Old Heisman Trophy winners never die , and at football-mad Ohio State , they never fade away , either .They do slip farther and farther down-page in the school record book , however .So it is with Archie Griffin , the only two-time Heisman winner and the star of four Buckeyes Rose Bowl teams in the 1970s .Most yards rushing in a game : At one time , Griffin held the top two spots and four of the top six on the all-time Ohio State list .Now he is third , below Eddie George and Keith Byars .Most yards rushing in a season : Once , Griffin 's ' 74 , '73 and '75 outputs ranked first , second and third in Buckeyes history .Here , too , George and Byars have overtaken him .Other , greater distinctions remain Griffin 's .He still holds the NCAA record for yards per carry in a career  6.1  and the Ohio State record for career rushing yards  5,589  .And in Columbus , Ohio , in the shadow of the university hospital where he was born and the old brick stadium where he bloomed , Archie Griffin remains  begin ital  the  end ital  symbol of the Buckeyes ' football tradition in one other way .He is the hero of their last Rose Bowl victory .This is one distinction he is eager to give up , preferably today , when fourth-ranked Ohio State faces second-ranked Arizona State .Twenty-three New Year 's Days ago , Griffin took 22 handoffs from Cornelius Greene and ran for 149 yards , including a game-clinching 47-yard touchdown , to lead the Buckeyes past the USC team of Anthony Davis and Pat Haden .-LRB- begin ital  Twenty-three  end ital  years ago .The Buckeyes have come to Pasadena four times since then and been turned back each time ." It is very hard to believe that  it 's been so long  , " Griffin said , grasping your shoulder , as if the thought were literally dizzying .It has been so long that even his seven-year NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals _ undersized at 5-foot-9 , he never matched his college exploits _ seems a distant memory .It has been so long that none of the current Buckeyes players can possibly remember his Heisman seasons , and some weren't even born when he earned them .It has been so long that since going to work for the Ohio State athletic department after his pro retirement , Griffin has worked his way up to associate athletic director , in charge of the football program and 16 other men 's and women 's sports .He will watch today 's game from the press box , in a suit and tie .Monday morning , Griffin was standing on the Buckeyes ' practice field at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa , wearing a white Ohio State windbreaker and a white Ohio State cap on his balding head ." People ask me , do I miss the game ? I really don't , " he said ." I played my first game when I was 9 and my last when I was 31 .That 's 23 straight years playing .That 's enough .Sometimes I look out there and see some of those hits , and I say , ` I took hits like that ? That 's crazy ! " 'Listening to him , you imagine that two decades ago , standing this close to Archie Griffin two days before the Rose Bowl , you 'd plot a way to  begin ital  accidentally  end ital  step on his toes or poke him in the eye .Anything to keep him from the game .If you came of age as a Los Angeles football fan in the early 1970s , you learned to love the Rose Bowl , which always seemed to settle the national championship .You learned to hate Ohio State .To sneer at the mention of its coach , Woody Hayes .And to fear its great tailback .The Rose Bowl was the province of USC and UCLA in those days , or so we believed , and the Buckeyes were the barbarians at the gates .If you stopped Archie , you beat them .Three times , that 's what happened .Jan. 1 , 1973 : Griffin ran for 73 yards in the 7-7 first half but only 22 after that , and USC pulled away behind Davis and Sam Cunningham to win the game 42-17 and the national championship ." We got our tails kicked , " Griffin remembered .Jan. 1 , 1974 : " King of a revenge game for us , " Griffin said .Ohio State , voted the Rose Bowl berth by Big Ten athletic directors after tying Michigan for the conference title , got even with USC in a 42-21 rout .Jan. 1 , 1975 : Griffin , in the middle of an NCAA-record streak of 31 100-yard games in the regular season , was held to 75 in the Rose Bowl .The winner would be national champion , and that turned out to be USC after Haden passed to J.K. McKay  for a touchdown  and Shelton Diggs  for two points  for an 18-17 victory .Jan. 1 , 1976 : Undefeated , ranked No. 1 and two-touchdown favorites , the Buckeyes ' backfield of Griffin  93 yards  , Greene and bruising Pete Johnson was outgained by Wendell Tyler  173  and the Bruins avenged an October defeat 23-10 ." You always remember those ones you don't win a little more , especially when there 's a national championship on the line , " Griffin said .Barbarian at the gates ? These days Griffin seems more like an ambassador of goodwill _ that 's how his unofficial role is described around campus _ or somebody 's uncle .He is somebody 's uncle .Kevin Griffin , nephew of Archie and his former Buckeyes teammates Ray and Duncan Griffin , is a split end on this year 's team .Monday , Kevin and quarterback Stanley Jackson had breakfast with Archie at the team 's hotel here ." I can see how bad he wanted us to get back  to the Rose Bowl  , " Kevin said ." I told them you 've got to be ready to play the best game of your life in the Rose Bowl , " Archie said .If Jackson , or fellow quarterback Joe Germaine , or tailback Pepe Pearson , or one of Ohio State 's many defensive stars plays the game of his life today and becomes the school 's  begin ital  new  end ital  Rose Bowl hero , Griffin will be happy to relinquish his place in Buckeyes nostalgia ." I 'm interested , " he said , " in winning . "