The Northwestern we know today – spread offenses, occasional upsets and good for five or six wins a year – is not the Northwestern of history. Traditionally, Northwestern has proven itself better at carrying books to class than carrying the water among the Big T(elev)en powers, but there was a time – 1970 and 1971, to be precise – where the Wildcats came out of obscurity and made life difficult for the Buckeyes.
1970
In 1970, the Buckeyes were enjoying the last year of eligibility for Woody Hayes’ legendary “Super Sophs” class of 1968. Kern, Stillwagon, Tatum and company had won one national championship in 1968, and came within a stunning upset from playing for another in 1969. Motivated by the 1969 loss to Michigan, the 1970 Buckeyes beat their first five opponents by a combined score of 195-60, and sat comfortably at #2 in the national rankings.
Tatum would like you STFUNorthwestern started the season with three straight non-conference losses, including one to former coach Ara Parsheghian’s Fighting Irish. The Chicago press berated the Wildcats for being noncompetitive, and Northwestern coach Alex Agase posted the articles in the locker room. Angered by the criticism, the team caught fire and won three straight games over Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. Agase’s Wildcats, ranked #20, then traveled to Columbus for a Halloween meeting with the Buckeyes.
In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, things got scary quickly for Ohio State and a then-record crowd of 86,673. Over 500 Northwestern students traveled to the game and saw the Wildcats take a 10-0 lead at halftime, thanks to a Bill Planisek field goal and 102 yards rushing from tailback (and future Chicago Bear) this Mike Adamle. At halftime, the Buckeyes switched from man coverage to a softer zone, ignoring Northwestern’s passing game in favor of stopping Adamle. The adjustments worked, and Ohio State’s ground game got into gear. The Buckeyes only attempted two passes in the second half, and wore the Wildcats out for a 24-10 victory.
Northwestern finished the year 6-4, and did not lose another Big Ten game; the Wildcats finished the year ranked second in the conference – their best finish since 1936. Coach Alex Agase was named coach of the year – the first Northwestern coach to win that award since Pappy Waldorf in 1935. Tailback Mike Adamle earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors.
Ohio State finished the year unbeaten and played Jim Plunkett’s Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State was upset 27-17, and a team that should have won three national titles had to be satisfied with one. Woody Hayes’ best recruiting class finished their careers at Ohio State having lost only two games.
1971
Thanks to the disfavor of the scheduling gods, Northwestern returned to Columbus again in 1971 for a meeting with the Buckeyes – but these were not the Buckeyes of 1970. Ohio State no longer had Woody’s Super Sophs, and the 1971 Buckeyes were a team in transition. The Buckeyes were 6-2 (4-1 in the Big Ten), ranked #16, and coming off a loss at home to Michigan State. Agase’s Wildcats had lost tailback Mike Adamle, but still had experience up and down the line. Northwestern came to Columbus with a 5-4 record, having lost two straight Big Ten games.
Northwestern suffered an interception on its first pass of the game; Ohio State took advantage of the field position and quickly went up 7-0. The Wildcats’ Greg Strunk returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Northwestern continued to misfire on offense, and played a sloppy first half, handing Ohio State two more interceptions and two fumbles. Still, the Buckeyes could not take advantage of Northwestern’s mistakes, and led only 10-7 at the halftime.
In the second half, Agase’s Wildcats made turnabout fair play, and began grinding the Buckeyes down with timely passing and a relentless ground game, led by the running tandem of Al Robinson and Randy Anderson. In the fourth quarter, Anderson scored at the Ohio State goal line, and Northwestern took a 14-10 lead.
Ohio State then drove 67 yards on a potentially game-winning drive, but quarterback Don Lamka threw an interception to Northwestern’s Mike Coughlin, and the Wildcats hung on for a 14-10 win. Alex Agase called it “the biggest victory I’ve ever been associated with as a head coach.”
Northwestern finished the year 7-4, beating Michigan State in the finale, and ended the year ranked #19. It was Northwestern’s last winning season until 1995.
Ohio State, now unranked and reeling from two straight conference losses, dropped its final game to #3 Michigan, 10-7, and finished the year ranked third in the conference.
There was hope on the horizon, though, since freshmen were first made eligible in 1972, and Woody had some local kid named Griffin coming in….
Trivia: Mike Adamle was the last Northwestern player to participate in the annual College All-Star game, which pitted a team of college all-stars against the defending NFL champions in a preseason game. Once the talent disparity between college and pros got too severe, the game was discontinued in the 1970s.
