NORMAN, Okla. (Nov. 25, 1971) - It has been more than a quarter of a century since college football's Game of the Century was played. And as the years melt away and this millenium races toward its conclusion, the Nebraska-Oklahoma showdown of 1971 continues to tower above all the other pretenders to the Game of the Century throne. Season after season you feel compelled to nominate a Michigan-Ohio State, an

Alabama-Auburn, a Notre Dame-USC, or a Miami-Florida State, but inevitably, they all fall short, unable to combine the brilliance, the drama, and the importance of Nebraska-Oklahoma '71.

"That game has taken on a life of its own," recalled Oklahoma quarterback Jack Mildren of the No. 1-ranked Cornhuskers' 35-31 Thanksgiving Day victory over the No. 2 Sooners. "It is absolutely amazing that a game played by 21-year-olds more than 20 years ago would still be raved about."

Actually, it isn't amazing at all considering the breathtaking, courageous display the bitter Big 8 rivals produced in a game that meant so much, was watched by so many, and was every bit as much spectacle as it was athletic contest.

"It was a classic game, the greatest one I've ever been involved in," mused Oklahoma's coach, Chuck Fairbanks. And he lost.

The winning coach, Bob Devaney, that day called it "the greatest victory of my career." More than two decades later, shortly before his death, he said: "I still talk to a lot of people who say that's the most interesting football game they've ever seen."

The magnitude of what took place that cool, cloudy autumn day at Owen Field was not lost on those 21-year-olds Mildren referred to, either. Jeff Kinney, the heroic Nebraska running back who rushed for 174 yards and scored four touchdowns - including the winner with 1:38 left to play - said: "It was certainly the most important game of my career, my life, anybody's life."

In the days leading up to the game, Mildren - who would go on to become lieutenant governor of Oklahoma in 1990 - had said: "What it comes down to is people against people. The best people are going to win this thing."

The problem was, no one knew whether Nebraska or Oklahoma had the best people. What everyone did know, though, was no team in the land had people as good as Nebraska or Oklahoma.

THE CORNHUSKERS ENTERED THE GAME as defending national champions, winners of 16 in a row and unbeaten in their previous 29. Their offense - led by Kinney, quarterback Jerry Tagge, and the incomparable wingback and future Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers - averaged 35 points and 441 yards per game.

While those numbers were nothing to scoff at, the defense was even more imposing and was the real key to Nebraska's dominance. Only Kansas State and Oklahoma State had managed to score twice in a game against Nebraska. Devaney's physical defenders - led by Outland Trophy winner Larry Jacobsen and middle guard Rich Glover - had posted three shutouts and allowed an average of just six points per game.

Of course, Nebraska - or perhaps any team in college football history - had never seen anything like the 1971 Oklahoma offense. Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Barry Switzer had installed the wishbone before the 1970 season, and by this time, it had become the most feared formation in the game. Even the legendary Bear Bryant had copied it at Alabama.

With Mildren running, handing off to fullback Leon Crosswhite, quick- pitching to Greg Pruitt and Joe Wylie, or passing to Jon Harrison, the Sooners were averaging 45 points, 481 rushing yards, and 563 total yards per game, all national highs. In the middle of the season, they had dismantled, in succession, powerhouses USC (33-20), Texas (48-27) and Colorado (45-17). Only Missouri had held Oklahoma under 30 points, losing merely 20-3.

"If our defense had been as good as our offense that year, it just wouldn't have been fair," Switzer said.

The thing is, the defense - led by defensive end Lucious Selmon - wasn't bad either.

This was the canvas, and all that was left for the 'Huskers and the Sooners to do was to paint the most picturesque of college football games. The Game of the Century.

A RAUCOUS, RECORD CROWD OF 63,385 at Owen Field - spiced by about 5,400 red- clad Nebraskans - and a national TV audience saw Rodgers make the first of what would become an endless string of monumental plays. Just 3:32 into the game, Rodgers fielded a punt at his own 28 and was hit almost immediately by Pruitt. However, he put his hand down to keep his balance, sprinted to the right, then cut back to the left and took off down the sideline. Joe Blahak threw the final block on the punter, Wylie, and Rodgers reached the end zone to complete the dazzling 72-yard play.

"The thing I look back on is how many times we practiced our specialty teams," said Pruitt. "I was the first guy to miss Johnny on that punt return. There was great competition between us and I got excited. I had him and let him go."

Said Blahak of Rodgers: "We had a certified gamebreaker in Johnny. I don't think there's been another player collegiately that has been as good. He could do so many things."

