Air Power: The Sooners at last have a passing game, providing balance to the offense . Most reliable was above Warmack -to- Hart combination .

A GOOD BEGINNINGOur astute football writer, after assiduously sifting through file cases full of statistical data, perusing the analysis written by the seersof the Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa newspapers, studying thousands of feet of game film, viewing the Jim Mackenzie Show, query-ing the leading football experts of the Western world (most of whom, handily enough, live in Oklahoma), and meditating with thethoughtful pertenacity of an Oriental guru, has arrived at a few tenuous conclusions about Jim Mackenzie's first season . These he

audaciouslyaciouslyadvancesonpages14and16.Complementingthetextareanumberofsplendidphotographsofthe1966editionoftheSooners.

Photographed by J. P . Smith

1 3

If we hadn't

Warmack (above with ball) proved himself at quarterback, showed signs of potential greatness.

have been quick,is been a successful debut for Jim Macken-zie and company . The 1966 Sooners re-

covered from the worst season in school his-tory (3-7 in '65), played better than anyoneexpected, and displayed unmistakable signsof strength which portend bright tomorrows .Going into the last two games of the seasonagainst Nebraska and OSU, the Soonerscould finish no worse than 5-5, as high as 7-3 .

Excepts for two bitterly close 3-point de-feats by Colorado and Missouri, the nation-ally televised Nebraska game would havebeen for the Big Eight title . The Soonerswere in every ball game except one, andthey played with youthful exuberance anddrive . Boners, the inevitable fruit of inex-perience, cost them dearly at times, as didtheir size, or rather lack of size . The Soon-ers were smaller than every team they met,often impressively so-as a sports car is to aDetroit sedan-and this is a handicap thatcan only be overcome through quickness . Ifa small team isn't quick, it could be dead .Big football players tend to run right oversmall football players .The Sooners worked hard at being quick,

and they achieved an appreciable degree ofagility, though Coach Mackenzie felt theycould have been considerably more sudden .Says he : "We are not very big, we are notvery strong, and we are not very quick . Theopposing coaches tell their players all weekbefore a game that we're quick to get themworried, so they naturally say in the dress-ing room after a game that we're quick . Idon't feel we have much quickness in theline . If we are, we need to be a lot quicker ."

Unfortunately, the Sooners were as inex-perienced as they were small . Most of thenewcomers were sophomores, though therewere a number of upperclassmen whoblossomed into regulars under Mackenzieand his assistants . Two seniors who hereto-fore had seen little action, Bobby Robin-son and James Ray Jackson, ended theircareers with strong performances . The gutsy175-pound Robinson played his defensiveend position with skillful abandon, and thefleet Jackson was the team's leading rusherafter eight games, though he started onlythree, and tenth in the conference with 426yards. Another new face belonged to line-backing junior Harry (The Name) Hett-mannsperger, whose 15-letter surname maynever make a headline because of spacelimitations .A raft of sophomores underwent vital

seasoning . On the defensive team, tackleJohn Titsworth, linebacker Rickey Burgess,and safety Steve Barrett played well all sea-son . On the offensive unit were tight endRandy Meacham and three-fourths of thebackfield-Bob Warmack, Eddie Hinton,and Gary Harper, plus capable back-upquarterback Jim Burgar .The veterans provided the consistency

and reliability that held the team together .Tackle Ed Hall was probably the best block-er on the team . Sugar Ben Hart at splitend caught practically everything Warmackkept in the stadium and broke practicallyevery school receiving record . Nose guard

we would have been dead

Blend of rookies, veterans made defense go . New were Burgess (54,Robinson

The Name 65) . Old were Ross 1391, Crutchmer (55) !55!, Liggins (66) .

