Huskies Surprise Sooners, Give Pac-10 a Bowl Sweep

MIAMI —  A tradition lives on. No team had ever won a national collegiate football championship after being penalized for unhorsemanlike conduct, and Oklahoma is not a team to break with tradition.

Certainly the Sooners had the horses to win the Orange Bowl Tuesday night, but they lost, 28-17, to Washington in what must go down as one of the wackiest bowl games in memory.

The winner was probably Brigham Young, a team not even in attendance. No. 2 Oklahoma or Washington had to win the 51st Orange Bowl game convincingly to overtake BYU in the polls. Instead, the Huskies, ranked third and fourth, won amazingly in a game that will be remembered for its mistakes and its slapstick comedy.

The straighter versions of the game will tell how Washington’s Hugh Millen, who had lost his starting quarterback job in midseason, came off the bench to lead a fourth-quarter rally. Or how the Washington running game, led by Jacque Robinson’s 135 yards, dominated Oklahoma’s fierce defensive unit. Or even how the two teams combined for seven turnovers.

But those who saw the game will remember how, with the score tied, 14-14, in the third quarter, Tim Lashar kicked a 22-yard field goal to give Oklahoma its first lead of the night.

A flag was thrown on the play, however, for illegal procedure, and the field goal didn’t count. But the driver of the Sooner Schooner, a horse-drawn wagon, thought it counted and came onto the field as it does after each Oklahoma score.

This time, the referee threw a flag at the wagon, penalizing driver Vic Harris for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Thus, because of the illegal procedure, plus the unsportsmanlike conduct, a successful 22-yard field goal was transformed into a 42-yard attempt that was blocked. And that is how national championships are lost, at least in this Orange Bowl game.

“Why didn’t the officials tell us before the game,” Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer asked. “That’s a tradition. We’ve always done that.”

Switzer did say he thought that Washington (11-1) should now be considered the No. 1 team in the country. “They’re a better team and more talented team than Brigham Young, I guarantee you that,” he said.

The Huskies’ only loss of the season came against USC, the Rose Bowl winner, and their win completed a three-team sweep by the Pac-10 in New Year’s Day bowls.

Washington turned it around when Millen came into the game in the fourth quarter, replacing Paul Sicuro. Millen started the drive toward the winning score with a 29-yard pass to Danny Greene. Running back Rick Fenney broke off a run for 27 yards, putting the ball at the Oklahoma 17.

Two plays later, Millen lobbed a touchdown pass to Mark Pattison, and Washington led, 21-17.

“That’s not my best pass,” Millen said. “I usually don’t have very good timing on that pass.”

Oklahoma (9-2-1) had one last chance, but Buster Rhymes, fielding the kickoff, fumbled it out of bounds on the two-yard line. It was the last of six fumbles by the Sooners in the game.

Oklahoma quarterback Danny Bradley, who completed only 6 of 21, was intercepted by Joe Kelly, who returned it to the two. After a penalty, Washington scored on a six-yard run by Fenney.

For Millen, it was a chance to make up for what had been a lost season.

“It hurt when I lost my job,” Millen said. “I understand why Ronald Reagan wanted to run for President again. When you’re in that situation you don’t want to leave it.”

Everything went wrong for Oklahoma in a hurry, almost as soon as the Sooners lined up. On Oklahoma’s first possession, the punter dropped the ball. That was one play after the quarterback was dropped for a 20-yard loss.

The second possession consisted of two incomplete passes, a sack, but at least a successful punt.

The third time the Sooners got their hands on the ball, they never really did. Lydell Carr fumbled on the first play.

In 13 plays, Oklahoma had fumbled twice, had its quarterback sacked twice, gone 0 for 3 passing and muffed a punt.

The Sooners had also allowed two touchdowns--one on a botched pass coverage--and were losing, 14-0.

The words “national championship” were on nobody’s lips on the Oklahoma sideline. There was some thought, however, about where to find a place to hide.

But there was a lot more to the first half than a shockingly quick start by Washington and ugly play from Oklahoma. There was weirdnesss, too. It got even weirder, of course, as the game went on.

Conservative Don James, who opens up his offense only in bowl games, came up with his most inspired call after Carr’s fumble--a flea-flicker. Jacque Robinson, who had 76 yards in the first half, took the handoff from Sicuro and then flipped the ball back to the quarterback.

The play is designed to get a wide receiver open deep. Greene got open, as planned, and Sicuro put the ball in his hands a yard short of the end zone. But the pass popped out of Greene’s hands and into the hands of Oklahoma’s Jim Rockford. That would have made the score 21-0 and had a lot of people switching channels to the Sugar Bowl.

Oklahoma didn’t score right away, not until Rockford intercepted another pass, early in the second quarter. Sicuro’s pass, intended for Greene, was tipped by Brian Bosworth and filed away by Rockford.

Starting on Washington’s 33, Oklahoma moved to the three, where the Sooners had a first down. Two plays later, they were on the four. Then Bradley, looking to pass, scrambled to his left and met up with safety Jimmy Rogers, who flipped him into the air and toward the end zone.

If Bradley had scored, he would have gotten a 10. Still, the flip was worth a 9.95, and the officials should have given the extra inch or so, if only for degree of difficulty. He carried it himself on fourth down anyway, and Oklahoma was part of the way back.

The Sooners got the rest of the way there after another James call, this one perhaps less inspired. Washington’s drive late in the first half was stopped at the Oklahoma 44. James called for a 61-yard field-goal attempt from Jeff Jaeger, who didn’t quite have enough leg.

Oklahoma took over with eight seconds left in the half and was called for delay of game, one more botched play. Then Bradley completed his only pass of the half, caught at the Washington 45 by Derrick Shepard. Washington’s Tim Peoples missed him, and Shepard ran into the end zone as time ran out.

It was 14-14, and two coaches were left walking to their respective locker rooms wondering how it had happened.

Washington scored first on a 41-yard drive after the fumble by punter Mike Winchester. Robinson ran for 12 yards and then Sicuro hit a wide-open Greene in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown. Safety Tony Rayburn let Greene go by him, apparently thinking there was someone behind him to pick Greene up. No one was there.

The Huskies second scoring drive was an example of their ability to run the ball at Oklahoma, which was ranked No. 1 in the country in rushing defense, allowing an average of only 68.1 yards per game. Robinson, who accounted for 29 yards in the drive, scored on a one-yard plunge.