11.
1968 Purdue
Pegged as a 13-point underdog against number-one Purdue, Ohio
State entered their 1968 Big Ten opener seeking vengeance
for a humiliating 41-0 defeat suffered just one year before.
But with 17 members of Ohio State’s heralded 1967 recruiting
class now on the field, the ‘68 game would be a different
story.
The Buckeye dominated play from the start, but inside the
red zone, the offense came up empty and the teams hit the
lockers knotted at zero. But when cornerback Ted Provost
stepped in front a Mike Phipps pass to start the second
half, the Buckeyes broke the tie and grabbed control of
the game.
Two series later, their command became complete when back-up
Billy Long came in for a hobbled Rex Kern, and scrambled
his way towards paydirt.
Led by Jack Tatum, the Buckeye defense shut
the Boilermakers out the rest of the way, and the afternoon
ended in a shocking 13-0 triumph. The win pulled the Ohio
State program out of a seven-year slump and propelled the
‘68 Buckeyes to the national title.
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