Gridiron Ghosts: 1991 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 'The Miracle on 11th Street'

Welcome to Gridiron Ghosts, A series where we take a look at some of the greatest college football teams that time has left behind. In this first edition, we'll take a look at the 1991 Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The University of Tulsa, located in Oklahoma, has been playing intercollegiate football since 1895. However, those who are close to the program, in any capacity, still point to the 1991 squad as the school's biggest height in modern times.

However, in order to full appreciate the greatness of the '91 team, we need to do a quick histroy lesson on Tulsa football. The school really began their NCAA Division 1 tenure in 1933. From 1941 to 1945, head coach Henry Frnka lead Tulsa to their greatest run of success. Tulsa made five straight bowl games including two trips to the Sugar Bowl and one invitation to the Orange Bowl, which they won at the end of 1944. After Frnka left at the conclusion of the 1945 season, Tulsa wasn't the same.

From 1946 to 1990, the Golden Hurricane experienced little success. Tulsa only played in five postseason bowl games during that span and only won one, the 1964 Bluebonnet Bowl over Ole Miss. They did win 17 Missouri Valley Conference titles in that span, but the league itself was a mixture of 1-A and 1-AA teams. Four of those were split amoingst other teams. Tulsa left the MVC after 1985 when the league decided to stop sponsoring football. Tulsa became an independent.

During their first two seasons as an independent, the program went through as many coaches. Don Morton left following the '86 season to take a job at Wisconsin and George Henshaw left following 1987 for the NFL. Things between the two parties got ugly. To replace Henshaw, Tulsa hired David Rader before the start of the 1988 season. At the time of his hiring, Rader was just 31 years old, which made him the youngest coach in D1 football at the time.

Rader came in after having short lived but successful stints as an assistant for Alabama and Mississippi State, mainly as a quarterback coach. During his first three seasons at the helm, Tulsa was mediocre at best. Tulsa's first bowl appearance in 14 years, a trip the 1989 Independence Bowl, was sandwiched by a 4-7 record in 1988 and a 3-8 mark in 1990. There was uncertainty heading into 1991. Expectations weren't high for the team, especially when a few notable players were coming back from serious ailments.

In 1989, wide receiver Dan Bitson had a banner year for Tulsa. He was named an AP Second-Team All-American after being sixth in the nation in receptions, second in receiving yards, 20th in yards per catch, and fourth in receiving touchdowns. In early December of that year, he experienced a near-fatal car accident and he sat out all of 1990. In the third game of the '90 campaign against #15 Arkansas, starting quarterback T.J. Rubley sprained his knee and sat out the rest of the season.

1991 got off to a surprising and fantastic start. It was clear through the first four games, something special was happening in Tulsa. After defeating Missouri State in the season opener, the Golden Hurricane played three straight power conference opponents. First was a rare home game against Oklahoma State. In a tight defensive struggle, Tulsa prevailed and upset the Pokes, 13-7. The next week, they traveled to Lawrence and gave Kansas a fight, losing by just 6, Then, they hosted No.15 Texas A&M.

At a packed Skelly Stadium, Texas A&M came into the game as heavy favorites and were looking like it. At halftime, the Aggies led 28-10. However, the hosting Hurricane came all the way back and made the laugher, a contest. With just over two and a half minutes remaining, Rubley connected with wideout Chris Penn for a 63-yard touchdown. Tulsa would never relinquish a slim 35-34 lead the rest of the way, and the school pulled off the upset known as the 'Miracle on 11th Street'.

The next week, they would host another major opponent as No.2 Miami of the Big East came to town. Miami blew out UT, 34-10, but Canes coach Dennis Erickson praised Tulsa. The game was scoreless after one quarter and much of the damage was done in a breakout second period for Miami. October was a weird month for the slate as the team would have multiple bye weeks across two road games. The first was a 34-20 win over dismal Louisiana. It was the schools first win in the state.

What followed was another bye week and then a date with Memphis State, a close 33-28 victory, over the same Tigers team that upset No.16 USC in the season's opening week. It was the university's first win in the state of Tennessee. Finally, to start November, Tulsa finally returned home and played Southern Miss in the snow. This game will forever be one of the most memorable in team history. In the low-scoring battle, USM tied the game at 10 with under three minutes left.

Eventually, with 11 seconds left, Tulsa threw up a hail mary and it ended up getting caught. The team was able to sneak in a timeout with one tick left. Kicker Erik Lange missed a close but difficult field goal in the snow. It was going to end in a tie. Remember there was no overtime in those days. However, the Golden Eagles had too many men on the field. USM got flagged, Lange had another chance from 24 yards out. He nailed it, and Tulsa pulled out the triumph. Another miracle win was tallied.

The following week, Tulsa shut out and blew out Louisville, 40-0. Shortly after the game, they got a bid to play in that year's Freedom Bowl. The school gladly accepted and the Golden Hurricane had secured just their second postseason bowl game in 15 years. On November 18th, Tulsa became nationally ranked as the No.23 team in the nation. They blew out Ohio in the school's first home game as a ranked team since 1952. Before the final game of the regular season against SMU in Dallas, Tulsa moved up a spot in the polls and took down the Mustangs, 31-26.

