[81alum]

In truth, we are NOW playing 80s style Big 10 football.  1st and 10, 2nd and 6, 3rd and 2...and then first down.  If at any moment the pattern is broken by a run for less than 4 yards, a dropped pass or a penalty then a punt will happen on 4th down.  Luck enabled Stanford to break beyond classic Big 10 football with his ability to convert 3rd and 6+ routinely.  It was a luxury that enabled all Stanford fans to be stress-free on most Saturdays.

Woody Hayes coached at Ohio State from 1951-1978.  So I agree with your analysis except to say that we are now playing 1950s style Big 10 football. And 1960s style.  And 1970s style. 

Bo Schembechler--Harbaugh's coach and idol--was a player and assistant coach for Woody Hayes--before he became his rival.  You could say almost that Woody Hayes was Harbaugh's coaching grandpa.

Here is something else that might sound familiar.  In 1968, Ohio State was beating Michigan 42-14 when Woody Hayes elected to go for two.  When he was asked why he went for two, he answered "Because the rules won't let you go for three."  Harbaugh would have been 5 at the time, but I bet he heard that Woody lore from Schembechler and applied it in the analagous situation against SC.

Woody quotes do sound like the sorts of things our offensive line might say or enjoy hearing: football should be a "crunching, frontal assault of muscle against muscle, bone upon bone, will against will."  Hence power off tackle and fullback off guard--over and over again, also known as "three yeards and a cloud of dust" until the opposing line was worn down and could be dominated in the 4th quarter.  When you had the right personnel it worked very well, but the intricate blocking schemes were wasted on the casual fan who could only see piles of bodies in the middle of the field.  The only thing that made it acceptable as a form of entertainment was winning.

What Woody said about passing the ball would have been laughable last year, but I am increasingly sympathetic given how inconsistent our passing attack has been.  "Only three things can happen when you pass (a completion, an incompletion, and an interception) and two of them are bad."

Thank goodness Walsh came along in 1977 when he did and made football interesting again, or else I'm sure I would never have become a fan. 

[81alum]

In truth, we are NOW playing 80s style Big 10 football.  1st and 10, 2nd and 6, 3rd and 2...and then first down.  If at any moment the pattern is broken by a run for less than 4 yards, a dropped pass or a penalty then a punt will happen on 4th down.  Luck enabled Stanford to break beyond classic Big 10 football with his ability to convert 3rd and 6+ routinely.  It was a luxury that enabled all Stanford fans to be stress-free on most Saturdays.

Woody Hayes coached at Ohio State from 1951-1978.  So I agree with your analysis except to say that we are now playing 1950s style Big 10 football. And 1960s style.  And 1970s style. 

Bo Schembechler--Harbaugh's coach and idol--was a player and assistant coach for Woody Hayes--before he became his rival.  You could say almost that Woody Hayes was Harbaugh's coaching grandpa.

Here is something else that might sound familiar.  In 1968, Ohio State was beating Michigan 42-14 when Woody Hayes elected to go for two.  When he was asked why he went for two, he answered "Because the rules won't let you go for three."  Harbaugh would have been 5 at the time, but I bet he heard that Woody lore from Schembechler and applied it in the analagous situation against SC.

Woody quotes do sound like the sorts of things our offensive line might say or enjoy hearing: football should be a "crunching, frontal assault of muscle against muscle, bone upon bone, will against will."  Hence power off tackle and fullback off guard--over and over again, also known as "three yeards and a cloud of dust" until the opposing line was worn down and could be dominated in the 4th quarter.  When you had the right personnel it worked very well, but the intricate blocking schemes were wasted on the casual fan who could only see piles of bodies in the middle of the field.  The only thing that made it acceptable as a form of entertainment was winning.

What Woody said about passing the ball would have been laughable last year, but I am increasingly sympathetic given how inconsistent our passing attack has been.  "Only three things can happen when you pass (a completion, an incompletion, and an interception) and two of them are bad."

Thank goodness Walsh came along in 1977 when he did and made football interesting again, or else I'm sure I would never have become a fan.