Our Honor Defend

I know, I promise not to make this an ordinary uploadlog for the YouTubes.  But with that said, I just really like this game and it’s one of the most underappreciated wins in Ohio State history.

Penn State had been a thorn in Ohio State’s side well before the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten.  Before it became a yearly occurrence per Big Ten stipulations, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions squared off four times previously before the 1975 matchup.  In the 1956, 1963 and 1964 games, the Buckeyes were heavily favored.  In 1956, the Buckeyes, led by all-world (and eventual Outland Trophy-winning) guard Jim Parker, were expected to win by three touchdowns.  However, the game was scoreless entering the fourth quarter.  The Engle-led Nitts had the first breakthrough of the game, going up 7-0 with less than four minutes remaining in the game.  With their backs against the wall, the Buckeyes came out roaring on the next drive, scoring a touchdown with a minute and 58 seconds left on the clock.  However, special teams made a catastrophic blunder by putting 12 men on the field and subsequently missing the point after.  Penn State eventually won the game 7-6, with Woody Hayes taking the heat for the loss.  1956 proved to a be a depressing year for the Buckeyes, and more specifically: Woody Hayes.  The 1956 Buckeyes were defending Big Ten champions¹, just had Hopalong Cassady win the Heisman (in 1955) and were two years removed from an undefeated national title year in 1954.  However, the program was rocked early in 1956 by Woody Hayes’ admission that he loaned money to players in emergency situations.  As a result, the whole program was placed on probation, the last such offense for the football team.  Thing wouldn’t get better during the 1956 season.  After the Penn State special teams debacle, the Buckeyes dropped a decision to Iowa (the eventual Rose Bowl champions) in Iowa City, which was marred by the controversy of Woody Hayes attacking a TV cameraman after the game.  The next week, the Buckeyes returned home to Columbus and were blanked by Michigan 19-0.  Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes finished 6-3 and fourth in the conference.  Fortunately, notwithstanding the home opener loss to Texas Christian, the Buckeyes won a national title the next year.

The 1963 and 1964 matchups were at the tail end of the Rip Engle years and, as some Buckeyes with great memory might remember, located in between the down period the 1961 and 1968 national titles.  In 1963, the 4-1-1 Buckeyes were the 10th ranked team in the AP and again expected to beat the Nittany Lions.  Again, however, the Buckeyes were surprisingly stuffed by Penn State’s defense and held to only one touchdown.  The Buckeyes took a 7-0 lead into the intermission on the heels of a Paul Warfield score, but Penn State scored all 10 of its points in the third quarter and held on for the 10-7 victory.  Afterwards, Ara Parseghian — then-head coach of Northwestern — nearly shutout the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium before a last minute TD by Paul Warfield made the final score more respectable (17-8).  Fortunately for Woody Hayes, after making himself famous at the Buckeyes’ expense, Parseghian (3-1 against Woody Hayes at NW) took the Notre Dame job the next season.  The Buckeyes rebounded the next game to beat Michigan in front of a raucous Michigan Stadium crowd of 36,000, but finished a disappointing 5-3-1.

1964 was even more of a crushing disappointment than the year earlier.  The Buckeyes were 6-0 and ranked no. 2 in the country.  The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, were 3-4.  The Buckeyes defense was stout in 1964, allowing only 39 total points in its 6 games prior to the Penn State matchup.  However, Rip Engle’s team ripped apart the Buckeyes 27-0.  The Buckeye offense was held to -14 first half yards on 16 plays.  They didn’t get their first first down of the game until a Penn State 15yd penalty in the third quarter.  They didn’t cross the 50 yard line until late in the fourth quarter. They were outgained on first downs 22-5 and 349-63 in total yardage.  Woody Hayes called it the worst beatdown he had ever suffered as a coach.  Statistically, it was indeed the worst home loss for a Hayes-coached team.  The Buckeyes beat Northwestern the next week, but lost at home to Michigan and, thus, lost their chance at the Rose Bowl.

