1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion
Sugar Bowl, L 6–35 vs. Alabama
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 11
Record9–3 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Woody Hayes (27th season)
Defensive coordinatorGeorge Hill
MVPDave Adkins
Captains
  • Aaron Brown
  • Ray Griffin
  • Jeff Logan
  • Chris Ward
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 83,112)
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Michigan + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 11 Ohio State + 7 1 0 9 3 0
Michigan State 6 1 1 7 3 1
Indiana 4 3 1 5 5 1
Minnesota 4 4 0 7 5 0
Purdue 3 5 0 5 6 0
Iowa 3 5 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 6 0 5 6 0
Illinois 2 6 0 3 8 0
Northwestern 1 8 0 1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1978 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they lost 35–6 to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 101:30 p.m.Miami (FL)*No. 5W 10–086,287
September 171:30 p.m.MinnesotaNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 38–787,799
September 241:30 p.m.No. 3 Oklahoma*No. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCL 28–2988,119
October 18:30 p.m.at SMU*No. 6
W 35–751,970
October 81:30 p.m.PurdueNo. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 46–087,707
October 152:30 p.m.at IowaNo. 5W 27–660,070
October 222:30 p.m.at NorthwesternNo. 4W 35–1529,563
October 291:30 p.m.WisconsinNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 42–087,837
November 52:00 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 4
W 35–066,973
November 121:30 p.m.IndianaNo. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 35–787,786
November 1912:30 p.m.at No. 5 MichiganNo. 4ABCL 6–14106,024[1]
January 2, 19782:00 p.m.vs. No. 3 Alabama*No. 9ABCL 6–3576,811[2]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 69 Ernest Andria Jr
TE 82 Ronald Barwig So
OT 74 Tim Brown So
OT 76 Tim Burke Jr
G 63 Scott Burris So
QB 4 Norman Burrows Fr
FB 38 Paul Campbell So
QB 7 Greg Castignola So
OT 78 Garth Cox Sr
C 50 James DeLeone Fr
TB 47 Doug Donley Fr
G 59 Ernest Epitropoulos Fr
WR 89 Bryan Ferguson So
G 65 Keith Ferguson Fr
G 56 Kenneth Fritz So
QB 8 Rod Gerald Jr
WR 11 James Harrell Sr
TE 24 Charles Hunter So
TE 87 William Jaco Jr
RB 21 Ricky Johnson So
WR 49 Herman Jones Sr
G 51 Mark Lang Sr
G 92 Joel Laser Jr
RB 35 Felix Lee Fr
FB 34 Jeff Logan (C) Sr
OT 73 Douglas Mackie So
G 61 David Medich Fr
G 64 Nicholas Miller Fr
TE 99 Jimmy Moore Jr
RB 43 Calvin Murray Fr
WR 84 Douglas Pauley Fr
FB 30 Joel Payton Fr
OT 77 David Phillips Fr
C 53 Douglas Porter Sr
G 70 Joseph Robinson Jr
G 57 James Savoca Sr
FB 37 Michael Schneider So
RB 23 Ron Springs Jr
TE 80 Grgeory Storer Sr
QB 6 Michael Strahine Sr
QB 9 Alvin Taylor So
C 52 Tim Vogler Jr
FB 18 Ric Volley So
OT 79 Chris Ward (C) Sr
G 58 Thomas Waugh Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 94 David Adkins Sr
S 22 Joseph Allegro Sr
DE 88 David Allen Fr
MG 93 Terry Bach Fr
DT 67 Eddie Beamon Sr
DB 25 Todd Bell Fr
LB 19 Thomas Blinco So
MG 55 Aaron Brown (C) Sr
DB 41 James Caruso So
DT 71 Byron Cato Jr
LB 36 Tom Cousineau Jr
DE 96 Martin Cusick Sr
DE 32 Kelton Dansler Jr
DE 86 Joseph Dixon Sr
DT 60 Gary Dulin So
DB 27 Ray Ellis Fr
DB 39 Leon Ellison Fr
LB 33 John Epitropoulos Fr
DE 13 Michael Faler So
S 46 Duncan Griffin Jr
S 44 Ray Griffin (C) Sr
DB 12 Mike Guess So
DT 66 Tyrone Harris Sr
DT 54 Luther Henson Fr
DE 83 Joseph Hornik Jr
MG 98 Wendell Kellum Jr
DE 5 James Laughlin So
LB 95 Brian Lewis Jr
LB 90 Anthony Megaro Fr
DE 91 Ronald Miller Fr
DT 62 Ed Mills So
DB 20 Leonard Mills Jr
DB 28 Robert Murphy Fr
DE 16 Paul Ross Jr
DB 10 Keith Saunders Sr
MG 68 Tim Sawicki So
S 14 Brian Schwartz So
DB 48 Vince Skillings Fr
DT 72 Mark Sullivan Jr
LB 97 Terry Vogler Jr
LB 15 Alvin Washington Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 3 David Budd So
K 13 Vlade Janakievski Fr
K 2 Douglas McEldowney Fr
P 1 David McKee Jr
P 19 Thomas Orosz Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • George Chaump – Offense (10th year)
  • George Hill – Defensive Coordinator (7th year)
  • Dave Adolph – Defense (1st year)
  • Alex Gibbs – Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line (3rd year)
  • Mickey Jackson – (4th year)
  • Bill Myles – Offensive Line (1st year)
  • Gary Tranquill – Defensive Backs (1st year)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2018-Dec-16

