Our Honor Defend

I feel privileged to be able to make this post.  Those that have followed this blog through the months may remember me making references to me dying to get this game.  I have searched long and hard for it.  I knew Keith, formerly of Buckeye Commentary, had a copy in his possession (see: here) and I came [      ] that close to pestering him to get a copy to upload.  Fortunately, reader John F. of Strongsville, OH saved the day, e-mailing me with the news that he had a copy and would be willing to provide it.  His generosity of this game, among many others, will surely allow me to keep putting up Drive-Thru compilations on YouTube for the months to come and, of course, assist me in my all too petty goal to catch WolverineHistorian in this YouTube version of an arms race.  I’m still a-comin’, but I clearly got a long way to go.

My interest in the 1983 matchup between the Buckeyes and the Sooners stems from several factors.  I’ve always had my dad in mind when looking for this game.  I’m not sure I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, but my dad is also an Ohio State alumnus himself, but had the misfortune of having a 3 year stint in the military in the mid 70s separate him from the glory years of Archie Griffin, Pete Johnson, Brian Baschnagel and Cornelius Greene (72-75).  Instead, my old man, who graduated in the same class of 1972 as that famous recruiting class, ultimately got the ignominious end to the Woody Hayes era from 1976 to 1978.  During this time, an injury to Rod Gerald against Purdue in 1976 derailed the Big Ten campaign in a shutout loss to the Wolvereenies.  Before then, the no. 2 Buckeyes lost at home to a Missouri team that finished their season with a paltry six wins.  What else sadly sticks out from that era?  The ass-kicking in the 1978 Sugar Bowl to Alabama and the suspense of opening up the 1978 season with Rod Gerald and Art Schlichter in the same huddle with Gerald playing the role of split end and Schlichter playing the role of interception factory in a shutout home-opening loss to the Nittany Lions.  It ended with a punch to Charlie Baumann and the end of the Woody Hayes era at Ohio State.  My old man was at every home game in that period and had no victories over Michigan to show for it.

My dad never browbeat me with Ohio State stuff, but did often share things here and there.  The lowlights of that period that resonated the most with my old man is the 1977 game at Ohio Stadium against the no. 3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.  My dad never mentioned the Michigan losses and didn’t put too much stock into the 1978 Sugar Bowl, the 1976 Missouri and 1978 Penn State games.  This one, though… this game clearly bothered him.  It was a highly anticipated, albeit turnover-riddled, game between two of the most prestigious programs in the country that saw the #3 Sooners storm out to the early lead only to fall victim to 28 unanswered from the Buckeyes.  The Sooners had the last trick up their sleeves, concussing Rod Gerald, rallying from the deficit and securing victory at the foot of Uwe von Schamann.  For Buckeye fans of that age, this appears to be their January 2007 game that I’m not discussing any further.  The closest he told me had ever come to killing anyone in a blind rage was after that game.  It was that heartbreaking for Ohio State fans, certainly those in attendance like my dad, and apparently the Sooner fans were none too gracious in victory.  To this day, Barry Switzer is not a well-received name in my house.  Mom has nothing good to say about him either.

While the 1977 game was regarded as a college football classic — “The Kick” in Sooner lore, many Buckeye fans and college football fans in general forget that the game was not just a one-time affair.  It was actually the first leg of a home-and-home, with the return leg to be played in Norman in 1983.  It’s any wonder that the 1983 return leg gets no recollection from college football fans since it too was a nationally televised matchup between two of the highest ranked programs in the country at the time.  The Sooners entered this game ranked no. 2 in the country, second only to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  The Buckeyes were ranked no. 6 in the country and were expecting big things from sophomore tailback Keith Byars, post-Schlichter gunslinger Mike Tomczak in his second full year as a starter, and preseason All-American tackle William Roberts.  It was arguably not the most anticipated matchup of the day, as #5 Auburn was playing #3 Texas, but it was an early season showdown with obvious national title implications.

