2020 Oklahoma Sooners Football Countdown to Kickoff | 88 Days!

Hello once again to all you friends and fans of the Oklahoma Sooners! Today marks 88 days remaining in our 2020 Countdown to Kickoff! For this installment in our countdown series, I want to take a look back on one of the most memorable plays from one of the most important games in program history — an 88-yard rushing touchdown from legendary OU TE Keith Jackson in the 1985 heavyweight bout against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

After falling to the Miami Hurricanes earlier in the season, Barry Switzer and his Sooners were on a mission to run the table for a chance at national championship glory. Perhaps the greatest hurdle in their way was Tom Osborne and his stout Huskers squad. Fortunately for Oklahoma, that year’s rivalry game was to be played in Norman.

On Nov. 23, 1985, No. 2 Nebraska squared off against No. 5 Oklahoma. The tension was palpable on both sides by kickoff, and the OU faithful was ready to roar. Less than four minutes into the first quarter, the Sooners ran a creatively designed reverse to absolute perfection, and sophomore tight end Keith Jackson was the beneficiary of said call.

Not only did Jackson house the run 88 yards to put Oklahoma up 7-0 right away, the Sooners’ leading receiver also just so happened to wear No. 88. A couple other fun facts about this momentous run are that this was the tight end’s first ever collegiate carry. Last but not least, to this day it remains the longest single rush for any non-QB/RB in program history.

Oklahoma would go on to dominate Nebraska that day, 27-7 before capping off the season with a complete performance over No. 1 Penn State in the 1986 Orange Bowl. As ‘The U’ fell to Tennessee that same day in the Sugar Bowl, OU was ultimately awarded with its sixth national title in school history.

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