1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football

Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 10–23 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	11–1 (8–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (25th season)
MVP	Cornelius Greene
Captains	Brian Baschnagel Tim Fox Archie Griffin Ken Kuhn
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1974 1976 →

1975 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	2
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1975 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the 1976 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 23–10, to the UCLA Bruins.

In 1975, Archie Griffin became college football's only two-time Heisman trophy winner. Griffin won four Big Ten Conference titles with the Ohio State Buckeyes and became the only player ever to start in four Rose Bowls.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	4:00 p.m.	at No. 11 Michigan State	No. 3	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 21–0	80,383
September 20	1:30 p.m.	No. 7 Penn State*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)		W 17–9	88,093
September 27	1:30 p.m.	North Carolina*	No. 2	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 32–7	87,750	^[1]
October 4	9:00 p.m.	at No. 13 UCLA*	No. 2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 41–20	55,482
October 11	1:30 p.m.	Iowa	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 49–0	87,826
October 18	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 56–0	87,820
October 25	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 1	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 35–6	69,405
November 1	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 24–14	87,835
November 8	2:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		W 40–3	67,751
November 15	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 38–6	87,817
November 22	1:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Michigan	No. 1	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 21–14	105,543
January 1, 1976	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 UCLA*	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 10–23	105,464
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Cornelius Greene
RB	`45`	Archie Griffin	Sr
FB		Pete Johnson
QB	`8`	Rod Gerald	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB		Tim Fox
DB		Ray Griffin

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Tom Klaban

Head coach

Woody Hayes

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Depth chart

Defense

FS
Tim Fox
Duncan Griffin
⋅

WLB	SLB
Ed Thompson	Ken Kuhn
Dave Adkins	Tom Cousineau
⋅	⋅

SS
Ray Griffin
Joe Allegro
⋅

CB
Craig Cassady
Max Midlam
⋅

DE	DT	NT	DT	DE
Bob Brudzinski	Nick Buonamici	Aaron Brown	Eddie Beamon	Pat Curto
Kelton Dansler	Mark Sullivan	Mark Lang	Byron Cato	⋅
⋅	Tyrone Harris	⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
Bruce Ruhl
Lenny Mills
⋅

Offense

SE
Lenny Willis
Herman Jones
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Chris Ward	Ted Smith	Rick Applegate	Bill Lukens	Scott Dannelley
Lou Pietrini	Jim Savoca	Ron Ayers	⋅	Garth Cox
⋅	⋅	Doug Porter	⋅	⋅

TE
Larry Kain
Jimmy Moore
Greg Storer

WB
Brian Baschnagel
Jimmy Harrell
⋅

QB
Cornelius Greene
Rod Gerald
Jim Pacenta

FB
Pete Johnson
Lou Williott
⋅

Special teams
PK Tom Klaban
P Tom Skladany
P Mike Keeton
KR Lenny Willis

RB
Archie Griffin
Jeff Logan
Woody Roach

^[2]

Coaching staff

Woody Hayes - Head Coach (25th year)
George Chaump - Offense (8th year)
George Hill - Defensive Coordinator (5th year)
Charles Clausen - Defense (5th year)
Alex Gibbs - Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line (1st year)
Mickey Jackson - (2nd year)
John Mummey - Quarterbacks (7th year)
Ralph Staub - (6th year)
Dick Walker - Defensive Backs (7th year)
Jeff Kaplan - 'brain coach' & counselor (3rd year)

Game summaries

Michigan State

Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	7	7	7	21
Michigan St	0	0	0	0	0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 13
Game weather: Partly sunny • Mid 50s • Wind W–NW 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
Game attendance: 80,383
TV: ABC
Ohio State Football Archives

Game information

Ohio St

Greene
3/7, 85 Yds, TD, INT
Griffin
29 Rush, 108 Yds
Willis
2 Rec, 82 Yds, TD

Michigan St

Baggett
5/9, 67 Yds, 3 INT
Jackson
20 Rush, 58 Yds
Fortney
3 Rec, 35 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	OSU	MSU
2	1:16	8	57		Ohio St	Johnson 6-yard touchdown run, Klaban kick good	7	0
3	6:52	6	76		Ohio St	Willis 64-yard touchdown reception from Grenne, Klaban kick good	14	0
4	14:56	4	30		Ohio St	Johnson 9-yard touchdown run, Klaban kick good	21	0
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							21	0

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn St	3	3	3	0	9
• Ohio St	10	0	0	7	17

Date: September 20
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game attendance: 88,093

Scoring summary

1		OHST	Johnson 1 yard run (Klaban kick)	Ohio St 7–0

1		PSU	Bahr 55 yard field goal	Ohio St 7–3

1		OHST	Klaban 45 yard field goal	Ohio St 10–3

2		PSU	Bahr 31 yard field goal	Ohio St 10–6

3		PSU	Bahr 25 yard field goal	Ohio St 10–9

4	5:05	OHST	Johnson 11 yard run (Klaban kick)	Ohio St 17–9

^[3]

UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	7	21	10	3	41
UCLA	7	0	7	6	20

