Flashback: When Copters Crash

I’ll always remember Oklahoma State’s 2007 football trip to Nebraska as “The Helicopter Game.”

It’s an inside story, for sure, but one worth sharing.

I was on the Big 12 Beat that year for The Oklahoman. So I wasn’t in Lincoln that day, but I was paying close attention. And I received a rare halftime personal update from my old beat partner Mike Baldwin, who couldn’t wait to gloat in his even rarer conquest of Berry Tramel.

Here’s the story:

For the youngsters out there, the Cowboys-Huskers series was incredibly lopsided. Still is, with Nebraska holding a 37-5-1 series edge, ahead of the resumption of the series in .

The Pokes had closed the overall talent gap in the 2000s, winning twice (2002 and 2006 at home) and just missing on another victory, which they probably should have won (2003).

Still, winning in Lincoln was another thing.

OSU actually struck first in the rivalry, pulling out a 7-6 victory at Nebraska in the initial meeting between the schools in 1960, for a 1-0 series lead.

Then came 20 straight road losses.

The rest of the 60s. Throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, and into the 2000s, the Cowboys not only couldn’t win in Lincoln, they were often clobbered.

Even with Barry Sanders on his Heisman run in 1988, OSU was dusted by three touchdowns, 63-42.

With all that data in hand – and Mike Baldwin is a data guy if there ever was one – Baldwin went all in on the Pokes the week of the game, announcing not that not only would OSU win, but it would be easy.

Tramel countered in style: “MKB (that’s how Tramel addressed Baldwin, with his initials), a helicopter will crash at midfield before the Cowboys win easy at Memorial Stadium.”

Yep, you guessed it, OSU rolled with stunning ease: 45-14, leading 38-0 at halftime.

It was so bad, the Cowboys had the ball late in the half, with ample time remaining… and took a knee.

“I was kind of disappointed,” said quarterback Zac Robinson after the game. “I saw we had a minute left and maybe two or three timeouts. I think maybe if we were on the 20 yard line we would have gone for it, but with the lead we had it was good. I wanted to play it, though.”

I was in my car, driving around OKC, when Baldwin buzzed from the press box to proudly announce that he informed Tramel – at the game as columnist that day – that they’d witnessed a version of Blackhawk Down. Or maybe it was Blackshirts Down.

In Tramel’s defense, nobody saw it coming, even if the Huskers were in the early stages of their downfall that has bottomed out today. Bill Callahan was the coach, in what would be his final season of a 27-22 stint in Lincoln. Bo Pelini followed and did OK, but was eventually fired, and none of the three coaches since have managed a winning record.

Still, in 2007, Nebraska was still Nebraska, if partly only in name. And Lincoln was no-man’s land for OSU. And the 2007 Cowboys left for Nebraska with a 3-3 record, losing all their road games to that point: at Georgia, at Troy and at Texas A&M. And lugging a quarterback controversy with them, as Robinson had infamously replaced Bobby Reid.

And yet, Baldwin channeled his innermost Nostradamus.

The Huskers were only 3-3 themselves, but had brought in legendary coach Tom Oborne to deliver a Friday night pep talk. There was also a ceremony that brought back Nebraska’s 1997 national championship squad for a banner-hanging event. Oh, and it was homecoming, seemingly with the perfect opponent.

The Cowboys, who always seemed to shrink in the great environment of Memorial Stadium, never blinked.

Three OSU possessions produced a 17-0 lead. Then the Cowboys marched to touchdowns on their next three drives to go up 38-0, setting off air warnings in the press box.

Robinson, establishing himself as one of the program’s best QBs, threw for 234 yards and a touchdown. The Pokes rolled up 317 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, led by Dantrell Savage’s 212. Kendall Hunter and Robinson combined for 100 more, and fullback Julius Crosslin powered for two short touchdowns.

The OSU defense claimed three turnovers, as Patrick Lavine and Donovan Woods combined for 25 tackles. The Huskers didn’t score until the fourth quarter.

It was Nebraska’s worst home loss since 1958.

Tom Shatel, the great Omaha World-Herald columnist, wrote: “I’ve been asked if and when I would ever call for the firing of the athletic director or football coach. The answer: I don’t have to. On the most surreal day in Nebraska football history, Callahan and Co. made that case by them- selves Saturday.

“It was that obvious.
“It was sad and depressing. There were really no other words, or emotions, to describe Oklahoma State’s 45-14 victory, a result that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.”

For the Cowboys and their fans, it was satisfying and exhilarating.

Said PA voice of the Pokes: “We won't forget this one for the rest of our lives.”

“It has been 47 years since we won here,” said linebacker Rod Johnson. “This is a big win for the university and a big win for us.”