The Game of the Century: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma in College Football's Ultimate Battle - Hardcover

Michael Corcoran has written seven previous books, including Duel in the Sun: Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in the Battle of Turnberry, also available in a Bison Books edition.

Many college football fans consider the 1971 matchup between Oklahoma and Nebraska the most exciting game ever played in any sport; people were talking about its thrill even before the nationally telecast Thanksgiving game ended. Corcoran, a sportswriter switching to the gridiron after several books on golf (Duel in the Sun, etc.), tries to recapture the excitement of that day through a combination of archival research and interviews with players and coaches. An extensive description of the game, play-by-play at some key moments, isn't enough to fill this slim chronicle, however, so the historical record extends back to the 19th century, when football was so unruly that one Oklahoma sheriff happening upon a game thought it was a brawl he needed to stop. Corcoran finds remarkable side stories, like the origins of Oklahoma's wishbone offensive or the criminal misadventures of Nebraska star Johnny Rodgers, but he also ends up padding the story with extraneous details. The chapters devoted to the game offer a clear, often vivid presentation and maintain suspense. Although the account occasionally reads like an extended magazine article or a dress rehearsal for an ESPN Classics documentary, the best moments deliver solid reportage that reanimates memories of one of college football's greatest games.
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