtz had suspended about 3 of his starters for breaking team rules. Yet the Hogs defeated my Sooners. Coach Switzer and team were over confident and never thought of Arkansas as a threat. Well he was wrong. The following preseason Arkansas was ranked #1 on Sports Illustrated.
That following Fall, Hogs travelled to Stillwater OK to play Okla. State and defeated OSU 20-10.
Both teams only loss of the regular was against Texas, who was undefeated before losing to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl earlier that day.....the winner of this game had a claim to the national championship! (In my mind)
For Sooner fans this was a brutal loss. Lou Holtz literally dared Oklahoma to throw and stacked the box sometimes with 9 players and took away the run. Switzer had no answers.
Arkansas should have easily won the National Championship.
29:15 We finally get to see some of that Barnabas White speed.
The next season arkansas would play alabama in the sugar bowl, coach lou said i couldnt tell bama,s first stirng from their 3rd, they were all good
Actually, Arkansas was the pre-season #1 team for the 1978 season, but finished 9-2-1 after tying UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl, 10-10. The Hogs didn't play Alabama until the "79 season finale in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, a 24-9 Tide win. Arkansas finished that season 10-2 and won a share of the SWC championship, but Bama finished 12-0 and won Bear Bryant's sixth and final national title.
Bama got ROYALLY screwed in 77.
Barnabas "Collins" White.
This game made me sick # 1Texas had lost earlier in the day in the Cotton Bowl and a win by Oklahoma would have given them at the very least a piece of the national championship. But i just knew after that disaster of a 1st drive that Oklahoma was in trouble. Man Switzer really was overrated as a coach why didn't he have these players working on their ball skills and how they should have been handling the ball. A Oklahoma game without at least 4 or 5 fumbles was rare.
Oklahoma did not have the proper cleats for this game.
Irony- Notre Dame won a national title with assistance from..... Lou Holtz
Thomas lott couldn't pass his way out of a wet napkin.
Arkansas was the better team...was all year long
Arkansas 54 was a BEAST ! Who was he ?
I think Jim Howard.
This couldve ended badly for my Hogs
Oklahoma in the 70s fumbled more than any team I've ever seen play.
It goes back to coaching. I blame Switzer for the sloppy ballhandling.
Ok
Truth was Oklahoma thought Arkansas would be a pushover, and most of the team partied hard the night before. Arkansas made them pay. However, instead of just letting the win go, Hog fans continued to brag from 1978 onward. Until....rematch in 1987. There was big payback. Oklahoma never forgot it. Oklahoma 42 Arkansas 8.
That put an end to the Hog fans delirium.
Bring back Lou Holtz
Woooooooooo Pigs!!! Sooooooooooie. Razorbacks
I miss real huddles
alabama and usc spilt the tidle for the 78 season
That was the following season. This bowl capped off the 1977 season, when Notre Dame won the title hands down.
The Razorbacks 🏆 won yeah Hogs
ARKANSAS HELPED NOTRE DAME WIN THE NC THAT YEAR
WOW, SO OBVIOUS HERE, OUTPLAYED BOTH SIDES OF LINE, PASSING WAS JUST THROWING THE BALL AWAY REALLY, THEY GOT RUN OVER THAT GAME, SLOW OU VS QUICK, SPEEDY HOGS, HARD TO WATCH (B.S.), BUT A GOOD LESSON, PASSING HAS TO BE PRACTICED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Was that the year Arkansaw got the Okie play book ?
It was the year that Holtz suspended 4 Arkansas starters and OU overlooked them. Backup RB Roland Sales rushed for over 200 yards. Imagine what starting RB Ben Cowins (who rushed for over 1,000 yards three years in a row) would have done to them!
The playbook incident is mentioned here page 228. It is neither confirmed nor debunked. It may have been floated as an excuse for OU getting beat by 17 point underdog.
books.google.com/books?id=mdust8NM51IC&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228&dq=bowl+game+arkansas+got+the+oklahoma+play+book&source=bl&ots=7uPw5fnVs1&sig=ACfU3U3bjQnwFPNeP_ATHzdVahrIYmXpjA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqho6Bw8znAhUIQK0KHa3SBFkQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=bowl%20game%20arkansas%20got%20the%20oklahoma%20play%20book&f=false
No thats the year exRazorback Barry Switzer got his butt kicked by his old college team he of all people should have known not to take the Razorbacks lightly guess it was an Okie ego thang.