9/23/2005 football Edit

A trip down memory lane

Kevin Gertsen

Staff

Ohio State at Iowa

September 25, 1983

It was only the third game of the year for both Ohio State and Iowa, yet it was shaping up as a big one.

Ohio State shot out of the gate beating Oregon at the Shoe and then traveled to Norman where they upset the second ranked Sooners. Iowa opened the season with a 51-10 shellacking of Iowa State in Ames before heading to Happy Valley where they won a barn burner over JoePa's boys, 42-34.

Coming into Iowa City the Buckeyes were ranked third and Iowa was ranked seventh.

Ohio State was led by the nation's highest rated passer; Mike Tomczak, who was throwing at a 72% completion rate. Add to this a big, bruising tailback in Keith Byars and you could see why the Buckeyes enjoyed such a high ranking.

Iowa and Ohio State had not played each other since 1980 when OSU pasted the Hawks 41-7, but the Buckeyes were convinced that not playing (and beating) Iowa cost them Rose Bowl berths in '81 and '82. Would the lack of respect play into the outcome this Saturday? Well, you can be sure that Hayden Fry was mentioning this at every turn.

Iowa got on the board first. They drove into Ohio State territory on their first possession. The Bucks stiffened and Iowa settled for a 25 yard field goal by Tommy Nichol.

OSU countered with a bruising drive downfield. Byars broke off a 46 yard run and a few plays later he bulled in from the one to give Ohio State the 7-3 lead.

Both team's defense tightened up and the half ended with OSU up 7-3, but more importantly, with Keith Byars on the bench with a bruised knee.

Ohio State opened the first half receiving the ball, but they were stuffed by a tenacious Iowa defense. A short punt gave Iowa the ball at midfield.

One of the items on Hayden's game plan was to open up the middle of the field with passes to the tight ends in the seams. Chuck Long went to TE Mike Hufford for 16 yards down the middle and a few plays later Long found Hufford for a 16 yard TD pass and Iowa led 10-7.

Tomczak led the Buckeyes right back and soon it was fourth and short at the Iowa 30. Coach Earle Bruce chose to go for the first down. Tomczak dropped back and fired a bullet to a crossing wide out that was met by Paul Hufford's big paw. Iowa would take over on downs!

Minutes later Chuck Long would turn the ball over with an osky, but the Iowa defense returned the favor as Mike Stoops picked off Tomczak.

After a few short runs, Long found wingback Ronnie Harmon for a 27 yard gain. OSU's defense bore down though and stopped the Hawks. On fourth down Tom Nichols hit his second field goal of the game, this time from 47, and the Hawks led 13-7.

The defenses held serve until late in the game. Then the Hawks, nursing a six point lead and facing 3rd and six at their own 27 yard line, defied conventional thinking. Most teams would have taken a shot with the run to keep the clock running and then punt and hope to hold the Buckeyes.

But Hayden Fry came to Iowa with a reputation as a gambler, and gamble he did. Long faked a belly play, dropped back and caught OSU with single coverage. His pass hit Dave Moritz in stride and then Moritz put on one of the most unusual and exciting running displays I'd ever seen from an Iowa wide out. With speedy Shaun Gayle on his tale, Moritz would veer one way and then the other, taking a serpentine route to the end zone. Amazingly, it worked! He went the distance, 73 yards to give the good guys a 20-7 lead.

But Ohio State didn't get to number three by quitting and Tomzcak led them back downfield and when he threw for the touchdown at 2:30 to go, the whole of Kinnick Stadium held its breath and crossed its fingers.

Ohio State lined up for the onside kick, but Fred Bush doused their hopes by cleanly fielding the ball at midfield.

Or were the hopes really doused?

Ohio State's defense rose to the challenge and smothered the Iowa runners and on 4th down Hayden chose to go for the first and was denied. Tomzcak would get the ball back with less than thirty seconds and the winning score only 60 yards away.

But it wasn't to be. Devon Mitchell, the defensive back picked up as an afterthought in the recruitment of Nate Creer, picked off Tomzcak and the Hawks held on to win over Ohio State for the first time in 21 years, 20-14.

Long would finish the day 16 of 27, with two TD's and one INT. Harmon would catch four balls for 61 yards and TE Mike Hufford hauled in five passes for 74 yards. The Iowa running attack of Gill, Phillips, and Granger were limited to 74 yards on 31 carries.

Hap Peterson with 10 tackles (7-3), Tony Wancket also with 10 tackles (7-3) and Larry Station with 13 (5-8) led Iowa's defense. Peterson would be named Midwest defensive player of the week for his efforts.

While OSU lost Byars for the remainder of the game, Iowa lost DE Dave Strobel and DB Keith Hunter.

Listed below are Iowa's two deeps from the 1983 Ohio State game followed by this week's photo feature. I've included some more ads from this program, as some people have told me they like seeing a few old advertisements. There's one from ATARI that video gamers should appreciate.

TWO DEEPS

Offense

SE - Moritz 6-0, 185 Happel 6-0, 185

LT - Alt 6-7, 275, Croston 6-6, 265

LG - Hanna 6-3, 265, Glass 6-2, 265

C - Hilgenberg 6-3, 250, Sindlinger 6-2, 235

RG - Roehlk 6-2, 265 Carroll 6-2, 250

RT - Levelis 6-5, 280, Haight 6-3, 250

TE - M. Hufford 6-3, 245, Hayes 6-5, 225

QB - Long 6-4, 210, Grogan 6-3, 200

RB - Gill 6-2, 220, Phillips 6-1, 215

FB - Granger 5-11, 220, Bush 6-1, 235