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The Game of the Century: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma in College Football's Ultimate Battle
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Product Description
On Thanksgiving Day 1971 a record fifty-five million homes tuned in to watch two powerhouse college football teams collide. The defending national champion, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, was squaring off against the number one offense in the country and second-ranked team, the Oklahoma Sooners. Combining a meticulously researched history of college football with in-depth interviews, Michael Corcoran reveals the play-by-play strategies and techniques, the personalities of the coaches who conceived the plans and the players who executed them, and the formations and intricate blocking schemes that spelled victory or defeat. Nebraska radio play-by-play man Lyell Bremser echoed the nation when he proclaimed, “I never thought I would live this long to see this kind of football game.”
From the roots of both football teams, to the players, coaches, reporters, spectators, and fans, The Game of the Century is a story that will resonate with football fans across America.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1047879 in Books
- Published on: 2004-09-28
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 208 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Many college football fans consider the 1971 matchup between Oklahoma and Nebraska the most exciting game ever played in any sport; people were talking about its thrill even before the nationally telecast Thanksgiving game ended. Corcoran, a sportswriter switching to the gridiron after several books on golf (Duel in the Sun, etc.), tries to recapture the excitement of that day through a combination of archival research and interviews with players and coaches. An extensive description of the game, play-by-play at some key moments, isn't enough to fill this slim chronicle, however, so the historical record extends back to the 19th century, when football was so unruly that one Oklahoma sheriff happening upon a game thought it was a brawl he needed to stop. Corcoran finds remarkable side stories, like the origins of Oklahoma's wishbone offensive or the criminal misadventures of Nebraska star Johnny Rodgers, but he also ends up padding the story with extraneous details. The chapters devoted to the game offer a clear, often vivid presentation and maintain suspense. Although the account occasionally reads like an extended magazine article or a dress rehearsal for an ESPN Classics documentary, the best moments deliver solid reportage that reanimates memories of one of college football's greatest games.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Think precable, 1971: the defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers battle the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving Day. Fifty-five million sets tune in to the game. Amazingly, it was worth the hype. Corcoran sets the stage with in-depth research and interviews with many of the participants. Nebraska won 35-31, but the game stays in the memory of fans and players not only because it was exciting but also because it captured an era. As always in college sports, the coaches were the focal point. Nebraska's Bob Devaney resurrected a moribund program with determination and a surprising wit. Chuck Fairbanks at OU adapted the Texas wishbone offense for his team and turned it into the top offense in the country for years. Corcoran's interviews with the players, more than 30 years later, are telling. All are proud to have played in the game; the winners are still buoyed by it, and the losers still bear the pain. This is a wonderful, people-driven account of a classic game that is often replayed on cable sports channels. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"The beauty of Corcoran's tale is in the way he approaches his subject like a novelist, sketching in the background of both teams, introducing his cast of characters, placing the event in its social context, and slowly building narrative tension. . . . You don't need to know much about football to appreciate such storytelling. What drives the book is the nature of competition itself, and the various meanings we attribute to it."-Nebraska Life (Nebraska Life )
"In setting the stage for this epic confrontation, Michael Corcoran . . . Details football's growth in popularity in middle America."-New York Times Book Review (New York Times Book Review )
"Solid reportage that reanimates memories of one of college football's greatest games."-Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly )
"A wonderful, people-driven account of a classic game."-Booklist (Booklist )
Customer Reviews
A great book
Being a kid in Kansas in the early 70s, I was sandwiched between the two great football powers on either side of my state that this book focuses on. Believe me, the influence of both programs was incredible. Corcoran does a terrific job of recreating what college football could mean, when - get this kids- there was only ONE game a week on TV! Today, given all the explosive media growth and abundance of 'big' games, a term like 'game of the century' would sound trite, but in the early 70s such a description was fully accurate when # 1 and # 2 managed to meet on the field.
In the end, this an example of the perfect sports book, really. The writing is clear and concise and the author manages to keeps a great narrative going behind a constant historical background of a game that actually lived up to its hype.
as good 
I was 14 year old boy in 1971, living in Lincoln, Nebraska, we would ride our bikes to the stadium and sneak in games by crawling under and over fences. That season has always held a special place in my youth and this book brings back all of the memories and gives a deeper insight into that game.
Any fan of football will enjoy this wonderful book, even Sooners. It goes into history of the game and both programs and interviews members of both teams, giving a background of the game I never had.
and of course the best part is that the Huskers still win.
Now if only I can get a DVD of the game for Christmas...
If you want History
If you want a pice of history, buy this book. If you want to know what the rivalry was like between OU and Nebraska, but this book. You can't go wrong. If you want more history about the Sooners, check this out. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Sports By the Numbers)
