By: LARRY PHILLIPS (MansfieldNewsJournal.com) –
Woody Hayes didn’t make a favorable impression in his first Rose Bowl trip, but his team certainly did.
The top-ranked Buckeyes completed a national championship season by thumping USC 20-7 amid a Pasadena, Calif., rainstorm. Ohio State offered a workmanlike performance in a quagmire.

Hayes’ reaction to the opponent and the muddy Rose Bowl surface was, well, smug. When asked to compare the Trojans to teams in his conference, he jumped to the bait.

“There were four or five Big Ten teams that were better than your Rose Bowl club out there today,” Hayes told the West Coast writers.

Earlier, the OSU boss feuded with the Tournament of Roses Association for not covering the field before the game. He later complained when the bands weren’t banned from performing on the field during halftime.

His behavior ignited a media war that was revisited each time Ohio State reached the Rose Bowl or played a Pac-8 team.

However, no one could say he was wrong on either count, or dispute the excellence of his team.

The field’s numbers and the players jersey numerals were mere rumor by the second quarter, when mud caked every section of the field. It was the worst Rose Bowl conditions in 22 years.

Still, the Buckeyes (10-0) were immune to the mess.

The two-touchdown favorites took the opening kick and rolled to the USC 14, but missed a short field goal. However, the march flashed a superiority the Buckeyes would maintain throughout the day.

Lineman Jim Parker recovered Jim Contratto’s fumble on the OSU 31, and Howard “Hopalong” Cassady and Jerry Harkrader alternated in driving all the way. Quarterback Dave Leggett finished the series with a 3-yard TD run to open the second quarter.

Leggett got it done on both sides of the ball.

USC backup quarterback Frank Hall fumbled and Leggett recovered to set up the Buckeyes second score. Halfback Bobby Watkins ripped off a 14-yard run and Leggett hit his running back with a 21-yard TD strike for a 14-0 lead.

OSU was stopped on the USC 4 midway through the second half, but clinched the victory by pounding 77 yards in 12 plays. Harkrader capped it with a 9-yard TD dash. Parker, center Bob Thornton, end Dean Dugger and tackle Dick Hilinski were credited with big games along online prescriptions the offensive line. Ohio State owned a 22-6 edge in first downs. Cassady ran for 92 yards and Leggett, who was MVP, was 6-of-11 passing for 63 yards and a TD. He ran for 67 more.

“Our option play was our bread and butter. Leggett played a brilliant game,” Hayes said. “Before the game, we felt we were a better team … so we chose to play a conservative role. We were not going to take too many chances.”

The game didn’t settle who was better, OSU or UCLA. The Bruins, albeit in perfect conditions, destroyed conference runner-up USC 34-0 earlier in the season. OSU won the AP title, UCLA the UPI version. The two teams were flip-flopped 1-2 in each poll.

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