Alabama coaches return to Oklahoma

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) _ Charley North spent 16 years as a coach for Oklahoma teams that won a national championship and played in six Orange Bowls. <br><br>Kenith Pope was a defensive back on three Oklahoma

Wednesday, September 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) _ Charley North spent 16 years as a coach for Oklahoma teams that won a national championship and played in six Orange Bowls.

Kenith Pope was a defensive back on three Oklahoma teams that combined to win 29 games and Chris Thurmond worked in Norman during 1996-97.

All three coaches will be on the other side of the field when Alabama (1-0) visits the second-ranked Sooners (1-0).

``When I go in there Saturday, the hairs on the back of my neck are going to stand up,'' said North, Alabama's director of football operations. ``There's no question a few chill bumps will go up my spine and the hair will bristle on the back of my neck.

``I promise you, I'll be ready to play, it just won't be for very long.''

Two of college football's most storied programs have met only twice, in the 1963 Orange Bowl and the 1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, long before any of the current players were born.

Not so, the coaches.

Alabama coach Dennis Franchione grew up in Kansas, watching the Big Eight (now Big 12) Conference, including the powerhouse teams at Oklahoma.

``It's certainly a kind of homecoming of sorts, I guess,'' Franchione said. ``It's exciting for me. I've had more family and friends come out of the woodwork needing tickets than I could ever come up with.

``I've had people I hadn't heard from in a couple of years call up and ask for six or eight tickets.''

North, an Oklahoma assistant from 1979 to 1994, is expecting some 50 family and friends to attend the game.

The Sooners played in 12 bowl games, half of them Orange Bowls, and won the 1985 national championship during North's tenure, going 139-46-4.

Pope, the assistant head coach, was a Sooners defensive back from 1971-73, playing for teams that compiled a 29-5-1 record.

Cornerbacks coach Thurmond, an Oklahoma native, was the Sooners' secondary coach during 1996-97. He's plenty familiar with the environment.

``All my life, that was a special place for me and for everyone growing up in that state,'' he said. ``The fact that I had an opportunity to coach there makes it special to go back there.''

Of Alabama's players, only Texas Tech transfer Shaud Williams has played against Oklahoma. He caught nine passes for 59 yards in Tech's 27-13 loss at Norman in 2000, the year the Sooners won the national title.

``Tradition plays a factor,'' receiver Triandos Luke said. ``Right now, I think mostly we're talking about how good they are now.

``I know their tradition, but it's a little before my time.''

Center Alonzo Ephraim isn't making predictions, but gives six-time AP national champion Alabama the edge when it comes to the battle of history.

``Their tradition is just about as strong as Alabama's is _ not as strong,'' he said.

North used to argue with former Tide player and Clemson coach Danny Ford about whether college football meant more in Oklahoma or Alabama. Then, he was arguing for Oklahoma.

``It seems like there's not ever a moment going by where someone's not thinking football'' in Alabama, North said.

How big is this game? Franchione borrows a line from ABC-TV announcer Keith Jackson: ``Whoa Nellie, this is a big one.''