Ara Parseghian dead at 94.....

[CTOkie]

was 4-0 vs OU, winning 2 games (1959-1960) while at Northwestern and 2 games (1966-1968) while at Notre Dame....all by decisive scores.
Story goes that just before Northwestern's 1960 game in Norman, Parseghian told his players that many OU fans regarded the win in 1959 as tainted due to the food poisoning of several OU players the night before (OU was clobbered 45-13). He used this to motivate his team and Northwestern went on to beat OU 19-3.
His 1966 Notre Dame team was one of the greatest teams ever.....as it "tied one for the Gipper" in Notre Dame's 10-10 tie at Michigan State that year.

 

[iasooner1]

I Knew I had heard the legend of the food poisoning incident but thought that it was done by Nebbish... It figures that it was done by him. RIP to a legendary coach

 

[CTOkie]

Parseghian was criticized for running out the clock at ND's 30 yard line and 70 seconds remaining, but ND was without 3 key offensive players, was playing on the road and Parseghian knew....correctly....that ND would get preferential treatment by the pollsters for not losing rather than for not winning.
Osborne probably could have done the same in his team's 31-30 loss to Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl following the 1983 season. This was also an additional home game for Miami. Osborne elected to go for two points to win and failed. Had he kicked to tie however, I am not sure he would have received the same treatment by pollsters as Parseghian did 17 years earlier, even though the situation was the same.

 

[CTOkie]

I Knew I had heard the legend of the food poisoning incident but thought that it was done by Nebbish... It figures that it was done by him. RIP to a legendary coach

"By him" ? No....the Chicago mob did it. Parseghian had nothing to do with it.

 

[iasooner1]

Right; my mistake. Thanks as always for the clarification

 

[Senior Sooner]

Right; my mistake. Thanks as always for the clarification

Fake News?

 

[bullmarket]

was 4-0 vs OU, winning 2 games (1959-1960) while at Northwestern and 2 games (1966-1968) while at Notre Dame....all by decisive scores.
Story goes that just before Northwestern's 1960 game in Norman, Parseghian told his players that many OU fans regarded the win in 1959 as tainted due to the food poisoning of several OU players the night before (OU was clobbered 45-13). He used this to motivate his team and Northwestern went on to beat OU 19-3.
His 1966 Notre Dame team was one of the greatest teams ever.....as it "tied one for the Gipper" in Notre Dame's 10-10 tie at Michigan State that year.

I was at the OU Notre Dame game in 1966. They killed us 38-0. The Irish players looked huge compared to us. .Allen Paige was a dominent ND defensive player in that game.
OU was 4-0 going into that game including a win over Texas 18-9 with OU's FG kicker Mike Vachon kicking 4 FGs (I was also at that game)
There was a new OU excitement in 1966 with our new head football coach Jim Mackenzie.

Mackenzie was the beginning of a new era of OU football. Sadly Jim died of a heart attack after that season but he had Chuck Fairbanks, Berry Switzer Larry Lacewell and Galen Hall and others were assistant football coaches under Jim Mackenzie who brought them to OU from Arkansas.

 

[CTOkie]

I was at the OU Notre Dame game in 1966. They killed us 38-0. The Irish players looked huge compared to us. .Allen Paige was a dominent ND defensive player in that game.
OU was 4-0 going into that game including a win over Texas 18-9 with OU's FG kicker Mike Vachon kicking 4 FGs (I was also at that game)
There was a new OU excitement in 1966 with our new head football coach Jim Mackenzie.

Mackenzie was the beginning of a new era of OU football. Sadly Jim died of a heart attack after that season but he had Chuck Fairbanks, Berry Switzer Larry Lacewell and Galen Hall and others were assistant football coaches under Jim Mackenzie who brought them to OU from Arkansas.

Too bad OU never played ND during the Switzer era.....and when OU had bigger and much better teams. Those would have been epic games.

 

[bullmarket]

Too bad OU never played ND during the Switzer era.....and when OU had bigger and much better teams. Those would have been epic games.

Excellent point CTOkie.

