• Eight different players combined to complete just 22.9% (39 for 170). Dave Smukler completed 21 of 68, by far the most completions of any player on the team.
• They threw 35 interceptions and only three touchdowns!
• The cellar-dwelling Eagles scored only 51 points in a 1-11 season.
• They defeated the Giants 10-7 in their opening game. In the second meeting with New York, they scored 17 points, their most in any game that season.

The Hawai'i QB was Mun Kin (M.K.) Wong. He didn't exactly fit today's profile of a college signal-caller. He was only 5' 8" and 145 pounds. The victory over Williamette ran the Rainbows record to 8-1. Hawai'i began the season on the mainland with victories at Pacific and Portland. Then they played three other island teams (the Hawaii Bears, Na Alii, and Healani) twice each. The loss came in the first game against Healani.

During his tenure at Ohio State (1951-1978), Woody didn't like the media and, unlike most coaches, made no attempt to court them.

• As ABC prepared to televise the Purdue-Ohio State game in 1967, Woody reluctantly loaned a copy of his playbook to announcer Chris Schenkel. It had become common practice among coaches to do so. Chris liked to familiarize himself with the contestants' offenses in order to better describe the game for the audience.
• The night before the game, Woody knocked on Schenkel's hotel door and demanded his playbook back. "I don't trust you," he told Chris. What made Hayes' mistrust all the more ludicrous was that his offense was known for being old-fashioned and unsophisticated. There were hardly any secrets in the playbook that opponents couldn't decipher just by watching the Buckeyes on film.
• ABC announcer Keith Jackson said, "Woody Hayes was a very difficult man for television people to work with. There was absolutely no relationship between Woody and me. None. The man wouldn't cooperate, wouldn't let you get close to him."

• ABC made what turned out to be a widely-criticized decision to cut costs for the telecast. It saved about $5,000 by not purchasing a "net return" feed for the game. The fateful effect of the move was that the director was limited in the replays he could show. Also, ABC had no sideline reporter at the game.
• In the last minutes of the game, Ohio State was driving for at least a FG to overcome Clemson's 17-15 lead. However, Charley Bauman intercepted a pass near the Buckeyes' sideline to clinch the game. As Bauman ran out of bounds, Hayes grabbed him and gave him a forearm to the neck and continued pummeling him until he was restrained by players from both teams.
• Neither Jackson nor Parseghian saw the sideline incident and were puzzled as to what caused the melee. The director showed a replay of the interception from the end zone camera, but the footage ended just as Bauman went out of bounds. So Jackson expressed again his ignorance as to what had set off the altercation.
• When order was restored, Ohio State was penalized 15 yd for unsportsman­like conduct. Then, two plays later, Hayes was assessed another penalty for coming onto the field to argue with the officials. The penalties had no effect on the game because Clemson simply ran out the clock to preserve its two-point victory.

The executive vice president of ABC Sports, Jim Spence, saw the incident in his hotel room in New Orleans where he was preparing for the upcoming Sugar Bowl.

• Spence phoned the ABC truck at the Gator Bowl and told producer Bob Goodrich to order Jackson to say something about Hayes' action.
• Keith refused, saying that he hadn't seen what had set off the brawl. And, of course, there was no sideline reporter to explain what had transpired.

Watch the ABC video of the Gator Bowl incident.

There was no ESPN yet, but Woody's actions were seen by millions on the evening news on tv stations across the country.

• In the days to come, some journalists accused Jackson of covering up for Hayes, not knowing that Jackson disliked Woody.
• Writers also raised the question of whether TV networks could objectively cover the games considering they were, in effect, in bed with both the bowls and the colleges. Criticize a famous coach and risk losing your TV contract with the NCAA or the Gator Bowl.
• Jackson saw the replay of the incident for the first time the next morning on the local NBC affiliate in Jacksonville, which had taped it off the air. "The whole thing still pisses me off," Jackson has said. "Too many people ducked and ran for cover."
• "People thought we were purposely ignoring the whole thing to protect Woody," Parseghian said later. "We had no reason to do that."Bauman diagrees.

Hayes had gotten away with tearing up down markers and other such temper tantrums that were seen only by the spectators at the stadium. But this incident occured on national tv. Ohio State had no choice but to demand his resignation, which he delivered before leaving Jacksonville.

• Gerald, a sophomore, had started the season as the replacement behind C for Cornelius Greene, who had graduated as one of OSU's greatest QBs ever. But in the seventh game, against Purdue, Rod fractured three vertebrae, which sidelined him for the rest of the regular season.
• Jim Pacenta had started the rest of the way. Even though Gerald was cleared to play in Miami, he knew Coach Woody Hayes would start Pacenta.

On January 1, 1977, the day of the game, an incident occurred that changed Rod's life.

• A former OSU teammate offered Gerald some cocaine. Like many of his teammates, Rod had smoked marijuana, but he had never tried cocaine. Depressed about his prospects of playing that evening, he figured, "Why not?" So he tried some.
• When Colorado jumped out 10-0, Hayes sent Gerald in for Pacenta. Rod gained 17y on his first carry, then led the Buckeyes on a 99y TD drive to spark the 27-10 victory. The night culminated with the backup QB being voted the Orange Bowl MVP.

Rod Gerald scores for Ohio State in the 1977 Orange Bowl

Gerald regained the starting job for the 1977 season.

• Hayes reluctantly let Stanford's new head coach, Bill Walsh, come to OSU's spring practice to tutor Gerald on the fundamentals of passing.
• Still, the QB and the entire O struggled in the season opener, defeating Miami (FL) 10-0. Hayes announced afterwards, "We've got to get more juice in our attack."
• Gerald decided to try cocaine again the morning of the next game. The result was a 38-7 Buckeye romp. Rod felt faster and more elusive, like he had never injured his back.
• As a result, Rod continued to snort cocaine before each game. His habit nearly got the best of him before the SMU game. When he went to the pregame QBs meeting, he noticed his nose was bleeding. "That's it. I'm gone," he thought. But the team physician merely gave Gerald a towel to wipe his nose. Neither the doctor nor Hayes connected the nosebleed with cocaine use. As the season progressed, Gerald didn't limit his coke use to game days. He also experimented with other drugs.
• For the annual season-ending game at Michigan, Rod decided he needed extra help. After snorting Saturday morning, he put some cocaine inside his wristband to keep him high throughout the game. He would sniff some on the sidelines and even in the huddle. It made him feel invincible. That was why he caused two fumbles in the first half. On both plays, as Gerald ran the option, the D collapsed the play. But instead of taking a loss, he foolishly tossed the ball to a teammate. Then, late in the game, with OSU trailing 14-6, Rod made another bad lateral deep in enemy territory to end OSU's last hope.

When the team traveled to New Orleans to face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Gerald had a problem.

• He didn't have any cocaine and didn't know where to get it. As a result, the QB had a poor day in the 35-6 Tide rout.
• By that point, rumors were rampant that Gerald was using drugs. But, with Hayes increasingly out of touch with his players, nothing was done as the new season started. Anyway, Woody had turned the O over to freshman phenom Art Schlichter for 1978.
• Back on the bench, Gerald spent most days using cocaine, speed, barbiturates, and other amphetamines.
• After playing sparingly, he left school without a degree. Eventually, he went into rehab and finally graduated.

Schlichter, had a stellar career at Ohio State but, ironically, fell victim to a gambling addiction in the NFL.