Rex Kern knows the comparisons are inevitable in more ways than one.
Kern, one of the "Super Sophomores" who led Ohio State to a national championship in 1968, watched Monday's game with his wife Nancy, the former Rose Bowl princess. He attentively listened to Urban Meyer's postgame conference.
So Kern is the right person to ask for the next question. Is Meyer the second coming of Woody Hayes?
“The intensity and passion are there,” Kern told Sporting News. “The comments Urban made afterward, ‘This is for the great state of Ohio, for the great university of Ohio State; it's for the football program, but it’s also for the players.' That hit home."
Kern, a native of nearby Lancaster who now lives outside of Los Angeles, heard that same “What it means to be a Buckeye” speech from Hayes a hundred times. Kern led Ohio State past USC and Heisman Trophy winner O.J Simpson in the Rose Bowl for the national title. This year’s team beat another Pac-12 team in Oregon, also led by Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. So many more ties between the 1968 team and this year’s team are surreal.
That starts with the coaches. Hayes led the Buckeyes to five national championships, the high point in that run with Kern where the Buckeyes went 27-2 from 1968-70. Meyer is now 38-3 through three years set up for a similar run that could put up on the same level as the most legendary coach in Buckeyes history.
"Run" being the operative word. Hayes and Meyer built those teams with an unforgiving rushing attack. That thought crossed Kern’s mind as Ohio State piled up 296 rushing yards against Oregon. It’s no longer “three yards and a cloud of dust.” Against the Ducks, it was 4.9 yards on 61 carries, and it didn’t stop until Ezekiel Elliott’s one-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left. Kern even looked at Nancy and said, “These offensive linemen are loving this."
“It reminded me of Woody and how he was so doggone excited when we were running the football against the scout team,” Kern said. “He would rub his hands together and just wring them out. He would get so fired up you would think vapor was coming out of his nostrils. He would say to our offensive linemen, ‘This is where we get tough.’”
What else did the 1968 team have? Depth at quarterback. Kern played with Ron Maciejowski and Billy Long. Kern beat out Long, a senior who started in 1967, for the starting job. Now, Ohio State might have a three-way quarterback race with Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller in 2015.
“I don't know I guess of any college or pro team has had kind of depth,” Kern said. “You don't miss a beat. That kind of depth you don't really have, and I think it's once in a lifetime thing.”
Of course, what comes next also is the most intriguing case in revisited history. The Buckeyes entered 1969 with the top team in the country, a team Kern said Hayes was renowned for trumping as his “best team ever.” That season ended in a 24-12 loss in Ann Arbor to first-year coach Bo Schembechler.
Even Kern, perhaps channeling Hayes, tightens up at the mention of new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Kern, like Meyer, still won’t say “Michigan.” Is this the beginning of a second 10-Year War with Meyer? After all, Ohio State travels to Ann Arbor again next season. The atmosphere should rival 1969, for sure.
“It’s inevitable,” Kern said. “The comparisons will be there. The passion and intensity will continue to live on.”
So Hayes and Meyer and their iconic hold at Ohio State. Kern sees the same long-term success coming from Meyer, who is bringing the Hayes’ playbook and philosophy to the modern era. That’s why this year’s national championship is so special.
“Urban did an exceptional job of getting everybody to perform at their peak,” Kern said. “He raised everybody’s level of talent. It’s that storybook ending that you have once in a lifetime.
“Not to say they won’t do it again, but I mean, that’s what folklore is all about.”
