Scarlet and Game
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Ohio State Football: Jan. 1, 1969 ‘Super Sophs’ bottled up ‘The Juice’

By Charlie Lockhart

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: Brutus Buckeye, the mascot for the Ohio State Buckeyes, celebrates their 27-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: Brutus Buckeye, the mascot for the Ohio State Buckeyes, celebrates their 27-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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After 50 years of following Ohio State football, this Rose Bowl game is still special to me.

When Ohio State traveled to Pasadena January 1, 1969 to play USC, it was expected to be one of the classic matchups in the history of the Rose Bowl. It was a bunch of “Super Sophs” going up against the defending national champions led by Heisman Trophy winner O.J. “The Juice” Simpson.

The two teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the polls so the Rose Bowl essentially would be the National Championship Game. The game lived up to the hype, and on that day the young Buckeyes bottled up “The Juice” giving coach Woody Hayes his fourth national title.

It didn’t look like that would be the case early on. I remember watching Simpson’s 80 yard touchdown run in the second quarter and wondering if the Buckeyes could stop this guy. That put the Trojans up 10-0 and I thought the game was over.

I’m glad Woody Hayes and his young Buckeyes didn’t feel the same way I did.

From that point forward Ohio State dominated both sides of the ball. I remember the defense creating turnovers, but only through research did I find out USC committed five. I just remember the Buckeye defense seemed to have found the answer to stopping the Trojans’ I-formation offense and the Heisman winning tailback.

But how the Ohio State offense performed will always be indelibly imprinted in my mind. Watching the play of Rex Kern made me determined to go from being the last string quarterback on my team to becoming a starter. It took a few years but it did happen.

The sophomore QB threw two second half touchdowns but that wasn’t the only reason he was the star of the game. It was just part of the story.

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Neither the NBC camera crew or the USC defense seemed to know which Buckeye was carrying the football. You would often see the Trojans tackling fullback Jim Otis in the middle of the line, only to find out that Kern or another back was running with the ball on the edge. The young Ohio State QB was simply a magician with the football in his hands.

With the Buckeyes clicking on all cylinders they scored 27 straight points. A final touchdown by the Trojans made the final score 27-16.

It was quite a feeling for an 11-year-old fan sitting in front of the gas stove watching his favorite team win the Rose Bowl and the national championship. And I just knew with the number of sophomore starters there would be at least two more undefeated seasons on the way, and possibly many more after that.

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I wasn’t aware the team up north had just hired a new head coach name Bo who would upset the apple cart. And I had no clue what a wild and fun ride it would be following Ohio State football for the next 49 years. I just knew that after the clock had wound down on the 1969 Rose Bowl, my Buckeyes were National Champions.  

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