The first matchup between Ohio State and Penn State occurred well before either Woody or Rip Engle.  It was also the only Penn State-Ohio State game before 1975 where Penn State was favored.  In 1912, the Nittany Lions were favored by three touchdowns over Ohio State, and were cruising to victory.  Up 37-0 in the second half, the Buckeyes’ coach at the time, John Richards, pulled his team from the field, decrying the physicality of the Penn State players.  Ohio State was disqualified, and notwithstanding the slaughter, the official scoreline from the game was 1-0.  Oddsmakers were predictably furious with the decision.  As for the prospect of ever playing Penn State again?

A Columbus Citizen column summed up the whole fiasco: “It goes without saying that no future games will be scheduled between Penn State and Ohio State. It’s probably just as well for Ohio.”

Perhaps they shouldn’t have, as the 1912, 1956, 1963 and 1964 disasters were all played in Columbus.  Ouch.

The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions played another series starting in 1975.  The 1975 game was the first game for 10yr-tenured Joe Paterno, then barely turning senile.  More importantly, it was finally the breakthrough for the Buckeyes in the series.  The 1975 Buckeyes were one of Woody Hayes’ best teams.  Corny Greene was a dangerous runner, if iffy passer, and was in his senior year.  The defending and soon to repeat Heisman trophy winner, Archie Griffin, was terrorizing opposing teams and was on an unprecedented streak of 100yd rushing games.  Balancing out these skillplayers? Only one of the more underappreciated wideouts in the country in Brian Baschnagel and the most feared power runner in college football in Pete Johnson, both prepsters with New York connections.  The Buckeyes relied on a punishing ground attack to win this game, with Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson leading the way.  The Buckeyes’ offense came out of the gate clicking, as a Brian Baschnagel came out roaring on the first drive of the game, almost taking a 48yd end-around to the house.  Pete Johnson finished up for a quick 7-0 Buckeye lead.  Penn State responded on the next drive with a 55yd FG.  On the Buckeyes’ next drive, Pete Johnson and Archie Griffin got the Buckeyes deep into Penn State’s territory, resulting in a FG.  With the score 10-3, the Buckeyes held on for the second and third quarters, as Penn State FGs late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter cut the Buckeyes’ lead to one.  The Lions missed a 57yd FG (and not by much) that would’ve given them a 12-10 lead.  With momentum clearly on Penn State’s side, Archie Griffin hauls in a pass from Corny Greene in the fourth quarter to keep the drive alive.  Pete Johnson eventually barreled forward for a 16yd TD run, putting the Buckeyes comfortably ahead of Penn State.  On Penn State’s next drive, the Buckeyes’ defense lays out Penn State’s running back, jarring the ball loose and resulting in a turnover.  The Buckeyes, behind Pete Johnson, ran out the clock for the next 5 minutes and secured the 17-9 victory.  Pete Johnson had 23 carries for 111 yards and Ohio State’s 2 TDs while Archie Griffin chipped in with 24 carries and 128 yards and the game-changing 3rd down grab. In a series that’s become a quasi-rivalry now that Penn State is in the Big Ten, this game represents the first win for the Buckeyes in the series.

Some things of note:

• I made a small spelling error (put the apostrophe in the wrong place) in the first caption of this video.  Since video editing is a long process, I don’t feel like fixing it.
• This game was sponsored by, no joke, Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I’m really tempted to upload some of the commercials during this game.
• The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions met only three times after this game before Penn State joined the Big Ten.  Behind freshman QB Rod Gerald and senior FB Pete Johnson, the Buckeyes went to Happy Valley in their first time hosting a game in the series and won 12-7.  In 1978, Penn State played visitor to the Buckeyes’ home opener in light of a QB controversy in Columbus (senior Rod Gerald versus freshman sensation Art Schlichter, who Paterno heavily recruited).  Ohio Stadium was in a buzz about who would take the field and were in shock when both took the field, with Gerald being split off to wideout.  The Nittany Lions were less than impressed and beat the Buckeyes 19-0 in what would become the last time the Buckeyes lost a home opener and the last year Woody Hayes coached the Buckeyes.  In the first, and only, neutral site matchup, the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl.

1. MSU got the nod for the Rose Bowl, though, because though the Buckeyes had a better conference record, they had a worse overall record.  Further, the Big Ten ADs felt that because the Buckeyes went to the Rose Bowl the year earlier, it would be fair to give the nod to the Spartans for the 1955 season [↩]