1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 16–17 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
1979 record	11–1 (8–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Earle Bruce (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Dennis Fryzel (1st season)
MVP	Jim Laughlin
Captains	Ken Fritz Mike Guess Jim Laughlin Tom Waugh
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 83,112)
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Purdue	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 18 Michigan	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Michigan State	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Illinois	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Northwestern	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the 1980 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 17–16, to the USC Trojans.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 31–8	86,205
September 15	2:30 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN		W 21–17	43,926
September 22	1:30 p.m.	Washington State*	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 45–29	87,495
September 29	4:00 p.m.	at No. 17 UCLA*	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 17–13	47,228
October 6	1:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 16–7	87,406
October 13	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 47–6	87,521
October 20	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 59–0	87,585
October 27	1:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 42–0	87,747
November 3	2:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		W 44–7	41,870
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Iowa	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 34–7	87,835
November 17	12:30 p.m.	at No. 13 Michigan	No. 2	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	ABC	W 18–15	106,255
January 1, 1980	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 USC*	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 16–17	105,526
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster[]

1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 47 Doug Donley Jr G 56 Ken Fritz Sr QB 10 Art Schlichter So RB 46 Tim Spencer Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 25 Todd Bell Jr CB 27 Ray Ellis Jr LB 65 Keith Ferguson Jr LB 5 Jim Laughlin Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 13 Vlade Janakievski Sr P 19 Tom Orosz Jr	Head coach Earle Bruce Coordinators/assistant coaches Dennis Fryzel (DC) Pete Carroll (DB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Depth chart[]

^[1]

Coaching staff[]

• Earle Bruce - Head Coach (1st year)
• Pete Carroll - Defensive Backs (1st year)
• Dennis Fryzel - Defensive Coordinator (1st year)
• Glen Mason - Offensive Line / Defensive Inside Linebackers (2nd year)
• Bill Myles - Offensive Line (3rd year)
• Wayne Stanley - Running Backs (1st year)
• Steve Szabo - Defensive Line (1st year)
• Bob Tucker - Defensive Outside Linebackers (1st year)
• Fred Zechman - Quarterbacks/Receivers (1st year)

1980 NFL draftees[]

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Club
Jim Laughlin	4	91	Linebacker	Atlanta Falcons
	6	156	Defensive Back	Chicago Bears
Ken Fritz	10	277	Guard	Pittsburgh Steelers

^[2]

Game summaries[]

Syracuse[]

1 2 3 4 Total Syracuse 0 0 8 0 8 • Ohio St 7 14 3 7 31 Date: September 8 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46 Game attendance: 86,205 Game weather: Partly cloudy; 67°F; wind 10–15 N

Scoring summary Q1 2:49 OHST Barwig 11 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0 Q2 13:32 OHST Campbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–0 Q2 7:18 OHST Murray 2 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 21–0 Q3 6:32 OHST Janakievski 22 yard field goal OHST 24–0 Q3 :23 SYR Hurley 3 yard run (McCollum run) OHST 24–8 Q4 7:51 OHST Gayle 29 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 31–8

^[3]

Minnesota[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 7 0 6 8 21 Minnesota 14 3 0 0 17 Date: September 15 Location: Memorial Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:36 Game attendance: 43,926 Game weather: Sunny; 68°F; wind 8 SE Referee: Otho Kertz

Scoring summary Q1 12:20 MINN White 29 yard run (kick blocked) MINN 6–0 Q1 5:45 MINN White 16 yard pass from Carlson (Bourquin pass from Carlson) MINN 14–0 Q1 2:48 OHST Hicks 39 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) MINN 14–7 Q2 :07 MINN Rogind 44 yard field goal MINN 17–7 Q3 7:24 OHST Murray 1 yard run (kick failed) MINN 17–13 Q4 12:42 OHST Schlichter 32 yard run (Jaco pass from Schlichter) OHST 21–17

^[4]

Washington State[]

1 2 3 4 Total Wash St 3 0 10 16 29 • Ohio St 7 17 7 14 45 Date: September 22 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46 Game attendance: 87,495 Game weather: Overcast; 64°F; wind 10–20 NE

