Ohio State Football: Great backfields, national titles
Things were looking up as Woody Hayes entered his second decade as the Ohio State football team and it began with another national title.
In 1961, senior fullback Bob Ferguson capped off his Hall of Fame career by leading the Ohio State football team in rushing for the third straight year. He was aided in the backfield by sophomore halfbacks Paul Warfield (420 yards rushing and 5 TDs) and Matt Snell (197 yards and 1 TD).
The trio led the Buckeyes to Woody’s third national title. Warfield became a great all-purpose back and went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the NFL as a wide receiver. Snell had a terrific pro career as well, mostly in the AFL.
However, Ohio State went on a slide the next six years without even winning a Big Ten Championship until Woody had another all-time great fullback.
In 1967 Ohio State was off to a 2-3 start but won the last four games. That season Jim Otis came onto the scene and led the Buckeyes in rushing.
In 1968 the best group of sophomores ever assembled on one team made a name for themselves, and the backfield was loaded with them. Quarterback Rex Kern, halfbacks John Brockington and Leo Hayden and wingback Larry Zelina gained plenty of yards on the ground. However, it was in large part due to the fact teams were trying to slow down Otis, not an easy task.
The fullback rushed for 985 yards and 17 touchdowns while leading Ohio State to a magical season that was capped off with a win over USC in the Rose Bowl for another National Championship.
It appeared another title was assured in 1969 but that was the year a huge upset started a 10 year war. Otis became Woody’s first 1,000 yard rusher though and scored 15 touchdowns.
His 20th tear as the Ohio State head coach ended as a mixed bag. With Brockington moving to fullback the Buckeyes finished the regular season undefeated and were named National Champions by the coaches. Then Ohio State lost to Stanford in the Rose Bowl so Nebraska was the AP Champion.
How three yards and a cloud of dust offense evolved. dark. Next
Next I’ll look at how Woody’s offense evolved in the 70s. Formations changed but Ohio State still pounded the football.