I doubt if you can find an Ohio State fan who doesn’t know the story of Woody Hayes being asked why he went for two when his team already led Michigan 48-0. The legendary coach replied with the legendary quote, “Because I couldn’t go for three.” Thanks to an exchange between coaches during the Cotton Bowl, Buckeye fans have another quote that is the stuff of legends.
After the Buckeyes scored to take a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Texas rapidly moved the ball to the Ohio State one-yard-line with just over four minutes to play. Most believed the Longhorns would easily tie the game, including someone on the OSU staff, who said into the coaches’ headset, “Boy, they scored fast there.” Without batting an eye, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles growled, “They ain’t scored yet.” And they didn’t.
It may not quite be Rear Admiral David Faragut’s “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,” which was said during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, but Knowles’ declaration is full of the same spit-in-the-eye defiance to a dire situation. While the players on the Ohio State defense were not aware of their coach’s words, they played with the same defiance.
They simply refused to allow Texas to cross the goal line. It’s a sequence of plays that began with backup defensive tackle Kayden McDonald blowing up the middle of the line of scrimmage and ended with Jack Sawyer’s one-man tour de force to put the game away. An epic goal line stand that will go down in Ohio State history and reflects the pugnacious attitude of their coach. “They ain’t scored yet.”
Jim Knowles’ quote may never end up in the history books alongside Faragut’s or held in the same reverence as Woody’s, but it sure would look good on a t-shirt.