Wikipedia

1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the 1980 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 17–16, to the USC Trojans.

1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 16–17 vs. USC
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–1 (8–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorDennis Fryzel (1st season)
MVPJim Laughlin
Captains
  • Ken Fritz
  • Mike Guess
  • Jim Laughlin
  • Tom Waugh
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 83,112)
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Ohio State $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Purdue 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 18 Michigan 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 19 Indiana 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Iowa 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 5 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Michigan State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Illinois 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
Northwestern 0 – 9 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 81:30 p.m.Syracuse*
W 31–886,205[1]
September 152:30 p.m.at MinnesotaNo. 15
W 21–1743,926[2]
September 221:30 p.m.Washington State*No. 16
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 45–2987,495[3]
September 294:00 p.m.at No. 17 UCLA*No. 14
ABCW 17–1347,228[4]
October 61:30 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 16–787,406[5]
October 131:30 p.m.IndianaNo. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 47–687,521[6]
October 201:30 p.m.WisconsinNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 59–087,585[7]
October 271:30 p.m.Michigan State No. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 42–087,747[8]
November 32:00 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 5
W 44–741,870[9]
November 101:00 p.m.IowaNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 34–787,835[10]
November 1712:30 p.m.at No. 13 MichiganNo. 2
ABCW 18–15106,255[11]
January 1, 19805:00 p.m.vs. No. 3 USC*No. 1
NBCL 16–17105,526[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[13]

Roster

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1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 47 Doug Donley Jr
G 56 Ken Fritz Sr
QB 10 Art Schlichter So
RB 46 Tim Spencer Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 25 Todd Bell Jr
CB 27 Ray Ellis Jr
LB 65 Keith Ferguson Jr
LB 5 Jim Laughlin Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 13 Vlade Janakievski Sr
P 19 Tom Orosz Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster

Depth chart

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[14]

Coaching staff

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  • Earle Bruce - Head Coach (1st year)
  • Pete Carroll - Defensive Backs (1st year)
  • Dennis Fryzel - Defensive Coordinator (1st year)
  • Glen Mason - Offensive Line / Defensive Inside Linebackers (2nd year)
  • Bill Myles - Offensive Line (3rd year)
  • Wayne Stanley - Running Backs (1st year)
  • Steve Szabo - Defensive Line (1st year)
  • Bob Tucker - Defensive Outside Linebackers (1st year)
  • Fred Zechman - Quarterbacks/Receivers (1st year)

1980 NFL draftees

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Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Jim Laughlin 4 91 Linebacker Atlanta Falcons
Mike Guess 6 156 Defensive Back Chicago Bears
Ken Fritz 10 277 Guard Pittsburgh Steelers

[15]

Game summaries

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Syracuse

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1 234Total
Syracuse 0 080 8
• Ohio St 7 1437 31
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:46
  • Game attendance: 86,205
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy; 67 °F (19 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) N
Scoring summary
Q12:49OHSTBarwig 11 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–0
Q213:32OHSTCampbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 14–0
Q27:18OHSTMurray 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 21–0
Q36:32OHSTJanakievski 22 yard field goalOHST 24–0
Q3:23SYRHurley 3 yard run (McCollum run)OHST 24–8
Q47:51OHSTGayle 29 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 31–8

[16]

Minnesota

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1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 068 21
Minnesota 14 300 17
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:36
  • Game attendance: 43,926
  • Game weather: Sunny; 68 °F (20 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h) SE
  • Referee: Otho Kertz
Scoring summary
Q112:20MINNWhite 29 yard run (kick blocked)MINN 6–0
Q15:45MINNWhite 16 yard pass from Carlson (Bourquin pass from Carlson)MINN 14–0
Q12:48OHSTHicks 39 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)MINN 14–7
Q2:07MINNRogind 44 yard field goalMINN 17–7
Q37:24OHSTMurray 1 yard run (kick failed)MINN 17–13
Q412:42OHSTSchlichter 32 yard run (Jaco pass from Schlichter)OHST 21–17

[17]

