OSU, Missouri State forever linked
— The fourthquarter clock ticked down to all zeros, and a voice came over the speaker inside the Lewis Field press box.
Speaking to media members in attendance, the man on the microphone proclaimed the game over, Oklahoma State 17, Southwest Missouri State 17.
In 1995, and for decades before, a game ending in a tie was a common occurrence in NCAA Division I-A football. But this was Aug. 31, 1996, and an entirely foreign concept
had been introduced to D-I football in the offseason. Overtime.
With a 13-yard touchdown run by David Thompson, OSU won the first overtime game ever played by a Division I-A program, 23-20 over Southwest Missouri State, concluding a historic day in major college football, or at least the answer to an obscure trivia question.
A lot has changed since then.
Southwest Missouri State is now simply known as Missouri State.
OSU’s Lewis Field has transformed into the luxurious Boone Pickens Stadium.
One thing hasn’t changed. The Cowboys didn’t expect to need overtime to win that
game in 1996, and they certainly don’t expect it when they host the Bears again at 7 p.m. Thursday on FS1.
The 1996 game would’ve been a landmark victory for Missouri State, and equally devastating for an OSU program in Bob Simmons’ second season as head coach.
Simmons said at the time he had reached out to programs at lower levels, from where the overtime system had been adopted, to understand the strategy.
Del Miller, the Missouri State coach who went on to become OSU’s offensive coordinator under Simmons in 2000, didn’t have to do any additional preparation.
“We had played two overtime games the year before,” Miller said of his Bears, who were in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as FCS.
“Unfortunately, we lost the coin toss in every
one of those, including the one at Oklahoma State. And we lost every single one of them.”
Still, the process had to be discussed in detail before overtime began.
“I remember a lot of wasted time before overtime started,” said Kenyatta Wright, who was a freshman OSU linebacker. “They called the coaches to the middle of the field and were talking everything over. As players, we didn’t know what was gonna happen.
“I don’t even remember preparing for it in two-a-days.”
Missouri State outplayed OSU in nearly every phase of the game that day, particularly at the line of scrimmage.
And the Cowboys had some self-inflicted wounds as well, including a 90-yard punt return touchdown by R.W. McQuarters that was wiped out by a penalty in the fourth quarter. That forced the Cowboys — playing with backup quarterback Chris Chaloupka — to go the length of the field for the gametying touchdown just to survive for overtime.
“We weren’t overconfident, but maybe not zeroed in like we should’ve been,” said Tom Dirato, who was in the OSU radio booth at the time. “We had chances to go in and separate things a little bit and couldn’t do it. All of a sudden, you looked up, and they were believing they could beat us.
“We weren’t near as good that year. We won five games, didn’t go to a bowl. But on paper, we should’ve been better than Southwest Missouri.”
Oklahoma State’s funfocused offense produced just 101 yards on 41 rushes and was 3-of-18 on third downs.
The Cowboys had to count on big catches from young receivers like Sean Love, Terrance Richardson and Willie Grissom.
Jack Golden, stepping in for Alonzo Mayes at tight end, caught the gametying touchdown pass with 51 seconds left in regulation.
“Coming in as freshmen the year before, we felt like we could be difference-makers,” said Love, who had big catches in the fourth quarter and overtime, then had a crucial block on the game-winning touchdown run.
“Richard Wilson was our receivers coach, and he made sure that we took pride in our blocking. We were predominantly a running team and had some of the best backs in the Big 12 with David Thompson and Andre Richardson.”
Had the game been played in the recent years of instant replay, overtime could’ve gone a little different. Missouri State, which started overtime on offense, completed a pass to the back of the end zone. But in the days before high definition and multiple camera angles, it’s difficult to tell if the receiver’s foot touched down in the end zone before he fell out of bounds.
It was ruled incomplete and the Bears settled for a field goal. Moments later, Thompson’s run finished it off.
It wasn’t the type of win OSU expected that day, but it opened the eyes of a young team that knew it could accomplish much more.
Personnel changes were made. Attitudes were adjusted. And a season later, the Cowboys won eight games and went to the Alamo Bowl, the peak of Simmons’ tenure.
“We had all these young guys coming in and starting to make plays,” Love said of the 1996 season. “Yeah, we were losing, but we were getting experience and coming together as a team.
“We saw the future could be bright with everybody who was already on the field.”