Roberson Remembers: In 1988, The Crimson Tide’s Big Day Turned Red and Blue

Shawn Sykes remembers when Billy Brewer, his head coach at Ole Miss, came over to him on the sideline during a football game at Alabama in 1988 and asked him if he could "go" since he had suffered a knee injury in the game.

"I had actually been able to walk off the field under my own power, and a lot of people really didn't even know (about the injury)," said Sykes, then a fifth-year senior from West Point, Mississippi. "I didn't play that much in the second quarter. They wrapped me up at halftime, and I didn't have full mobility in that knee."

That scenario actually played out twice, the part about Brewer visiting him on the sideline and asking if he could go back in and give the Rebels a little more.

What happened both times? Sykes said "yes," went back in, and scored a touchdown. Ole Miss needed both of them.

Final score: Ole Miss 22, Alabama 12.

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October 8, 1988, was a big day for Alabama. It was Homecoming. The Paul "Bear" Bryant Museum, honoring the late former head coach, was to be dedicated. And the Crimson Tide was all set to win a game against its Mississippi foe.

Two of three's not bad, right?

There was another footnote on this day, but it belonged to the team on the visitor's side. October 8 was Coach Billy Brewer's birthday.

Brewer, a Columbus, Mississippi, native, grew up in an area known as the Golden Triangle. One of the other points of that triangle is West Point. Another is Starkville, home of Mississippi State.

West Point High is a football school. The Green Wave has 11 state championships and is usually in the mix for a title almost every season in its classification. In the early 1980s, Sykes and teammate Robert Smith were important players for the program.

Sykes and Smith, mainly remembered as offensive players since that time, were being heavily recruited for college football.

"There were a lot of schools recruiting us," said Sykes, "and we played both ways. Robert was an All-American linebacker, and I was an honorable mention All-American defensive back.

Some schools wanted us for offense and some for defense, so that elevated the number (of schools interested). But early on, Robert and I decided that we were going (to college) together."

They also decided they wanted to play close to home, and that meant schools in the region went to the top of their list.

"Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Memphis State, Alabama, teams relatively close," Sykes said. "We made some visits, and we pretty much had it narrowed down to Ole Miss and Mississippi State."

But there was a major difference in those two at the time - the offenses they ran.

"Mississippi State was running the wishbone," Sykes said. "We did not want to play in the wishbone."

Ole Miss, said Sykes, was running "sort of what we had run in high school, a veer, two-back offense with some 'I' formation as well with the fullback and tailback. That was kind of what pushed us in that direction - it was close to home and the type of offense they ran."

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Shawn Sykes went to college with the nickname "Lightning." He was one-half of a storm-named duo on his high school team along with Robert Smith, whose nickname was "Thunder."

Sykes said those names came from a high school game they played in by way of a newspaper reporter.

"We were playing a game, and the prediction was for rain and maybe some storms," said Sykes, confirming that's precisely what happened on that particular Friday night. "We both had a good game, and he wrote, 'There was a lot of thunder and lightning going on' and it kinda stuck with us."

So Smith and Sykes arrived at Ole Miss for the 1984 season, Brewer's second as head coach. Smith played 1984-87, while Sykes redshirted his first season and played through 1988.

The reason? "I hurt my knee, and I redshirted that first year," Sykes said.

Five seasons later, it was a knee again that caused problems in a game. But it was Alabama they were playing, and Brewer asked him if he could go. And he wasn't about to say no.

"Coach 'Red' Parker was our offensive coordinator," Sykes said of the former Clemson head coach. "This I remember vividly. We noticed on the film there were a lot of plays where (Alabama) blitzed everybody. There would be some plays where they blitz everybody and we might lose two yards, but if we can hang around and keep it close, we're going to catch them blitzing everybody, and with a plain ordinary dive, not a screen or a bomb, it will be wide open.

"That was the plan," he continued. "Hang around, and some big plays are going to hit because they blitz everybody."

The Rebels indeed hung around, and the contest was scoreless at halftime. But the home team came out of the locker room ready for victory.

Pierre Goode returned the second half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and the Crimson Tide eventually led 12-0 in the third quarter after a safety and a field goal. Things were going Alabama's way.

But, as Sykes recalled, Parker had said that if the Rebel defense could hang in there, then the Ole Miss offense would eventually get its chance.

Ole Miss limited Alabama to eight first downs in the game and 172 yards of total offense.

The most glaring and memorable stat? The Crimson Tide completed zero passes in the game. None.

Two Alabama quarterbacks - Vince Sutton and Jeff Dunn - were a combined 0-for-11. On top of that, Dunn threw two interceptions and Sutton threw one. They were picked off by Rebels' Todd Sandroni, Don Price, and Roger Hancock.

So the patient Rebels waited, and what Parker had predicted happened.

Sykes ran 53 yards for a late third quarter touchdown. Bryan Owen's point after made it 12-7.

"It was third and long, an obvious passing down," Sykes said. "But Coach Parker was right. On third down, they blitzed everybody. When I hit up in there, here I am with a bum knee, and I managed to make it and scored."

The play was called "Forty-Two Trap." That wasn't the last time the Alabama defense would see it.

Very late in the fourth quarter and having not been in for a couple of series to rest his knee, it was Sykes who was called on again. The Rebels were still down 12-7.

"Coach Parker called the same play," he said of Forty-Two Trap. "This time I cut it back, and I only had about 12 yards to go. Same play. Scored again."

After that touchdown, Ole Miss went for two, and Darron Billings ran it in for a 15-12 lead.

Alabama's offense had some time, but not much, to move down for at least a tying field goal. Then moments later, on third down for the Crimson Tide, the Rebels' Tony Bennett knocked the ball loose from Dunn. Doug Jacobs recovered for Ole Miss.

Joe Mickles then ran 18 yards for the final touchdown. After another extra point by Owen, victory on Alabama's big day belonged to the Ole Miss Rebels.

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Robert Smith, who was a fullback his first two years at Ole Miss and a linebacker his last two seasons, is now retired after a lengthy career as a policeman in Atlanta. He and Shawn Sykes stay in contact. They were not only high school and college teammates but also college roommates.

Sykes, a UM Journalism graduate who works at WTVA-TV in Tupelo, knows the Alabama game in 1988 will always be a special memory for all who were a part of it - players, coaches, staff, and fans.

"Fortunately we were able to hang on," Sykes said. "It was a great team effort. I remember celebrating with our fans in the corner of the stadium, and I remember celebrating with Coach Brewer. We just wanted to give our best effort and see what happens."

What happened was this: Ole Miss 22, Alabama 12.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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