American college football season
1978 Ohio State Buckeyes football Conference Big Ten Conference 1978 record 7–4–1 (6–2 Big Ten) Head coach Woody Hayes (28th season)MVP Tom Cousineau Captains
Home stadium Ohio Stadium Seasons
The 1978 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season . The Buckeyes compiled a 7–4–1 record, including the 1978 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida , where they lost, 17–15, to the Clemson Tigers . This would be Woody Hayes' last season as head coach of the team, as he was fired following an incident in the game in which he punched Clemson defender Charlie Bauman.
Schedule [ ] Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 16 1:30 p.m. No. 5 Penn State * No. 6 ABC L 0–1988,203 September 23 2:30 p.m. at Minnesota No. 16 Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN W 27–1055,200 September 30 1:30 p.m. Baylor * No. 13 W 34–2887,998 October 7 1:30 p.m. SMU * No. 14 T 35–3587,721 October 14 2:30 p.m. at Purdue No. 16 L 16–2769,465 October 21 1:30 p.m. Iowa W 31–787,326 October 28 1:30 p.m. Northwestern W 63–2087,296 November 4 2:00 p.m. at Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI W 49–1479,940 November 11 1:30 p.m. Illinois W 45–787,819 November 18 1:30 p.m. at Indiana No. 19 Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN W 21–1847,560 November 25 12:30 p.m. No. 6 Michigan No. 16 ABC L 3–1488,358 December 29 9:00 p.m. vs. No. 7 Clemson * No. 20 ABC L 15–1772,011 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Personnel [ ]
1978 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
OL
Ernie Andria
TE
Ron Barwig
RB
Cliff Belmer
OL
Tim Brown
RB
Paul Campbell
QB
Greg Castignola
WR
47
Doug Donley So
OL
Keith Ferguson
OG
56
Ken Fritz Jr
WR
8
Rod Gerald Sr
RB
Ty Hicks
WR
Chuck Hunter
RB
21
Ricky Johnson
TE
Jimmy Moore
RB
Calvin Murray
RB
Joel Payton
OL
Joe Robinson
OL
Jim Savoca
QB
10
Art Schlichter Fr
RB
Ron Springs (C)
QB
Mike Strahine
OL
Tim Vogler
RB
Ricardo Volley
OL
Tom Waugh
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
CB
25
Todd Bell So
DL
Byron Cato
LB
36
Tom Cousineau (C)
Sr
LB
Kelton Dansler
DL
Gary Dunn
CB
27
Ray Ellis So
LB
65
Keith Ferguson So
DB
Mike Guess
DL
Luther Henson
LB
5
Jim Laughlin Jr
LB
Paul Ross
DB
Vince Skillings
DL
Mark Sullivan
LB
Al Washington
Special teams
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
Depth chart [ ]
Defense
WLB
ILB
ILB
SLB
Paul Ross
Al Washington
Tom Cousineau
Kelton Dansler
Jim Laughlin
Tony Megaro
Terry Vogler
⋅
DE
NT
DE
Byron Cato
Mark Sullivan
Gary Dulin
Joe Hornik
⋅
⋅
Offense
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
Keith Ferguson
Ken Fritz
Tim Vogler
Jim Savoca
Joe Robinson
Tim Burke
Scott Burris
Tom Waugh
⋅
Tim Brown
TE
Jimmy Moore
Jim Houston
FB
Paul Campbell
Ricardo Volley
[1]
Game summaries [ ] Penn State [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Penn St
3
0 7 9
19
Ohio St
0
0 0 0
0
Date: September 18Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:48Game attendance: 88,202Game weather: Cloudy; 80°F; wind 10 SWTelevision network: ABC Scoring summary Q1 9:52 PSU Bahr 30 yard field goalPSU 3–0 Q3 4:52 PSU Suhey 3 yard run (Bahr kick)PSU 10–0 Q4 13:12 PSU Bahr 41 yard field goal PSU 13–0 Q4 6:45 PSU Bahr 25 yard field goal PSU 16–0 Q4 2:53 PSU Bahr 30 yard field goal PSU 19–0
Art Schlichter started the game at quarterback while Rod Gerald, the starter for the two previous seasons, opened the game at split end.[2]
Minnesota [ ]
Ohio State Buckeyes (0–1) at Minnesota Golden Gophers
1
2
3 4 Total
Ohio St
7
14
0 6 27
Minnesota
0
0
0 7 7
at Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date : September 23Game time : 1:30 p.m.Game weather : Sunny • 71 °F (22 °C) • Wind SW 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)Game attendance : 55,200Referee : R. McVayOhio State Football Archives
Game information
Ohio St Schlichter
Springs
Donley
Minnesota Avery
Barber
Bailey
[3]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
OSU
MINN
1
11:02
6
17
3:58
Ohio St
Schlichter 3-yard touchdown run, Janakievski kick good
7
0
2
14:28
10
51
Ohio St
Payton 1-yard touchdown run, Janakievski kick good
14
0
2
1:31
8
54
Ohio St
Schlichter 1-yard touchdown run, Janakievski kick good
21
0
2
0:04
5
58
Minnesota
39-yard field goal by Rogind
21
3
4
12:48
11
41
Ohio St
Springs 3-yard touchdown run, Janakievski kick no good
27
3
4
1:41
6
17
Minnesota
Dilulo 15-yard touchdown reception from Carlson, Rogind kick good
27
10
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
27
10
Baylor [ ] This section is empty. You can help by . (September 2014 )
SMU [ ] This section is empty. You can help by . (September 2014 )
Purdue [ ] This section is empty. You can help by . (September 2014 )
Iowa [ ] This section is empty. You can help by . (September 2014 )
Northwestern [ ] This section is empty. You can help by . (September 2014 )
Wisconsin [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio State
7
14 14 14
49
Wisconsin
0
7 0 7
14