Washington State

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1 234Total
Wash St 3 01016 29
• Ohio St 7 17714 45
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:46
  • Game attendance: 87,495
  • Game weather: Overcast; 64 °F (18 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) NE
Scoring summary
Q19:49WSUDeSanto 47 yard field goalWSU 3–0
Q13:46OHSTSchlichter 5 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–3
Q25:18OHSTMurray 13 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 14–3
Q22:51OHSTJanakievski 30 yard field goalOHST 17–3
Q21:27OHSTHicks recovered blocked punt in end zone (Jankievski kick)OHST 24–3
Q313:22WSUWhatley 12 yard pass from Grant (DeSanto kick)OHST 24–10
Q32:27WSUDeSanto 41 yard field goalOHST 24–13
Q3:58OHSTMurray 86 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 31–13
Q413:52WSUWilson 11 yard pass from Grant (Beach pass from Grant)OHST 31–21
Q411:25OHSTMurray 8 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 38–21
Q45:53WSUWilson 11 yard pass from Grant (Grant run)OHST 38–29
Q43:13OHSTDonley 29 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 45–29

[18]

The longest pass in school history to date, an 86-yard bomb from Art Schlichter to Calvin Murray, helped propel Ohio State to a 45-29 win over Washington State. The previous record was an 80-yard pass from Joe Sparma to Bob Klein in 1961 versus Michigan.[19]

UCLA

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1 234Total
• Ohio St 0 737 17
UCLA 10 003 13
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:46
  • Game attendance: 47,228
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 71 °F (22 °C); light wind SW
  • Referee: Bill Love
Scoring summary
Q18:27UCLACurren 10 yard pass from Bashore (Boermeester kick)UCLA 7–0
Q1:52UCLABoermeester 27 yard field goalUCLA 10–0
Q24:53OHSTMurray 34 yard run (Janakievski kick)UCLA 10–7
Q35:46OHSTJanakievski 24 yard field goalTie 10–10
Q411:00UCLABoermeester 39 yard field goalUCLA 13–10
Q4:46OHSTCampbell 2 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 17–13

[20]

Northwestern

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1 234Total
Northwestern 0 007 7
• Ohio St 10 303 16
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:41
  • Game attendance: 87,406
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy; 58 °F (14 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) SW
Scoring summary
Q112:51OHSTJanakievski 26 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q110:03OHSTDwelle 4 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 10–0
Q26:00OHSTJanakievski 26 yard field goalOHST 13–0
Q414:58NWMishler 1 yard run (Poulos kick)OHST 13–7
Q48:01OHSTAtha 50 yard field goalOHST 16–7

[21]

[22]

Indiana

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1 234Total
Indiana 0 060 6
• Ohio St 9 17147 47
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:48
  • Game attendance: 87,251
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 44 °F (7 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h) NW
Scoring summary
Q111:38OHSTCampbell 2 yard run (kick failed)OHST 6–0
Q15:51OHSTJanakievski 32 yard field goalOHST 9–0
Q211:23OHSTJanakievski 35 yard field goalOHST 12–0
Q23:50OHSTCampbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 19–0
Q2:28OHSTDonley 21 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 26–0
Q311:22OHSTVolley 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 33–0
Q37:14OHSTSchlichter 5 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 40–0
Q3:57INDClifford 2 yard run (run failed)OHST 40–6
Q43:58OHSTHicks 11 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick)OHST 47–6

[23]

Wisconsin

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1 234Total
Wisconsin 0 000 0
• Ohio St 14 141021 59
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:48
  • Game attendance: 87,585
  • Game weather: Sunny; 77 °F (25 °C); wind 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) S
Scoring summary
Q111:59OHSTSchlichter 4 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–0
Q12:15OHSTHunter 14 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 14–0
Q210:28OHSTWilliams 20 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 21–0
Q28:16OHSTSchlichter 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 28–0
Q37:35OHSTJanakievski 19 yard field goalOHST 31–0
Q36:39OHSTEllis 27 yard interception return (Janakievski kick)OHST 38–0
Q410:51OHSTCastignola 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 45–0
Q42:23OHSTSpencer 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 52–0
Q4:37OHSTLindsey 38 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 59–0

[24]

Michigan State

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1 234Total
Michigan St 0 000 0
• Ohio St 14 1477 42
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:35
  • Game attendance: 87,747
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny; 53 °F (12 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) S
Scoring summary
Q111:49OHSTDonley 53 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–0
Q12:48OHSTDonley 12 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 14–0
Q213:30OHSTSchlichter 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 21–0
Q22:12OHSTVolley 32 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 28–0
Q34:58OHSTSchlichter 6 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 35–0
Q43:11OHSTCastignola 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 42–0