Depth chart

Defense


FS
22 Joe Allegro
14 Brian Schwartz


WLB SLB
94 Dave Adkins 36 Tom Cousineau
97 Terry Vogler 29 Tom Blinco
SS
44 Ray Griffin
25 Todd Bell
46 Duncan Griffin
CB
12 Mike Guess
45 Vince Skillings


DE DT NT DT DE
32 Kelton Dansler 67 Eddie Beamon 55 Aaron Brown 71 Byron Cato 16 Paul Ross
86 Joe Dixon 60 Gary Dulin 72 Mark Sullivan 54 Luther Henson 5 Jim Laughlin
CB
20 Lenny Mills
27 Ray Ellis
Offense
SE
49 Herman Jones
47 Doug Donley
LT LG C RG RT
79 Chris Ward 51 Mark Lang 52 Tim Vogler 56 Ken Fritz 70 Joe Robinson
78 Garth Cox 69 Ernie Andria 53 Doug Porter 58 Tom Waugh 73 Doug Mackie
TE
87 Bill Jaco
99 Jimmy Moore
80 Greg Storer
WB
11 Jim Harrell
89 Bryan Ferguson
QB
8 Rod Gerald
7 Greg Castignola
6 Mike Strahine
FB
38 Paul Campbell
30 Joel Payton
18 Ricardo Volley
Special teams
PK 13 Vlade Janakievski
P 1 Dave McKee



RB
23 Ron Springs
34 Jeff Logan
26 Ricky Johnson

[3]

Game summaries

Miami (FL)

1 234Total
Miami (FL) 0 000 0
• Ohio St 0 1000 10
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 2:29
  • Game attendance: 86,287
  • Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) WNW
Scoring summary
Q210:40OSUJanakievski 31 yard field goalOSU 3–0
Q24:56OSUSprings 21 yard run (Janakievski kick)OSU 10–0
  • Ron Springs 27 Rush, 114 Yds

[4]

Minnesota

1 234Total
Minnesota 0 070 7
• Ohio St 7 3721 38
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 2:36
  • Game attendance: 87,799
  • Game weather: Mostly cloudy; 83 °F (28 °C); wind 5–15 mph (8.0–24.1 km/h) S–W
Scoring summary
Q16:57OHSTJones 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick)OHST 7–0
Q213:03OHSTJanakievski 18 yard field goalOHST 10–0
Q34:45OHSTVolley 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 17–0
Q34:29MINNWeber 100 yard kickoff returnOHST 17–7
Q49:16OHSTSprings 8 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 24–7
Q45:19OHSTDonley 38 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick)OHST 31–7
Q40:41OHSTPayton 7 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 38–7
  • Ron Springs 27 Rush, 147 Yds

[5]

Oklahoma

#3 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Oklahoma 17 3 0929
Ohio State 0 14 14028

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 29
  • Game time: 1:55 p.m.
  • Game weather: Overcast, 78 °F (26 °C)
  • Game attendance: 88,119
  • Referee: Gene Calhoun (Big Ten)
  • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Ara Parseghian
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • OKLA – Elvis Peacock 33-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick), 11:59. Oklahoma 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 2:09.
  • OKLA – Billy Sims 14-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick), 11:05. Oklahoma 14–0. Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 0:45.
  • OKLA – Uwe von Schamann 23-yard field goal, 3:29. Oklahoma 17–0. Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 6:08.

Second quarter

  • OKLA – Uwe von Schamann 33-yard field goal, 12:58. Oklahoma 20–0. Drive: 9 plays, 45 yards, 3:31.
  • OSU – Ron Springs 30-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 10:32. Oklahoma 20–7. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:23.
  • OSU – Rod Gerald 19-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 9:46. Oklahoma 20–14. Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:06.

Third quarter

  • OSU – Joel Payton 1-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 8:04. Ohio State 21–20. Drive: 7 plays, 48 yards, 3:51.
  • OSU – Jimmy Moore 16-yard pass from Greg Castignola (Vlade Janakievski kick), 4:44. Ohio State 28–20. Drive: 5 plays, 33 yards, 2:01.

