Rose Bowl Stirs Long Memory

Returning to Pasadena elicits vivid memories from Oklahoma offensive coordinator Chuck Long, who played in the Rose Bowl twice as a quarterback for Iowa.

Long was the starter when the Hawkeyes faced UCLA in the 1986 Rose Bowl, but his favorite story dates to the 1982 game against Washington when he was a young reserve.

With Iowa behind, 28-0, late in the fourth quarter, then-coach Hayden Fry turned to the bench and asked the freshman if he wanted to enter the game and get on national television.

“Of course, by that time the credits were rolling down the TV screen,” Long said. “But my family could see me through the credits.”

He recalled being on the field long enough to take two snaps.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” he said. “I tucked the ball under my arm and ran it both times.”

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For the second day, the Sooners practiced at Loyola Marymount and this time they had Tommie Harris, an All-American defensive tackle, on the field.

Harris arrived a day late after confusion over his airline ticket caused him to miss a Christmas Day flight from Austin, Texas.

“I knew I was going to get here somehow,” he said. “But it aggravated me not being here to practice with my teammates.”

The sophomore was not nearly as upset about missing his team’s visit to “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Thursday.

“I’m not really a big fan of TV,” he said.

While Harris worked into the mix, receivers Antwone Savage and Brandon Jones sat out of practice. Savage injured his ankle on Thursday, and Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said the receiver also has flu. Jones has a sore knee.

Both players were expected to recover before the game.

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How excited were Sooner fans when their team received a bid to the Rose Bowl?

On the first Monday after the invitation was announced, the university sold 13,000 tickets to the game, the largest single day of bowl ticket sales in Oklahoma history.

“To put that in context, this is our 36th bowl,” team spokesman Kenny Mossman said.

Overall, Oklahoma sold 27,500 tickets and had to turn fans away.

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The Sooners will visit Lawry’s restaurant for the “Beef Bowl” after practice this afternoon, but strength coach Jerry Schmidt does not expect any of his starters to overindulge.

The team attended a similar function before the Cotton Bowl last season and the veterans know the benefit of moderation.

“Maybe some of your freshman and redshirt players will go wild,” Schmidt said. “But [quarterback] Nate Hybl isn’t going to set any Beef Bowl records.”