Date: October 5
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Game attendance: 55,482
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

1	UCLA	Sarpy 13-yard pass from Sciarra (White kick)	UCLA 7-0

1	OSU	Greene 2-yard run (Klaban kick)	Tied 7-7

2	OSU	Johnson 3-yard run (Klaban kick)	OSU 14-7

2	OSU	Johnson 2-yard run (Klaban kick)	OSU 21-7

2	OSU	Greene 17-yard run (Klaban kick)	OSU 28-7

3	OSU	A. Griffin 17-yard run (Klaban kick)	OSU 35-7

3	OSU	Klaban 34-yard field goal	OSU 38-7

3	UCLA	Ayers 2-yard run (White kick)	OSU 38-14

4	UCLA	Ayers 1-yard run (kick failed)	OSU 38-20

4	OSU	Klaban 42-yard field goal	OSU 41-20

^[4]

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	14	7	7	7	35
Purdue	3	3	0	0	6

Date: October 25
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN

Scoring summary

1	OSU	Pete Johnson 60-yard run (Tom Klaban kick)	OSU 7-0

1	PUR	Steve Schmidt 22-yard field goal	OSU 7-3

1	OSU	Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Tom Klaban kick)	OSU 14-3

2	PUR	Steve Schmidt 27-yard field goal	OSU 14-6

2	OSU	Brian Baschnagel 22-yard pass from Cornelius Greene (Tom Klaban kick)	OSU 21-6

3	OSU	Lenny Willis 41-yard pass from Cornelius Green (Tom Klaban kick)	OSU 28-6

4	OSU	Cornelius Greene 28-yard run (Tom Klaban kick)	OSU 35-6

Archie Griffin broke Cornell's Ed Marinaro NCAA career rushing record with a 23-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter. ^[5]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	6	0	6
• Ohio St	3	14	0	21	38

Date: November 15
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 87,817

Scoring summary

Q1	OHST	Klaban 29 yard field goal	OHST 3–0

Q2	OHST	Greene 14 yard run (Klaban kick)	OHST 10–0

Q2	OHST	Griffin 19 yard run (Klaban kick)	OHST 17–0

Q3	MINN	Barlow 5 yard pass from Dungy (pass failed)	OHST 17–6

Q4	OHST	Johnson 8 yard run (Klaban kick)	OHST 24–6

Q4	OHST	Greene 31 yard run (Klaban kick)	OHST 31–6

Q4	OHST	Baschnagel 21 yard run (Klaban kick)	OHST 38–6

^[6]

Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Wolverines

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	0	0	14	21
Michigan	0	7	0	7	14

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date: November 22, 1975
Game weather: Clear, 36 °F (2 °C)
Game attendance: 105,543
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

OSU – Pete Johnson 7-yard pass from Cornelius Greene (Tom Klaban kick), 4:43. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 15 plays, 63 yards.

Second quarter

MICH – Jim Smith 11-yard pass from Gordon Bell (Bob Wood kick), 0:24. Tie 7–7. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards.

Fourth quarter

MICH – Rick Leach 1-yard run (Bob Wood kick), 7:11. Michigan 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 43 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 3:18. Tie 14–14. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 2:19. Ohio St 21–14. Drive: 1 play, 3 yards.

Top passers

OSU – Cornelius Greene – 7/16, 84 yards, TD, 2 INT
MICH – Rick Leach – 7/20, 102 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

OSU – Pete Johnson – 18 rushes, 52 yards, 2 TD
MICH – Gordon Bell – 21 rushes, 124 yards

Top receivers

OSU – Lenny Willis – 2 receptions, 32 yards
MICH – Jim Smith – 3 receptions, 31 yards, TD

Awards and honors

Archie Griffin, Heisman Trophy^[7]

1976 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Tim Fox	1	21	Defensive Back	New England Patriots
Archie Griffin	1	24	Running Back	Cincinnati Bengals
Brian Baschnagel	3	66	Wide Receiver	Chicago Bears
Leonard Willis	4	118	Wide Receiver	Minnesota Vikings
Ken Kuhn	7	205	Linebacker	Cincinnati Bengals
Craig Cassady	8	213	Defensive Back	New Orleans Saints
Tom Klaban	10	287	Kicker	Cincinnati Bengals
Cornelius Greene	11	317	Quarterback	Dallas Cowboys
Larry Kain	13	375	Tight End	Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Curto	16	441	Linebacker	Atlanta Falcons
Scott Dannelley	17	482	Guard	Cincinnati Bengals

References

^ "Johnson scores record 5". Dayton Daily News. September 28, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 1976 Ohio State Football Media Guide
^ "246-Pound Fullback Keys Buckeye Triumph." Palm Beach Post. 1975 Sept 21.
^ "Griffin Gets 100 Yards in 41-20 Buckeye Win." Palm Beach Post. 1975 Oct 5.
^ "Griffin tops mark; Illinois stops Sparts." Eugene Register-Guard. 1975 Oct 26.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1975 Nov 16. Retrieved 2016-Jul-30.
^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Illibuck Trophy Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
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National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold