The #6 Razorbacks scored early and often against the mighty #2 Sooners in the 1978 Orange Bowl
Cards from the 1977-78 Orange Bowl (Arkansas - Oklahoma) for Strat-O-Matic College Football
Dropbox Link for Cards for the 1977 Arkansas Razorbacks
Dropbox Link for Cards for the 1977 Oklahoma Sooners
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The 44th edition of the Orange Bowl was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1977–78 bowl game season, it matched the sixth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC) against the heavily-favored #2 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference. Both teams had lost in back-to-back weekends earlier in the season to #1 Texas, the NCAA first division's last undefeated team, who was playing earlier in the day, in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns unexpected upset loss at the hands of the Fighting Irish in their own backyard meant that this game would settle the National Championship, and so it did - but not in the manner anyone had anticipated. With everything to play for, Oklahoma was stuffed by the undermanned Razorbacks, who had suspended three key offensive players (leading rusher Ben Cowins, fullback Michael Forrest, and top WR Donny Bobo) and lost their best offensive lineman (All-American Leotis Harris) to injury. Arkansas was an 18-point underdog but won 31-6 behind 205 yards from sub tailback Roland Sales and a standout performance from the country's best defense.
Oklahoma was a juggernaut. The Sooners had four All-Americans—NT Reggie Kinlaw, LBs George Cumby and Darryl Hunt, and FS Zac Henderson and they led a strong defense that shut down both the run and the pass equally well. The offense was led by Thomas Lott, one of the best Wishbone quarterbacks of all-time, and he averaged 4.9 yds/carry and scored 17 TDs. As a team, the Sooners averaged over 5.1 yds/carry; future Ram Elvis Peacock was featured at the LHB position, while the Billy Sims/David Overstreet combination at RHB averaged 5.2 yds/carry and 9 TDs. Both men played in the NFL; Sims was the #1 pick of the Detroit Lions in 1980. and Overstreet came to the Dolphins from the CFL in 1983. Fleet-footed future Raider Kenny King averaged a healthy 5.0 yds/carry at FB. The only Kryptonite for this high-powered offense was their penchant for putting the ball on the carpet, as they fumbled 52 times on the season and lost 30 of those to their opponents.
You've got a good backfield when Billy Sims is running by committee!
Fumble-itis would be the Sooners undoing in this game -that- and some masterful preparation, coaching, and motivating from first year Razorback coach Lou Holtz. Holtz was a strict disciplinarian, and he ran the team by one rule - the "Do Right Rule." Arkansas football was not going to allow any breaches of conduct, and so when Cowins, Forrest, and Bobo were involved in a Campus Dorm incident over the Christmas Holiday Holtz suspended them. This could have torn the team apart - the players in question had accounted for about 80 percent of the team's scoring. The remaining players, once landed in Miami, spent a lot of time talking about who was NOT there rather than who WAS. Holtz gathered them together and asked them as a team to point out the good things they still had:
The Arkansas defense, led by All-American DT Jimmy Walker, included 6 other All-SWC standouts—DT Dan Hampton, LBs Larry Jackson and William Hampton, CBs Patrick Martin and Vaughn Lusby and FS Howard Sampson. They were particularly good at rushing the quarterback, with 32 sacks, and they did not allow many big plays, with a 31 yard longest pass play and 30 yard longest rushing play;
Kicker Steve Little, 19 of 30 on the year but this was misleading - he was 13/15 inside 40 yards on the year and kicked the NCAA record 67 yarder. Little spent the season sending long range messages back and forth with Texas kicker Russell Erxleben, and both were drafted in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft;
Arkansas signal caller Ron Calcagni was not a freight train Wishbone quarterback in the Lott mode, but he did complete 51.6% of his passes for almost 16 yards/completion. He also had deep threats at wide receiver who could take any pass “all the way.” Even without Bobo, Gary Stiggers averaged over 19 yds/catch while SEs Robert Farrell and Bruce Hay averaged 20 yds/catch.
The other thing Holtz pointed out was that the Sooners were predictable - they were so good that they did not try to fool you on either side of the ball. You could read and react to the Sonner running game; the secret was to contain them and force mistakes. On defense, Oklahoma rarely ran stunts or loops, they would pick up on opponent's offensive line movement, usually the guards, and flow to the ball with extra safeties or linebackers to stuff the enemy ground game.
Holtz had a young Pete Carroll on his staff, and they devised a series of misdirection "false keys" and reverses that would force Oklahoma's tackles to jump outside when they released outside - and then the Razorbacks would hand the ball off inside to their speedy fullback, Sales or on breakaway reverses to Stiggers. It was the kind of gameplan that Holtz freely admitted would only work once, as eventually the defense would figure it out. But once was all they needed. Monte Kiffin, leading the Razorbacks as defense coordinator, conceived a devastating, penetrating ball hawking run defense. This preparation turned the team around; the Hogs were immensely confident coming into the Game.
With Sales doing most of the running of the ball, Arkansas out-rushed Oklahoma 126 yards to 116 yards in the first half, with Sims fumbling the ball early in the first quarter causing the Razorbacks to recover on the Oklahoma 9-yard line. That resulted in a Sales touchdown (followed by a PAT kicker Steve Little). Another Oklahoma fumble by Kenny King resulted in another Arkansas touchdown rushed in by Hog quarterback Ron Calcagni in the first quarter. In the third quarter Sales rushed for another touchdown and Little kicked a field goal and Oklahoma was staring down a 24-0 deficit they never overcame.
Arkansas finished the season at 11-1, but they could not make the jump to #1 in spite of beating the second ranked team handily while at half strength. They did finish at #3. Sale's 205 yards stood as the Orange Bowl record until Ahman Green broke it in 1998 (206 yards). Nore Dame and Alabama finished ahead of the Razorbacks, but a case could be made no team was truly better than Arkansas in 1977.
Enjoy the Cards- Special Thanks Again to Chris Stewart!
Fred Bobberts, Albuquerque, NM. 7/9/2022
(Used With Permission)
