Our Honor Defend

After this game, Earle Bruce referred to the victory as the finest he’s ever had at any level of association.  It might be the best victory in Ohio Stadium history, though obviously several other games qualify for that honor.  Ohio State was two games removed from forking over 500 yards of offense to Purdue and was without the services of Keith Byars for this game.  Iowa entered the Horseshoe undefeated and the #1 team in the country with the Sandman sprinkling sweet dreams — of a Rose Bowl, a possible Heisman Trophy for Chuck Long and a national championship — on the eyes of Iowa’s fans.  But on that rain-soaked evening in Ohio Stadium, that sandman turned to mud as Ohio State shocked the Iowa Hawkeyes 22-13. By game’s end, Ohio Stadium resembled more a running shower stall, though no one quite knew if that was because of the torrential downpour that evening or the sad tears of Chuck Long.

This game was one of a few that kept me totally enthralled when I started watching it.  Most other games are interesting enough, but allow me to multitask¹.  This was one of only a few that I’ve watched that was so mesmerising that I could nothing else but watch the game².  I don’t have the Big Ten Network³, but I understand that they’ll show a whole game from Big Ten’s yesteryear every now and then.  From what I understand, they’ve shown the 1990 game between Ohio State and Iowa but I’m not sure if they’ve shown this one.  That’d be unfortunate since that 1990 game was kind of ugly and unwatchable even for a Buckeye fan.  This game was so much more interesting.

There may have been some hyperbole in thinking Iowa would run up 1000 yards of offense on Ohio State’s defense when people were discussing what would happen pre-game, but Iowa’s offense was led by Chuck Long, every bit the Heisman contender.  By this point in the season, the Heisman race had narrowed considerably to a two-man contest between Long and Auburn tailback Bo Jackson.  Long had an incredible opportunity this game to make up ground (as most people felt he was “trailing” Bo at this point).  While Iowa was preparing to kickoff against Ohio State, Auburn was finishing up its game against the #2 ranked Florida Gators.  And… yes… the Gators were also on probation during this time⁴.  In that game, Bo Jackson and his #6 Auburn Tigers stumbled greatly.  Bo was limited to 15 carries for 48 yards and a game-ending injury in a loss to the Galen Hall-coached Gators, giving Chuck Long a prime opportunity to establish himself as the most viable option for Heisman.

So how did Chuck Long seize the opportunity? By throwing 3 first half interceptions.  He finished with 4 interceptions and only 169 yards on a 17/34 day in a losing effort.  Ugly seems appropriate in describing Chuck Long’s play.  He miscommunicated signals at the line, he stared down receivers, he misread the coverage and, of course, threw into coverage… alot.  To be fair, he wasn’t getting much help from his usually stellar offensive line and Ohio State’s 5 linebacker front (Eric Kumerow, Chris Spielman, Larry Kolic, Pepper Johnson, Byron Lee) threw them for a loop.  Kolic and Lee often came up to play on the line, creating some uncertainty in blocking assignments at the point of attack.

Everyone involved knew that it wasn’t a question of if the rainstorm would come, but when.  “When” seemed to coincide with Long’s third interception, reeled in by Greg Rogan.  The Buckeyes’ had capitalized in a big way after Long’s 2nd interception (collected by Wililam White), setting up Wooldridge’s run to paydirt and Ohio State’s first touchdown of the day.  Yet, with that third interception came the rain and a sense in Ohio Stadium that the rain portended something.  The rain, perhaps, was a metaphor for the events transpired and events yet to unfold.  The substance of that metaphor was ultimately up to interpretation.  For Ohio State fans, the defensive effort and 15-0 lead that followed Rogan’s interception felt right as rain.  For Iowa fans who made the trip, everything, well… just felt like rain.  The rain itself came in the second quarter following Rogan’s INT and collected through halftime.  When play resumed in the second half with the Buckeyes up 15-7, Ohio Stadium had been transformed into a wading pool.

The third quarter was a scoreless affair, made possible in part by an uncalled (but so, so obvious) pass interference on the Hawkeyes defense on the Buckeyes’ first drive of the second half and a badly missed FG attempt by Rich Spangler on that same drive.  With the score still at 15-7, Iowa’s defense gave Iowa’s stalled offense a golden ticket when Jay Norvell intercepted a Jim Karsatos pass and returned it to the Ohio State 19 yard line.  In spite of the field position, Chuck Long’s Hawkeyes still couldn’t do anything in light of the thundering noise from the Ohio Stadium faithful.  3rd and short became 4th and 1 when Ronnie Harmon was unable to pick up the first down.  Instead of opting for a field goal to cut the score to 15-10, Fry opted to go for the first down.  On 4th and 1, Chris Spielman was up to the task, shedding his block and popping Harmon in the backfield for a loss.  It was one of Spielman’s 19 tackles on the day to go with 2 interceptions.

