I will NEVER forget that play when JC Watts is falling to the ground, you think he'd down but he pitches to Sims who goes in for the touchdown! One of my favorite childhood memories!!!
Good thing for you and Oklahoma that there was no replay then, cuz that was clearly a forward lateral, but the refs (and the announcers) somehow missed it.
@@jeremycrandall2899 That's what I was thinking as I watched this. Definitely a forward lateral. But let's not let details get in the way of Sooner Magic ;)
I've always thought the bowl system was absurd all the way back to my childhood. A month off after the season? Playing against a random team in a southern city based on the backroom handshakes of fat cats? A completely subjective vote at the end to crown a mythical national champion? No thanks! Give me the playoffs so it can be decided on the field. Bowl games are being put in their proper place these days. They're glorified exhibitions.
I lived in omaha in late 60's and am satisfied the winds have changed...after all nebraska is a racist red state. Those young black athletes going elsewhere was a start..but why LSU, why alabama? They are klan states and I encourage them to reassess their collective craziness and attend less racist states elsewhere
I remember sports illustrated with Billy simm and Charles white on the cover with the Heisman trophy in their hand, Billy simm was the man of college football, love for the Detroit lions too
Dalton Mann...That play just Blew my mind as a 13 year old kid seeing JC Watts pitch the ball back to sims inches away from hitting the ground.I have been a life long Sooner Fan since.
God I miss the days when great teams were built around the ground game! Passing is fine, and I guess that makes for more exciting games for today's fans. But to me there's nothing more fun to watch than hard-hitting, grueling rushing offenses.
Absolutely amazing and wonderful to watch Billy Sims in his prime. What a beautiful edit and video for all of us who remember one of the best running backs of all time!
Yep it just isn't the same with only the Service Academies running🏃it these days'/!!! Loved how the the Old Big 8 teams played the Florida schools in the Orange Bowl on New Years Nite'/!!! It was all about the contrasts of offensive schemes Run vs Pass'/!!! Don Criqui's calls were epic just like Keith Jackson's'/!!!
Billy Sims,the original high stepper on college ball....I remember watching him as a kid, tge sooner were like a train at full speed....you just couldn't open them....When Sims wS drafted by the lions he immediately made an impact....does anyone remember when the lions started winning they played the song another one bites the dust by Queen....they were on their way to winning, then he got hurt....imagine all those years of playing football, then your beginning pro years you get a career ending injury.....he definitely would have been an all time great and HOF.
My dad has told me this story hundreds of times. He was in the same science class at Oklahoma with Billy when the local news came in and informed him about being on the some finalist list in college football. When they interviewed Billy, he thanked all the people who helped him get to where he was, including his teachers. The teacher heard him, turned to Billy and said "Im just glad you showed up to class today Billy".
@@lloydkline7245 the accursed, built on an Native burial ground, MetroDome. The place claimed the careers of many a great players, college and pro. Tony Bowles of Michigan was a Heisman contender his senior until he played there. He said the place was like playing in the middle of the street.
I was a young child when Sims was terrorizing Big 8 defenses. I've always thought about him as a speedy, elusive back: the cuts, the spins. But watching these highlights I'm impressed by his power. He had it all.
OH , BILLY, BILLY BILLY!!!....watching you explode outta that Oklahoma wishbone T..is my favorite sports moments...and those Sooner backs..will gallop through my memories until I'm no more...
The 2 greatest plays I've seen in college football, both from Oklahoma....JC Watts downfield pitch to Billy Sims in the Orange Bowl,..and Spencer Tillman's leap from the 5 yard line over 2 guys, into the endzone.
Sims was great. He created a lot of great memories for me at a time when I was just starting to understand and enjoy OU football. But no one will ever convince me that wishbone QB's aren't the toughest players in football history. Watch what happens on nearly every pitch - the QB gets blasted and they're basically defenseless. Amazing.
Watching Billy makes want to nick name him, "high flying Billy Sims". At times he seems to jump into the air to get past defenders instead of digging in low. At other times he shows lightning quick feat when contacted by defenders. It is an attribute other then his running speed, it is unique. All great backs seem have shared attributes, speed/strength/spin move/balance/stop on a dime-full speed again, plus a few unique to them. Billy fits that mold. Sorry to read about failed business ventures many years ago leading to bankruptcy, very glad to read he is doing well now with a chain of restaurants. If I had one in my area I would go. These players put their bodies on the line to offer us sport to watch and at the cost of moving on with other potentially lucrative careers in other area's. I hope you are doing well Billy, you gave it all to us on the field.
