Our Honor Defend

In anticipation of yet another trip to the desert for the Buckeyes… this one hopefully better than the most recent trip… I’ve uploaded the first Fiesta Bowl win for the Buckeyes.  It was only the Buckeyes’ second trip to the Fiesta Bowl, with the first a loss to Penn State in 1980 in the only neutral-site matchup in the OSU-PSU series.  The 1984 Fiesta Bowl, however, proved to be much more celebrated in Ohio State lore.  In spite of starting off sluggish, and in accord with any Midwestern smashmouth matchup you would expect, the 4th quarter saw an explosion of points as the Buckeyes pulled away with seconds to spare to win 28-23.  Thad Jemison, who hauled in the gamewinning score, tied a Fiesta Bowl record (since surpassed) with 8 catches.

Ohio State — who entered the game with, yes, an 8-3 record — drew the Pitt Panthers.  Coached by Foge Fazio, the Panthers started 2-2 before rattling off 6 straight wins and finishing with a draw against Paterno’s Nittany Lions.  Accordingly, the Fiesta Bowl was a let down for Ohio State and a reward for Pitt.  Ohio State was approximately 13 points and maybe 10 minutes away from being undefeated in the 1983 season.  The Buckeyes let a 14-13 lead get away against Iowa late in the 4th quarter for Iowa’s first victory over the Buckeyes in 21 years.  Later, a 13-10 lead against Illinois evaporated in 37 seconds as Illinois won 17-13, when Ohio State only needed 1:43 and a first down to ice away a win.  The season ended with a 24-21 loss against Michigan.  The season started with an upset win, on the road, in the sweltering heat of Owen Field over the no. 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners¹.  It ended without a Rose Bowl, without a Big Ten trophy and with Ohio State in the desert.

In spite of the disappointment, Ohio State was fairly imposing on the Pitt Panthers for the first 3 quarters.  Of course, the 30 4th Quarter points belies the nature of the 3 quarters before it.  Ohio State took the opening kickoff and rammed it right down the field.  A Thad Jemison reception put the Buckeyes from midfield to within the Pitt 5.  Mike Tomczak, professional mainstay, took the option keeper on the next play for a quick 7-0 first quarter lead.  Pitt, for all it could muster, was only able to doink a field goal on its first possession in the first quarter.  Pitt placekicker Snuffy Everett (yes… that’s his name) would have brighter moments this game.  Pitt’s next possession ended on 4th down, with Pitt electing to go for the first down in 4th down territory.  A ferocious pass rush from down linemen Dave Crecelius, Spencer Nelms and Dave Morrill made sure that didn’t work.

In spite of the hot start, Ohio State momentarily shot itself in the foot after the turnover on downs.  Tomczak botched the center exchange from Joe Dooley, turning the ball over.  John Congemi, the successor to Dan Marino at the quarterback position, soon found Joe McCall to pin the Buckeye defense deep in their own 10.  Pitt eventually found paydirt to knot the game at 7 in the second quarter.  Ohio State’s next possession ended with a Rich Spangler missed field goal.  However, the Buckeyes responded on its next possession after the missed field goal.  Keith Byars, who by that time established himself as otherworldly in the Big Ten, plowed through for six after Tomczak’s aerial assault through Cedric Anderson, Thad Jemison and John Frank had set up the goalline run.  The 14-7 margin carried into intermission.

The third quarter was one of the screwier in any Ohio State game I’ve watched, and was perhaps a prelude to the chaos that followed in the 4th quarter.  Pitt received the opening kickoff, only to fumble it and turn it over to Ohio State in Pitt territory.  Ohio State’s offense, was unable to move the ball and elected to go for a first down on 4th down, only to turn it over.  After both teams exchanged ugly displays of offense, Mike Tomczak almost courted disaster near the end of the 3rd period.  A Tomczak interception toss was returned by Pitt into Ohio State territory.  Kelvin Bell, starting strong safety from Richmond, VA, saved the day with an interception in the end zone.  Ohio State, unable (again) to do anything with the break, punted and set up Pitt for the Panthers’ next drive.  This drive carried the game into the 4th quarter, where all hell broke loose.

On the second play of the 4th quarter at Ohio State’s 13yd line, Pitt’s tailback Joe McCall caught a break.  A pitch right to McCall was fumbled after McCall had picked up the first down, though the fumble bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Clint Wilson for a game-tying touchdown.  With momentum now on its side, the Panthers kicked off to the Buckeyes to an all-too-eager Keith Byars.  As Byars recalled later:

“They were kicking off, and I was like, ‘I hope they kick it to me, so I can make something big happen,” says Byars.

Byars made something huge happen, returning Snuffy Everett’s kickoff 99 yards for the touchdown.

“You don’t forget things like that run,” says Byars. “I’ll be telling my grandkids about that play 40 years from now. You live for those kind of moments.”

