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- Thread starter Buckskin86
- Start date
muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
Holy Shit! Have always loved Joe. Had no idea that we shared the same birthday (one year apart).
yes, I'm older.
yes, I'm older.
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muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
Thanks brother.
This week has been interesting trivia pieces for me as 1) I had no idea that Joe and I shared the same history as well as 2) Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907.
Just an interesting fact since I live in OK now.
Anyway, back to Joe. Always loved the way this guy played the game.
This week has been interesting trivia pieces for me as 1) I had no idea that Joe and I shared the same history as well as 2) Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907.
Just an interesting fact since I live in OK now.
Anyway, back to Joe. Always loved the way this guy played the game.
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muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
In all sincerity, Bill, OKC is a gem. No regrets being here and genuinely enjoy living here.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Buckeye Heroes: Joe Germaine stole Jake the Snake’s storybook ending in 1997 Rose Bowl
Jake Plummer had the heroic reputation, but Joe Germaine willed his team to a late victory in ‘The Granddaddy of them All.’
www.landgrantholyland.com
Buckeye Heroes: Joe Germaine stole Jake the Snake’s storybook ending in 1997 Rose Bowl
Jake Plummer had the heroic reputation, but Joe Germaine willed his team to a late victory in ‘The Granddaddy of them All.’:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73448969/348496.0.jpg)
The Arizona State Sun Devils were undefeated and ranked second in the country — with aspirations of a possible national title — when they arrived in Pasadena ahead of the 1997 Rose Bowl. Behind charismatic quarterback Jake ‘The Snake’ Plummer, who could make plays with both his feet and his arm, the Sun Devils were 11-0 and had scored a metric ton of points in breezing through the conference then known as the Pac-10.
Averaging about 43 points per game, the Sun Devils were rarely tested during the 1996 season. Washington had played them closely in the opener, a 45-42 thriller, and they needed two overtimes to slip past USC, but aside from that it was smooth sailing. Arizona State started the season ranked No. 20, but jumped into the Top 10 with a 19-0 win over top-ranked Nebraska and slowly worked its way to No. 2 by the end of the regular season.
By winning the Pac-10, the Sun Devils booked their tickets to Pasadena. A win, coupled with a Florida win over Florida State, would likely have given Arizona State an unlikely (when the season began) national title, whether split or outright. Bruce Snyder’s team had a lot to play for in the game known as “The Granddaddy of Them All.”
The Sun Devils’ opponents were an Ohio State team that had been the previous No. 2 team in the country before stumbling hard at home in a 13-9 loss to a three-loss Michigan team at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes — one of John Cooper’s best squads — felt they still had an outside shot at a national championship if they could topple Arizona State convincingly and the Gators could narrowly upset the Seminoles, but that always seemed unlikely.
Still, it was the Rose Bowl, and in those days, the Rose Bowl was everything in Big Ten country. Ohio State hadn’t won that game in a while, somehow letting a victory slip through its fingers numerous times. However, the Buckeyes hadn’t even managed to reach the Rose Bowl in more than a decade.
The last OSU appearance in the Rose Bowl had been a heartbreaking 20-17 loss to USC in 1985. The Buckeyes had also lost to USC in 1980 by a single point. The last OSU win in the Rose Bowl had come in the 1974 iteration of the game.
The teams threw haymakers in the first half, with each team scoring on long touchdown drives in a game that swung back and forth. Stanley Jackson, part of Cooper’s two-man quarterback platoon — something I hated at the time — put Ohio State on top with a scrambling, 9-yard touchdown pass to David Boston. Ricky Boyer made a circus catch to tie the game on a 25-yard pass by Plummer.
The teams went to the locker room tied at 7-7. Arizona State took the lead for the first time in the third quarter on a 37-yard field goal. The Buckeyes responded with a 72-yard catch-and-run by Dimitrious Stanley from Joe Germaine, Ohio State’s “other” quarterback.
The transfer from Scottsdale Community College was short in stature but played with intelligence and a big heart. I didn’t think he was the better athlete, but I did see him as the better quarterback for that team. Still, it was Stanley who broke open against one-on-one coverage, caught the pass, and blazed down the field to the end zone to put Ohio State back on top. It was Ohio State’s longest bowl game pass play ever.
A big run by Pepe Pearson helped the Buckeyes get in field goal range, but disaster struck when Josh Jackson’s attempt was blocked by Brent Burnstein. A lateral to Derrick Rodgers appeared to give Arizona State the lead, but the pitch traveled forward, and the ball was brought back due to the penalty. Still, the Sun Devils had momentum and just a four-point deficit to overcome in the final five minutes.
Plummer worked the ball down the field, converting a third down, and then hitting a big pass play down the left sideline on a fourth down play. He then lived up to his name, scrambling through the OSU defense to score a rushing touchdown from 11 yards out with just 1:40 on the clock.
Enter Joe Germaine, Buckeye Hero.
With only one timeout, the Buckeyes took over on their 35-yard line, down 17-14. Germaine went to work on one of the biggest drives in Ohio State bowl history. After a couple near-misses to his tight end, Germaine converted a huge third down, hitting Stanley on a curl route. Three plays later, there as another third-and-long situation, and again Germaine hit Stanley down the middle. He hit Stanley again on an out route to move into field goal range and stop the clock.
After an Arizona State penalty moved the ball to the ASU 20. The Sun Devils started to panic in pass coverage, grabbing OSU receivers. The first wasn’t called, but the second was, as Boston was held on a post route, giving the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs.
Germaine made the most of it, dropping back, checking off his first option, and finding Boston in the flat on the right. The freshman wide receiver walked in, and Ohio State led with just seconds remaining. You’ve seen that play in highlight videos over the years. Here’s the entire drive:
t was a 65-yard, big-boy drive engineered by Germaine.
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continued
And I was at the game too.
Joe Germaine was the man. I wore #7 when I played because of Joe, I idolized his game. That last drive is the first and most vivid memory of my Buckeye fandom. From screaming to get Stanley Jackson out, to crying when Jake the Snake scored, and then to seeing an epic drive to win the Grand Daddy of them All and hugging my dad to the floor in victory. One of my top Buckeye moments to be sure.
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"I'd be mad too damnit. I saw pass interference there. Look, if that's not pass interference I don't know what. They ought to donate their paychecks to charity on that call."
Haha, that was awesome.
He could never get away with that stuff now.
Haha, that was awesome.
He could never get away with that stuff now.
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My favorite memories of that game were Joe Germaine's absolute inner calm, a friend yelling "Don't swallow your sphincter again, Cooper!", and the way that Jake Plummer strode the sidelines and increasingly blended into the team and then the bleacher as the Buckeyes won.
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