Drive-Thru: First Fiesta Bowl win

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 Meridian, MS (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 difference 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.

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2008 Holiday Gift Guide: The History of Penn State Football

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Sleepness nights returns to The BBC

This blog was founded because yours truly was unable to sleep one night before an Ohio State game 2 years ago.  During that 2006 season, I found myself anxiously awaiting a lot of games, and Friday night sleep was the victim.

Tonight, I suffer that same affliction.  It’s 1:30am, and I’m unable to keep my head on the pillow.  I’ve read a ton of stuff online, watched “Beerfest”, an episode of “The Office”, and found a DVD-quality copy of the Bruce Springsteen performance I attended on Sunday in Columbus.  Maybe the problem is that I’m doing things I LIKE while trying to go to sleep.

It’s been a weird day anyway.  Had a massive fight with the ex-girlfriend, then had an amazing night out with a new friend, Stephanie.  This insomnia is just the ending of a rollercoaster Friday.

Anyway, I texted an old friend in South Carolina tonight.  We both agree that we have a feeling that the Buckeyes are going to explode tomorrow afternoon.  A 200 yard-plus performance for Beanie, or perhaps another 4 TD day for LBiC.  An 10-sack feast from the defense.  A kick return beyond the 23-yard line.  Dare to dream?

This would be the day for it to happen.

Purdue fans are dreading the game.  Their rush defense is the worst in the Big Ten (by a LONG way, giving up 40 yards per game MORE than the 10th-best team, Illinois).  And their pass defense?  Worst in the Big Ten.

I rip on Illinois for having no defense, and Purdue allows 65 yards more per game than the Illini.

In other words, this could be ugly, and it really should be.

OK, now I’m really jazzed about Saturday’s game.  Crap, I should really be doing things that bore me to help get to sleep.

Maybe the Rays-Red Sox game is online.  That should put me to sleep.

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Week #7: Purdue University – Open Thread

Separation Saturday. Veritable college football mana, sent from the Lord on High Himself, to sate his unworthy children on this great Saturday in Febtober.

That’s great and all, but this is a Buckeye Blog. We will keep a watchful eye on those teams above us. And that’s all. It’s all about the Purdue Boilermakers and that really big bass drum. Seriously. That thing is huge.

So what is there to look for in this game? Youth. After the carnage from OSU’s helmet-to-helmet collision with Wisconsin last week, it looks like we’ll be seeing more freshmen this game. This season was supposed to be the Year of the Senior. Turns out, we were all a few years early.

So what about those Boilermakers? How about some data? Buckeye Planet has their thorough preview up, as does The O-Zone.

Do the Boilermakers have a chance? Their fans don’t seem to think so, looking at what they think the keys to their victory are. Jeff at the BBC warns of a trap game.

The line sits at 19 (at least last time I checked). What say you?

Your prediction could win you a copy of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes on DVD (Available to the losers non-winners at Amazon.comand A&E TV). If your prediction is the closest to the final score, you win! Deadline for entry will be Saturday at 3:30 PM EDT. Former contest winners are not eligible. Lo siento.

(In the case of a tie-breaker, pick a winner of the OU/Texas game)

el Kaiser’s prediction:
I’ve been predicting offensive explosions lately, so I’m playing this one close to the vest. I still think OSU wins big, but they don’t cover.

OSU: 27
Purdue: 13

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
I have two: one that assumes Tresselball will continue in C-bus for the remainder of the year; and one that speculates that the reason for the vanilla schemes over the past month is temporary, and only due to Beanie’s injury and Pryor’s inexperience.

If it’s “I’m playing Tresselball”:
OSU: 27
Purdue: 13 (late TD in garbage time)

If it’s “Pryor has developed ahead of schedule and we should get him more practice with a wider playbook”:
OSU: 44
Purdue: 3

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Week #6: University of Wisconsin – Open Thread

I thought about posting this on Saturday, giving us something to do with our free time while we wait the unbearably long hours until kick-off. Unfortunately, most of the MotSaG camp will be AFK during the game, so hopefully YNBA will be able to hook us up with the semi-live blogging of the game.

