On this date in Ohio State football: Oct. 14, 1967

Taking a look back at a game Ohio State played on this date:

Purdue 41, Ohio State 6

Setup: After a miserable 4-5 season in 1966 — only the second losing record for Ohio State in Woody Hayes' 16 seasons — the Buckeyes had a hell of a team in 1967. Just not on Saturdays. NCAA rules at the time prohibited freshmen from playing, and a group that included Jack Tatum, John Brockington and Rex Kern routinely dominated OSU upperclassmen in practice yet had to wait a year to play. But could Hayes survive until they were eligible? Second-ranked Purdue would offer a stern test.

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Stars: Quarterback Mike Phipps was a super soph in his own right, and he torched Ohio State for 210 yards passing and two touchdowns. Elite running back Leroy Keyes added 115 yards from scrimmage in a little more than two quarters. The Buckeyes had no stars on this day, but they were clocked hard enough to see them.

Turning point: Purdue had taken a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a pick-six by Dennis Cirbes and a TD run by Perry Williams. Helped by one of six OSU turnovers, the Boilermakers added the knockout blow in the second quarter with three touchdowns in a span of 3 minutes, 11 seconds for a 35-0 lead.

Impact: The loss left the Buckeyes at 1-2, and in the coming weeks their record would slip to 2-3 and they would witness a small plane fly over Ohio Stadium pulling a banner that read "GOODBYE WOODY." Not so fast. Ohio State went undefeated in four November games to doubtless save Hayes' job, and the seeds of the 1968 national championship were sown. OSU's winning streak reached 22 games before a shocking loss to Michigan to end the 1969 season.

Quotable: "I thanked him for calling off the dogs. I also told him it was the best team I've seen on this field since I've been here. No use damning with faint praise. They deserved it." — Hayes, revealing his postgame conversation with Purdue coach Jack Mollenkopf

rstein@dispatch.com