Scoring summary Q1 9:49 WSU DeSanto 47 yard field goal WSU 3–0 Q1 3:46 OHST Schlichter 5 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–3 Q2 5:18 OHST Murray 13 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–3 Q2 2:51 OHST Janakievski 30 yard field goal OHST 17–3 Q2 1:27 OHST Hicks recovered blocked punt in end zone (Jankievski kick) OHST 24–3 Q3 13:22 WSU Whatley 12 yard pass from Grant (DeSanto kick) OHST 24–10 Q3 2:27 WSU DeSanto 41 yard field goal OHST 24–13 Q3 :58 OHST Murray 86 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 31–13 Q4 13:52 WSU Wilson 11 yard pass from Grant (Beach pass from Grant) OHST 31–21 Q4 11:25 OHST Murray 8 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 38–21 Q4 5:53 WSU Wilson 11 yard pass from Grant (Grant run) OHST 38–29 Q4 3:13 OHST Donley 29 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 45–29

^[5]

The longest pass in school history to date, an 86-yard bomb from Art Schlichter to Calvin Murray, helped propel Ohio State to a 45-29 win over Washington State. The previous record was an 80-yard pass from Joe Sparma to Bob Klein in 1961 versus Michigan.^[6]

UCLA[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 0 7 3 7 17 UCLA 10 0 0 3 13 Date: September 29 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Game start: 1:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46 Game attendance: 47,228 Game weather: Cloudy; 71°F; light wind SW Referee: Bill Love

Scoring summary Q1 8:27 UCLA Curren 10 yard pass from Bashore (Boermeester kick) UCLA 7–0 Q1 :52 UCLA Boermeester 27 yard field goal UCLA 10–0 Q2 4:53 OHST Murray 34 yard run (Janakievski kick) UCLA 10–7 Q3 5:46 OHST Janakievski 24 yard field goal Tie 10–10 Q4 11:00 UCLA Boermeester 39 yard field goal UCLA 13–10 Q4 :46 OHST Campbell 2 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 17–13

^[7]

Northwestern[]

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 0 0 7 7 • Ohio St 10 3 0 3 16 Date: October 6 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:41 Game attendance: 87,406 Game weather: Partly cloudy; 58°F; wind 10–20 SW

Scoring summary Q1 12:51 OHST Janakievski 26 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q1 10:03 OHST Dwelle 4 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 10–0 Q2 6:00 OHST Janakievski 26 yard field goal OHST 13–0 Q4 14:58 NW Mishler 1 yard run (Poulos kick) OHST 13–7 Q4 8:01 OHST Atha 50 yard field goal OHST 16–7

^[8]

^[9]

Indiana[]

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 0 0 6 0 6 • Ohio St 9 17 14 7 47 Date: October 13 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:48 Game attendance: 87,251 Game weather: Cloudy; 44°F; wind 15 NW

Scoring summary Q1 11:38 OHST Campbell 2 yard run (kick failed) OHST 6–0 Q1 5:51 OHST Janakievski 32 yard field goal OHST 9–0 Q2 11:23 OHST Janakievski 35 yard field goal OHST 12–0 Q2 3:50 OHST Campbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 19–0 Q2 :28 OHST Donley 21 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 26–0 Q3 11:22 OHST Volley 2 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 33–0 Q3 7:14 OHST Schlichter 5 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 40–0 Q3 :57 IND Clifford 2 yard run (run failed) OHST 40–6 Q4 3:58 OHST Hicks 11 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick) OHST 47–6

^[10]

Wisconsin[]

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 0 0 0 0 0 • Ohio St 14 14 10 21 59 Date: October 20 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:48 Game attendance: 87,585 Game weather: Sunny; 77°F; wind 15–20 S

Scoring summary Q1 11:59 OHST Schlichter 4 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0 Q1 2:15 OHST Hunter 14 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–0 Q2 10:28 OHST Williams 20 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 21–0 Q2 8:16 OHST Schlichter 2 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 28–0 Q3 7:35 OHST Janakievski 19 yard field goal OHST 31–0 Q3 6:39 OHST Ellis 27 yard interception return (Janakievski kick) OHST 38–0 Q4 10:51 OHST Castignola 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 45–0 Q4 2:23 OHST Spencer 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 52–0 Q4 :37 OHST Lindsey 38 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 59–0

