1980 ohio state football roster3/19/2024 Schlichter had a run-pass option play called for him and made a nice pump fake to create space and then bolted into the end zone. The turnovers allowed the Buckeyes to put together one more drive and they reached the Michigan six-yard line with less than three minutes to play. The biggest one came in the end zone by Kelvin Bell in the fourth quarter. Even though they gave up a couple field goals, the Buckeyes picked off two more passes. And the defense was finally coming through. Ohio State was able to run the ball, with Spencer gaining 110 yards in a battle with Michigan counterpart Butch Woolfolk, who won the conference rushing title. Then they put together a 13-play/82-yard drive to get a 7-3 lead. The Buckeyes trailed 3-0 in the second quarter and Michigan was driving, but Ohio State got an interception at their own 18-yard line to kill the threat. Michigan controlled its destiny for Pasadena, but if Ohio State won they needed help-Iowa needed to lose to Michigan State. And the Buckeyes shot themselves in the foot when they were upset 35-31 at mediocre Minnesota.Įven though Ohio State massacred winless Northwestern 70-6, the Rose Bowl was a longshot when the Buckeyes went to Ann Arbor on November 21. This year, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were all packed within a game of the lead. Ohio State outgunned Purdue 45-33 and closed October atop the Big Ten standings at 4-1.ġ981 was a year of change in the Big Ten after twelve years of things coming down to the Ohio State-Michigan game. Ohio State disappeared from the national rankings.Ī 34-27 win over a pretty good Illinois team restored some order and the Buckeyes then blew out lowly Indiana 29-10. The Buckeyes trailed 24-14 late in the fourth quarter before a touchdown with 1:30 left made the final score cosmetically closer at 24-21. Then Schlichter made an errant pitch to Spencer resulting in another turnover and a last-second Badger field goal. In the final thirty seconds of the first half, Ohio State fumbled a punt to that set up a quick UW touchdown. The Buckeyes had beaten the Badgers 21 straight times, including consecutive shutouts, but this was an improved Wisconsin team that would win seven games and get a bowl bid. Things didn’t get any better on a road trip to Wisconsin. The Seminoles were destined for a 6-5 year, but they won this game 36-27. Florida State came to Columbus on October 3. The poor performance was a foreshadowing though. The Buckeyes did not play well at subpar Stanford, but survived 24-19. Ohio State opened the season ranked #11 and began by easily knocking off two mediocre opponents, Duke and Michigan State by 34-13 and 27-13 counts. Ohio State had no defensive personnel show up in any of the All-American lists and they finished a woeful 83 rd in the country in points allowed. The Ohio State offense was just fine-it was the defense that had problems. Jimmy Gayle was a solid #2 running back, with 732 yards at 4.8 a pop. Tim Spencer led the way in the ground game, rushing for over 1,200 yards and gaining 5.4 yards-per-carry. Cedric Anderson, another big-play threat, rounded out the receiving corps. Franks would end up being a second-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers of Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. Schlichter’s primary targets were wide receiver Gary Williams, who caught 50 passes for 941 yards and tight end John Franks who caught 45 more. Not bad, but not the stuff of the Heisman contender he had been the previous two years and was expected to be again in 1981. His stats of a 52% completion rate, 7.3 yards-per-attempt and 17/10 TD-INT ratio were middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Schlichter had a bit of a disappointing senior season though. Ohio State was led by quarterback Art Schlichter, about to be top five overall pick in the coming NFL draft. But beating Michigan soothes all wounds and the 1981 Ohio State football team put that feather in their cap before the year was over. Ohio State lost the Fiesta Bowl following the 1980 season and continued a downward trend in 1981, settling for a Liberty Bowl bid. After a sterling start to his tenure in Columbus with an 11-0 regular season in 1979, Bruce lost the national championship in the Rose Bowl. Earle Bruce was in his third year as head coach at Ohio State.
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