I have been to many OU football games but I have never seen OU play a team who made OU look like midgets in comparison like the 1966 ND team did to OU.

That Irish team was huge.

The very next year 1967 Chuck Fairbanks OU finished 10-1 with the Wicked Worm Bobby Warmack at QB & beat Tennessee in the bowl game with the Tennessee FG kicker missing a FG. For some reason I still remember the Tenn FG kickers name Karl Krimser

That 1966 Notre Dame Michigan State game was a war. I remember MS had Bubba Smith and after the tie I believe both of these 2 teams shared the 1966 National Championship.

 

[CTOkie]

Harry Hettmansperger, an OU linebacker said as Notre Dame came on the field, "I thought we were playing the Green Bay Packers !".
Outweighed 38 pounds per man, OU somehow held ND scoreless in both the 1st and 4th quarters, despite losing Granville Liggins early in the game.
What this game did for OU's recruiting philosophy was to show Sooner coaches that "size does matter" and OU's recruiting was changed forever.

 

[owenfieldreams]

That Irish squad is the best opponent I have ever seen on Owen Field. Actually, Granny almost singlehandedly kept ND at bay the 1st qtr. but when he went out with the injury the dam broke.

 

[bullmarket]

That Irish squad is the best opponent I have ever seen on Owen Field. Actually, Granny almost singlehandedly kept ND at bay the 1st qtr. but when he went out with the injury the dam broke.

An average team at Owen field was Stanford with a great great dominating QB John Elway in 1980. They were ahead 31-0 with the OU crowd & myself & my dad in stunned silence & basically the game was over. The final was 31-14.
Elway decimated us. Another interesting fact about that game was Elway's dad was Stanford's head coach.
OU did have a pretty good team in 1980 finishing 10-2 also losing to texas (I hated that game). OU was Big 8 Champs & won the Orange Bowl vs. Florida State and finished #3 in the nation.

 

[Plainosooner_rivals54053]

Parseghian was criticized for running out the clock at ND's 30 yard line and 70 seconds remaining, but ND was without 3 key offensive players, was playing on the road and Parseghian knew....correctly....that ND would get preferential treatment by the pollsters for not losing rather than for not winning.
Osborne probably could have done the same in his team's 31-30 loss to Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl following the 1983 season. This was also an additional home game for Miami. Osborne elected to go for two points to win and failed. Had he kicked to tie however, I am not sure he would have received the same treatment by pollsters as Parseghian did 17 years earlier, even though the situation was the same.

He also had the luxury of another game. Notre Dame didn't go to bowl games in those days, and Michigan State was in the Big Ten, which had a no repeat rule. They'd been to the Rose Bowl the year before so it was the end of the year for them. Both those teams were loaded. ND had Nick Eddy, Jim Lynch and hall of famer Alan Page, plus several other elite college players. Terry Hanratty, Jim Seymour ....

MSU had Bubba Smith, a 290 pound DE in a time when most teams OL's weighed under 220. Bubba was the first pick in the draft.Linebacker George Webster was also a first rounder at 5. Their running back was Clint Jones went 2nd. Wide Gene Washington was ninth. So four of the top nine picks in the first year of the combined NFL - AFL draft were Spartans. Jimmy Raye was their African American quarterback, a rarity in 1966.

But when Notre Dame went to Southern Cal to end the season, they beat the Trojans 51-0, running up the score to try to ensure a national title. It worked. ND swept both primary voted polls, AP and then called UPI.

In a footnote, John McKay was so pissed, that he lost to ND only once in the next nine years and that was the Domers' 1973 national champs. There were two ties, but in a measure or retaliation, in 1974. Trailing 24-0 with 15 seconds left in the half, USC scored on a touchdown throw to cut it to 24-7, and rolled in the 2nd half, winning 55-24 in Ara's final regular season game. ND beat one loss Bama in the Orange Bowl, so that he went out with a win.

But he did love running up the score.

 

[OklaBama]

Harry Hettmansperger, an OU linebacker said as Notre Dame came on the field, "I thought we were playing the Green Bay Packers !".
Outweighed 38 pounds per man, OU somehow held ND scoreless in both the 1st and 4th quarters, despite losing Granville Liggins early in the game.
What this game did for OU's recruiting philosophy was to show Sooner coaches that "size does matter" and OU's recruiting was changed forever.

