Rest of the story:
We had a big pep rally on campus the night before Bama flew west to play USC. Must have been Thursday night.
We all gathered in front of the library, but the team wasn't present (as they usually were). A cheerleader went to the microphone and said, "Coach Bryant sends his apologies; they are practicing tonight."
I started yelling that we should go to the practice field, and soon everyone started the chant. We all walked over there; group of about 100-200 students. Coach Bryant allowed the gates to be opened, and we walked onto the field and cheered the team.
I'd like to think that helped us win. We'd gone 6-5 the previous 2 seasons, and we were all tired of losing. None of us knew Bama had a wishbone offense. I certainly didn't notice that night.