1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 17–20 vs. USC
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 13
Record9–3 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Earle Bruce (6th season)
Offensive coordinatorGlen Mason (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorBob Tucker (3rd season)
MVPKeith Byars
Captains
  • Pepper Johnson
  • Mark Krerowicz
  • Kirk Lowdermilk
  • Mike Tomczak
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1983
1985 →
1984 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Ohio State $ 7 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Illinois 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Purdue 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
No. 16 Iowa 5 – 3 – 1 8 – 4 – 1
Wisconsin 5 – 3 – 1 7 – 4 – 1
Michigan State 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Michigan 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Indiana 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1985 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 20–17, to the USC Trojans.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 812:00 p.m.Oregon State*No. 6SVW 22–1488,072
September 153:30 p.m.Washington State*No. 9
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
SVW 44–089,297
September 221:30 p.m.No. 14 IowaNo. 5
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
SVW 45–2689,733
September 298:00 p.m.at MinnesotaNo. 3W 35–2247,543
October 62:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 2L 23–2866,261
October 133:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 8
CBS, WOSUW 45–3889,937
October 201:00 p.m.at Michigan StateNo. 8
W 23–2075,123
October 2712:00 p.m.at WisconsinNo. 6CBSL 14–1678,606
November 31:30 p.m.IndianaNo. 16
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 50–789,366
November 102:30 p.m.at NorthwesternNo. 13
W 52–331,087
November 1712:00 p.m.MichiganNo. 11
CBSW 21–690,286
January 1, 19855:00 p.m.vs. No. 18 USC*No. 6NBCL 17–20102,594
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Depth chart

Defense


FS
12 Terry White
11 Steve Hill


OLB ILB ILB OLB
82 Byron Lee 98 Pepper Johnson 33 Larry Kolic 58 Dennis Hueston
⋅ 90 Fred Ridder 36 Chris Spielman (ankle injury) 14 Eric Kumerow
ROV
7 Sonny Gordon
⋅
CB
37 William White
⋅


DE NT DE
57 Dave Morrill 59 Tony Giuliani 97 Dave Crecelius
95 Darryl Lee 55 Ray Holliman ⋅
CB
29 Greg Rogan
8 Scott Leach
Offense
SE
2 Cris Carter
49 Doug Smith
LT LG C RG RT
75 Rory Graves 64 Jim Lachey 63 Kirk Lowdermilk 74 Scott Zalenski 73 Mark Krerowicz
⋅ ⋅ 71 Bob Maggs 56 Jim Gilmore ⋅
TE
80 Ed Taggart
85 Judd Groza
FL
1 Mike Lanese
6 Jamie Holland
QB
15 Mike Tomczak
16 Jim Karsatos
FB
28 Roman Bates
43 Barry Walker
Special teams
PK 10 Rich Spangler
P 19 Tom Tupa



RB
41 Keith Byars
25 John Wooldridge

[1]

Coaching staff

  • Earle Bruce – Head coach – 6th year
  • Gary Blackney – Defensive backs (1st year)
  • Bill Conley – Inside linebacker (1st year)
  • Steve Devine – Offensive line (2nd year)
  • Randy Hart – Defensive line (3rd year)
  • Glen Mason – Offensive coordinator (7th year)
  • Bill Myles – Offensive line (8th year)
  • Fred Pagac – Defensive linebackers (3rd year)
  • Jim Tressel – Quarterbacks (2nd year)
  • Bob Tucker – Defensive coordinator (6th year)

Game summaries

Oregon State

1 234Total
Oregon State 7 700 14
• Ohio State 0 3127 22
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 12:00 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 88,297

[2]

Washington State

1 234Total
Washington State 0 000 0
• Ohio State 3 20021 44
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 3:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 88,297

[3]

Iowa

1 234Total
Iowa 3 1760 26
• Ohio State 10 2177 45
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 3:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 89,733

[4]

Minnesota

1 234Total
• Ohio State 7 1477 35
Minnesota 0 778 22
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis
  • Game start: 8:00 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 47,543

[5]

Purdue

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes at Purdue Boilermakers
Period 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 7 3 7623
Purdue 7 0 71428

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: October 6, 1984
  • Game time: 1:31 p.m.
  • Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 74 °F (23 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,261
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • PUR – Steve Griffin 20-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:00. Purdue 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 1:00.
  • OSU – Keith Byars 20-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 4:09. Tie 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 29 yards, 0:50.

Second quarter

  • OSU – Rich Spangler 34-yard field goal, 0:02. Ohio St 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 35 yards, 0:26.

Third quarter

  • OSU – Keith Byars 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 3 plays, 37 yards, 1:20.
  • PUR – Steve Griffin 65-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), Ohio St 17–14. Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 2:54.