CT, you're right. Jim Mac believed in small, lean, quick players. My wife's aunt was a cafeteria cook at OU's athletic cafeteria when Jim was coach and told of how Mac would take food off of players trays that had been used to eating a lot before he got there. She said pasta was a main meal before Jim became coach but that changed because he wanted leaner, quick players rather than big guys like Ralph Neely. ND had the better idea. Big, strong guys that could run.

 

[CTOkie]

He also had the luxury of another game. Notre Dame didn't go to bowl games in those days, and Michigan State was in the Big Ten, which had a no repeat rule. They'd been to the Rose Bowl the year before so it was the end of the year for them. Both those teams were loaded. ND had Nick Eddy, Jim Lynch and hall of famer Alan Page, plus several other elite college players. Terry Hanratty, Jim Seymour ....

MSU had Bubby Smith, a 290 pound DE in a time when most teams OL's weighed under 220. Bubba was the first pick in the draft.Linebacker George Webster was also a first rounder at 5. Their running back was Clint Jones went 2nd. Wide Gene Washington was ninth. So four of the top nine picks in the first year of the combined NFL - AFL draft were Spartans. Jimmy Raye was their African American quarterback, a rarity in 1966.

But when Notre Dame went to Southern Cal to end the season, they beat the Trojans 51-0, running up the score to try to ensure a national title. It worked. ND swept both primary voted polls, AP and then called UPI.

In a footnote, John McKay was so pissed, that he lost to ND only once in the next nine years and that was the Domers' 1973 national champs. There were two ties, but in a measure or retaliation, in 1974. Trailing 24-0 with 15 seconds left in the half, USC scored on a touchdown throw to cut it to 24-7, and rolled in the 2nd half, winning 55-24 in Ara's final regular season game. ND beat one loss Bama in the Orange Bowl, so that he went out with a win.

But he did love running up the score.

Notre Dame scored 7 points in the 4th quarter of the 51-0 win over USC, and that was by an interception return for a touchdown. Notre Dame returned two interceptions for touchdowns that day.
This game also featured backup QB Coley O'Brien starting in place of injured Terry Hanratty and throwing for 255 yards....in his only start at ND.
So I'm not sure Parseghian was running up the score, despite McKay's accusation of doing so......or unless Mike Lupica says he did.

 

[Plainosooner_rivals54053]

Notre Dame scored 7 points in the 4th quarter of the 51-0 win over USC, and that was by an interception return for a touchdown. Notre Dame returned two interceptions for touchdowns that day.
This game also featured backup QB Coley O'Brien starting in place of injured Terry Hanratty and throwing for 255 yards....in his only start at ND.
So I'm not sure Parseghian was running up the score, despite Robinson's accusation of doing so......or unless Mike Lupica says he did.

It wasn't John Robinson. It was John McKay. And he didn't complain publicly. Only to his players. I never liked McKay much. When he went to the NFL and didn't have the superior talent he usually enjoyed at USC, he didn't win much.McKay coached at USC until 1975.

Not sure if Robinson was an asst at USC in '66 or not.

 

[CTOkie]

It wasn't John Robinson. It was John McKay. And he didn't complain publicly. Only to his players. I never liked McKay much. When he went to the NFL and didn't have the superior talent he usually enjoyed at USC, he didn't win much.McKay coached at USC until 1975.

Not sure if Robinson was an asst at USC in '66 or not.

I stand corrected on McKay coaching USC then...I meant McKay but I regard both him and Robinson as very similar during their tenures at USC....especially at 4:14 am.
Just the same, it isn't correct to say that ND ran up the score against USC in 1966. If Parseghian was trying to influence the pollsters, his team had already done so by halftime as his team led 31-0....then 44-0 at the end of three quarters.
I give McKay a bit of a break taking over a first year Tampa Bay team.....and there was no way the Buccaneers could have won under ANY coach as it went 0-26.