1971: Stanford, 27 vs. Ohio State, 17

“The Big Red made up for the blues of 30 years on New Year’s Day 1971,” wrote Dwain Esper of the Pasadena Star-News. “With Jim Plunkett fashioning an explosive aerial bombardment and a clutch second half defense making the big plays, Stanford exploded for stunning 27-17 victory over mighty Ohio State Friday.” Stanford’s last Rose Bowl Game win came in 1941.

The Stanford Indians received a lot of heat in the media with an 8-3 regular season record and a history of imploding during big games. Quarterback Jim Plunkett proved otherwise, driving Stanford to a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter. But Ohio State, who would not rollover and die, having won 27 of its last 28 games, quickly struck back, taking a 14-10 lead into halftime.

“No matter what Ohio State did on defense, Plunkett countered with shrewd audibles on the line of scrimmage,” Esper wrote.

Plunkett’s recognition of coverage and Ohio State’s defensive tendencies allowed him to call his own plays at the line of scrimmage, finding his receivers in “the previously unviolated Buckeye barricade,” it was written. Completing 20 of 30 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown, Plunkett’s key 35-yard pass set up the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

“No, I don’t think he ever played a better game,” Stanford Head Coach John Ralston said. “This really was a fine performance by Jim.”

Down 10-0 early in the game, the obstinate Woody Hayes called for a surprise pitchback in his Ohio State offense, which caught Stanford completely off guard, and a 37-yard gain. Three plays later, the Buckeyes got on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run.

The Buckeyes then began to gain huge chunks of yards using the wishbone triple option T, the belly option and the fullhouse T with quarterback Rex Kern. This archaic offense proved troublesome to the Indians, who began to miss defensive assignments.

“One of the reasons Kern hurt us so much in the first half was we were so eager,” Stanford defensive guard Larry Butler said. “We overran him on those keepers, and he cut back for big gains.”

At halftime Ohio State had a 14-10 lead, Plunkett, however, took the Indians downfield for a third-quarter field goal. His audibles at the line began to move the Stanford offense 10 yards at a time with his precision passing.

“He called at least 25 audibles during the game,” Ralston said.

On a third-and-15 play, Plunkett found Mike Sensibaugh on a 30-yard bomb that put the Indians on the 2-yard line. Two plays later Jackie Brown ran into the end zone, putting the Indians ahead.

The Kern option finally caught up to Ohio State in the fourth quarter, with the Stanford defense giving Kern a charley horse. The rest of the game Kern was forced to split time with Ron Maciejowski; neither were able to move the Ohio State offense.

After the game Plunkett was asked how a Rose Bowl Game win ranked with his Heisman Trophy.

“I consider them both team victories,” Plunkett said.

“The Big Red will miss this man,” closed Esper. “He gave them some moments they’ll never forget. Especially New Year’s Day 1971.”

Attendance
103,839

Weather
Clear; 71 degrees

Scoring
First Quarter
Stan – Brown, 4-yard run (Horowitz kick good)
Stan – Horowitz, 37-yard field goal
OSU – Brockington, 1-yard run (Schram kick good)

Second Quarter
OSU – Brockington, 1-yard run (Schram kick good)

Third Quarter
Stan – Horowitz, 48-yard field goal
OSU – Schram, 32-yard field goal

Fourth Quarter
Stan – Brown, 1-yard run (Horowitz kick good)
Stan – Vataha, 10-yard pass from Plunkett (Horowitz kick good)

Coaches
Stanford: John Ralston
Ohio State: Woody Hayes

Fun Fact
The 1971 Rose Bowl Game featured quarterback Jim Plunkett, who was Stanford’s first and only Heisman Trophy winner. Plunkett is the only player to be named MVP in both the Rose Bowl Game and Super Bowl.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Stan: Brown 10-41; Shockley 10-35; Cross 1-41; Plunkett 9-26; Sanderson 2-8
OSU: Hayden 11-48; Kern 20-129; Galpos 8-53; Brockington 21-101; Jankowski 2-41

Passing
Stan: Plunkett 20-30-265
OSU: Kern 4-13-40; Maciejowski 3-6-35

Receiving
Stan: Moore 5-113; Vataha 6-51; Washington 6-80; Brown 2-13; Shockley 1-8
OSU: Hayden 1-20; White 4-28; Zelina 2-27

Punting
Stan: Murray 3-99
OSU: Lago 2-56