Oh, by the way? Pay no attention to the recent upset of a team ranked higher than Ohio State. Nothing to see there.

To get your Buckeye Knowledge on, Chris over at 11 Warriors wraps up Tressel’s press conference earlier this week, with lots of Wisconsin Game chewy goodness. They also have the most recent depth chart for your examination.

You worried about Terrel Pryor’s first away-from-home start? We’re not. Neither is Buckeye Commentary.

You want Buckeye Planet? We got your Buckeye Planet right here. If you’re looking for more previews, check out Dotting The “I” or the Gerdeman’s preview at The O-Zone.

Now it’s time for predictions: This time, though, we’re doing things a little different. We’re upping the ante and holding a little contest. Hopefully this will become a common occurrence around these parts. For this week’s prize, we’re giving away a copy of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyeson DVD. If your prediction is the closest to the final score, a winner will be you! Deadline for entry will be Saturday at 8:00 PM EDT.

The tie-breaker question is: How gains more yards on the ground, OSU’s running game or Wisconsin’s?

My predictions:
Final score: OSU 31 – Wisconsin 27
Ground game: Wisconsin falls behind earlier, forcing them to go to the air, while Beanie grinds out yards and clock time: OSU

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
Final score: OSU 38 – Wisconsin 17
Ground game: If we’re going by past trends as being indicative of future performance, Wisco has been struggling with mobile QBs. Pryor and Wells will outrush Pajamas Hill and Co.: OSU

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Now Available on DVD: Forgetting Todd Boeckman

Breakups are never easy. 

But for most people, it’s a way of life.

You meet someone special and you muster up the confidence to speak to him or her. You start off slow, a couple of movies, dinner, and if you’re lucky, a trip to the local Putt-Putt Golf course. 

Then things get serious.

You’re talking on the phone more, sending flowers, thinking about each other day in and day out. It’s perfect. Or as Marsha Brady might say: “dreamy.”

Until you realize it’s a nightmare.

Pleasant telephone conversations turn into shouting matches. The flowers you sent are in the dumpster, and when you do think of each other, you’re thinking of how to just get away. 

Unfortunately, these breakups are not limited to our personal dating lives. They happen in our sporting lives as well. 

In fact, it happened to Ohio State fans just two weeks ago.

After Troy Smith left the campus with his Heisman Trophy in hand, the Buckeye nation was unsure who would proceed him at the quarterback position. Who was even capable of filling such large shoes?

Enter Todd Boeckman. A 6′4″, 244 lb Junior out of St. Henry, Ohio. 

Most were unsure of Boeckman’s ability to lead a Buckeye team coming off a 12-1 season, the only loss coming in the infamous National Championship game against the Florida Gators. But, the fans gave him the benefit of the doubt and got behind their new quarterback.

And Todd Boeckman shined.

In his first start, he threw 17-23 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes beat Youngstown State 38-6.

We had ourselves a new quarterback.

In fact, Boeckman led the Buckeyes back to the No. 1 spot in the major polls by mid-October. Everything was “dreamy”.

Enter the Illinois Fighting Illini. 

The Illini marched into Ohio Stadium that fateful November afternoon and handed the Buckeyes their first loss of the season, with one game left to play. The Buckeye nation was stunned.

Todd Boeckman went 13-23 for 156 yards and three interceptions. 

Needless to say, no one wearing scarlet and gray that day left happy.

But people make mistakes. Sometimes they do things out of character, and all they need is encouragement from the people they love to bring them back to their senses.

-sigh-

Boeckman comes back the next week and leads the team to a 14-3 victory over rival Michigan in Ann Arbor. All is forgotten.

Until Todd pulles a Boeckman in the National Championship game and throws 2 more interceptions in a 38-24 loss to the LSU Tigers.

What happened to the quarterback that we grew to love all season? We came to all his games, wore his jersey, and even made signs for all to see on College Game Day.

