University of North Carolina Athletics
Car-O-Lines: Carolina and Oklahoma Have Long History
August 23, 2001 | Football
Aug. 23, 2001
By Rick Brewer, SID Emeritus
When North Carolina faces Oklahoma in its football season opener Saturday, it will be matchup of two schools whose histories in the sport are closely linked.
That connection occurred over half a century ago, but helped lead to one of the greatest dynasties the game has ever seen. Oklahoma's domination of college football in the 1950'will probably never be matched again, although the Sooners have usually had one of the most successful programs in the game ever since.
Carolina has faced Oklahoma on six previous occasions. There was a Sugar Bowl meeting and two separate series, one in the mid-1950's and another in the 1980's.
Only one of those games came in a season opener, a 1955 showdown in Kenan Stadium. The Sooners were not the defending national champions that they are this year. But, they had finished undefeated in 1954 and third in the final polls.
Oklahoma came to Chapel Hill for that game on a 19-game winning streak. Ultimately, the Sooners would win a record 47 games in a row. With today's cutback in scholarships and changes in the game, it's safe to say that record truly will never be broken.
Other than five winning spans in the 1890's or early 1900's, none of which reached over 39, the other longest football unbeaten and untied stretches were 35 game by Toledo from 1969 to 1971 and 31 games by the Sooners from 1948 to 1950.
Over an 11-year period from 1948 to 1958, Oklahoma had an amazing record of 107-8-2. Coach Bud Wilkinson's teams won three national championships in this period and finished undefeated four times.
Carolina has faced other defending national champions over the years--Florida State twice, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Tennessee, Maryland, Alabama and Notre Dame. Plus, there a number of other teams that would eventually win the title in the years the Tar Heels faced them.
But, none could match the Sooners' accomplishments for such a sustained period. Florida State has put together an outstanding run of winning seasons and done so at a time when the game has changed drastically. Still, other teams had the same advantages as Oklahoma in those days and nobody could match the Sooners' success.
However, for one afternoon in Kenan Stadium, Carolina almost did.
Oklahoma came to Chapel Hill with a bevy of stars. There was consensus All-America guard Bo Bolinger, center Jerry Tubbs and halfback Tommy McDonald. The following year McDonald and Tubbs would both finish in the top four in Heisman Trophy voting That's a feat accomplished by only six other teammates and three of those were the same two players--Army's Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis in the mid-1940's.
Seven players on that Sooner team were All-Big Seven selections that year and five would eventually win All-America honors.
Wilkinson's teams used the split-T formation to near perfection and had the greatest speed in college football. Plus, Tubbs was an incredible athlete. He was a devastating linebacker in those days of two-way players who could cover a field from sideline to sideline. In 1954 he had been shifted from center to fullback because of injuries. He had never played in the offensive backfield, even in high school. Yet he became the full-time starter and averaged 6.1 yards a carry. He was back at center on offense in 1955.
Carolina would finish just 3-7 that year. The Tar Heels were in a stretch of struggling seasons following the great teams featuring Charlie Justice in the late 1940's.
The Sooners were heavily favored and dominated the game's statistics. Oklahoma had 26 first downs to just five for Carolina. Wilkinson's team ran 88 plays for 483 yards, gaining 403 on the ground. The Tar Heels had just 44 plays and 145 total yards.
Oklahoma basically moved the ball up and down the field all day. But, when the Sooners neared the UNC end zone, the Tar Heel defense would manage to stiffen. In fact, Oklahoma moved into scoring position six times in the first half alone without getting any points.
Carolina meanwhile took advantage of an early Sooner mistake to grab a 6-0 lead. A 44-yard punt by Will Frye and a clipping penalty on the Sooners had backed the visitors up to their own one-yard line. On the first play from there a mixup in the Sooner backfield had quarterback Jim Harris attempting a handoff to a back who had gone the other way. The ball fell free and Carolina tackle John Bilich grabbed it in the end zone for a touchdown. Although the extra point was missed, the Tar Heels had the lead just five minutes into the game.
On their second possession after that, the Sooners reached the Tar Heel seven-yard line. But, halfback Bob Burris fumbled into the end zone and Carolina again recovered.
Oklahoma came back again early in the second period, but Ken Keller's fourth-down tackle ended that drive on the 14. The Sooners later moved to a first down at the UNC seven. But, Larry Muschamp pushed McDonald out of bounds at the two on fourth down.
Just before halftime Oklahoma was back on the 18. But, Harris again pitched out without a teammate in the area and Bill Koman recovered the fumble for Carolina.
However, constantly staying on the field finally took its toll on the Tar Heel defense in the second half. On their first possession in the third quarter the Sooners went 74 yards in nine plays to take the lead. Burris scored from the eight and Harris added the PAT for a 7-6 advantage.
Carolina would never threaten again and McDonald scored on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter for a 13-6
victory.
During the 47-game winning streak, only two other teams would come closer to beating the Sooners than Carolina. Texas lost 19-14 in 1953 in the streak's first game and Colorado suffered a 14-13 setback in 1957.
Strangely, none of the Sooner success might have happened had it not been for a connection with Carolina.
The T-formation, which Oklahoma used to average 33.7 points over an 11-year period, was first devised by Don Faurot at Missouri in 1941. In 1943 he coached the Iowa Pre-Flight service team. Two his assistants were Wilkinson and Jim Tatum, the former Carolina star tackle and head coach. Tatum had left Chapel Hill once World War II began to enlist.
When the war ended Tatum was named head coach Oklahoma. He immediately hired Wilkinson as his top assistant. After just one season, the head coaching position at Maryland opened and Tatum, anxious to get back to the East Coast, took the job. However, he recommended Wilkinson as his replacement.
Tatum would go on to win a national championship at Maryland before returning to rebuild the Carolina program in 1956. Wilkinson meanwhile continued to refine the split-T and built a powerhouse at Oklahoma. That success has continued ever since.
It's that type of winning tradition that Carolina faces this weekend in one of the school's most challenging season openers.
