Darrell Royal: An appreciation

George Schroeder, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

He led Texas to three national championships. He introduced the Wishbone to college football. He famously feuded with Oklahoma's Barry Switzer.

But to get a glimpse of Darrell Royal, who died Wednesday at age 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer's, consider the "Big Shootout," which highlighted a close if unusual friendship with an archrival – and a simple hug.

In a slower time, back when every week did not feature Armageddon or a Game of the Century, Texas vs. Arkansas in 1969 was truly big. It was made for TV – sensing potential for a showdown, ABC asked Royal and Arkansas coach Frank Broyles in the summer of '69 to move the game from its traditional October slot to the first weekend in December – and it lived up to the hype, a classic No. 1-vs.-2 showdown that delivered a national champion.

When Royal described the ABC executives who dreamed up the idea as "wiser than a tree full of owls," he was only being himself: folksy, funny, perfect for Texas and the times. A native of Hollis, Okla., he had been a quarterback and halfback for his home state Oklahoma Sooners. In 20 years as Texas' head coach, he led the Longhorns to two undisputed national titles and a share of a third, as well as 11 Southwest Conference championships.

For much of that time, he battled Arkansas and its coach, Frank Broyles, for conference supremacy – winning most of the time. The teams were bitter rivals; the coaches were fierce competitors. But unlike the rivalry that would develop between Royal and Switzer, the relationship between Royal and Broyles was, as described by Broyles in a statement Wednesday, as "a close friendship that carried far beyond football." During the offseason, they golfed together; their families vacationed together. And they shared the biggest game of their careers.

The Big Shootout was no exception. President Nixon arrived, via helicopter, in Fayetteville, Ark., with an entourage that included a future president (then-Texas congressman George H.W. Bush) and the current Heisman Trophy winner (Oklahoma's Steve Owens, who had hitched a ride). The evangelist Billy Graham was there, as well. On a damp, cold December day in the Ozarks, they watched Texas rally from a 14-0 deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The biggest play – and perhaps the biggest gamble of a very conservative coach's career – came on fourth-and-3 from the Texas 43 with less than five minutes left.

The Longhorns were in their second season using the new offense devised by assistant Emory Bellard. Texas called it "Right-Left." Others knew it as the "Y" or the wishbone-T." The Wishbone would later sweep college football. At the time, as run by the Longhorns, it was a novelty, but already as devastating to defenses as Chip Kelly's frenetically paced evolution of the spread option can be now.

But Arkansas had mostly stuffed the Longhorns, and so on fourth-and-the-season, Royal gambled big, calling "Right 53 Veer Pass." Texas quarterback James Street was so surprised, he double-checked the play call. Royal would become known for saying: "Three things can happen when you pass and two of 'em are bad."

But as he recalled in the 2005 book "Hogs: A History", Royal said, "We couldn't move the ball all day. … I didn't feel like we could grind it out, because they had confused us defensively. I just felt it was all or nothing."

Street threw deep to tight end Randy Peschel, who caught the ball between two Arkansas defensive backs at the 13. Two plays later, the Longhorns scored the tying touchdown. The extra point gave them a 15-14 victory, and paved the way to the national championship.

Afterward, Royal met Broyles at midfield for the traditional coaches' handshake – except given their friendship, it could not be routine.

"It was a special relationship to my dad," said Betsy Arnold, Broyles' daughter. "They had a lot of respect for each other. They were very similar in personalities and the way they approached the game. They were two great friends who were very competitive."

In his statement Wednesday, Broyles said he was "deeply saddened" and would "always treasure" the memories they shared, on and off the field. That includes the brief meeting after the conclusion of one coach's greatest triumph and another's most bitter defeat. Flanked as usual by his 11-year-old twin daughters, Broyles was stoic. The girls, Betsy and Linda, were not.

"We were bawling," Arnold said Wednesday.

The Texas coach shook hands with the Arkansas coach. And then, before leaving the field, Royal tried to console the girls, wrapping one in a hug.

"You can't help but have a feeling about it," Royal said in "Hogs: A History." "It took away a lot of happiness there for a short period."

Said Arnold: "I think he was taken aback. He was overjoyed, we were devastated – I think he was overwhelmed, too."