Buckeyes silence echoes; one demon down, one to go

Sporting News, The, Oct 9, 1995 by Ivan Maisel

In college football, the team with the better talent usually wins, but not always. Ohio State discovered that 60 years ago. The Buckeyes collapsed in the fourth quarter, giving rise to the first, and some say greatest, of Notre Dame's legendary comebacks. The Fighting Irish had not been back in Ohio Stadium since that 18-13 theft. For nearly three quarters last Saturday, it looked as if they might steal another one.

But with justice as swift as it was sure, the Buckeyes took only 6:38 to turn a 20-14 deficit into a rout. Three Notre Dame turnovers produced three Ohio State touchdowns and the Buckeyes eased home to a 45-26 victory over the Irish. Before a record crowd of 95,537 -- 17 of whom played in that historic loss -- the Buckeyes exorcised demons six decades old.

Some of the 1935 winners sat in the stands, too. For 28 years, Mike Layden served as a Big Ten Conference football official. For 28 years, every time the public-address announcer announced Layden's name at Ohio Stadium, the crowd booed. "A good reception," Layden says, "but a negative reception."

Layden played right halfback for Notre Dame in that famous game. His older brother, Elmer, one of the Four Horsemen, coached the Irish that November day in 1935 when they scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come back and win. Ohio State fans had been waiting ever since. If Lou Holtz had planned to give his team an emotional lift by returning to the sideline, it didn't compare with what the Buckeyes had pent up.

Had there been any doubt about the importance of this game in scarlet-and-gray country, the Ohio State Marching Band erased it last Thursday when it marched over to the Buckeyes practice. That is a custom normally reserved for Michigan. Scalping is legal in Columbus. Last week, it was plentiful, right up until game time.

"On the way to the stadium, the electricity on High Street and 15th Avenue was unbelievable," tailback Eddie George says. "It wasn't even like that last year for Michigan. The fans were really pumped up. All summer long, I kept heating about Notre Dame."

George ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, putting himself among the front-runners for the Heisman trophy. George wouldn't be able to do that without a potent passing attack. Bob Hoying threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns. His 40 career touchdowns moved him to second all-time at Ohio State, 10 behind Art Schfichter.

The offense has changed dramatically from last season, reflecting Coach John Cooper's offseason shakeup of his staff. New quarterbacks coach Walt Harris, last with the Jets and formerly head coach at Pacific, installed an offense that has given Hoying more options. He also has instilled more confidence in his quarterback. When Hoying missed an open Rickey Dudley in the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the Notre Dame 3 in the first quarter, Hoying didn't panic.

"If we put that in, it changes the complexion of the first half," Hoying says. "A lot of things in the first half, for some reason, didn't click. Whether I was jittery or not, I don't know." Notre Dame took a 10-0 lead and didn't give it up until the third quarter, when three Irish turnovers in six minutes turned a close game into a blowout. The Buckeyes needed only three plays after each turnover to score a touchdown. "I said this would be a scoring contest," Cooper says. "For once in my career, I was right."

One demon down, one to go. This week the Buckeyes travel to Penn State for their first conference game. Last season, the Nittany Lions defeated the Buckeyes, 63-14. That should prevent Ohio State from reveling too much in the victory over Notre Dame, or from taking Penn State lightly after its loss to Wisconsin. The Badgers snapped the Lions' 20-game winning streak with a 17-9 upset. All of a sudden, the Big Ten looks like the most interesting race in the nation.