Another thing piquing my interest about this game is John Frank, the senior tight end from Mt. Lebanon, Pennyslvania.  Buckeye fans across the board probably know about Archie’s 1972 breakthrough against North Carolina.  I’m sure they’ve internalized Keith Byars’ and Eddie George’s respective victimizations of Illinois in 1984 and 1995.  John Frank’s performance against the Sooners in 1983 is as astonishing as those.  7 catches for 108 yards and 2 TDs may not seem astonishing, but it is when you consider the context.  John Frank is Jewish, and the weekend this game was played happened to coincide with Yom Kippur.  Accordingly, John Frank fasted for two days before the game and spent the better part of his time in the synagogue.  While that’s less than optimal conditions for anyone, the blistering heat in Norman made it even more taxing.  The temperature was 95 degrees outside of the stadium on this day.  Inside the stadium, the presence of 77,000+ fans in Owen Field brought the temperature to 98.  On the turf itself, the temperature spiked to a volcanic 135 degrees.  Normal men would wilt under the circumstances; John Frank had one of the most memorable performances of his Buckeye career.  Mike Tomczak got game MVP honors for a 234 yard, 2 TD and 1 INT performance.  John Frank was the real hero of the day.

This victory may also be Earle Bruce’s finest.  I’ve made it little secret that I find myself fascinated with the Earle Bruce era.  He was thrust into an uncomfortable situation (being the guy that directly follows Woody), and many-a Buckeye fan I met in college didn’t know about him.  Curious about what to make of his legacy (and indeed, know more about it), this game is a natural fit for anyone studying it.  This, this was probably Earle Bruce’s masterpiece.  He had other prominent victories at Ohio State, including the 1979 UCLA and Michigan games, the 1984 Illinois game, the 1985 Iowa game, the 1987 Cotton Bowl and his finale against Michigan in the 1987 season.  This is up there.  Nobody just goes into Norman, Oklahoma and hands Barry Switzer’s hat to him in the fashion the Buckeyes did on September 17, 1983.  The offensive line, particularly the left of it, was dominant this game.  Bill Roberts was an Orlando Pace prototype this game, even pancaking a Sooner lineman on pass protection.  Mike Tomczak found ample time to find superhero John Frank underneath to advance the chains.  The offense eventually posted 412 yards of offense on the no. 2 team in the country, and in their house.  The Buckeye defense did a swell job stuffing the wishbone attack in the first quarter and controlling it throughout the game.  The Sooners eventually got their yards in this game, but very little of that came through the middle.  Rowland Tatum made sure of it.  With no inside running game going for them, the Sooners relied on outside pitches and downfield heaves, much to their chagrin.  It made them throw the ball more than their gameplan called for, something the Sooners weren’t very good at doing.  Earle Bruce, the previous coach at Iowa State before taking the job at Ohio State, probably found this victory more delightful: he had never beaten Oklahoma while head coach of the Cyclones.

1983 is a season that Buckeye fans around for the time found disappointing.  Ohio State rose to no. 3 in the polls, but lost to Iowa in Iowa City the next week.  It was their first loss to the Hawkeyes since 1963.  Road losses to Illinois and Michigan rounded out another 3 loss season for Earle Bruce that saw the Buckeyes settle for playing Pitt in the 1984 Fiesta Bowl.  This was actually almost a banner day in Big Ten football.  Unranked Michigan State upset no. 4 ranked Notre Dame, Iowa torched Penn State’s (then not in the Big Ten) defense for almost 50 points in a victory and no. 6 Ohio State beat no. 2 Oklahoma in Norman.  The only blemish was no. 8 Michigan losing in the 4th quarter to Washington in Seattle.

As for the Sooners, this turned out to be a disappointing season for them as well.  They lost to the Longhorns and Cornhuskers en route to a 4 loss season.  While others got in their shots, I like to think the Buckeyes were the ones that derailed what was supposed to be a national championship campaign for them and a Heisman campaign for Marcus Dupree.  Eat it, Switzer.  1977 can suck it.

You can watch my compilation of the game below, with special thanks to John F.  The quality of this game is a little grainy to begin because of a corrupted VOB file on the first disc, but it’s smooth sailing throughout afterwards.

Perhaps because of the unfinished business, the Buckeyes and the Sooners scheduled a series to be played in 2016 and 2017.