Fourth quarter

  • OKLA – Elvis Peacock 1-yard run (run failed), 1:29. Ohio State 28–26. Drive: 12 plays, 57 yards, 4:55.
  • OKLA – Uwe von Schamann 41-yard field goal, 0:03. Oklahoma 29–28. Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 1:18.
Top passers
  • OKLA – Dean Blevins – 3/5, 44 yards, 2 INT
  • OSU – Greg Castignola – 2/2, 29 yards, TD
Top rushers
Top receivers
  • OKLA – Steve Rhodes – 3 receptions, 44 yards
  • OSU – Jimmy Moore – 1 reception, 16 yards, TD

At SMU

1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 1477 35
SMU 0 007 7
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 51,970

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio State Buckeyes
Period 1 2 34Total
Purdue 0 0 000
Ohio St 29 10 7046

at Ohio StadiumColumbus, Ohio

  • Date: October 8
  • Game attendance: 87,707
  • Box Score
Game information
  • OSU (12:49) - Guess 65 yard interception return (Janakievski kick)
  • OSU (7:49) - Payton 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)
  • OSU (5:00) - Payton 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)
  • OSU (2:16) - Payton 10 yard run (Janakievski kick)
  • OSU (7:58) - Springs 66 yard run (Janakievski kick)
  • OSU (7:50) - Payton 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)
Purdue
  • Herrmann 11/21, 117 Yds, 2 INT
  • M. Brown 17 Rush, 66 Yds
  • Arnold 3 Rec, 60 Yds
Ohio St
  • Gerald 3/6, 90 Yds, INT
  • Springs 10 Rush, 151 Yds, TD
  • H. Jones 1 Rec, 45 Yds

Iowa

1 234Total
• Ohio St 3 1077 27
Iowa 0 006 6

At Northwestern

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes at Northwestern Wildcats
Period 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 14 7 7735
Northwestern 3 6 0615

at Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 22
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Light rain, 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 29,563
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • NW – Sam Poulos 44-yard field goal, 9:33. Northwestern 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 59 yards, 5:00.
  • OSU – Joel Payton 4-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 4:58. Ohio St 7–3. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 0:54.
  • OSU – Jeff Logan 5-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 1:15. Ohio St 14–3. Drive: 8 plays, 45 yards, 2:17.

Second quarter

  • NW – Mike Taylor 33-yard pass from Dana Hemphill (pass failed), 10:10. Ohio St 14–9. Drive: 2 plays, 34 yards, 0:57
  • OSU – Joel Payton 1-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 1:57. Ohio St 21–9. Drive: 4 plays, 21 yards, 1:34.

Third quarter

  • OSU – Rod Gerald 24-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 10:41. Ohio St 28–9. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 2:18.

Fourth quarter

  • OSU – Paul Campbell 1-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 7:40. Ohio St 35–9. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:01.
  • NW – Harold Gilmore 14-yard run (run failed), 4:40. Ohio St 35–15. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:54.
Top passers
  • OSU – Rod Gerald – 7/14, 148 yards, 2 INT
  • NW – Dana Hemphill – 6/10, 51 yards, TD
Top rushers
  • OSU – Ron Springs – 14 rushes, 130 yards
  • NW – Harold Gilmore – 23 rushes, 121 yards, TD
Top receivers
  • OSU – James Harrell – 2 receptions, 62 yards
  • NW – Mike Taylor – 3 receptions, 41 yards, TD

Wisconsin

1 234Total
Wisconsin 0 000 0
• Ohio St 7 71414 42
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 87,837

Illinois

1 234Total
Ohio St 0 7217 35
Illinois 0 000 0
Scoring summary
2OHSTCampbell 1-yard run (Janakievski kick)Ohio St 7-0
3OHSTPayton 1-yard run (Janakievski kick)Ohio St 14-0
3OHSTSprings 15-yard run (Janakievski kick)Ohio St 21-0
3OHSTHarrell 5-yard run (Janakievski kick)Ohio St 28-0
4OHSTJohnson 15-yard run (Janakievski kick)Ohio St 35-0

[6]

Indiana

1 234Total
Indiana 7 000 7
• Ohio St 7 0217 35
Scoring summary
1INDCalvin 2 yard pass from Arnett (Freud kick)IND 7–0
1OHSTPayton 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)Tie 7–7
3OHSTHarrell 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick)OHST 14–7
3OHSTGerald 8 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 21–7
3OHSTSprings 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 28–7
4OHSTCampbell 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)OHST 35–7

[7]

Michigan

1 234Total
Ohio St 3 030 6
• Michigan 0 770 14

Sugar Bowl

1 234Total
Ohio St 0 006 6
• Alabama 0 13814 35

1978 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Chris Ward 1 4 Tackle New York Jets
Ray Griffin 2 35 Defensive back Cincinnati Bengals
Herman Jones 7 185 Wide receiver Chicago Bears
Jeff Logan 7 191 Running back Baltimore Colts
David Adkins 8 209 Linebacker Atlanta Falcons
Aaron C. Brown 10 252 Linebacker Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References

  1. ^ Curt Sylvester (November 20, 1977). "Ah! Everything Comes Up Roses For Bo's Gutty Wolverines, 14-6". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 7D – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Tide rips Onio State 35–6 in sweet Sugar". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ 1978 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  4. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Ohio State Football - Game Archives. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  6. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 6, 1977.
  7. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 13, 1977.
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