There seems to be this universally accepted notion that Saturday’s game against Ohio State in Bloomington ranks as the biggest game in Memorial Stadium history.
I don’t know if that’s true.
Clearly, these are the two highest-rated teams to face off on 17th Street in the school’s history, but when it comes to larger stakes, I’m not sure the Nov. 25, 1967 Old Oaken Bucket isn’t the biggest game ever at the aging facility.
What was on the line?
Simply the Rose Bowl – for the first time in IU’s mostly dreadful history -- and a chance to win the Big Ten regular-season by knocking off the No. 3 Boilers, who were led at the time by running back Leroy Keyes. The Hoosiers under John Pont were a Cinderella story at 8-2 and needed to beat Purdue to realize their post-season dreams for the first time in program history.
That day, the Hoosiers jumped out to a 19-7 lead, led by quarterback Harry Gonso. Purdue pulled within 19-14 late, but a final, desperate Boilers drive got stopped at the IU 22-yard line as time expired. That set off an all-campus celebration, the likes of which had never before been seen at a school where those kinds of parties are usually related to the basketball team.
There’s no question, No. 5 IU versus No. 4 Ohio State ranks as a massive game, and certainly no worse than the second-biggest game in Memorial Stadium history. In many ways, it’s a bigger game for a one-loss Ohio State team, which can’t lose many more games if it wants to be eligible for the college football playoff. For IU, a loss would be painful, but they’d still be in a solid position to reach the playoff, assuming they keep their sheet clean the rest of the way.
Most likely, the losing team Saturday – and I’m taking IU, winners of 22 straight games – will remain in a favorable post-season position, which is why I’m disinclined to call it the biggest game ever at that venue. Both teams can lose and still win the Big Ten. Both teams can lose and still make the college football playoff, even win it. In the old days, a regular-season loss virtually guaranteed you weren’t going to make the playoff, but the way the playoff is set up these days, two losses, even three, can get you into the CFP.
It means a lot, without question, and No. 4 versus No. 5 ranks as the best matchup in Stadium history, but there was more on the line back in 1967. Or course, after IU won that Bucket game, they went to SoCal and lost to USC and O.J. Simpson, 14-3, in the Rose Bowl.
But for that moment in ’67, the Bucket was and remains the biggest game ever at Memorial Stadium — even though it was the Seventeenth Street Football Stadium before being renamed in 1971.
The stakes are high Saturday, but nothing like the stakes back in ’67.
As you know by now, IU quarterback Josh Hoover, interception-prone during his three years at TCU, has thrown 17 touchdown passes and no interceptions. As Curt Cignetti said while responding to TCU coach Sonny Dykes cheap shot about Hoover’s mistake-prone ways, now he’s in a system where the running game and defense are his best friends, and you’ve seen the results.
And it’s not like Hoover has been risk-averse, consistently checking down to his hot receivers.
On Saturday, Hoover could start to make a name for himself, perhaps even gain some ground in the Heisman Sweepstakes. He’s a long-shot now – for good reason – but a brilliant performance against mighty Ohio State could significantly alter the narrative.
Remember, Fernando Mendoza didn’t morph into a top-tier Heisman Trophy contender until later in the season; he didn’t have his “Heisman Moment” until he found Omar Cooper Jr. on the backline of the end zone in the miracle victory over Penn State. And it’s not like Mendoza blew absolutely everybody away. IU had its fraught moments, beating both Iowa and Penn State with late heroics, much like the come-from-behind victory this year over Nebraska.
This is IU’s moment and, more specifically, it’s Hoover’s moment. If IU can run the football, Hoover and his two stud receivers, Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker, can give the Buckeyes the business. Remember, Ohio State surrendered 199 rushing yards (a 6 yards per carry average) to Illinois back on Sept. 26. Folks look at IU’s rushing difficulties versus Nebraska and wonder how in heavens they’re going to puncture Ohio State’s defensive front, but again…Illinois. One-hundred-ninety-nine yards. It can be done, and it will be done. And don’t be surprised if Hoover, a highly athletic player, uses his legs to help IU move the football.
