https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hPmGedD41U

Full game here. This might be the most underrated win of the Solich era. Even more than the Pitt game, this was an indicator to me that the program had turned a corner for good.

Watched most of the first quarter so far. Tom Waddle, the color analyst, cracked me up on Everson’s touchdown pass to Norton for the Bobcats first score. Went on and on about how awful of a pass it was, I think because it probably didn’t meet his spiral specs. Norton caught it in full stride with his arms extended about three quarters. Waddle talked about the safety probably thinking he was going to make the interception as if where he reacted (misjudged) was where Everson was supposed to throw the ball. Hilarious to me anyway.

Thanks for that. It was a great game. I had forgotten the awful start by the Bobcats, and also all the dropped TD passes by NIU. Everson had a great game, no doubt about it. I had to laugh when the announcer said something along the lines of "he throws an awful looking ball, but it's always exactly where it needs to be". Clutch.

There was one in the first quarter, too, plus there were at least two other passes where Ohio had no one covering a receiver, but the NIU QB wasn't able to get the ball to them. By contrast, I don't think Ohio receivers dropped a ball all day, and I don't think Everson missed any open receiver.

I agree, that it was a tremendously enjoyable game.

Lots of woulda coulda shouldas in this one for NIU. Could've been worse for them too - I counted about three interceptions Tyler Russ should've had.

This was probably Everson's best game with us. Also probably Rudy Sylvan's best game.

I won a dinner from a dear friend, recently deceased, on the outcome of that game. Later lost it when we went double or nothing on a later contest. This friend was an Athens native who went to NIU. I only listened to it on the radio, so I don’t have a very vidid memory of the things folks are mentioning here. It was a great win!

Yeah, he certainly had his shortcomings in certain aspects of his play, but I think Everson had a lot of the intangibles needed to lead the team and was a big part of why we won the MAC East that year. He had grit, could make clutch plays, and wasn't afraid of a little contact to get some needed extra yards. He was the type of quarterback that made the other players want to step up their level of play when he was out on the field.

Wolfe wound up with 196 yds but had more than 90 on his first seven carries.

Sylvan had some really clutch plays. He was load.

Interesting to watch without some of rules that we have now:

No replays. Although it's good to get it right, the flow of this game was much better.

No targeting. I saw at least two instances where players would have been ejected today, one for each team (NIU in the first quarter, Ohio on NIU's last drive).

Horvath lost his helmet on the last two plays of NIU's next-to-last drive. He probably shouldn't have been in the game for the last play of that drive.

Back then, the clock started on change of possession immediately when the ball was marked for play. Everybody absolutely hated that rule, which is why it was gone the next year.