1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion
Sugar Bowl, L 6–35 vs. Alabama
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 11
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 ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	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	Source
September 10	1:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 10–0	86,287
September 17	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 38–7	87,799
September 24	1:30 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma*	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 28–29	88,119
October 1	8:30 p.m.	at SMU*	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX		W 35–7	51,970
October 8	1:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 46–0	87,707
October 15	2:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 5	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 27–6	60,070
October 22	2:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 4	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 35–15	29,563
October 29	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 42–0	87,837
November 5	2:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		W 35–0	66,973
November 12	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 35–7	87,786
November 19	12:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Michigan	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 6–14	106,024	^[1]
January 2, 1978	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Alabama*	No. 9	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 6–35	76,811	^[2]
*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
G	`69`	Ernest Andria	Jr
TE	`82`	Ronald Barwig	So
OT	`74`	Tim Brown	So
OT	`76`	Tim Burke	Jr
G	`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
G	`59`	Ernest Epitropoulos	Fr
WR	`89`	Bryan Ferguson	So
G	`65`	Keith Ferguson	Fr
G	`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
G	`51`	Mark Lang	Sr
G	`92`	Joel Laser	Jr
RB	`35`	Felix Lee	Fr
FB	`34`	Jeff Logan (C)	Sr
OT	`73`	Douglas Mackie	So
G	`61`	David Medich	Fr
G	`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
G	`70`	Joseph Robinson	Jr
G	`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
G	`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

Woody Hayes

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
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
20 Lenny Mills
27 Ray Ellis
⋅

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

Special teams
PK 13 Vlade Janakievski
P 1 Dave McKee

RB
23 Ron Springs
34 Jeff Logan
26 Ricky Johnson

^[3]

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 10
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
Elapsed time: 2:29
Game attendance: 86,287
Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) WNW

Ron Springs 27 Rush, 114 Yds

^[4]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	7	0	7
• Ohio St	7	3	7	21	38

Date: September 17
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
Elapsed time: 2:36
Game attendance: 87,799
Game weather: Mostly cloudy; 83 °F (28 °C); wind 5–15 mph (8.0–24.1 km/h) S–W

Ron Springs 27 Rush, 147 Yds

^[5]

Oklahoma

#3 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)

Quarter	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 29
Game time: 1:55 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast, 78 °F (26 °C)
Game attendance: 88,119
Referee: Gene Calhoun (Big Ten)
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Ara Parseghian
Box 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 1
Location: Cotton Bowl
Game attendance: 51,970

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	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 8
Game attendance: 87,707
Box 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

Date: October 15
Location: Kinnick Stadium
Game attendance: 60,070

At Northwestern

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes at Northwestern Wildcats

Quarter	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 22
Game time: 12:30 p.m. CST
Game weather: Light rain, 53 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 29,563
Box 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 29
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game attendance: 87,837

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	7	21	7	35
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 5
Location: Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois
Game attendance: 66,973

^[6]

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	7	0	0	0	7
• Ohio St	7	0	21	7	35

Date: November 12
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 87,786

^[7]

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	3	0	3	0	6
• Michigan	0	7	7	0	14

Date: November 19
Location: 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 2
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)

1978 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Chris Ward	1	4	Tackle	New York Jets
Ray Griffin	2	35	Defensive back	Cincinnati Bengals
Herman Jones	7	185	Wide receiver	Chicago Bears
Jeff Logan	7	191	Running back	Baltimore Colts
David Adkins	8	209	Linebacker	Atlanta Falcons
Aaron C. Brown	10	252	Linebacker	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References

^ Curt Sylvester (November 20, 1977). "Ah! Everything Comes Up Roses For Bo's Gutty Wolverines, 14-6". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 7D – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tide rips Onio State 35–6 in sweet Sugar". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 1978 Ohio State Football Media Guide
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives^{[permanent dead link‍]}. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
^ Ohio State Football - Game Archives. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 6, 1977.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 13, 1977.

[1] Curt Sylvester (November 20, 1977). "Ah! Everything Comes Up Roses For Bo's Gutty Wolverines, 14-6". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 7D – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Tide rips Onio State 35–6 in sweet Sugar". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[RecordBook-3] 1978 Ohio State Football Media Guide

[4] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives^{[permanent dead link‍]}. Retrieved September 11, 2015.

[5] Ohio State Football - Game Archives. Retrieved October 6, 2018.

[6] Eugene Register-Guard. November 6, 1977.

[7] Eugene Register-Guard. November 13, 1977.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]