American college football season
1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football Conference Big Ten Conference Coaches No. 12 AP No. 11 1977 record 9–3 (7–1 Big Ten) Head coach Woody Hayes (27th season)Defensive coordinator George Hill MVP Dave Adkins Captains
Aaron Brown
Ray Griffin
Jeff Logan
Chris Ward
Home stadium Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 83,112)Seasons
1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
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 [ ]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 10 1:30 p.m. Miami (FL) * No. 5 W 10–086,287
September 17 1:30 p.m. Minnesota No. 6 W 38–787,799
September 24 1:30 p.m. No. 3 Oklahoma * No. 4 ABC L 28–2988,119
October 1 8:30 p.m. at SMU * No. 6 W 35–751,970
October 8 1:30 p.m. Purdue No. 4 W 46–087,707
October 15 2:30 p.m. at Iowa No. 5 W 27–660,070
October 22 2:30 p.m. at Northwestern No. 4 Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL W 35–1529,563
October 29 1:30 p.m. Wisconsin No. 3 W 42–087,837
November 5 2:00 p.m. at Illinois No. 4 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy )W 35–066,973
November 12 1:30 p.m. Indiana No. 4 W 35–787,786
November 19 12:30 p.m. at No. 5 Michigan No. 4 Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game )ABC L 6–14106,024
January 2, 1978 2:00 p.m. vs. No. 3 Alabama * No. 9 ABC L 6–3576,811
*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
OG
69
Ernest Andria
Jr
TE
82
Ronald Barwig
So
OT
74
Tim Brown
So
OT
76
Tim Burke
Jr
OG
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
OG
59
Ernest Epitropoulos
Fr
WR
89
Bryan Ferguson
So
OG
65
Keith Ferguson
Fr
OG
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
OG
51
Mark Lang
Sr
OG
92
Joel Laser
Jr
RB
35
Felix Lee
Fr
FB
34
Jeff Logan (C)
Sr
OT
73
Douglas Mackie
So
OG
61
David Medich
Fr
OG
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
OG
70
Joseph Robinson
Jr
OG
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
OG
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
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
⋅
⋅
⋅
⋅
⋅
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
RB
23 Ron Springs
34 Jeff Logan
26 Ricky Johnson
[1]
Game summaries [ ]
Miami (FL) [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Miami (FL)
0
0 0 0
0
• Ohio St
0
10 0 0
10
Date: September 10Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST Elapsed time: 2:29Game attendance: 86,287Game weather: 78°F; wind 10–15 WNW
Scoring summary Q2 10:40 OSU Janakievski 31 yard field goalOSU 3–0
Q2 4:56 OSU Springs 21 yard run (Janakievski kick)OSU 10–0
Ron Springs 27 Rush, 114 Yds
[2]
Minnesota [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Minnesota
0
0 7 0
7
• Ohio St
7
3 7 21
38
Date: September 17Location: Ohio StadiumGame start: 1:30 p.m. CST Elapsed time: 2:36Game attendance: 87,799Game weather: Mostly cloudy; 83°F; wind 5–15 S–W
Scoring summary Q1 6:57 OHST Jones 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0
Q2 13:03 OHST Janakievski 18 yard field goal OHST 10–0
Q3 4:45 OHST Volley 2 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 17–0
Q3 4:29 MINN Weber 100 yard kickoff return OHST 17–7
Q4 9:16 OHST Springs 8 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 24–7
Q4 5:19 OHST Donley 38 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick) OHST 31–7
Q4 0:41 OHST Payton 7 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 38–7
Ron Springs 27 Rush, 147 Yds
[3]
Oklahoma [ ]
#3 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)
1
2
3 4 Total
Oklahoma
17
3
0 9 29
Ohio State
0
14
14 0 28
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : September 29Game time : 1:55 p.m.Game weather : Overcast, 78 °F (26 °C)Game attendance : 88,119TV : ABCBox 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
OKLA – Billy Sims – 11 rushes, 60 yards, TD
OSU – Ron Springs – 14 rushes, 64 yards, TD
Top receivers
OKLA – Steve Rhodes – 3 receptions, 44 yards
OSU – Jimmy Moore – 1 reception, 16 yards, TD
at SMU [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
7
14 7 7
35
SMU
0
0 0 7
7
Date: October 1Location: Cotton Bowl Game attendance: 51,970
Purdue [ ]
Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio State Buckeyes
1
2
3 4 Total
Purdue
0
0
0 0 0
Ohio St
29
10
7 0 46
at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio
Date : October 8Game attendance : 87,707Box 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
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
3
10 7 7
27
Iowa
0
0 0 6
6
at Northwestern [ ]
#4 Ohio State Buckeyes at Northwestern Wildcats
1
2
3 4 Total
Ohio St
14
7
7 7 35
Northwestern
3
6
0 6 15
at Dyche Stadium , Evanston, Illinois
Date : October 22Game time : 12:30 p.m. CSTGame weather : Light rain, 53 °F (12 °C)Game attendance : 29,563Box 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
2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin
0
0 0 0
0
• Ohio St
7
7 14 14
42
Date: October 29Location: Ohio StadiumGame attendance: 87,837
Illinois [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
0
7 21 7
35
Illinois
0
0 0 0
0
Date: November 5Location: Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois Game attendance: 66,973
Scoring summary 2 OHST Campbell 1-yard run (Janakievski kick) Ohio St 7-0
3 OHST Payton 1-yard run (Janakievski kick) Ohio St 14-0
3 OHST Springs 15-yard run (Janakievski kick) Ohio St 21-0
3 OHST Harrell 5-yard run (Janakievski kick) Ohio St 28-0
4 OHST Johnson 15-yard run (Janakievski kick) Ohio St 35-0
[4]
Indiana [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Indiana
7
0 0 0
7
• Ohio St
7
0 21 7
35
Date: November 12Location: Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio Game attendance: 87,786
Scoring summary 1 IND Calvin 2 yard pass from Arnett (Freud kick) IND 7–0
1 OHST Payton 3 yard run (Janakievski kick) Tie 7–7
3 OHST Harrell 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–7
3 OHST Gerald 8 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 21–7
3 OHST Springs 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 28–7
4 OHST Campbell 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 35–7
[5]
Michigan [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Ohio St
3
0 3 0
6
• Michigan
0
7 7 0
14
Date: November 19Location: Michigan Stadium Game attendance: 106,024
Sugar Bowl [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Ohio St
0
0 0 6
6
• Alabama
0
13 8 14
35
Date: January 2Location: Louisiana Superdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Player
Round
Pick
Position
NFL Club
Chris Ward
1
4
Tackle
New York Jets
Ray Griffin
2
35
Defensive back
Cincinnati Bengals
7
185
Wide receiver
Chicago Bears
Jeff Logan
7
191
Running back
Baltimore Colts
8
209
Linebacker
Atlanta Falcons
10
252
Linebacker
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
References [ ]
Win/Loss statistics
Draft data
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore
History
Block O
Brutus Buckeye
"Across the Field "
"Buckeye Battle Cry "
"Carmen Ohio "
"Hang On Sloopy "
Marching band
Neutron Man
The Ten Year War
Snow Bowl (1950)
1969 Michigan game
1973 Michigan game
The Kick
Holy Buckeye
2005 Texas game
2006 Michigan game
2016 Penn State game
Media People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Western Conference Big Ten Big Nine Big Ten National championships in bold