Making 'Em Forget Woody

Ohio State does it Earle's way

The Ohio State Buckeyes take the opening kickoff in the end zone and start play on their own 20-yd. line with a blustery wind blowing into their faces. The University of Wisconsin defense is bunched close to the line of scrimmage, anticipating the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust plunge that has been an Ohio State trademark for decades. But on the first play the Buckeyes go for the bomb. Though it fails, Wisconsin is caught off balance, never to recover, and Ohio State wins, 59-0. Earle Bruce has delivered his calling card: New Coach in Town.

Bruce served notice of his arrival this year with an unbroken string of victories that has carried the Buckeyes to top-five ranking in both the A.P. and U.P.I, football polls. In the process, he has healed the ugly divisions on and off campus that followed Woody Hayes' ouster as head coach last January after Hayes slugged a Clemson player during the closing minutes of the Gator Bowl. If Ohio State can get by Iowa and Archrival Michigan in its final two games, Bruce could finish his first year in Hayes' shoes with a Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. More difficult still, Bruce has earned the right to be known by his own name, not simply as the man who succeeded Woody. "That era," says Earle Bruce, "is over."

The nascent Bruce era is as different from the expired Hayes regime as the two men are different in appearance and temperament. Hayes is the epitome of the gravel-voiced, granite-jawed football fascist. Bruce is central casting's version of a small-town insurance agent: a paunchy, balding disciplinarian who softens his sternness with an open, gentle-eyed manner. "He looks like one of the Seven Dwarfs," says an old friend. The Ohio State team, riven by feuds among assistant coaches in recent years and demoralized by Hayes' abrupt departure, has welcomed the change. Says Sophomore Split End Gary Williams: "He gives us more freedom than there was in the past. It's a two-way street now, where before, it was definitely one-way."

A former Ohio State halfback, head coach at Iowa State (1973 to 1978) and a Hayes assistant for six years, Bruce relished the challenge of replacing his mentor. "It's a dream come true," he said. Though he is laboring almost literally in Hayes' shadow--the former coach, now writing a book, has an office in a building down the block from Bruce's headquarters--Bruce has retained just two of Hayes' eight assistants and has overhauled Ohio State's antique offensive tactics. When he was at Iowa State, his teams were noted for passing. The Buckeyes seem headed for a similar reputation. They have already tripled the number of passing touchdowns and after eight games were only 124 yds. short of last season's total yardage in the air.

The lynchpin of Bruce's Buckeyes is Sophomore Quarterback Art Schlichter, who endured a traumatic debut as a freshman, starting at quarterback before he had had time to learn his teammates' names. Working with outmoded plays and receivers who had done most of their catching in drills, Schlichter passed for four touchdowns last season but was intercepted 21 times. This year he has given up only three interceptions in eight games, while chalking up eleven touchdowns. The Buckeyes' ground game remains undiminished, however: Ohio State backs, led by Fullback Ric Volley and Tailback Calvin Murray, have ground out 22 touchdowns in the first eight games.

Perhaps the biggest difference is on the sidelines, where once Woody Hayes strode, angry and intense. Earle Bruce stands still and calm, a tactician always in control of himself and the game. In a contest against U.C.L.A., Ohio State trailed with two minutes to play, but still marched the length of the field to win in the closing seconds. Says one observer: "I don't think Woody would have won that game. He would have gotten so mad that he would have ripped off his headset and slammed it to the ground, so spotters upstairs wouldn't have been able to communicate with him."

When Hayes was dismissed last winter, Ohio State alumni lobbied in the state legislature for his return, and hard days were predicted for his successor. O.S.U. Athletic Director Hugh Hindman darkly warned: "There are people out there who are hoping for Earle Bruce to fail." Bruce produced an avalanche of victories, and now the tune has changed. "We all like him," said one fan on his way into Columbus' Ohio Stadium for a recent game. "Of course, everybody loves a winner."

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