…

“I’ve always had speed, it was just deceptive,” insists Byars. “Guys didn’t realize it until they started chasing me. Pittsburgh found out the hard way.”

The Buckeyes pulled ahead on the heels of the Byars’ touchdown, putting the Buckeyes ahead 21-14.

Pitt’s offense, behind John Congemi’s 31/44 341 yard MVP performance, was clearly in the groove, however.  On Pitt’s next drive, Congemi marched Pitt down the field, finding Dwight Collins in the endzone for 6.  However, that was all Pitt would get out of that touchdown.  Down 21-20, Pitt elected to go for 2 but was unsuccessful.

Pitt would get another crack, though, as Ohio State’s offense sputtered on the next drive.  Snuffy Everett (yes, that’s his name… stop laughing), proud native of Brandon, Mississippi (yes, that’s where he’s from… I said stop laughing already) redeemed his earlier miss in the first quarter.  His clutch field goal, after Congemi led the Panthers from their own 12 yard line, put the Buckeyes down 23-20 to the resurgent Pitt Panthers for the first time with 2:39 left to play.  Worse yet, John Wooldridge inadvertantly touched his knee down at the Buckeyes’ own 11 yard line on the ensuing kickoff.

It was 89 yards to the endzone, with two timeouts, 2:39 remaining and the Buckeye offense had been woeful all second half.

Hit it.

What followed is one of the most celebrated drives in Ohio State football history.  The Buckeye offense finally found their groove.  3 plays into the drive, on 3rd down and 10, Keith Byars extended the down and distance with a 14 yard reception… only his second catch of the game.  Two rush plays later, the Buckeyes had another first down.  However, 3 straight incompletions, with two of those incompletions almost being intercepted, the Buckeyes found themselves at 4th down with 1:21 left.  Earle Bruce called a timeout to devise a play, which everyone knew was for all-Big Ten tight end John Frank.

Undaunted, John Frank delivered on 4th down to set up the Buckeyes with a new set of downs.  However, John Wooldridge was tackled in bounds on a 2nd down play, setting up a 3rd and 4 with the clock running.  Bruce put in the call for Split Louie Zoom Pass Left.  If you watched the 1983 Oklahoma clip from Keith that I linked to earlier, you might remember seeing that play.  As OSU’s 25 Greatest Drives explains:

Coach Bruce decided to go with Split Louie Zoom Pass Left. Thad Jemison would be split left, with John Frank lined up next to the guard on the same side and both tackles together on the right side. Keith Byars would streak for the goal line between Jemison and Frank, while flanker Cedric Anderson would work from the right side. Byars had caught two passes for 70 yards in the Oklahoma game using the play, but Tomczak had decided to look for Anderson to try and get the first down. As he rolled right, Mike saw everyone covered- except Jemison. With Byars and Frank flooding the area, Jemison had gotten a step on cornerback Melvin Dean and Tomczak let fly. Jemison, who had waited three years behind Gary Williams for his chance to play as a senior, gathered in the pass for a 39-yard touchdown with only 39 seconds left, giving OSU a 28-23 lead.

The Buckeyes pulled ahead 28-23, eventually stuffing Pitt’s pass attack in the final seconds to hold on to the victory.

Without any further ado, you can watch the game below.

Miscellaneous Observations

• If you’re interested, here’s the starting lineups:
  • Offense: QB: Mike Tomczak, FB: Vaughn Broadnax, HB: Keith Byars, SE: Thad Jemison, FL: Cedric Anderson, TE: John Frank, LT: Bill Roberts, LG: Kirk Lowdermilk, C: Joe Dooley, RG: Scott Zalenski, RT: Mark Krerowicz
  • Defense: DE: Dave Crecelius, NT: Spencer Nelms, DE: Dave Morrill, OLB: Orlando Lowry, ILB: Clark Backus, ILB: Rowland Tatum, OLB: Byron Lee, CB: Garcia Lane, CB: Shaun Gayle, SS: Kelvin Bell, FS: Doug Hill
• Thumbing through those starting lineups, it’s amazing to see how many of those guys are not from Ohio.  My knowledge here is incomplete, but there’s a few names that stick out.  Bill Roberts (LT) is from Miami, FL.  So is Doug Hill.  Kelvin Bell and Shaun Gayle are both from Virginia.  Rowland Tatum is from Inglewood, CA.  Spencer Nelms is from Decatur, GA.  John Frank and Mike Tomczak are from Pennsylvania and Illinois respectively, though the regional differences aren’t as big of a deal.
• Foge Fazio was Pitt’s head coach for this… and some of his reactions during this game were absolutely classic.
• Someone still has to explain to me why Pitt decided to shy away from its distinct mustard yellow and royal blue looks in lieu of something that makes them look indistinguishable from Notre Dame or Navy.
• If anyone has the 1983 Oklahoma game on DVD from this same season, please let me know.  Please for the love of God let me know.

1. Suck it, 1977.  Just, suck it. [↩]