Hoosier Hysterical: It's Indiana Week

Dave Thurman (8:43 pm)

 

The boys from Bloomington invade Ohio Stadium this Saturday bringing a high-flying passing attack in hopes of defeating Ohio State for the first time in more than two decades.  While the games haven't always been entertaining, and you may not be too excited about this week's opponent, let me remind you that this border rivalry has produced its fair share of interesting characters and moments.

 

1.  Bob Knight—The "General" was born in Massillon and raised in Orrville, making him a Buckeye by blood, if not by attitude.  Of course he played for Fred Taylor at Ohio State, and was on the 1960 National Championship team led by Jerry Lucas.  Knight has given props to Coach Taylor at various times through the years, and it is reported that he was also a big Woody fan, who patterned some of his coaching style after Hayes.  For 30 years, Knight's Indiana teams clashed with Ohio State and it was always fun to see the Buckeye fans give it to Bobby.  It was a love-hate relationship as many of the OSU faithful secretly hoped to lure Knight away from Bloomington.  It hasn't been the same since he left the Big Ten in 2000.

 

2.  Lawrence Funderburke—The enigmatic big man who grew up in Columbus and graduated from Werhle High School headed off to Indiana in the fall of 1989 as one of the most ballyhooed players in the nation.  Initially Knight and the Hoosiers loved him, but Funderburke couldn't keep his mouth shut, and liked to banter back and forth with the tyrannical coach.  The honeymoon didn't last long, and Lawrence decided he wanted to head back home to Columbus.  At one point, when Knight didn't wish to release him, he threatened to sue, but eventually Lawrence transferred to Ohio State and enjoyed three productive seasons in scarlet and gray, helping lead the Buckeyes to the Big Ten championship in 1992.  Each trip to Bloomington was quite eventful as the Hoosier fans made life miserable for Funderburke who seemed to revel in controversy, and often played his best games against Indiana.

 

3.  1987 and '88 football games—The IU faithful has not had much to cheer about in this rivalry, as Ohio State has completely dominated to the tune of 66-12-5 all time..But, for two years in the late 80's, the Hoosiers not only won, they had a major impact on the coaching careers of Earle Bruce and John Cooper. 

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Bill Mallory was at the helm for the Hoosiers in the late 80's, and he was a hard-nosed Big Ten coach who always featured a good running game.  In 1987 he brought a one loss squad to Columbus, led by running back Anthony Thompson.  The game was tied at 10 at intermission, but the second half belonged to Indiana who triumphed 31-10.  Earle Bruce publicly called it "the darkest day in Ohio State history."  His team never fully recovered, finishing 6-4-1, and Coach Bruce was fired.

One year later, new coach John Cooper led the Buckeyes to Bloomington with a shot at gaining revenge.  When it was all over, IU had ridden Thompson to a stunning 41-7 victory.  While I have witnessed much more painful Ohio State losses in my life, never have I been as greatly embarrassed as I was on that afternoon.  Although Coop enjoyed a lengthy career in Columbus, that game was a big part of getting off on the wrong foot, a microcosm of a disastrous 4-6-1 season that did not endear him to longtime Ohio State fans.  Who would have thought that Indiana football would have played such a big impact on the careers of two OSU coaches.

Thankfully there have been some better moments in the OSU-IU rivalry. Most recently, the Buckeyes captured a birth in the Rose Bowl in 1996, winning 27-17, in a hard fought contest on a cold day, as the Bucks pulled ahead for good in the fourth quarter on a fumble return for a touchdown by Matt Finkes. So one of Coop's happiest moments also took place in Bloomington!

4.  Current connections—There are a few Indiana-Ohio connections worth noting:

—The 2010 Ohio State roster features two players from Indiana: Dexter Larrimore, from Merrillville, and Rod Smith, from Ft. Wayne. IU has no less than 16 native born Buckeyes on their current roster.
—Recent OSU cornerback Donald Washington hails from Indianapolis, and Buckeye verbal Joel Hale is from nearby Greenwood.  Incidentally, for years Ohio State virtually ignored Indiana high school talent but in recent years has intensified their recruiting of the Hoosier state, which is increasingly producing better players.
—Coach Thad Matta, while hailing from Illinois, played two years at Butler, in Indianapolis, and later returned as head coach of the Bulldogs.  He has also recruited the Hooiser State extremely well, signing players such as Greg Oden, Mike Conely, and Deshaun Thomas.
—Indiana Quarterback Tim Clifford, the Big Ten MVP in 1979, hails from Cincinnati.
—Scott May, All-American forward at IU who starred on the undefeated 1976 National Championship team was born in Sandusky, and went to high school in Toledo.

Well, that's my best shot at spicing up this border rivalry which certainly needs a little extra pizzazz. Now if Indiana can do their part by actually bringing more than 200 fans to Columbus!