The MOST UNDERRATED RB. EVER!!! As a 7 year old kid watching him was a bundle of joy and very enjoyable to watch his runs ( especially vs Oilers, lol) He represented that #20 as the main guy of that # and Barry Sanders and Natrone Means DID LOOK UP TO HIM when in HS of sporting his # (( Detroit insisted Sanders wear #20 and respected it......
I'm glad you liked the video still. It actually annoyed me that there isn't more footage of him available, because I would love to have all 11 games of his Heisman season to make a video from.
Not a Oklahoma fan. But love Billy Sims. He’s my all time favorite football player. I was fortunate to watch the 1980 classic on tv at my aunts house as I was in route from Tampa to San Juan. And that Orange 🍊 bowl classic was special! At Halftime KC and the Sunshine Band rock the house by playing “Boogie Shoes” and ‘Give it Up” Billy Sims was magnificent! He ran all over the Seminoles. FSU didn’t stand a chance against the powerful running game the Sooners had. Billy Sims was a one man wrecking crew!
PockyCandy that is true but the votes were tallied with 3 regular games and a bowl game not played yet. I believe Billy had close to 1000 yards in those 4 games. He ended up destroying the numbers Charles White had.
+randy botts "destroying" Charles White's numbers NEVER EVER happened!!! In '79 Billy Sims had 1500+ yds to Charles White 1800+, thus the Heisman! By the way, White had over 1800yds in '78 and '79! When Billy won the Heisman he was at around 1700yds!
I did some internetting and I stand corrected, in 12 games CW actually had over 2000 yards! The info I was given back in the day was wrong. That was understood to be BS close to 1900 yards to CW close to 1600 including bowl games.
I will say that if I were an NFL scout at the time watching them both play, I would have picked Billy over Charles, but I was a fan of Billy Sims so that may not be a fair statement either.
I’ve said it before and will say it again, Sooners vs Huskers, best respectable, hard-hitting, talented (both sides), and rivalries that’ll ever be; 1970s thru 1990s.
Sims won the Heisman in 1978, his junior season. He and Charles White were considered the favorites the following season, and White wound up winning it.
Texas also ran the bone. They had a 5 10 230lb back who was ok. Not the quick 3 steps like sims but i remember him taking a pitch turn the corner a hurdle a guy 10 yrds later. I think his name was Campbell. Bone also had cribbs from auburn,, andrews,brooks,james. Ucla veer owens,, wendell tyler a tough little shit. Theotis brown.
College coaches, except at AFA and Navy, can't recruit to a wishbone offense; too bad, when it's run to perfection like this was, it's a thing of beauty and difficult to stop.
Unfortunately, the only thing a lot of people remember about Sims was the fumble vs. Nebraska in '78 when he was going in for the go-ahead, and possibly, winning TD. My grandfather (Mom's dad) had a decopage of Charlie Brown after a loss (baseball game) and Snoopy and Lucy are standing on the ground, staring up @ him, giving him dirty looks. The thought cloud above Charlie Brown's head says, When you're right, no one remembers. When you're wrong, no on forgets!! Human nature. I've been through Sims hometown (Hooks) in East Texas, going to my aunt (dad's sister) in Louisiana. Never met him, but I've heard good things. Another OU running back a lot of people feel should have won the Heisman, at least once, is Joe Washington. Because of the '74 television ban, no one got to see him play. My nephew Robert has met him, I think my brother has, too. Very nice man, I've heard. Peterson should've won it, too. If it hadn't been for Leinart & Bush @ USC. I didn't think Jason White would win it, after that Big 12 Championship loss to K-State. They need to make another DVD about the OU Heisman winners, w/Bradford, Mayfield, & Murray included. I've always believed that the Heisman should be handed out AFTER the bowl games, including the National Championship, are over. Most of the time, the Heisman is the kiss of death. If someone asked me, "Who is the best OU player that won the Heisman? Tough one. 3 RBs, 4 QBs. Different eras. THANK YOU
Just think, Billy Sims at that time in Sooner Lord was one of many great running backs at OU. Most of the highlights were from Nebraska and Texas games because TV limit the viewing of teams back in the day. JC Watts later on became a Republican Congressman for Oklahoma.
The wisbone was great to watch.This was admittedly Barry Sanders idol.Another great no.20 The Detroit Lions organization wasted.Any place else he would have been the greatest.For real.Imagine he would have sat most of the great ones on the bench.
