This Date in College Football Belt History – December 30

December 30, 1981 -The Navy Midshipmen of coach George Welsh came to The Liberty Bowl with a 7-3-1 record having tied rival Army 3-3.  The Ohio State Buckeyes of coach Earle Bruce were 8-3 & Big Ten Co-Champs having beaten rival Michigan 14-9.  Navy’s RB Eddie Meyers rushed for 117 yards but his effort was not enough to overcome the Buckeyes’ balanced attack in a 31-28 Ohio State win.  The Buckeyes took a 10-0 lead in the 1^st quarter as PK Bob Atha connected on a 35-yard field goal & All-Big 10 QB Art Schlichter hit WR Gary Williams on a 50-yard touchdown pass.  The Midshipmen got on the board late in the 1^st quarter when TE Greg Papajohn caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from QB Marco Pagnanelli.  The touchdown was set-up after a fake punt with P/PK Steve Fehr throwing to S Brian Cianella for a 39-yard gain to the Ohio State 16-yard line.  Navy tied the game when Fehr hit a 41-yard field goal early in the 2^nd quarter.  Ohio State’s DT Jerome Foster recovered a fumble by Pagnanelli , seven plays later, Buckeyes’ RB Jimmy Gayle scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for a 17-10 Ohio State lead.  Fehr’s 23-yard field goal sent the teams to halftime with the Buckeyes leading 17-13.  Navy took a 20-17 lead when George Herlong blocked a punt attempt & LB Ken Olson carried it 20 yards for a Midshipmen touchdown.  Ohio State took back the lead when Gayle scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.  The Buckeyes effectively put the game out of reach when Schlichter connected with WR Cedric Anderson for a 9-yard touchdown & a 31-20 lead with just 5:22 to play.  Navy did add a 97-yard scoring drive with Pagnanelli again hitting Papajohn for a 1-yard touchdown pass with just 0:08 to play but when the Buckeyes recovered the on-side kick, they had a hard fought 31-28 victory.  Meyer was named the game’s MVP & Pagnanelli threw for 201 yards with his 2 touchdowns for Navy.  For the Buckeyes, Schlichter threw for 159 yards with his 2 touchdowns & Gayle added 88 yards rushing to his two scores.  Ohio State finished the season 9-3; Big Ten Co-Champs & ranked 15^th nationally while the Midshipmen finished 7-4-1.  Navy has not played for The Belt again.

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