^[11]

Michigan State[]

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan St 0 0 0 0 0 • Ohio St 14 14 7 7 42 Date: October 27 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:35 Game attendance: 87,747 Game weather: Mostly sunny; 53°F; wind 10–15 S

Scoring summary Q1 11:49 OHST Donley 53 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0 Q1 2:48 OHST Donley 12 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 14–0 Q2 13:30 OHST Schlichter 3 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 21–0 Q2 2:12 OHST Volley 32 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 28–0 Q3 4:58 OHST Schlichter 6 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 35–0 Q4 3:11 OHST Castignola 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 42–0

^[12]

Illinois[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 3 14 10 17 44 Illinois 0 0 7 0 7 Date: November 3 Location: Memorial Stadium Game attendance: 41,870 Game weather: Clear; 51°F; wind 9 NW

Scoring summary Q1 8:36 OHST Janakievski 47 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q2 14:18 OHST Murray 4 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 10–0 Q2 2:22 OHST Bell 16 yard blocked punt return (Janakievski kick) OHST 17–0 Q3 11:52 OHST Campbell 3 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 24–0 Q3 6:49 OHST Janakievski 36 yard field goal OHST 27–0 Q3 4:00 ILL Boeke 10 yard pass from McCullough (Jones kick) OHST 27–7 Q4 10:46 OHST Schlichter 4 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 34–7 Q4 8:42 OHST Janakievski 51 yard field goal OHST 37–7 Q4 2:13 OHST Dwelle 4 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick) OHST 44–7

^[13]

Iowa[]

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 0 0 0 7 7 • Ohio St 13 14 0 7 34 Date: November 10 Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:51 Game attendance: 87,835 Game weather: Cloudy; 41°F; wind 10–20 NW

Scoring summary Q1 5:55 OHST Schlichter 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 7–0 Q1 3:18 OHST Janakievski 35 yard field goal OHST 10–0 Q1 1:38 OHST Janakievski 29 yard field goal OHST 13–0 Q2 8:56 OHST Volley 1 yard run (Jankievski kick) OHST 20–0 Q2 6:40 OHST Donley 33 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) OHST 27–0 Q4 12:16 OHST Spencer 1 yard run (Janakievski kick) OHST 34–0 Q4 4:07 IOWA Chappelle 40 yard pass from Gales (Roby kick) OHST 34–7

^[14]

at Michigan[]

Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl with an 18-15 victory over their archrivals. The Buckeyes had not beaten nor scored a touchdown against Michigan since 1975, the last time they had gone to Pasadena.^[15]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OSU MICH 2 3:48 Ohio St 23-yard field goal by Janakievski 3 0 2 1:30 Michigan Carter 59-yard touchdown reception from Wangler, Virgil kick good 3 7 2 0:08 Ohio St 25-yard field goal by Janakievski 6 7 3 7:19 Ohio St Hunter 18-yard touchdown reception from Schlichter, 2-point pass failed/incomplete 12 7 3 3:58 Michigan Smith 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point run good 12 15 4 11:21 Ohio St Blocked punt returned 18 yards for touchdown by Bell, Janakievski kick failed 18 15 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 18 15

Rose Bowl[]

1980 Rose Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 3 7 0 7 17 Ohio St 0 10 3 3 16 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 105,526 TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, O.J. Simpson

Scoring summary Q1 4:37 USC Hipp 41 yard field goal USC 3–0 Q2 9:11 USC Williams 53 yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick) USC 10-0 Q2 3:10 OHST Janakievski 35 yard field goal USC 10–3 Q2 :21 OHST Murray 67 yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) Tie 10–10 Q3 10:53 OSU Janakievski 37 yard field goal OHST 13–10 Q4 9:42 OHST Janakievski 24 yard field goal OSU 16-10 Q4 1:32 USC White 1 yard run (Hipp kick) USC 17–16

^[16]

References[]

Win/Loss statistics

• Ohio State Historical Scores

Draft data

• Ohio State Drafted Players