Buckeyes early victim of Elway
The John Elway pass looked more like a punt, sailing so far over Kelvin Bell’s head that the Ohio State safety figured it would land near the nearby Lincoln and Morrill tower dorms.
“He rolled one way and threw it the other way,” Bell said this week, recalling the play in 1982 that became an indicator of Elway’s ability to lead last-minute comebacks. “It was myself and (linebacker) Marcus Marek back there, and if you watch the tape – I still have it on ESPN Classic – you watch the pass go way across and above my head. I thought he was throwing it out of the end zone.”
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the 18-yard pass instead landed in the arms of Stanford receiver Emile Harry with 34 seconds left, giving the unranked Cardinals – they had not yet changed their named from the bird to the color – a 23-20 win over No. 13 OSU at Ohio Stadium.
“After that, every year in the NFL when I’d see him do something, I’d say, ‘There he goes again,'” Bell said of Elway.
The Buckeyes are about to play Penn State in Happy Valley, where they will face Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who many NFL observers think is perfectly suited to become a successful starter in the league. If so, Hackenberg is far from being the first can’t-miss NFL quarterback to face Ohio State. Among the more prominent names are Drew Brees (Purdue), Steve Young (Brigham Young), Philip Rivers (North Carolina State), Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Elway, who as a senior in 1982 broke OSU’s heart after nearly ripping it apart a season earlier at Stanford.
The 1981 game in Palo Alto was billed as a QB vs. QB contest between Elway and Art Schlichter, the OSU senior who would break most school passing records that season. Both quarterbacks played well in the Buckeyes’ 24-19 win. Schlichter was 16 of 32 passing for 240 yards; Elway completed 28 of 42 for 248 yards. Both threw for two touchdowns and were not intercepted. Ohio State escaped when Stanford running back Vincent White fumbled after catching an Elway pass near midfield with 24 seconds left. Otherwise, Elway might have directed winning drives against the Buckeyes in back-to-back years.
One was enough for Bell, who in 1982 thought OSU had the game won with 1:50 remaining and the Buckeyes leading 20-16 with the ball at the Stanford 27-yard line.
Watching in a private stadium box were three former Ohio State coaching legends: Woody Hayes, Paul Brown and Sid Gillman. On the field was Hayes’ protégé Earle Bruce, who was about to make a mistake that had to seriously frustrate his mentor. Instead of running the ball to chew up clock, Bruce called for a pass.
Hayes undoubtedly considered parachuting to the sideline to change the play, but it was too late. The pass by quarterback Mike Tomczak was tipped by cornerback Kevin Baird and intercepted by strong safety Charles Hutchings in the end zone for a touchback.
“I remember I had blown my coverage and was out of position, and (Baird) tipped the ball and saved me,” Hutchings said this week, adding that he is fairly amazed that Stanford’s comeback remains lodged in the collective memory of Buckeye Nation.
Stanford began its winning drive at its 20, never doubting that it would pull the upset, Hutchings said.
“Playing with Elway was great because you were in every game. You never thought you were out of it,” Hutchings said. “Just his talent and leadership; you could tell he was the real deal, even in college. He had a strong arm and could read defenses really well.”
Bell can vouch for Elway’s rocket arm.
“My freshman year (at Stanford), I had an opportunity to pick him off two or three times, but he threw so dang hard you couldn’t catch it,” Bell said. “We had no gloves to wear at that time, so it was catching raw leather. His passes didn’t come in soft.”
But they landed hard, especially in the south end zone of Ohio Stadium on Sept. 25, 1982.