To make matters worse, Iowa’s next drive ended quickly when Terry White, aforementioned Ballhawking Destroyer of Heisman Campaigns, rocked Scott Helverson (current NFL referee) for a quick change of possession and great field position for Ohio State’s offense.  A few plays later, Vince Workman had burst off left tackle for 6 and a seemingly insurmountable 22-7 lead with 11:39 to go in the 4th quarter.

To their credit, Iowa started to rally, though they far too late in the game to make up that kind of deficit.  On their ensuing possession, Iowa drove the length of the field, culminating in a 3 yard TD dive for Ronnie Harmon’s backup.  Now down 22-13, Fry opted to go for 2 to cut the deficit to a single touchdown.  However, Sonny Gordon blew up the option play, stopping Kevin Harmon in the backfield.  On Iowa’s next drive, Fry again tried to cut into Ohio State’s lead by way of a 42yd FG attempt from Rob Houghtlin.  Houghtlin was the hero of the #1-#2 Iowa-Michigan matchup when his last second field goal propelled the Hawkeyes to victory.  Here, however, he was a bit of a goat, shanking the attempt and instilling in Iowa’s players, band (who showed up) and fans that the die had been cast.

Iowa had one more prayer when it took over with under 2 minutes to play.  That prayer fell on deaf ears; Chris Spielman grabbed Chuck Long’s 4th interception toss to seal the victory.  With it, Ohio State secured its 20th straight victory in Ohio Stadium and upset the #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.  If you’re interested, you can watch my compliation of the game below.

Miscellaneous Observations

• George Cooper, the fullback, was unstoppable this game.  It was his first 100 yard game of his career.  Ohio State’s offense did an excellent job in setting him up on misdirection plays and delays to spring him loose.  I really, really wish we’d use the fullback more now.
• Woody Hayes had a heart attack around this time and watched this game at his home while recuperating.
• This game was played 50 years to the day after the “Game of the Century” in Ohio Stadium between the Buckeyes and Notre Dame.
• I miss how Hayden Fry used to stand his tight ends up on the line of scrimmage.  I understand that it may not be the most efficient position for them, but I wish someone would do this nowadays strictly as a throwback to how Fry used to do it.
• The Ohio Stadium ballboy on Iowa’s sideline had one leg… and it was really distracting while watching this game.  You can see him hopping along Iowa’s sideline in the video.  Just keep your eyes peeled and you’ll see him hopping into frame.
• Terry White, aforementioned Ballhawking Destroyer of Heisman Campaigns, had many good hits this game and was named game MVP for good reason in spite of Spielman’s Herculean 19 tackle effort.
• In spite of thriving in every game I’ve seen him play, Terry eventually transferred from Ohio State to WVU.  I don’t know why, but I wish I did.  It certainly couldn’t have been for lack of playing time.
• Terry White’s son, Patrick, was in Michigan State’s 2009 recruiting class.  He was recruited by Mike Tressel, nephew of Jim who was an assistant coach for Ohio State in 1985.
• It was Jim Tressel’s last year as an assistant.  He took the head coaching job at Youngstown State the next year.
• My God… the Buckstaches in the stands this game… My God…
• Ronnie Harmon was injured on that 4th and 1 play previously mentioned and didn’t play the rest of the game.
• After Jay Norvell’s interception in the third quarter, Ohio Stadium got really loud.  Unfortunately, this was back in the day when the NCAA was uncool about stadium noise.  Contrast that to today, a time when the NCAA is uncool regarding just about everything except crowd noise.  The refs had to call a discretionary timeout and a message over the loudspeaker at the Shoe warned the fans to be quiet.  They didn’t listen.
• Hayden Fry wasn’t happy with the crowd noise.  He came up with this gem of a proposal after the game to mask his star QB’s poor decision-making:

”It’s a realistic fact that happened. He became mentally disturbed for the first time since he’s been a starter for us because of his inability to communicate.” Fry said the problem of crowd noise had become widespread. ”It’s kind of become a fad now,” he said. ”The fans are going bananas.” To correct the problem, Fry suggested imposing penalties on home teams whose fans make too much noise with sound meters rather than a referee’s judgment used to determine the call.

My Two Favorite Player Pics from this Game (Spielman excluded)

1. I’m a busy man.  That’s my excuse. [↩]
2. If you have the opportunity, I think the 1977 Orange Bowl, the 1984 Fiesta Bowl and the 1995 Notre Dame game will also do that to you. [↩]
3. …and Comcast has told me in no uncertain terms to stop asking.  Feeling’s mutual, Comcast. [↩]
4. I think they spent the entire 1980s on probation. [↩]