OU vs. UTEP

Saturday, Sept. 2

6:30 p.m.

Sellout/Available on pay-per-view

When Gary Nord was preparing to coach the Oklahoma offense in the first game of the 1995 "Schnellenberger era", he surely thought September 2, 2000 would be a little different.  Nord's offense was relatively impressive that hot September day  as the Sooners rolled San Diego State 38-22 in a game that wasn't as close as its final score.  As it looked at the conclusion of that first game, the Sooners were on their way back after the debacle that was the end of the Gibbs era.

However, the problems within the Sooner program or "Sooner Nation" had already begun to crumble the books and movies that were to be written.  Nord was quoted by a writer in the Louisville Courier-Journal as saying that, "I thought the damn Kentucky people were hicks, but these people win hands down.  I should've taken a dentist with me.  I didn't see a full set of teeth the whole time I was on the road.  Rednecks."  Thus began the downfall. 

Nord opted to go with Eric Moore instead of Senior Garrick McGee, which caused many of the players to lose respect for a coaching staff that was obviously playing the wrong guy.  Meanwhile, Howard Schnellenberger was a hard drinker who was intoxicated at many games, rude to the fans, disrespectful of the Sooner program, and extremely hard on the media.  The Sooner Dynasty that Schnellenberger had promised to bring back to Oklahoma had crumbled quickly and come the end of the season, Nord's offense was shutout in the final two games and shortly after the season, nearly the entire staff was fired.

Fast forward to September 2, 2000 and Norman, Okla. at 6:30 p.m.  Gary Nord will enter OU's Memorial Stadium (Owen Field) to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in his first game ever as Head Coach of the University of Texas-El Paso.  Nord has been at UTEP since 1997 as offensive coordinator of the Miners.  UTEP wound up 97th nationally in total offense his first season, up to 51st in '98 then up to 43rd in '99.  Nord is the 23rd head coach in UTEP's history, following Charlie Bailey who retired after 7 years as the head honcho of the Miners.  The Miners were 5-7 last season and had the 21st ranked passing offense in the country, however several of the components of that offense have departed. 

Jay Stuckey (who was on the Sooner roster in '95) passed for 1,918 yards and 15 TD's in 1999, but graduated leaving Rocky Perez as the lone starter from the Miners' QB rotation of a year ago.  Rocky Perez passed for 1,198 yards and 4 TD's while sharing Stuckey's time.  However, the loss of Paul Smith (1,258 yards rushing) and James Thompson (33 receptions & 562 yards) will hurt an offense that's success last year was up and down.

Nord has brought in Larry Hoefer as defensive coordinator from Texas Tech.  Hoefer was the outside linebackers coach at Texas Tech for the last six years and will attempt to stop the bleeding of the Miners defense which allowed 391 yards and 32 points per game.  The Miners' defensive philosophy will be an eight man front that will attempt to stop the run first and make teams pass to beat them.  A defensive philosophy that will surely be tested come Saturday.

The Sooners will be the heavy favorites on their first Saturday of the 2000 football season and will definitely be excited for the second year of the Stoops era.  A sold-out crowd will pack Memorial Stadium for the return of Gary Nord, a storyline that may only be lived out through that crowd that was blasted by Gary Nord some 5 years ago and Nord himself who will be seeking redemption from his coaching debacle of 1995.  No players will remember, no Sooner coaches will remember, but 73,000 fans with a mouthful of teeth and one coach with a mind full of venom will remember.

Come September 2, 2000, things will surely look different to Gary Nord than they did in 1995.  A senior quarterback starting on an offense with a high powered passing attack, who would have thought?