On the sidelines, Rodgers was so tired after his dash, he threw up. The game was on.

Mildren came right back, engineering a 72-yard drive that resulted in a 30- yard field goal by John Carroll. Mildren ran four times, and he hit Harrison for 31 yards on a third-and-8 play that kept the drive alive.

In the second quarter, Kinney capped a 54-yard march with the first of his four scoring plunges and the Cornhuskers had a 14-3 advantage. Mildren then rushed six times for 43 yards during an 80-yard advance, culminated by his three-yard run 5:10 before the end of the half.

After a Nebraska punt, it seemed logical that Oklahoma would sit on the ball in its own territory and go to the locker room satisfied with a 14-10 deficit. Instead, Fairbanks stunned everyone by instructing Mildren to throw deep.

Nebraska had decided to take Oklahoma's outside pitch play away, and ends Willie Harper and John Adkins did a superb job of shadowing Pruitt. But by playing the pitch, the Cornhuskers were softer inside and Mildren probed them repeatedly with his own running.

WITH SO MUCH CONCENTRATION ON THE WISHBONE, Nebraska forgot about Harrison. He was left in one-on-one coverage on almost every play, and the fleet receiver got behind safety Bill Kosch and hauled in Mildren's 43-yard pass to the Huskers 24 with 15 seconds left in the half. On the next play, Harrison torched Kosch again and Mildren hit him in the end zone to give Oklahoma a 17-14 lead. It was the first time Nebraska had trailed all year.

The Nebraska offense had scored just once in the first half, so at halftime, Devaney concluded that the way to attack the speedy Sooners was to hammer them with the running game. "We came out running in the second half," said Tagge. "We beat them physically, we beat them man-to-man."

Early in the third quarter, Adkins knocked the ball loose from Mildren and Dave Mason recovered at the Nebraska 47. Tagge broke a 32-yard run, and one play later, Kinney scored from the three to put Nebraska back in front. Five minutes later, the lead ballooned to 28-17 when Kinney burrowed in from the one to finish off a 61- yard drive.

But in typical lightning-quick Oklahoma fashion, the Sooners answered. Harrison took a reverse handoff from Mildren, pulled up, and threw a 51-yard pass to tight end Al Chandler that put the ball on the Nebraska 16. From there Mildren carried four straight times until he crossed the goal line with 28 seconds left in the third.

Nebraska advanced into Oklahoma territory on its ensuing possession which bridged the third and fourth quarters, but linebacker Danny Mullen forced a Tagge fumble and Selmon recovered at the Oklahoma 31.

"I would have killed myself if we had lost because of that play," said Tagge.

Pruitt, who would finish the day with a season-low 53 yards on only 10 carries, broke his longest run, an 18-yarder to the Nebraska 33, and Mildren followed with a pair of huge plays. On fourth-and-2 at the 21, he ran left for four yards and a first down. Moments later, faced with another fourth-down from the 16, he found Harrison open behind Kosch again and fired a strike for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:10 remaining.

"WE NEVER FELT WE WERE GOING TO LOSE," Tagge said. And that confidence was evident on what became the game-winning drive. Starting at their own 26, the Cornhuskers were quickly faced with third-and-1, and Devaney used wonderful deception to get the first down. Nebraska had been pounding at the belly of the Oklahoma defense with Kinney, but on this crucial play, he ordered Tagge to pitch out wide to Kinney. Kinney broke it for a 17-yard gain to the Oklahoma 48.

The Sooners tightened up again and Nebraska was confronted with third-and-8 at the 46. Here, Tagge made the key play of the drive. He dropped back to pass and was instantly in trouble as Ray Hamilton broke through and flushed him out of the pocket. Hamilton had Tagge in his grasp, but couldn't hold on and Tagge was able to complete an 11-yard pass to Rodgers.

"Five receivers were to go down and break in, but Oklahoma only rushed three men and dropped four linebackers into the hook zone," Tagge explained. "I thought I was going to have to run, but at the last second I saw Rodgers cutting across the middle. It wasn't thrown very well, but he made a great diving catch to keep the drive alive."

Said Fairbanks: "Raymond got ahold of Tagge and missed the tackle. If he had made that tackle, they'd have had to punt." Kinney, who gained 50 yards on the 12-play, 74-yard drive, took over from there. He carried the last four plays, finally bulling in from the two behind tackle Daryl White and All-American guard Larry Rupert.

"I just couldn't believe it," said Oklahoma linebacker Steve Aycock of Nebraska's final possession. "We were doing everything we knew how to do to stop them at the end and we came awful close. They kept making those big plays, that's the key to their success."

