Cheer and Jeers: Oklahoma and Nebraska style

Published: December 1, 2006

• To Bill Jennings. Zac Taylor is not the first Norman High grad to carry the Nebraska flag. Jennings, an OU grad from Norman, coached the Huskers to a dubious record of 15-34-1 from 1957-61. But his '59 Huskers, 2-4 at the time, staged the biggest upset in school history, a 25-21 knockoff of the Sooners, ending Bud Wilkinson's 74-game conference winning streak.

• To Nebraska, cradle of coaches. These days, Lincoln is a destination, not a stepping stone. But two early-day Husker coaches left and became the first legends at their schools. "Hurry-up" Fielding Yost went 8-3 at NU in 1898, then started the Michigan dynasty. Dana X. Bible went 50-15-7 at Nebraska from 1929-36, then went to Texas and won championships.

• To Biff Jones. The OU coach in 1935-36 (he went 9-6-3) declared Nebraska the superior school, not by words, but by deed. Jones resigned the Sooners because of a U.S. Army appointment to Fort Leavenworth, but then Jones resigned the military to become coach at Nebraska in 1937. Jones went 28-14-4 and coached the 1940 Huskers to the Rose Bowl.

• To Pete Elliot. The Bud Wilkinson assistant was hired by Nebraska in 1956 and coached the Huskers to a 4-6 record. Then he left to take the Cal-Berkeley job. Seemed like a good idea at the time.