And as in dating life, when things start to sour, we begin to turn our heads the other way. And sometimes we see something we like.

Enter Terrelle Pryor.

The No. 1 rated high school player has just walked onto The Ohio State University campus and people are talking. 

Everyone knows that Pryor is the future of Buckeye football. We’ve seen the highlight reels, read his stats, and are amazed at the potential he has for himself and for the team.

But we’re still dating Todd.

Todd who had us wrapped around his finger only to crush us. Todd, who after all our support, failed to match the same level of commitment. 

But if you play with a knife long enough, eventually you’ll cut yourself.

September 13th, 2008. Los Angeles Coliseum. In the Buckeyes’ much anticipated game against a high ranking USC Trojans team, Todd Boeckman throws for two interceptions, and fumbles once to show the world that he just cannot win the big games. The Buckeyes get trounced 35-3. The laughing stock of college football.

And the breakup begins.

Fans are embarrassed, angry, and just fed up. They just can’t deal with this relationship anymore. It’s time to cut ties with Todd Boeckman.

The coaches agree and Terrelle Pryor starts the very next game against the Trojans from Troy University.

Breakups are never easy.

They are emotional times and the parties involved just need space. It’s painful to remember the good times, and relive the bad. It’s best to just come to grips with reality and just move on. 

Todd, I know it hurts, but can we still be friends?

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Conference play is upon us

I’ve amassed quite a collection of Ohio State DVDs through the ages.  Now that we’re in conference play, I’ll try to upload a YouTube relevant to the Buckeyes’ opponent for the week.  With this week being Minnesota, I uploaded a Drive-Thru of the 1991 matchup with the Gophers.  The matchup marked Ohio State’s return to the Metrodome following the epic 1989 encounter.  Therein, the Buckeyes rallied from a 31-0 deficit to win 41-37 in the final seconds.  The 1991 game was billed as a revenge game, but the Buckeyes ran over the Gophers in the second and third quarters (35 unanswered, 21 of those in the second quarter) for an easy 35-6 win.  No, I don’t have the 1989 game or else I would’ve uploaded that.  The 1991 game, though far less interesting, does include Kirk Herbstreit’s somewhat famous Tommie Frazier-ish romp to the end zone.

Of course, I can’t promise I can do this every week.  I don’t have any relevant games for Wisconsin or Michigan State and I don’t care to upload last year’s encounters to get by.  I’ve been looking high and low for the 2002 Wisconsin game but can’t find it.

Fun fact: I think the Buckeyes have only lost to the Gophers 3 times since Woody Hayes (1966, 1981 and 2000 that I can recall off the top of my head).  I would have to fact check that since I’m unaware how often the Buckeyes even played the Gophers in the 1950s, but I expect those numbers to hold for the most part.  The 2000 game sucked noodles, though.

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Describe Your Greatest Ohio State Moment – Win a Woody Hayes DVD

If things had gone according to plan, instead of writing this post, I would be in Columbus by now counting down the hours to my first pregame festivities of the season. However, as these things tend to go, my son spent most of the day pushing a fever above 104 …
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It’s Freeday!

A&E Home Video was kind enough to hook us up with a box of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes DVDs and since we’re still rocking Betamax, we’re left with no choice but to give them away. We’ll start today with our first contest of the 2008 football season.

We’re getting a little out there this time, but stay with us, this could get fun. To enter, simply leave a comment in this post prior to the contest deadline Sunday evening detailing a trick play you’d like to see drawn-up and executed by the Buckeyes this season. It helps to be as detailed as possible — the situation, players involved, who’s in motion pre-snap, etc.

We’ll review the entries and announce the winner on Monday or Tuesday.

UPDATE: We’ve decided to give away two copies of the DVD — one to each of the top two entries, so keep those entries coming.

The fine print:

• Must be 18 years-old or older.
• One entry/comment per person.
• Your entry/comment must include a valid email address.
• Deadline for entries is Sunday, August 17th @ 6PM ET.

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