Said Tagge: "We just put everything we had into that last drive. I kept telling the guys in the huddle we wanted to use as much time as possible and avoid any dumb penalties. We didn't want them to have any time to score again. Nobody said a word in the huddle but me. We all just knew what had to be done."

OKLAHOMA HAD ONE LAST CHANCE, but it quickly evaporated. Mildren overthrew Harrison with a long pass, then kept for four yards to bring up third down. Jacobsen broke through and sacked Mildren for an eight-yard loss, and on fourth down from the 15, Glover deflected a pass intended for Harrison.

"Both teams scored almost every time they had the ball," said Fairbanks. "It was a case of who had it last. If we'd had enough time, I'm certain we would have scored."

Said Devaney: "The way we did it, coming in here against a great Oklahoma team, makes me very proud of this team. It will make for a very happy Thanksgiving for everyone back in Nebraska."

POSTSCRIPT: Nebraska closed its regular season with a 45-3 romp over Hawaii, then crushed Alabama, 38-6, in the Orange Bowl to secure a 13-0 season and its second consecutive national championship. Tagge ended the year with 2,019 passing yards and 17 TDs. His career passing efficiency mark of 140.1 ranks fourth in NCAA history for quarterbacks with between 325 and 399 completions. Kinney finished with 16 TDs.

Oklahoma ripped Auburn and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Pat Sullivan, 40-22, in the Sugar Bowl, and was voted No. 2 in the nation. Big 8 rival Colorado, whose only two losses had been to Nebraska and Oklahoma, finished third in the polls, the first time one conference had held the top three spots in the final voting. Mildren set an NCAA record for quarterback rushing that year with 1,140 yards and that total still ranks eighth all-time. Pruitt was third in the nation with 1,665 yards, he averaged 9.4 yards per carry and scored 16 TDs. the Sooners established an NCAA record by averaging 472.4 rushing yards, a mark that still stands. That season, they had 980 yards more than the next-best offensive team in the country.

But it wasn't enough to overcome Nebraska. "One of the most complete college football teams ever assembled," Fairbanks said of the Cornhuskers.

Boxscore

Nebraska     7  7  14  7  - 35
Oklahoma    3 14   7  7  - 31

Neb - Rodgers 72 punt return (Sanger kick)
Okl - Carroll 30 field goal
Neb - Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick)
Okl - Mildren 3 run (Carroll kick)
Okl - Harrison 24 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick)
Neb - Kinney 3 run (Sanger kick)
Neb - Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick)
Okl - Mildren 3 run (Carroll kick)
Okl - Harrison 16 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick)
Neb - Kinney 2 run (Sanger kick)
	Att - 63,385

TEAM STATISTICS         NEB      OKLA
First downs              19        22
Rushes-yards         60-297    64-279
Net passing yards        65       188
Total net yards         362       467
Passes               6-13-0    6-11-0
Punts-Avg.           5-36.4    2-34.0
Fumbles-lost            1-1       5-3
Penalties-yards         1-5       0-0

RUSHING - Nebraska: Kinney 31-174, Tagge 17-49, Rodgers 4-27, Olds 4-22, Damkroger 3-23, Dixon 1-2. Oklahoma - Mildren 31-130, Pruitt 10-53, Wiley 3-11, Crosswhite 12-59, Welch 8-26.

PASSING - Nebraska: Tagge 6-12-0 - 65, Rodgers 0-1-0 - 0. Oklahoma: Mildren 5-10-0 - 137, Harrison 1-1-0 - 51.

RECEIVING - Nebraska: Rodgers 5-61, Kinney 1-4. Oklahoma: Harrison 4-115, Chandler 2-73.

IN OTHER NEWS ON NOV. 25, 1971

THE SPORTS SECTION: Auburn's Pat Sullivan was named winner of the Heisman Trophy by the Downtown Athletic Club. Sullivan outpolled Ed Marinaro of Cornell 1,597 to 1,445. Pruitt finished a distant third.

Quarterback Donnie Wigginton scored two touchdowns to lead Texas to a 34- 14 victory over Texas A&M, locking up a Cotton Bowl berth on Jan. 1 against Penn State. It was Texas' fourth straight Southwest Conference title, a new record.

Roger Staubach threw TD passes to Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 28-21 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

SOURCE LIST: College Football's Most Memorable Games, 1913 Through 1990, by Fred Eisenhammer and Eric B. Sondheimer; Sooner Century - 100 Glorious Years of Oklahoma Football, by J. Brent Clark; Sports Illustrated; The New York Times; The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal; The Washington Post.