Scarlet and Game
Fansided

Ohio State Football: Near Misses In The Past Haunt, Teach

By Eric Alderman

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 08: Quarterback Troy Smith
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 08: Quarterback Troy Smith /
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1 Jan 1987: Head coach Bo Schembechler of Michigan during their 22-15 loss to Arizona State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport
1 Jan 1987: Head coach Bo Schembechler of Michigan during their 22-15 loss to Arizona State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport /

The late 1960s marked one of the finest eras of Ohio State football, but the 1969 Ohio State season ended in a disastrous fashion that shaped Ohio State Football for years to come.

 Woody Hayes led an extremely young team to a championship 1968. The team went 10-0 in a season that featured a 50-14 demolition of a highly ranked Michigan team and capped with a come from behind win over USC in the Rose Bowl. The unblemished record and key wins down the stretch resulted in a consensus national championship for Woody’s team.

The best part of 1968 national champions was the talent leftover for an encore performance. The Buckeyes lost two All-Americans at offensive tackle, but returned an offensive backfield combination in Rex Kern and Jim Otis with the potential to pile-up points. Two future College Football Hall of Famers, Jim Stillwagon and Jack Tatum, anchored the defense.

With the pieces in place, the results began to stack up as predicted for the Buckeyes. They won their first eight games of the season, extending their overall win streak to 22 games. The Buckeyes outscored opponents 371-69 in the process.

The Buckeyes took their wire to wire number one ranking north to Ann Arbor in the final week of the season looking to continue their streak and see themselves crowned as champions again. The result seemed written.

The game played out differently. The Buckeyes piled up mistake after mistake in their worst performance in years. They turned the ball over seven times, four coming on interceptions by Kern bringing to mind Woody’s theory on passing the ball. The errors were insurmountable and the Buckeyes fell 24-12.

It was the Buckeyes that lost the Game in 1969 and not the Wolverines who won. Michigan would lose in the Rose Bowl after starting the Ten Year War with a win, and Ohio State finished the season ranked number four in the country. The loss still bothers those involved. When interviewed by Cleveland.com’s Zach Meisel, Kern raised to a shout:

"“(Did it sting) For a while? How about for a lifetime?”"

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