Hayes' conservative, run-heavy offense inspired sportswriters to coin the phrase "three yards and a cloud of dust." And up until the mid-to-late 90's, this motto accurately characterized the offensive theory of the entire Big Ten.
But today Big Ten offenses are far more balanced. Most programs use three-, four-, and five-receiver sets, and very few utilize the fullback position, the focal point of most Hayes-led offenses.
This season, four of eleven Big Ten offenses can be classified as run-first units. But of those four, three do it from some variation of the lauded "spread," signifying a drastic change in offensive philosophy from the days of double tights and I-formations.
Though Hayes probably wouldn't recognize today's Big Ten, he would have appreciated how this year's de facto Big Ten Championship Game played out. And not just because Ohio State won.
The Buckeyes' thrilling victory was highlighted by their physicality, rushing for 229 yards (4.5 ypc) and 3 touchdowns on offense, while holding the Hawkeyes to just 67 yards (2.8 ypc) of their own.
Ohio State's win clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the fifth consecutive season, in addition to the conference's coveted Rose Bowl berth.
This will be Ohio State's first appearance in Pasdena since the 1996 season, and their fifth straight title is the now tied for the second-longest streak in conference history.
Looking at statistics alone, the Buckeyes appeared to have dominated Iowa. They had more first downs, converted on a higher percentage of third downs, and didn't commit one turnover.
If it wasn't for Iowa's effective passing attack, it's unlikely that the game would have gone to overtime, and Ohio State probably would have won by more than three points.
But although the pass may have kept Iowa in the game, they paid dearly for their reliance on the pass in the end.
Stepping in for injured starter Ricky Stanzi, redshirt freshman James Vandenberg was stellar in his first career start -- minus three untimely interceptions, one of which came on Iowa's only possession of overtime.
Woody Hayes never liked to pass the football, claiming that it was too risky to put the ball in the air.
Woody Hayes never liked to pass the football, claiming that it was too risky to put the ball in the air.
He once said, referring to his team's performance in a season-opening game, "That was as bad an opener as we have ever played. When you get into the passing game, you can expect that sort of thing to happen."
On Saturday, with the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth on the line, that sort of thing happened to Iowa.
On Saturday, with the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth on the line, that sort of thing happened to Iowa.
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