Granville Liggins, a delight to watch, de-served all of the many superlatives thrownhis way, and tackle Jim Riley and monsterEugene Ross played like the old pros they'vebecome after three years as starters . RonShotts was effective at tailback, giving hiscustomary total effort on every play .The Sooners began the year rippingly . It

seemed about as likely as Ann-Margretplaying Queen Victoria, Harold Robbins re-ceiving the -Nobel Prize for Literature, or aDemocrat being elected governor of Okla-homa . There they were though, just beforefacing the nation's number one outfit,perched precariously-and a bit self-con-sciously-on a pedestal among the top tenteams . With a deeply satisfying victory overTexas included in OU's 4-0 record, visionsof conference titles and bowl games wereepidemic among Sooner partisans . With theshock of a slap in the face, Notre Dameawakened us, and Colorado and Missourishook us out of contention for the leaguetitle .

It is apparent, however, that OU is backas a football power, the best looking new-comer since Raquel Welch and her bikini .A number of preseason uncertainties are nolonger cause for concern . OU now has aquarterback, two as a matter of fact, anda passing attack . No kidding . The wispyWarmack, described by Mackenzie as a finestumbler, proved himself at quarter . He willfinish third, maybe second, in total offensein the Big Eight and third in passing (witha 55 percent completion record .) More im-

The sideline is the site of contemplation as well as restoration, andthe emotions range from elation to dejection. These shots, takenat the annual Cotton Bowl pressure cooker, are of some of thescenes at the periphery of the battle . Top row, left to right, shows

portant is his ability as a team leader . He'sgot it . Burgar, too, is a capable man-underwho has always delivered when called upon .He will continue to help Warmack with hiscompetition .Another bright spot was the emergence,

expected as it was, of Eddie Hinton as ahome-run hitter at wingback . Hinton couldbe one of OU's greats if he keeps improving .Though inconsistent and sometimes in-

effective, the ground game was good enoughto rank OU behind Colorado and Nebraskain the Big Eight (though we trailed the Buffsby more than 50 yards per game and theHuskers by more than 20) . Against the firsteight opponents Oklahoma rushed for anaverage of just better than 160 yards pergame . (Against Oregon-149, Iowa State-216, Texas-131, Kansas-143, Notre Dame-39, Colorado-218, Kansas State-283,Missouri-116) . The Sooners were out-rushed in five of their first eight games . Thepassing attack was indispensable . OUranked (again, after eight games) second,behind Iowa State, in the conference throughthe air with a 128-yard average each game .(Against Oregon-104, Iowa State-146,Texas-220, Kansas-146, ND-119, ColoradoColorado -42 KSU-177, and Missouri-76) . OU

outpassed five of eight foes, ranked first inpass defense with 91 .8 yards per game . Therushing defense was seventh in the confer-ence . The big teams didn't hesitate in run-ning straight toward OU's small defenders.If Oklahoma is to beef up its performancesin both rushing offense and defense cate-

Action on the Sideline

gories, it seems they'll have to have somebeefier players .The Sooners will contend again next sea-

son, and the odds are they'll be improved .So any dreams of glory you may have hadthis season shouldn't be discarded . Theymay have been a bit premature, but theyare by no means far-fetched .The 1966 Sooners were a gallant, lovable

bunch . Their tenacity and courage elicitedpure admiration from men, and their sizebrought out the maternal instinct in women .They really were pretty small . Getting offthe team bus, they could easily be mistakenfor an average-sized glee club . And War-mack resembled a coxswain more than afootball quarterback . They made believersout of you when they stepped on a field .They hustled, they fought, they tackled indroves-like a swarm of skinny red locusts-and they never quit . They had this kidwho couldn't make the team at his position,quarterback, so he worked at being a p'ace-kicking specialist . Mike Vachon did all rightat it, too . He was good enough to win twogames with his toe and set a school recordfor field goals . They had a fine punter, TomStidham Jr ., who booted the ball consistent-ly well all season, continually getting theSooners out of trouble and putting theiropponents in a hole . This was a team thatdidn't quit after the big loss or after the twotight ones . It's a team that worked hard allseason and earned everything it received .It's a team to be proud of . And pound forpound, it was the best around .

Warmack resting, Mackenzie beseeching, Hinton staring as Harperwatches, and Trainer Ken Rawlinson examining Liggins. Bottomrow, left to right, shows Riley cooling off, Coach Galen Hall coun-seling Hart, Liggins, Koller, and Stephenson reviving with oxygen .

Photos by Joseph Gutel