With the victory, Tulsa headed to Anaheim, California with a 9-2 record. In the Freedom Bowl, the No.23 Golden Hurricane faced off against San Diego State from the WAC. The Aztecs nearly won the WAC title off the heels of tremenous Freshman All-American Marshall Faulk. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer led the conference with 1,429 rushing yards and 7.1 yards per carry. He led the entire nation in rushing touchdowns with 21. He also caught 17 passes and two were for scores.

While Faulk had the more notable year, it was Tulsa's backup running back Ron Jackson who was the more notable player in the biggest game of their respective season's. The junior got to start in place of leading rusher Chris Hughley due to a suspension related to academics. Jackson ran for 211 yards on 46 touches. He set a Freedom Bowl record four rushing touchdowns. Faulk was outclassed but he still ran for 157 yards and a score. But Jackson got the best of Faulk.

The little brother of college football in Oklahoma won handily, 28-17. Monday, December 30, 1991, marked the first time Tulsa won a bowl game since the aforementioned Bluebonnet Bowl in 1964. After the postseason concluded, Tulsa rose two spots to No.21 in the final AP poll. It was the first time that Tulsa ended a season ranked since 1952. Several stars on the team had big seasons, but none were more impressive then Chris Penn. Penn became the leading receiver and caught 37 balls.

However, he would rank sixth in the nation in yards per catch, as he averaged 21.4 yards per reception. Eric Lange led the nation in field goal percentage(84.2%). Guard Jerry Ostroski was named a First Team All-American. Ostroski (10th round) was one of four players to get selected at the 1992 NFL Draft. Ostroski has his number 55 retired by the university in 2018.

Of the four draft picks, it was Ostroski and Scroggins who had the most notable pro careers. Ostroski in 1992 and 1993, had pit stops at training camps for the Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons before Buffalo scooped him up. For the Bills, Jerry was a solid contributor on the offensive line, starting games at center, guard, and tackle. His career lasted 106 games across eight NFL seasons.

Unfortunately he broke his leg in the 2001 preseason which would prove to be his last action. He would come back later in the year, only to have to leave early after hurting his knee in a late season game against Atlanta. He retired in August of the next year. Tracy Scroggins played in 142 career NFL games across 10 seasons for the Lions between 1992 to 2001. He racked up 321 tackles and 60.5 sacks including eight forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. He appeared in five playoff games.

T.J. Rubley did see some action in the NFL at quarterback. After spending the '92 season as an inactive backup with the Rams, Rubley saw action in 1993, where he started seven games for Los Angeles. After 1994, Rubley moved on the be the third string signal-caller for the Packers. In 1995. he had his most infamous NFL moment, in a week 10 game against the rival Vikings. In a game tied at 24, Green Bay had the ball at Minnesota's 38-yard line with less than a minute left.

On a 3rd-and-1, head coach Mike Holmgren called a quarterback sneak. Instead, Rubley audibled to a rollout pass and threw a terrible interception. This led to a loss for the Packers and shortly after the game, he got cut. The reason why he was in was because both Brett Favre and Ty Detmer were injured earlier in the game. He never played in another NFL game but had a stint with the Eagles practice squad before earning a roster spot with the Broncos in 1996.

""It was not a real good decision""

T.J. Rubley after his gaffe in 1995

In 1997. Rubley played overseas in the short-lived World League of American Football, later remaned NFL Europe. For the Rhein Fire, he won the league's Offensive MVP award as his Fire were the only team with a winning record. However, they would lose to the Barcelona Dragons in the World Bowl. Future NFL backup Jon Kitna led the Dragons in that game. He is also credited for coaching Keanu Reaves for his performance for the movie The Replacements. Tight end Fallon Wacasey was drafted by Dallas but was cut in February 1994, never playing in an NFL game.

Other players on the '91 roster would go to the NFL after the next several years went by. Backup quarterback Gus Frerotte would take over as the starter the next season. He would get drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 draft. He's most known for outplaying first round rookie Heath Shuler and eventually taking his job, and for this hilarious and legendary blunder. He would be mostly a backup for seven teams in a 15-year career but made the 1996 Pro Bowl.

Wide Receiver Chris Penn got drafted the same year but in the third round by Kansas City. he would catch 148 passes over six-year career with three teams. Linebacker Barry Minter played in the NFL for the Bears and Browns across nine seasons after being taken by Dallas in the sixth round in 1993. Dunstan Anderson conveted to defensive end after being a kick returner for Tulsa in 1991. He appeared in 10 NFL games, nine for Atlanta in 1997. He sadly died in May of 2004.

As for David Rader, he would never taste the same success he had in 1991. He would coach Tulsa until 1999. Unfortunately, he would never post a winning record again and wouldn't even reach the five-win mark in any of those subsequent years. He is now a Oklahoma state senator. Really. Tulsa wouldn't make another bowl game until a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl in 2003. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Tulsa would make bowl games at a consistent rate and also won Conference USA titles in 2005 and 2012.