Hawks self-destruct at Ohio State

(Published 11/11/1979)

COLUMBUS, OHIO -

Ridiculous!

That's the way Iowa Coach Hayden Fry described the way his offense gave away five fumbles and five interceptions Saturday in a monumental 34-7 self-destruction that hurried Ohio State on its 10-0 path to clinching at least a tie for the Big Ten championship and a probable Rose Bowl berth.

Magnificent!

That's the way Fry described his defense, which somehow limited the No. 3 rated Buckeyes to four touchdowns and two field goals after the offense squandered the football like sailors in port after a year's cruise.

Ohio State's vast double-deck horseshoe has been a House of Horrors for Iowa many times, but this was the biggest nightmare of all. The 70th straight sellout crowd of 87,835 couldn't believe that Halloween was over, because the Iowa offense played tricks on itself and treated the Buckeyes to ideal field position six times in a 27-0 first half.

Ohio State must beat Michigan, 24-21 loser to Purdue Saturday, next Saturday at Ann Arbor for a clear championship and Pasadena trip.

However, even if the Buckeyes lose to Michigan, they will go to Pasadena if Purdue makes it a three-way title tie by beating Indiana.

Don't bother reading the statistics in this one. You wouldn't believe them. Who would guess a team losing 34-7 would have more first downs (13-11) and more net yards gained (229-185) than the victors?

"We found a secret way to keep Ohio State from rolling up yards," said Fry, so devastated by the series of freak giveaways that he was loose and laughing after the game. "We gave them the ball so close to our goal line they didn't have far to go.

"This didn't look like my team out there today. We did every ridiculous thing possible on offense, but if it hadn't been for a magnificent defense we would have given up a whole bucket of points. Well, Ohio State got enough as it was, but it could have been unreal."

The Hawkeyes, who play Michigan State in next Saturday's closer at Kinnick Stadium, found scant consolation in that Dennis Mosley - when he wasn't fumbling - led all ball carriers with 87 yards in 21 carries to set two more modern (since 1939) Iowa records:

1. Most career yards rushing, 1,997, breaking the 1,927 set by Levi Mitchell (1969-70-71).

2. Most career carries, 427, breaking the 425 by Mitchell.

With one game to go, the Youngstown, Ohio, senior has broken almost every Iowa rushing record except the one-game mark of 286 set by Eddie Podolak against Northwestern in 1968 and Eddie Vincent's 96-yard scrimmage run against Purdue in 1954.

Art Schlicter and Doug Donley, Ohio State's pitcher-catcher combo, also set school records, but the Hawkeye defense made their feats look almost ordinary.

The Buckeye defense was might tough, too. And so were their specialty teams. The Bucks deflected two of the punts by Reggie Roby, the Big Ten's top punter, and forced the Hawks to use some of Fry's long-awaited "exotics."

When Ohio State rushed 10 men in an attempt to block another punt, Roby deftly passed 21 yards to Jim Swift for a first down. After Iowa's lone touchdown - Pete Gales' 40-yard pass to Keith Chappelle with 4:07 to go - the Hawks tried a short kickoff that Ohio State anticipated and recovered.

One of the embarrassing things that happened came with two minutes left. Deep in his own end zone, Roby swung his leg into the ball and struck his blocker, fullback Dean McKillip, squarely on - well - his own end zone. But by then Buckeye Coach Earle Bruce had his third teamers in action, and they couldn't add to the score.

Getting back to Iowa's errors, consider this: Ohio State never was farther away from Iowa's goal than the Buckeye 45-yard line until receiving the second-half kickoff.

Honest. Iowa treated the Bucks to the football six times inside the Iowa 37-yard line in the first half, plus two more in the second half. The Hawks didn't get their only first down of the first half until after 24 minutes of play, and they never got past their own 37-yard line until the next-to-the-last play of the first half.

The giveaways went as follows on Iowa's first-half possessions.

1. Roby punted 45 yards, and Mike Guess returned it to the Ohio 45. No score.

2. Roby's punt was deflected but went 31 yards to the Ohio 48. The Bucks had their only long drive of the day, going the 52 yards in nine plays with Schlichter skipping into the end zone from a yard out.

3. Phil Suess fumbled to Ohio's Jim Laughlin on the Iowa 25, and soon Vlade Janakievski, a Yugoslavia native, kicked a soccer-style field goal of 35 yards.

4. Mosley fumbled a pitchout (he was charged with an 11-yard loss) to Ohio's Ray Ellis on the Iowa 11, and Janakievski booted a 29-yard field goal, the 13th he has made in 14 tries this year.

5. Suess' screen pass to Mosley hit Swift on the head and Ohio's Marcus Marek intercepted it on the Iowa 36. Fullback Ric Volley scored from a yard out to cap a 36-yard drive in eight plays.

6. Suess fumbled to Ohio's Marek on the Iowa 24, and the Bucks went the distance in three plays, Schlichter hitting Donley with a 33-yard TD pass.

7. Suess' pass to Chappelle was intercepted by Guess on the Ohio 47.

8. Roby's punt was deflected and rolled to the Iowa 37, but the half ended 27-0.

The third quarter was scoreless, but the Hawks proved they were equal-opportunity philanthropists by giving the ball away at the other end. First Mosley coughed up another fumble to Todd Bell. Then they embarked on a six-minute, 85-yard drive to the Buckeye two.

"It was a pass-run option play, and I thought Suess could have walked in to score," said Fry, "but he threw an interception when his receiver was double-covered."

The Bucks got their last TD when Gordy Bohannon's pass was intercepted by Vince Skillings on the Iowa 34. Greg Castignola, taking over for Schlichter, led the winners to score in six plays, the last of which was Tim Spencer's one-yard run. Janakievski kicked his fourth and final extra point, giving him 42 of 44 this year.

Gales threw the last interception - to Ohio's Bob Murphy - just before the game ended, but Gales first helped Iowa escape a shutout. He hurled a long pass that Chappelle had to come back to catch on the five-yard line. The Buckeye covering him, Doyle Lewis, slipped on the artificial surface, and Chappelle sped around him to score easily. Roby kicked the point.