Ohio State On This Date: Eddie George Goes for Over 200 Against Washington and Archie Griffin Makes His Buckeye Debut on Sept. 16

Ohio State's first game on Sept. 16 was the season opener against Iowa in 1972. The third-ranked Buckeyes finished the 1971 season on a three-game losing streak and were looking for the program's first win in 322 days. 

The 77,098 fans in Ohio Stadium watched a sloppy first quarter. The Buckeyes fumbled the center-quarterback exchange on the second play from scrimmage, which the Hawkeyes recovered on the Ohio State 17-yard line. Iowa returned the favor three plays later as Jim Cope recovered Doug Nelson's fumble at the Buckeyes' 22-yard line.

The turnovers continued for both teams as Ohio State's Greg Hare threw an interception to end the second drive of the young season. Iowa's quarterback, Kyle Skogman, followed suit by throwing to Rick Seifert for the fourth turnover in the game's first 15 minutes of play.

Woody Hayes' team finally settled in as Randy Keith made it into the end zone on a 4th-and-1 near the end of the first half. Champ Henson scored twice in the second half to secure a 21-0 victory for the Buckeyes. 

Of note, Archie Griffin saw the field for the first time in his Buckeye career. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, the future two-time Heisman trophy winner did not secure a pitch from Dave Purdy and the quarterback fell on the loose ball for a five-yard loss. Hayes promptly pulled Griffin and the Eastmoor alum was concerned that would be the first and last time he would ever see action for the scarlet and gray.

Games to remember

Eddie George wastes Washington

In 1994, Napoleon Kaufman ran for 211 yards as Washington defeated Ohio State in Seattle. Eddie George popped for 212 yards a year later as the Buckeyes dropped the Huskies, 30-20, in Ohio Stadium.

Washington's head coach, Jim Lambright, had this to say about George's performance: "It was awesome. One hundred and fifty yards in the first half. He does a great job with vision. They got us caught between inside plays and outside plays. He then has the vision to take what the defense gives him. And he always falls forward."

The game wasn't as close as the score might indicate, as John Cooper's team led 30-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Two Ohio State turnovers in the final quarter led to 13 points for Washington, but the Buckeyes took a knee on Washington's 3-yard line instead of putting up more points with less than a minute to play.

OSU vs. OSU

Although he wasn't yet a grown man, Ohio State took the fight to Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State on this date in 1989.

Gundy and the Cowboys stood strong in the first half. A Carlos Snow 2-yard touchdown run – his second of the game – with seven seconds remaining in the first half gave the Buckeyes a 16-13 lead after 30 minutes of play.

In the locker room, Ohio State's defense made the correct adjustments and held Oklahoma State to 90 yards of total offense and zero points for the remainder of the game. Although Gundy had 151 passing yards in the first half, he was limited to four completions in the second half and was eventually pulled in the fourth quarter. 

Unlike Gundy, Ohio State's Greg Frey found his rhythm in the final two quarters as he threw two touchdown passes to Scottie Graham and scored on a 1-yard run to secure a 37-13 victory for the Buckeyes. Frey finished the day with three touchdown passes and at that point, a career-high 285 passing yards.

Vinnie Clark and Brent Johnson had interceptions for Ohio State's defense and Steve Tovar was one of three Buckeyes with nine tackles. Following the win, John Cooper had positive words for the defense. 

"I thought our defensive coaches made some pretty good adjustments in the second half," Cooper said after the game. "We were trying to disguise our coverages a little bit and I think we were able to do that."

Stat Superlatives

Five Fun Facts

1. Griffin officially had zero carries. He did not secure a pitch from Dave Purdy and the quarterback recovered the loose ball for a five-yard loss.
2. Kirk Herbstreit saw his first collegiate action in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State in 1989. He completed two passes for 17 yards.
3. Eddie George's 212 rushing yards against Washington is the most by any Buckeye against the Huskies. Rex Kern is second with 139 yards in 1969. 
4. Ohio State's 21-0 victory of Iowa in 1972 marked the Buckeyes' first shutout victory in 18 games.
5. The Buckeyes are undefeated against unranked opponents on Sept. 16. Western Kentucky is not ranked.