Does history repeat itself?
In 2014 a young group of Buckeyes, mostly freshman and sophomores, exceeded expectations and won the national championship by defeating Oregon. The same thing happened in 1968; a group dubbed the "super sophomores" far exceeded expectations and beat USC in the Rose Bowl for the national championship.
In 2014, Oregon was a member of the Pac-12 conference, and in 1968 USC was a member of the Pac-8. Also, in 1968, USC was led by Heisman winner O.J. Simpson who was the #1 draft pick in the NFL, while in 2014, Oregon was led by Heisman-winning Marcus Mariota who was the #2 pick in the NFL draft.
Both Buckeye teams also had to overcome injuries to their starting quarterbacks. In 1968, sophomore QB Rex Kern, who had not played a down of varsity football in college, took the starting job away from senior Bill Long. But Rex kept reinjuring his back and was replaced often by Ron "Mace" Maciejowski. And in 2014, the starting senior QB Braxton Miller reinjured his shoulder and his job was taken by red-shirt freshman J.T. Barrett, who had never played a down of college football. J.T. broke his ankle and was replaced by Cardale Jones.
In both seasons, the two highly regarded head coaches-- Woody Hayes in 1968 and Urban Meyer in 2014-- remained along with most of their staff. However, running backs coach Stan Drayton and offensive coordinator Tom Herman left in 2015, while defensive backs coach Lou Holtz left in 1969.
With most of the players and coaches returning on both teams for the following years, expectations were extremely high. In 1969, the Buckeyes dominated their opponents, beating two teams from major conferences (Southwest and Pac-8) and then beating two top-20 teams in the Big-10 conference (#19 Michigan State and #10 Purdue). The Buckeyes played so well, they were consider a team that could compete in the NFL. On the other hand, in 2015, Ohio State struggled against mediocre opposition. They had trouble putting away losing teams from minor conferences and weak unranked teams in the Big-10. Finally at midseason, the team started to perform well.
| 1969 | score | 2015 | score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Christian | 62-0 | Virginia Tech | 42-24 | |
| Washington | 41-14 | Hawaii | 38-0 | |
| Michigan State #19 | 54-21 | Northern Illinois | 20-13 | |
| Minnesota | 34-7 | Western Michigan | 38-12 | |
| Illinois | 41-0 | Indiana | 34-27 | |
| Northwestern | 35-6 | Maryland | 48-28 | |
| Wisconsin | 62-7 | Penn State | 38-10 | |
| Purdue #10 | 42-14 | Rutgers | 49-7 | |
| Michigan #12 | 12-24 | Minnesota | 28-14 |
Perhaps it's a good thing that the similarities have stopped. In 1969, the #1 team in the nation, riding a winning streak spanning three seasons, and the best team Woody said he ever coached, lost to #12 Mich with their first-year head coach Schembelcher. Now in 2015, another Mich team ranked #15 is preparing with first-year coach Harbaugh.
So what will it be? "Deja vu all over again." (Yogi Berra) Or "Things never happen the same way twice." (C.S. Lewis) What are the chances history will repeat itself in three weeks in Ann Arbor?
