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Showing results for tags 'north texasx vs tennessee 1975'.
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When he goes into Knoxville having to play his third string QB and running back, who would be getting his very first start that day,.. in the 8th game of the season,..and leaves with a win. Yeah, this is a week late but I hadn't realized all of what Coach Fry faced going into that game in 1975 and how he addressed the challenges he faced that day. I wanted to share some of it while it's still fresh in my memory and so it can be referenced back to by any of our new alumns. So many of these kids today come away knowing very little of our history. If anyone can add to it please do as well. I remembered some of the stories from before, and of course had the pleasure to talk to Sears Woods about it once back in '07 in Norman. And I've been talking to some of our more experienced alumns about it as well. SilverEagle even has the newspaper from the day after. Despite every other disadvantage he faced that day Coach Fry had to play third string QB Glenn Ray, who was the backup to Kenny Washington and Ken Smith. And though Woods would go on to lead the team in rushing that year, his only season to play at North Texas,.....(he transferred in from a small college in Oklahoma because they disbanded their football program)...he was the third string RB and was getting his very first start that day, ending up with 121 yards rushing and two TD's. When I met him I remember being shocked at how short he was, having imagined all this time that the great Sears Woods must have been a giant in stature as well as in lore. As it turns out, I'm guessing he might have been 5'5"-5'6"? I remember shaking his hand and at the same time trying to hold back what I was thinking.."Holy shit...your the great Sears Woods?"...making his accomplishments in that game even more amazing to me. So coach Fry knew he was at a great disadvantage in every way going into that game. But as everyone realizes now, the man was an innovator and a sneaky dude as well. He made adjustments to give his team a fighting chance. His offense did two things that day that wasn't typical for the time. He used an off-balanced line and utilized the no-huddle. This seemed to keep the Vols guessing and out of sorts all day. At the end, after holding their offense in check all day Tennessee tied it up with a TD with seconds to go at 14-14. Mr. Woods told me as soon as Tennessee kicked the extra point coach Fry yelled for him. He told me... "I ran up to him on the sidelines and he grabbed my facemask and said.....'Sears, you've got to return the kick off...run it back and win this game,....we are going to win this game'..so I did!". He then said.."As soon as I got past the front all there was left was the kicker, I knew I had it at that point". As he was telling me this I could see it in his eyes, that even though he'd probably told the story a hundred times before, he was there in the moment,..right there,..and was still so damn proud because he knew what that game meant to Coach Fry and our program back then. Anyhow, Coach Fry coached his ass off that day for sure. God how I wished I could have been there to see it. I know dear old Rick Spears..aka Green Grenade was there up in the pressbox and he never stopped talking about it up until the last time I saw him. When I saw the color video of the run back prior to our game last Saturday it was the first time I had ever seen that footage before. Seeing the replay got me to thinking about that incredible day. Sorry this is so long but it's a great great story that I think will always be worth retelling. Rick