Cornelius Green gathered teammates in the Ohio State huddle and turned to a higher power. Higher even than Woody Hayes.
“I got everybody together. I didn’t care if they were religious or not. We were going to say a prayer,” Green said, recalling his leadership role during the fourth quarter of the 1975 Michigan game. “Not a prayer for us to win, but to be strong together as one unit.”
Standing on their own 20-yard line in Michigan Stadium, trailing the Wolverines 14-7 with seven minutes remaining, the Buckeyes held hands and prayed. Then they rolled up their sleeves. As it says in the Good Book, faith without works is dead. God wasn’t going to gain yards for them.
On third-and-10, Green found flanker Brian Baschnagel for a 17-yard gain – the Buckeyes’
first first down since early in the second quarter. On the next play, Green threw to a diving Lenny Willis for another first down at the UM 49, followed by another Willis catch at the 31. Archie Griffin ran for 11 yards to the Michigan 20. Green ran a keeper to the 8.
Hayes called three consecutive runs for fullback Pete Johnson, putting the ball at the 1, where on fourth down Johnson bulled in to tie things at 14 with three minutes left.
Technically, the scoring drive was not the game-winner, which came two minutes later when Ray Griffin returned an interception to the Michigan 3-yard line and Johnson’s touchdown made it 21-14, but the Buckeyes 80-yard scoring drive evened the score and put them in position to win the game.
“Michigan had just scored, so this was it for us,” Green said of the tying drive.
The Buckeyes’ offensive players earned their helmet leaves that day, with Green especially effective as the game’s MVP. The drive to stay alive marked the senior quarterback as someone who could handle the hot pressure with late-game heroics.
Can Julian Sayin handle late-game pressure?
Does Julian Sayin have the same right stuff? As No. 4 Ohio State prepares for what should be a close game at No. 5 Indiana Oct. 17, Sayin may be called upon to lead a late drive to win the game. To date, the junior has yet to do so, but also has faced few opportunities. The closest came Sept. 12 at Texas. when the Buckeyes took over at their own 25-yard line, trailing 24-23 with 25 seconds left. One holding penalty, a 5-yard completion and interception later, OSU was finished.
The other chance came last year against Indiana in the Big Ten championship game, under similar daunting circumstances. Ohio State began its final possession at its 14-yard-line, trailing the Hoosiers 13-10 with 18 seconds left. The Buckeyes gained one yard on first down, Sayin threw incomplete on second down and the game ended on a 46-yard reception by Jeremiah Smith.
Just because Sayin has yet to lead a game-winning drive does not mean he can’t. It just means there is no guarantee he can.
The proof is in the doing. And the doing is built on believing.
“It’s going to take him believing that he’s going to score,” Green said of Sayin. “There can’t be this, ‘I’m not sure.’ Tell the guys what the play is, with confidence. Tell them ‘We’re going to go down and score. Now, come on, concentrate.’ ”
This is where it gets interesting. Ohio State put up points in the last 15 seconds of the first half in five of its six games this season, which one would think provides a measure of confidence that the same thing can happen in the final minutes and seconds of the fourth quarter.
Sayin confirmed as much this week.
“We’ve done it a few times now at the end of the half,” he said. “It gives you the confidence, the whole group, that we can do it in a two-minute drill, that we know what we’re doing and are very good with our communication and can get on the ball and do it quickly. It’s been really cool to see that happen, and we need to continue to grow that.”
Staying calm is key to keeping team loose
There is no single strategy a quarterback relies upon to direct traffic during late-game drives, but it is best not to let nerves dictate play. Teammates sense when their quarterback is puckering up, which is why Joe Montana famously broke the tension in the San Francisco huddle on the 49ers’ winning drive in the 1989 Super Bowl, by pointing out comedian John Candy in the crowd.
It also helps when the rest of the offense trusts the quarterback, whoever he is.
During OSU’s undefeated 2012 season, the Buckeyes trailed Purdue by eight points with 37 seconds left when quarterback Kenny Guiton, subbing for an injured Braxton Miller, led Ohio State 61 yards for the score, then added the two-point conversion on a pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman to force overtime.
In OT, Guiton completed a 17-yard throw to tight end Jake Stoneburner to the Purdue 8-yard line. OSU scored three plays later to win 29-22.
Stoneburner remembered how calm everyone felt on offense, knowing Guiton was a “cool, calm and collected” backup.
It also probably helped that Ohio State was not bowl eligible – the punishment for NCAA violations that included players trading team memorabilia for tattoos.
“It was almost like we have nothing to lose,” Stoneburner said. “At that point we wanted a perfect season but still had games to play. It’s probably why we played so well. We weren’t tight. We were loose, and everyone was excited that Kenny was getting a chance.”
That’s not to suggest this season’s Buckeyes would be better off with backup QB Luke Fahey leading any potential game-winning drive, but there is something to be said for finding a tension-release trigger with the game on the line.
It also helps to have Jeremiah Smith on the field.
“I think [Sayin] has enough maturity and has big games under his belt,” Stoneburner said. “And it helps when you have No. 4 out there.”
The Buckeyes hope no late-game heroics are needed against the Hoosiers, but some advice if it comes down to that: Throw to Smith.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The one thing Julian Sayin still must prove for Ohio State football