Date: November 4Location: Camp Randall Stadium , Madison, WI Game attendance: 79,940 Scoring summary 1 OSU Schlichter 1-yard run (Janakievski kick) OSU 7-0 2 OSU Otha Watson recovered blocked punt in end zone (Janakievski kick) OSU 14-0 2 WIS Charles 7-yard pass from Kalasmlki (Veith kick) OSU 14-7 2 OSU Ty Hicks 96-yard kickoff return (Janakievski kick) OSU 21-7 3 OSU Skillings 61-yard interception return (Janakievski kick) OSU 28-7 3 OSU Murray 14-yard run (Janakievski kick) OSU 35-7 4 OSU Castignola 15-yard run (Janakievski kick) OSU 42-7 4 OSU Castignola 6-yard run (Jankievski kick) OSU 49-7 4 WIS Green 1-yard run (Veith kick) OSU 49-14
[4]
Illinois [ ] See also: Illibuck
1
2 3 4 Total
Illinois
0
7 0 0
7
• Ohio St
7
7 10 21
45
Date: November 11Location: Ohio Stadium , Columbus, OH Game attendance: 87,719 Scoring summary Q1 OHST Schlichter 7 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0 Q2 ILL Powell 2 yard run (Finzer kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 OHST Schlichter 7 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–7 Q3 OHST Atha 31 yard field goal OHST 17–7 Q3 OHST Campbell 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 24–7 Q4 OHST Schlichter 5 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 31–7 Q4 OHST Gerald 7 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 38–7 Q4 OHST Johnson 8 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 45–7
[5]
at Indiana [ ]
Ohio State Buckeyes (6–2–1) at Indiana Hoosiers (4–5)
1
2
3 4 Total
Ohio St 7
0
7 7 21
Indiana 7
3
0 8 18
at Memorial Stadium , Bloomington, Indiana
Date : November 18, 1978Game weather : Overcast • 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)Game attendance : 47,540Box Score
Game information
First quarter OSU – Paul Campbell 3-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 10:19. Ohio St 7–0. Drive:
IU – Mike Harkrader 1-yard run (David Freud kick), 2:04. Tie 7–7. Drive: Second quarter IU – David Freud 30-yard field goal, 6:52. Indiana 10–7. Drive: Third quarter OSU – Art Schlichter 3-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 2:58. Ohio St 14–10. Drive: 20 plays, 98 yards. Fourth quarter; OSU – Ricky Johnson 46-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 13:13. Ohio St 21–10. Drive: 8 plays.
IU – Darrick Burnett 1-yard run (pass good), 5:01. Ohio St 21–18. Drive:
Top passers OSU – Art Schlichter – 4/11, 22 yards, INT
IU – Tim Clifford – 10/19, 81 yards Top rushers OSU – Ricky Johnson – 18 rushes, 109 yards, TD
IU – Darrick Burnett – 18 rushes, 65 yards, TD Top receivers OSU – Ricky Johnson – 2 receptions, 9 yards
IU – Dan Powers – 6 receptions, 62 yards
Ricky Johnson played in place of the injured Ron Springs and Calvin Murray
Woody Hayes' last victory as Ohio State's head coach Michigan [ ]
Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes
1
2
3 4 Total
Michigan 7
0
7 0 14
Ohio St 3
0
0 0 3
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : November 25, 1978Game time : 12:56 p.m.Game weather : Overcast, 40 °F (4 °C)Game attendance : 88,358TV : ABC Box Score
Game information
First quarter
OSU – Bob Atha 29-yard field goal, 1:13. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards, 2:12.
MICH – Rodney Feaster 30-yard pass from Rick Leach (Gregg Willner kick), 0:09. Michigan 7–3. Drive: 4 plays, 70 yards, 0:59. Third quarter
MICH – Roosevelt Smith 11-yard pass from Rick Leach (Gregg Willner kick), 4:12. Michigan 14–3. Drive: 13 plays, 69 yards, 5:19.
Top passers Top rushers MICH – Roosevelt Smith – 10 rushes, 67 yards
OSU – Ron Springs – 12 rushes, 63 yards Top receivers
Gator Bowl (vs. Clemson) [ ]
Gator Bowl: #7 Clemson Tigers (10–1) vs. #20 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–3–1)
1
2
3 4 Total
Ohio St 0
9
0 6 15
Clemson 0
10
7 0 17
at Gator Bowl , Jacksonville, Florida
Date : Game time : 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance : 72,011Referee : Jim ArtleyTV : ABC Box Score
Game information
Second quarter
OSU – Bob Atha 27-yard field goal, 12:08. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards.
CLEM – Steve Fuller 4-yard run (Obed Ariri kick), 5:03. Clemson 7–3. Drive: 15 plays, 80 yards.
OSU – Art Schlichter 4-yard run (kick failed), 1:21. Ohio St 9–7. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards.
CLEM – Obed Ariri 47-yard field goal, 0:05. Clemson 10–9. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards. Third quarter
CLEM – Cliff Austin 1-yard run (Ariri kick), 2:18. Clemson 17–9. Drive: 19 plays, 84 yards. Fourth quarter
OSU – Art Schlichter 1-yard run (run failed), 8:11. Clemson 17–15. Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards.
Top passers Top rushers OSU – Art Schlichter – 18 rushes, 70 yards, 2 TD
CLEM – Tracy Perry – 14 rushes, 54 yards Warren Ratchford – 10 rushes, 54 yards
Top receivers OSU – Doug Donley – 3 receptions, 54 yards
CLEM – Jerry Butler – 4 receptions, 44 yards
References [ ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore Media People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
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