Fourth quarter

  • PUR – Bruce King 4-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:03. Purdue 21–17. Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 3:43.
  • PUR – Rod Woodson 55-yard interception return (Mike Rendina kick), 10:03. Purdue 28–17.
  • OSU – Cris Carter 5-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (run failed), 2:35. Purdue 28–23. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 0:52.
Top passers
Top rushers
  • OSU – Keith Byars – 30 rushes, 191 yards, 2 TD
  • PUR – Ray Wallace – 20 rushes, 89 yards
Top receivers
  • OSU – Keith Byars – 9 receptions, 102 yards
  • PUR – Steve Griffin – 6 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD

Illinois

1 234Total
Illinois 17 7113 38
• Ohio State 0 211410 45
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:28
  • Game attendance: 89,937
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny; 61 °F (16 °C); wind 5–6 mph (8.0–9.7 km/h) SE
  • Referee: Otho Kortz
Scoring summary
Q17:40ILLGrant 3 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick)ILL 7-0
Q12:58ILLWhite 26 yard field goalILL 10-0
Q11:14ILLWilliams 10 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick)ILL 17-0
Q214:47ILLBoso 8 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick)ILL 24-0
Q24:13OHSTByars 16 yard run (Spangler kick)ILL 24-7
Q23:23OHSTCarter 33 yard pass from TomczakILL 24-14
Q2:23OHSTByars 4 yard run (Spangler kick)ILL 24-21
Q313:40OHSTByars 1 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 28-24
Q310:42ILLWhite 46 yard field goalOHST 28-27
Q38:57OHSTByars 67 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 35-27
Q31:09ILLWilson 9 yard pass from Trudeau (Trudeau run)Tie 35-35
Q410:21OHSTSpangler 46 yard field goalOHST 38-35
Q43:18ILLWhite 16 yard field goalTie 38-38
Q4:36OHSTByars 3 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 45-38

[6]

Michigan State

1 234Total
• Ohio State 3 677 23
Michigan State 0 0614 20
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Spartan Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:45
  • Game attendance: 75,133
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 55 °F (13 °C); wind 12–17 mph (19–27 km/h) S
  • Referee: John Nealon
Scoring summary
Q12:14OHSTSpangler 36 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q22:23OHSTSpangler 42 yard field goalOHST 6–0
Q20:10OHSTSpangler 30 yard field goalOHST 9–0
Q314:13OHSTByars 1 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 16–0
Q39:03MSUMorse 2 yard pass from Yarema (kick failed)OHST 16–6
Q411:40MSUIngram 75 yard pass from Yarema (pass failed)OHST 16–12
Q44:44OHSTTomczak 1 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 23–12
Q44:32MSUJackson 93 yard kickoff return (Rolle pass from Yarema)OHST 23–20
  • Lanese 7 Rec, 116 Yds

[7]

Wisconsin

1 234Total
Ohio State 0 077 14
• Wisconsin 0 1006 16
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Camp Randall Stadium
  • Game start: 12 Noon EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:22
  • Game attendance: 78,606
  • Referee: Tom Quinn

[8]

Indiana

1 234Total
Indiana 0 007 7
• Ohio State 10 23107 50
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 1:30 EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:41
  • Game attendance: 89,366
  • Referee: Jerry Hendrickson
Scoring summary
Q110:21OHSTSpangler 36 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q19:24OHSTWhite 20 yard interception return (Spangler kick)OHST 10–0
Q211:04OHSTByars 3 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 17–0
Q25:13OHSTCarter 44 yard pass from Tomczak (Spangler kick)OHST 24-0
Q21:25OHSTWalker 3 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 31–0
Q2:25OHSTSafety, Razmic blocked punt through end zone by RichardsonOHST 33–0
Q39:31OHSTWoolridge 1 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 40–0
Q33:42OHSTSpangler 27 yard field goalOHST 43–0
Q49:07IUBrown 1 yard run (Rogers kick)OHST 43–7
Q41:24OHSTDelaney 2 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 50–7

[9]

Northwestern

1 234Total
• Ohio State 0 211417 52
Northwestern 3 000 3
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 2:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:52
  • Game attendance: 31,087
  • Game weather: Overcast

[10]

Michigan

1 234Total
Michigan 0 330 6
• Ohio St 7 0140 21
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:00
  • Game attendance: 90,286
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 3 mph (4.8 km/h) W
  • Referee: Otho Kortz
Scoring summary
Q14:47OHSTByars 1 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 7-0
Q2:01MICHBergeron 37 yard field goalOHST 7-3
Q37:55MICHBergeron 45 yard field goalOHST 7-6
Q36:08OHSTByars 2 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 14-6
Q34:43OHSTByars 2 yard run (Spangler kick)OHST 21-6

[11]

[12]

Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl
1 234Total
Ohio St 3 338 17
• USC 10 730 20
  • Date: January 1
  • Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:10
  • Game attendance: 102,594
  • Game weather: Sunny; 75 °F (24 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h) S
  • Referee: James Sprenger
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Scoring summary
Q112:08OHSTSpangler 21 yard field goalOHST 3-0
Q18:52USCJordan 51 yard field goalTie 3-3
Q11:54USCCormier 3 yard pass from Green (Jordan kick)USC 10-3
Q2:22USCWare 19 yard pass from Green (Jordan kick)USC 17-3
Q2:00OHSTSpangler 46 yard field goalUSC 17-6
Q38:37OHSTSpangler 52 yard field goalUSC 17-9
Q34:05USCJordan 51 yard field goalUSC 20-9
Q47:34OHSTCarter 18 yard pass from Tomczak (Spangler kick)USC 20-17
  • Rich Spangler's 52 yard field goal (Rose Bowl record)
  • Cris Carter 9 Rec, 172 Yds

[13]

1985 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Jim Lachey 1 12 Tackle San Diego Chargers
Kirk Lowdermilk 3 59 Center Minnesota Vikings
Mark Krerowicz 6 147 Guard Cleveland Browns

References

  1. ^ 1985 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  2. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  3. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  4. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  5. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  6. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  7. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-19.
  8. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  9. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  10. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  11. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
  12. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1984 Nov 18.
  13. ^ Ohio State Football Archives[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 2018-Sep-30.
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