Revisiting Harbaugh to Kolesar: OSU 1985
Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the Harbaugh to Kolesar TD bomb that clinched the game against OSU. One of the biggest moments in the history of the big house.
Two sections taken from the Toledo Blade 11/24/85:
The kickoff goes into the end zone and Gerald White runs three yards on the first play. On the next play, Harbaugh notices safety Sonny Gordon is moving in to blitz. It means the Buckeyes will be in one-on-one coverage.
"It was a delayed blitz," Harbaugh said. "It gave me just enough time to throw it. Either the tight end or the wide out would be open."
The wide receiver was open. John Kolesar caught the ball around Ohio's 40 and outran William White into the end zone.
"We didn't know the guy was that fast," Pepper Johnson, Ohio State linebacker, said.
"I messed up," William White said.
"I'm sure they watched me on film and thought I would run that post pattern across the face of the defender (William White) on the play," Kolesar said. "I just dipped in and went over the top (ran around behind White)."
Getting open was the easy part. Getting the ball in hand was the hard part.
Kolesar said the contact lense in his right eye rolled up on the top of his eye, blurring his vision, and then he lost the ball in the lights.
Minor distractions.
"I lost track of the ball for about two or three seconds," he said. "I have to credit my eighth grade coach for the catch. He used to make us lay on our backs, throw the ball up, and then close our eyes and catch it by sort of feeling it into our hands."
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19851124&id=Rg1PAAAAIBA…
See video of the play and Bo's thoughts in the first reply:
November 25th, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
A lot of people complain about and make fun of Musburger, and often with good reason, but what a refreshing difference between this and a lot of the clowns we get calling games now. He did a great job of letting that moment breath without a lot of pointless chatter.
November 25th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^