Wilkinson's Sooner teams were one of the great dynasties in the college pigskin history.

From 1948 to 1958, Oklahoma posted a record of 107 - 7 - 2, a winning percentage of . 923, and won three national championships in 1950, '55, and '56.

Wilkinson changed the college pigskin game forever by running the beautiful Split-T offense. The Split-T formation had the linemen lining up with extra wide splits, so the line of scrimmage was spread out over 14 yards rather than seven yards.

The halfbacks lined up in the backfield four yards behind the line of scrimmage and seven yards apart, with the fullback lines up about four and a half yards deep and between the halfbacks.

The quarterback to running back exchange happened right up at the line of scrimmage, instead of five yards deep. The wide splits gave the running backs more room to work, and the close up exchange meant the defense didn't have time to react.

Watching the Split-T was like watching a beautiful dance, and it led to the triple option that Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska used to dominate for so many years.

Now, Wilkinson was a great coach, and had himself a great offense, but he got a few great players, too.

I remember one boy named Leon "Mule Train" Heath played for the Sooners in 1949. Well, that young man dragged players all over the field, and ended up averaging 9.1 yards per carry for the season - close to Glenn Davis' 1945 record of 11.5 yards, but not quite good enough.

Then in 1952, Billy Vessels won Oklahoma's first Heisman Trophy.

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Bryant coached Kentucky from 1946 -53 to a record of 60 - 23 - 5 before heading to Texas A&M to resurrect a program deader than Lazarus.

Bryant had some great players on those teams, but none greater than Vito "Babe" Parilli. Parilli was another player that Bryant scooped up out of Pennsylvania, just like he did Joe "Willie" Namath a few years later.

Bryant and Parilli led the Wildcats to their greatest win ever in the 1951 Sugar Bowl against an Oklahoma Sooner team coached by Bud Wilkinson and led by Billy Vessels.

In that contest, it was the Wildcat defense that was the star and a defensive end that no one knew much about by the name of Walt Yowansky.

Yowansky was lined up next to Outland Trophy winner Bob Gaines, and spent a lot of time in the Sooner backfield gumming up the gears of the famed Sooner Split-T. On one play, Yowarsky recovered a Sooner fumble on the OU 22 yard line, and on the next play, Parilli made hay and found Wilbur Jamerson in the back of the end zone for a 7 - 0 lead.

There were around 13,000 Wildcats fans in New Orleans with bellies full of bourbon and mudbugs, and they made one heck of a racket.

In the second quarter, Parilli led the Wildcats on an 81 yard walk that ended with a one-yard touchdown dive by Jamerson and a missed extra point.

The Sooners took the second half kick-off and drove 67 yards to the UK three yard line. But the Wildcats had the No. 2 defense in the land that year, and Yowansky broke through the line and threw Vessels for a five-yard loss, and the Sooners turned the ball over on downs.

The Sooners wouldn't go quietly, though, and they scored on a Vessels to Merrill Green 17-yard pass with seven minutes left on the clock.

Of course, Yowarksy was having the game of his life, and he sealed the victory when he recovered a fumbled punt in the fourth quarter.

And the Wildcats upset the No. 1 ranked Sooners and captured their biggest win ever in front of 82,000 fans.

Some reporters were critical of Bryant for leaving Kentucky with nine years left on his contract, but Bryant said of the controversy, "The only way I could feel bad about leaving a place is if I'd failed to win, failed to have done what I went their to do."

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Rice was winning the game 7 - 6 and on their own five yard line halfway through the second quarter when Rice quarterback LeRoy Fenstmaker handed the ball to Moegle.

Moegle cut around the right end, and it was off to the races down the sideline. Just then, Lewis rocketed off the bench, no helmet or nothing, and decked Moegle at the Alabama 41 yard line.

Well, referee Cliff Shaw had a once-in-a-lifetime decision to make, and he awarded Rice a 95 yard touchdown. Rice ended up winning the game 28 - 6, and Shaw's decision was reviewed by the rules committee and adopted as the standard. Shaw was a ref from 1951 to 1966 and was considered the old Southwest Conference's best during that time.

At the half, Lewis went to the Rice locker room to apologize, and Rice coach Jess Neely told him, "Don't let it bother you."

After the game, Lewis had to answer to the press. "I'm too emotional, just too full of 'Bama. I know I'll be hearing about this for the rest of my life."

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Giants were league champs two seasons later, and Gifford was the league MVP.

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I saw Brown play, and let me tell you it was like watching a storm, so violent was his presence on the football field.

How about this: From 1957 to 1965, he averaged 1,368 yards per season, 104 yards per game, and 5.2 yards per carry. He's still the only player out of the NFL's top 20 rushers to average over 5 yards per carry.

Brown was the kind of package that had never been seen before. Who could imagine a man 6-2, 230-pounds with an 18-inch neck and a 32-inch waist, and with that kind of speed?

He was shifty and agile enough, but he could bowl defenders over and break through the strongest arm tackles like they were wet tissue paper. A bunch of times I watched him disappear under a pile of defenders, then break free like a bull from a shoot and run for another 30 yards.

Charlie Jackson, defensive back for the old Chicago Cardinals described it best.

"It's an awful sensation when Brown comes blowin' through the hole right at you. You feel like you're trapped on a trestle by an unscheduled freight train."

I believe that says it all.

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