Sun Bowl
1987
Oklahoma St. 35
West Virginia 33
In
the spring of 1987, West Virginia was the scene of an historic battle
for the starting quarterback position. Browning Nagle and a freshman
named Major Harris fought in spring practice and Harris won the starting
job. Nagle transferred to Louisville. Harris and the Mountaineers landed
a bid in the Sun Bowl against Oklahoma State when Ohio State backed out.
One of the main reasons the bowl picked West Virginia was because of its
exciting, young quarterback. Oklahoma State was led by brilliant running
back, Thurman Thomas, who would close out his career in the game (video).
It was a snowy, bitter cold Sun Bowl before a crowd of 43,240 and a CBS
national television audience on Christmas Day. It was probably the most
entertaining game of the 1987-88 bowl season.
The Cowboys scored first on a five-yard run by Thomas, set up by a 44
yard pass from Mike Gundy to Hart Lee Dykes Dykes. West Virginia tied it
7-7 later in the first quarter on a one yard Anthony Brown run, but OSU
came back to take the lead 14-7 on a nine-yard run by Thomas. The OSU
lead was shortlived. West Virginia scored 17 unanswered points in the
second quarter on a 5 yard Brown run, a field goal by Charlie Baumann
and a 23 yard interception return of a Gundy pass by Darnell Wilson. The
two scoring drives were engineered by Harris and were for 80 and 74
yards. The Mountaineers led 24-14 at the half. The first half had
belonged to the WVU defense. The Mountaineers' Preston Waters blocked a
Cary Cooper punt after the Cowboys drove to midfield, Rodney Wilson
intercepted a Gundy pass at the Oklahoma State 42 to set up Baumann's
33-yard field goal, Darnell Warren returned the interception and Theron
Ellis blocked Cary Blanchard's 38-yard field goal attempt with 53
seconds left in the half.
O-State’s comeback began in the third quarter when they went on a
56-yard, six-play drive to start the period. Thomas scored from four
yards out to pull the Pokes to within three, 24-21. West Virginia
answered with a 38 yard Baumann field goal to lead 27-21. The Cowboys
took the lead with 1:43 left in the third quarter on a six yard pass
from Gundy to J.R. Dillard that made it 28-27. The Cowboys took a 35-27
lead in the fourth quarter on a four yard run by Thomas. On the 13-play,
74 yard drive, Thomas carried nine times. O-State had to hold one more
time, however, as West Virginia drove for a touchdown with just 1:13
left. Craig Taylor scored on a 6 yard run to pull the Mountaineers
within two at 35-33. OSU defender Shawn Mackey’s goalline tackle on the
two-point conversion try stopped West Virginia from tying the game in
the final minute. After consecutive timeouts by both teams, Harris was
chased out of the pocket and hit Keith Winn over the middle at the
three. But Mackey spun Winn down a half-yard shy of the goal line.
The precipitation and high winds wreaked havoc with Oklahoma State much more than it did West Virginia. After a first-quarter squall rolled off the Franklin Mountains and left a half-inch of sleet and snow on the field, the Mountaineers established a running game and took control early. Oklahoma State, which finished its season 10-2, lost only to No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Nebraska. West Virginia finished 6-6, with five of its losses coming by five points or less.
Attendance- 43,240
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
OSU- Thomas 5 run (Blanchard kick)
WVU- Brown 1 run (Baumann kick)
OSU- Thomas 9 run (Blanchard kick)
Second Quarter
WVU- Brown 5 run (Baumann kick)
WVU- FG Baumann 33
WVU- Warren 23 pass interception (Baumann kick)
Third Quarter
OSU- Thomas 4 run (Blanchard kick)
WVU- FG Baumann 38
OSU- Dillard 6 pass from Gundy (Blanchard kick)
Fourth Quarter
OSU- Thomas 4 run (Blanchard kick)
WVU- Taylor 6 run (Two-point conversion failed)
Individual Statistics
OSU- Thomas 33-157, Sanders 6-19, Gundy 8-9
WVU- Brown 32-167, Harris 24-103, Taylor 12-58, Napoleon 2-3
Passing
OSU- Gundy 12-18-161
WVU- Harris 7-21-54
Receiving
OSU- Dykes 3-72, Thomas 3-20, Williams 1-19, Dillard 3-18, Keith 1-16,
Green 1-16
WVU- Bell 1-45, Winn 1-9
