ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Byars is in!
Well deserved....
OSU's Greatest Football Wins: Illinois
1984
No. 8 Ohio State 45
Illinois 38
Unranked Illinois stunned the Ohio Stadium crowd of 89,937 by opening a 24-0 lead in the first half, but that was before Buckeye running back Keith Byars got going.
Byars got the eighth-ranked Buckeyes on the board with a 16-yard touchdown run with 4:13 left in the second quarter, the first of four straight OSU touchdowns that let the Buckeyes take a 28-24 advantage in less than three minutes into the third quarter. After an Illinois field goal, Byars broke loose for a spectacular 67-yard TD to stretch the lead back to eight. The junior from Dayton reversed his field and lost a shoe on the run, one of the most memorable plays in Ohio State history.
The Illini kept coming, however. Illinois quarterback completed threw a touchdown pass and ran for the game-tying two-point conversion just before the start of the fourth quarter. After the teams traded field goals, Byars finally put the wraps on the 45-38 Buckeye victory with a 3-yard touchdown run with just 0:36 on the clock. The junior finished the day with five touchdowns and 274 rushing yards that were at the time a school record for a single game. He also tied Pete Johnson's school record with five rushing touchdowns.
It was no day for defenses: The Buckeyes gave up 509 total yards to Illinois but trumped the Illini with 564 yards of their own.
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/OSUs-Greatest-Football-Wins-Illinois-105012044/
Re: Byars’ standout game in 1984 came in a comeback win in a comeback win over Illinois in which he rushed for 274 yards and five touchdowns, which is tied for an Ohio State single-game record. On his fourth touchdown of the game, he famously lost his left shoe at the Illini 40 but never broke stride.
I was at that game, it was really an impressive "come from behind" win. Maybe not the greatest "come from behind" win in Ohio State's history due to the opponent; however, a great effort none the less.
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