09-29-2025, 03:49 PM
What a fantastic trip down memory lane! I was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. After my family, my first love was OU football. In fact, I was pulling for OU in 1978 when they hung on against Steve Dils and a game Stanford squad in a tight 35-29 Sooner victory at Stanford.
But two years later, I was going to be a Stanford sophomore. And I was all in for Stanford football. My pal Jim McGovern drove up from San Antonio to meet me in Norman. After the game, we would load my stuff in his car and head out to Palo Alto for the start of school. We witnessed a miracle on the football field that day, a day that still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling despite the damp, rainy conditions.
Stanford had a lot of offensive talent that season including WR Andre Tyler, WR Ken Margerum, RB Mike Dotterer, TE Chris Dressel and LT Brian Holloway, all of whom would play in the NFL (plus the guy at QB).
And yet, while Stanford was a good bet to have at least one unfathomable loss per season (Stanford lost at BC the prior week 30-13), the teams of that era were also known for improbable upsets. That's what made Stanford football fun (and maddening). They could lose to the bottom of the conference or beat the best in the country.
This game may be the most fun I ever have had at a football game from start to finish. Well, tied with the 2016 Rose Bowl for most fun. Not only did I love all of the success that Stanford was having on the field vs. OU, I got to enjoy the schadenfreude of the shock of my OU friends. #48 for OU, the linebacker, Mike Coast? He was two years ahead of me in junior high school. He wasn't a mean guy at heart, but he was a bit of a bully as big guys, especially football dudes, often can be at that age. I was reaching higher levels of joy watching his frustration as the OU defense could not stop Stanford. It peaked at about the 23:00 mark when a sure interception went right through his hands to Andre Tyler for a TD. Watch Coast's reaction. Glorious!
It's a 45 year old memory that still seems fresh. Thank you so much, Papa John, for finding and posting this video. I am a little wistful and sad that I can't send it to my dad who was with me that day in Norman but who is no longer here with us now.
But two years later, I was going to be a Stanford sophomore. And I was all in for Stanford football. My pal Jim McGovern drove up from San Antonio to meet me in Norman. After the game, we would load my stuff in his car and head out to Palo Alto for the start of school. We witnessed a miracle on the football field that day, a day that still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling despite the damp, rainy conditions.
Stanford had a lot of offensive talent that season including WR Andre Tyler, WR Ken Margerum, RB Mike Dotterer, TE Chris Dressel and LT Brian Holloway, all of whom would play in the NFL (plus the guy at QB).
And yet, while Stanford was a good bet to have at least one unfathomable loss per season (Stanford lost at BC the prior week 30-13), the teams of that era were also known for improbable upsets. That's what made Stanford football fun (and maddening). They could lose to the bottom of the conference or beat the best in the country.
This game may be the most fun I ever have had at a football game from start to finish. Well, tied with the 2016 Rose Bowl for most fun. Not only did I love all of the success that Stanford was having on the field vs. OU, I got to enjoy the schadenfreude of the shock of my OU friends. #48 for OU, the linebacker, Mike Coast? He was two years ahead of me in junior high school. He wasn't a mean guy at heart, but he was a bit of a bully as big guys, especially football dudes, often can be at that age. I was reaching higher levels of joy watching his frustration as the OU defense could not stop Stanford. It peaked at about the 23:00 mark when a sure interception went right through his hands to Andre Tyler for a TD. Watch Coast's reaction. Glorious!
It's a 45 year old memory that still seems fresh. Thank you so much, Papa John, for finding and posting this video. I am a little wistful and sad that I can't send it to my dad who was with me that day in Norman but who is no longer here with us now.
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000