Ohio State Football: Greatest Rose Bowl through the eyes of an 11 year old

After 50 years of following the Ohio State football program, the very first big game I ever watched the Buckeyes play is still my favorite.

Of the many Rose Bowl Games I have watched over the years no other has matched the first. That was 50 years ago when the Ohio State football team was loaded with a bunch of ‘Super Sophs’ who won the Rose Bowl and the National Championship.

I had become a fan the previous November when Ohio State defeated some team from Michigan, which I learned afterwards was a big deal. So the 1968 team was the first I followed for an entire season.

On January 1, 1969 I sat down in front of our gas stove to watch my first Rose Bowl and was excited to see if my favorite team could remain undefeated and win the national title. That would be thrilling in any era, but with the rules in place at that time it was even more so.

Those who weren’t around then will probably find these two rules hard to believe.

• Freshmen were ineligible to play on varsity.
• No team could be on TV more than three times during the season unless they were invited to play in a bowl game.

I think I had only watched the Buckeyes play one time during the 1968 season so getting to see them play in the Rose Bowl was a real treat. I had to learn the names of the ‘Super Sophs’, and find out if Ohio State won each week, mostly by reading the Parkersburg News or Columbus Dispatch on Sunday morning.

Before the season began, junior fullback Jim Otis was probably the only Buckeye I was familiar with. By the time the Rose Bowl Game was played I knew quarterback Rex Kern, halfback John Brockington and wingback Larry Zelina were key players on offense. I also knew that nose guard Jim Stillwagon and defensive back Jack Tatum were beasts on defense.

Now I would get to watch those players, along with the other talented sophomores, in the most important game of the season.

Here are impressions the ‘Greatest Rose Bowl’ made on the 11-year-old boy that are firmly entrenched in my memory 50 years after the game was played.

It didn’t take long for the excitement to wear off and worry to set in. The Trojans moved the ball down the field and kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. O.J. Simpson, the outstanding running back I had heard so much about, looked like he was going to be difficult to stop.

When he then took off on an 80 yard touchdown run later in the half I thought the game was over.

I’m glad the Buckeyes didn’t feel that way. From that point forward they dominated the game.

Ohio State fought back to tie the game 10-10 heading into halftime. The Buckeyes scored the first 17 points in the second half before giving up a late touchdown and won 27-16.

I remember the Ohio State defense created turnovers during their run but only realized USC turned the ball over five times when I checked out the game stats. I knew the Buckeyes slowed down Simpson after his long touchdown run but I forgot he lost a fumble and threw an interception.

However, one thing I do remember was the young Ohio State defensive players were as good as advertised.

The performance by one player on offense made the biggest impression on me that day and changed my football career. Quarterback Rex Kern was simply a magician with the ball in his hands.

Often he would fake a dive to Otis, the cameras would show the Trojans tackling the big fullback, and then there would be a scramble to find the ball. The cameraman would finally catch Kern, Brockington, Zelina or halfback Leo Hayden running with the football near the sideline.

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It was a thing of beauty to watch him run the option. Kern also threw two touchdown passes in the second half and was named the Rose Bowl MVP.

Up to that point I was a starting linebacker on our football team and the “last string” quarterback. After watching Rex Kern play I was determined that would change.

I spent many hours in my bedroom practicing fake handoffs with a plastic football and even more outside improving my passing skills with a real one. It took nearly three years after watching Kern perform his magic in the Rose Bowl before I finally became the starting quarterback, but I made it.

Related story: 50 Yrs. of Ohio State Football: Paying forward and a buckeye tree up north

The impressions from the 1969 Rose Bowl Game will stay with me forever. That was the day an 11-year-old sat down in front of the gas stove to watch Ohio State play for a national title, and by the end of the game he was a Buckeye fan for life.