1968: Year of the "Super Sophomores"

Woody Hayes had already led Ohio State to two national titles in his first seven seasons, including 1957. However, other than a peek into the top ten (#9) in 1961 with a Big Ten conference championship, his Buckeyes suffered through a decade-long drought coming up to 1968, including two losing seasons. No titles of any kind for the last six years created severe unrest amongst the fandom, a growing number of whom wanted the mercurial head man (video) ousted.

Still, some sunshine had crept in over the latter part of the ’67 season. After a putrid 5-8 W-L the past 1 ½ years, Ohio State showed signs of life by winning its final four. Even so, those four feeble opponents had managed an average of two wins apiece, and doubters still had ammo for skepticism.

What did create glittering optimism was the arrival of a highly gifted group of newcomers. For a 55-year old head coach who lamented youths' lack of respect for authority, the highly conservative Woody Hayes would place an enormous amount of trust in sophomores (freshmen were ineligible). Twelve of them—including quarterback Rex Kern—started the season and eleven would still be doing so by year’s end.

The Buckeyes started their season withstanding a 76-pass aerial assault from record-breaking Chuck Hixson and the SMU Mustangs, who would victimize everyone other than three top-five opponents. A Rex Kern mega-tackle breaking run followed by a touchdown pass right before halftime broke open a fairly close ballgame.

After a modest win over Oregon, running the Buckeyes’ winning streak to six games, they hosted the number one-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, led by all-America candidates quarterback Mike Phipps(College FB Hall of Fame) and running back Leroy Keyes (runner-up in the Heisman) . The prior year, the Boilermakers had run roughshod over Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes, 41-6.

Payback was hell, as the Ohio State defense suffocated the talented Purdue attack, with Ted “The Tree” Provost intercepting a first half pass and running it in for the winning touchdown. Ohio State 13-Purdue 0.

Puny Northwestern was next and the outcome predictable, with another patsy, winless Illinois, on the docket. In three of their five contests to date, the Illini had been blown out of the stadium (by forty or more), including 58-8 the week before to Notre Dame.

And Ohio State started out the same way, rolling to a 24-0 halftime lead. The usual offensive leaders—quarterback Rex Kern and fullback Jim Otis (first team all-America who ended up with almost 1,000 yards in a nine-game schedule)—figured in all the touchdowns on the way to a nearly 300-yard first half. The defense—which was highly banged up—had dominated as well in holding Illinois to three first downs.

But, as they say, the game is sixty minutes long, and it became very lengthy for Buckeyes’ fans. A combination of Illini offensive adjustments, turnovers, and penalties shockingly knotted the score, 24-24. Things got even darker when super soph Kern went out with a head injury, bringing in sub Ron Maciejowski.

Championship teams prove their mettle in such circumstances, though, and versus a hostile opponent and crowd, Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes did just that. Backup QB “Mace” had his opportunity and did the most with it, hitting a huge 44-yard pass to dangerous wingback Larry Zelina. Jim Otis plunged in for the winning score, and Ohio State was still unbeaten.

Even with that drama done, the nation’s second ranked squad (behind Southern Cal) faced more of it, surviving mediocre Michigan State (25-20) and Iowa (33-27).

Possessing a shaky but still unbeaten mark in the books, once-beaten and longtime rival Michigan stood in the way of the Buckeyes’ first Rose Bowl trip in over ten years. Creating even more tension, the victor would likely meet Southern Cal for the national championship.

With the largest crowd (85,371) to ever fill Ohio Stadium on hand, the two powerhouse programs put on a fantastic first half show, with the visiting Wolverines striking first, 7-0. After trading touchdowns, making it 14-14, Kern led the Buckeyes on another touchdown march before halftime.

With all-America tackles Rufus Mayes and Dave Foley leading the charge, Woody Hayes’ squad never looked back the final thirty minutes (video). Behind a head coach believing in a “three yards and a cloud of dust” philosophy, Ohio State gobbled up 421 yards on the ground.

When the carnage had ended, the Buckeyes had overwhelmed Michigan, 50-14. Salt was rubbed in the wounds against his despised rival when Woody opted to try for a two-point conversion following the final score. Asked why he made such a decision, he reportedly stated, “Because I couldn’t go for three.”

Following the demolition, Ohio State clutched the top spot in the polls, overtaking the Southern Cal Trojans after several weeks waiting in the wings at #2.

By now the Buckeyes, though underdogs to runaway Heisman winner OJ Simpson and the defending national champion Trojans, had plenty of confidence going into the Rose Bowl. After Simpson stunned the stadium with a breathtaking 80-yard run to give his team a 10-0 lead, Kern and the Buckeyes clawed back in. Including the runs of Jim Otis and Leo Hayden, he led them to a 10-10 tie by halftime.

The second half was all Ohio State. Not to be outdone, the Buckeyes’ defense—led by first team all-America performers Jim Stillwagon and Jack Tatum—shut down the Southern Cal attack and forced Simpson into multiple second half turnovers. Ohio State pulled away, 27-16. Woody’s “Super Sophomores,” as the team became nicknamed, had not only given the school its first conference title in many years, but the first national one since 1957.