[25]

Illinois

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1 234Total
• Ohio St 3 141017 44
Illinois 0 070 7
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 41,870
  • Game weather: Clear; 51 °F (11 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h) NW
Scoring summary
Q18:36OHSTJanakievski 47 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q214:18OHSTMurray 4 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 10–0
Q22:22OHSTBell 16 yard blocked punt return (Janakievski kick)OHST 17–0
Q311:52OHSTCampbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 24–0
Q36:49OHSTJanakievski 36 yard field goalOHST 27–0
Q34:00ILLBoeke 10 yard pass from McCullough (Jones kick)OHST 27–7
Q410:46OHSTSchlichter 4 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 34–7
Q48:42OHSTJanakievski 51 yard field goalOHST 37–7
Q42:13OHSTDwelle 4 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick)OHST 44–7

[26]

Iowa

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1 234Total
Iowa 0 007 7
• Ohio St 13 1407 34
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 2:51
  • Game attendance: 87,835
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 41 °F (5 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) NW
Scoring summary
Q15:55OHSTSchlichter 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–0
Q13:18OHSTJanakievski 35 yard field goalOHST 10–0
Q11:38OHSTJanakievski 29 yard field goalOHST 13–0
Q28:56OHSTVolley 1 yard run (Jankievski kick)OHST 20–0
Q26:40OHSTDonley 33 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)OHST 27–0
Q412:16OHSTSpencer 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 34–0
Q44:07IOWAChappelle 40 yard pass from Gales (Roby kick)OHST 34–7

[27]

At Michigan

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See also: 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team and Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes at #13 Michigan Wolverines
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 6 6618
Michigan 0 7 8015

at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • Date: November 17
  • Game weather: Sunny • 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) SW
  • Game attendance: 106,255
  • TV: ABC
  • Ohio State Football - Archives
Game information

Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl with an 18-15 victory over their archrivals. The Buckeyes had not beaten nor scored a touchdown against Michigan since 1975, the last time they had gone to Pasadena.[28]

Rose Bowl

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1980 Rose Bowl
1 234Total
• USC 3 707 17
Ohio St 0 1033 16
  • Date: January 1
  • Location: Rose Bowl
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 105,526
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, O.J. Simpson
Scoring summary
Q14:37USCHipp 41 yard field goalUSC 3–0
Q29:11USCWilliams 53 yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick)USC 10-0
Q23:10OHSTJanakievski 35 yard field goalUSC 10–3
Q2:21OHSTMurray 67 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick)Tie 10–10
Q310:53OSUJanakievski 37 yard field goalOHST 13–10
Q49:42OHSTJanakievski 24 yard field goalOSU 16-10
Q41:32USCWhite 1 yard run (Hipp kick)USC 17–16

[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Buckeyes make Bruce's debut a happy one". The Lima News. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Buck-passer Schlichter spoils Gopher ambush". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Easy win for Ohio State". The Pantagraph. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Schlichter rallies Ohio St. past UCLA". Staten Island Advance. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Ohio State survives Northwestern scare". Journal and Courier. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Ohio State quarterback leads romp over Indiana". The Pantagraph. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Ohio State tramples Wisconsin in Big Ten". The Pantagraph. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ohio State rolls by Spartans 42–0". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Buckeyes storm past Illini, 44–7". Detroit Free Press. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Buckeyes rout Iowa 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Bucks edge Wolves, 18–15; Clinch title". The Times Recorder. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "White carries Southern Cal over Ohio State". The Pittsburgh Press. January 2, 1980. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1979 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  14. ^ 1980 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  15. ^ "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.
  16. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-14.
  17. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-14.
  18. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1979 Sept 23.
  20. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-16.
  21. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-23.
  22. ^ "Buckeyes Win in Struggle." Palm Beach Post. 1979 Oct 7.
  23. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-23.
  24. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-23.
  25. ^ "1979-08-Michigan State" (PDF). Ohio State Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  26. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-23.
  27. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Aug-23.
  28. ^ "Woody's successor takes Bucks to Pasadena." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Nov 18.
  29. ^ "Ohio State Spring Football Media Guide" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2020.
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