Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
Whether they were lucky or clutch, Oklahoma has always had a knack of making big plays in tenuous situations.
The Sooners were so proficient in producing in those clutch times that former coach Barry Switzer coined a name for it -- "Sooner Magic."
Those wins weren't produced by sorcerers -- although you might have trouble convincing Nebraska fans otherwise. Switzer's teams had a flair for coming through when it seemed the odds were stacked against them.
It first appeared in 1976 when Oklahoma was trailing late in the fourth quarter at Nebraska with barely three minutes to play. Woodie Shepard completed a halfback pass to Steve Rhodes to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Rhodes ran a curl pattern and then pitched the ball to Elvis Peacock on a hook-and-ladder play that advanced to the Nebraska 3-yard- line. Peacock scored on the next play, providing an improbable 20-17 victory that enabled Oklahoma to clinch a tie for the conference title.
The following season, Uwe von Schamann drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to propel the Sooners past Ohio State, 29-28. The late heroics enabled the Sooners to overcome six turnovers during an eight-possession span midway late in the game.
In 1986, Keith Jackson scintillating one-handed catch kept a drive alive against Nebraska with nine seconds left after providing a tying touchdown grab with 1:22 left. Jackson's heroics set up Tim Lashar's game-winning 31-yard field goal at the gun and another wild comeback.
"Hey, you can read into that Sooner Magic thing, but we had some great teams," Switzer told the Lincoln Journal-Star in an interview last year.
Switzer was right -- even if some of those victories seemed to be sprinkled with pixie dust.
Tim Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
