Only three starters returned from the 1975 team's offense and Archie Griffin was not one of them. Woody Hayes faced one of the largest rebuilding tasks of his tenure.
The head coach tabbed sophomore Rod Gerald to replace Cornelius Green at quarterback. As much as the coaching staff, teams and fans did not want to admit it, 1976 was a rebuilding year.
| The 1976 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 9–2–1 |
| B1G Record | 7–1, 1st |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (26th year, 189–54–9) |
| CaptainS |
Bill Lukens, Tom Skladany, Ed Thompson |
Games of Note
September 18th • #7 Penn State • Beaver Stadium
In the first week of the season, the Buckeyes dispatched Michigan State 49-21.
Jeff Logan led the way with three touchdowns. He had a 75-yard run on the second snap of the third quarter, and his 68-yard punt return put the Scarlet and Gray up 49-14.
After five meetings and 64 years, Ohio State finally took the field at Beaver Stadium. The record crowd of 62,503 watched Logan rush for 160 yards and Penn State throw the ball 31 times in a surprisingly low scoring game.
Normally a conservative coach, Hayes took it to another level on this day. The Buckeyes ran the ball for 280 yards on 69 carries and Gerald only threw it three times the entire game. With his team up 6-0, Gerald's lone completion went for 10 yards in the third quarter.
A key play in the game came five plays after Gerald's completion to Jimmy Harrell. Skladany punted the ball on 4th-and-15 from the PSU 45, but officials flagged the Nittany Lions for being offside. Hayes decided to let Skladany attempt a 57-yard field goal, but it fell short. Hutton returned it out of the end zone but managed to only make it to the 3-yard line.
The Buckeyes' defense then held Penn State to two yards and a three-and-out. Six plays later Bobby Hyatt took a pitch left and put six more on the board. Had Hutton not returned the long FG attempt, Penn State would have had the ball at the 20. Instead, the poor field position led to the Buckeyes' second touchdown and game-clinching score.
When interviewed after the game, Hyatt said: "I scored 45 touchdowns in high school, none can compare to this one." The play represented Hyatt's only touchdown as a Buckeye.
At the conclusion of the 12-7 victory, Hayes quickly left the field. Reporters asked if he avoided Paterno at the end of the game: "No, I didn't even try to meet him. I just wanted to get out of there. It had nothing to do with him whatsoever."
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 11 | MICHIGAN ST. | OHIO STADIUM | W, 49–21 |
| SEP. 18 | NO. 7 PENN STATE | BEAVER STADIUM | W, 12–7 |
| SEP. 25 | MISSOURI | OHIO STADIUM | L, 21–22 |
| OCT. 2 | NO. 4 UCLA | OHIO STADIUM | T, 10–10 |
| OCT. 9 | IOWA | KINNICK STADIUM | W, 34–14 |
| OCT. 16 | WISCONSIN | CAMP RANDALL | W, 30–20 |
| OCT. 23 | PURDUE | OHIO STADIUM | W, 24–3 |
| OCT. 30 | INDIANA | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 47–7 |
| NOV. 6 | ILLINOIS | OHIO STADIUM | W, 42–10 |
| NOV. 13 | MINNESOTA | MEMORIAL | W, 9–3 |
| NOV. 20 | NO. 4 MICHIGAN | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–22 |
| JAN. 1 | NO. 12 COLORADO | ORANGE BOWL | W, 27–10 |
| 9–2–1, 305–149 |
September 25th • Missouri • Ohio Stadium
No. 2 Ohio State hosted the Tigers for the first time in 27 years. Between 1939 and 1949 the schools played nine times and the Buckeyes went 8–0–1 in those games.
Johnson had three short touchdown runs in the second quarter to give Ohio State a 21-7 advantage at the break. The Buckeyes did not score again.
On Missouri's second possession of the third quarter, the Tigers drove 36 yards on eight plays and made the score 21-14 when Curtis Brown ran in from four yards out. From there neither team scored as both teams missed field goal attempts.
Still down seven, Missouri had the ball on its on 20 with 4:42 remaining. The Tigers faced 3rd-and-3 from Ohio State's 40 when Brown took a pitch to the right and broke tackles as he powered 31 yards to the 9-yard line.
From SB Nation:
On third-and-goal with 16 seconds left, (Pete) Woods took a quick, three-step drop and threw a lob to Leo Lewis near the left corner of the endzone. Lewis barely got a foot down and barely held on long enough (let's just say that if instant replay had existed in 1976, it would have likely been fourth-and-goal), but the officials ruled the play a touchdown, and it was 21-20.
Without hesitation, Onofrio decided to go for the win. Under pressure while rolling right, Woods threw incomplete, but there was a flag on the play: defensive holding. On the second attempt, Woods evaded two tacklers and sneaked into the endzone. After getting dominated for most of the first half, Mizzou had straight-up stolen a 1-point win in Columbus.
Greeted by 800 fans at the Columbia airport, Onofrio told reporters, "Looking back on all the football games Missouri has played, I'd say this has to be the greatest football game Missouri has ever played under the conditions." With a backup QB facing the toughest road environment in the country, it's hard to disagree. There were numerous 50-50 calls that went the Tigers' way, but ... well, try convincing Mizzou fans that they don't deserve to get a few breaks occasionally.
The loss ended the Buckeyes' 25-game home winning streak.
Ohio State and Missouri did not play again for 21 years.
October 2nd • #4 UCLA • Ohio Stadium
Following the loss to Missouri, Ohio State fell to No. 8 in the AP Poll and faced No. 4 UCLA in Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes relished the opportunity to make amends for the loss 10 months ago. This was the first time the schools played in Columbus since 1961.
Bruins head coach Terry Donahue replaced Dick Vermeil after the latter left following the 1975 season to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. UCLA (3–0) had easy victories over Arizona State, Arizona and Air Force as its defense held each opponent to 10 points or less.
A brief recap of the game from The Columbus Dispatch:
Tom Skladany kicked a 25-yard field goal midway in the final period to give Ohio State's beleaguered football forces a 10-10 tie with No. 4 ranked UCLA Saturday afternoon in Ohio Stadium.
The stadium's third largest crowd, 87,969, watched the standoff in mid-summer temperatures.
The game was a defensive struggle and neither team had many sustained offensive drives. The Buckeyes scored first when Johnson powered in from four yards out, and the half ended with Ohio State ahead 7-0.
UCLA kicked a field goal on its first possession of the second half. At the end of the third quarter, the Bruins began an 83-yard touchdown drive that they kept alive with a fake punt. UCLA had 4th-and-1 on their own 26 when Donahue called for the fake. Theotis Brown carried the ball for 25 yards to take the ball just inside Ohio State territory and picked up the important first down. From there, Jeff Dankworth guided his team the rest of the way. He scored on 4th-and-goal from the 1 to make it 10-7.
The Buckeyes drove to the UCLA 8-yard line on the ensuing drive. Hayes decided to kick the field goal on 4th-and-3 from the 8 instead of going for the first down. Skladany made the made the 25-yard field goal and the game ended in a 10-10 tie.
Some fans booed at the end of the game and Coach Hayes took exception: "I was bitter when the people booed. Our team played as well as it possibly could and they didn't deserve to be booed. It bothered me to hear our team booed. Those who did are not friends of Ohio State or mine."
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| MICHIGAN STATE | W2 | 9–8 |
| PENN STATE | W2 | 2–4 |
| MISSOURI | L1 | 8–1–1 |
| UCLA | T1 | 2–1–1 |
| IOWA | W12 | 25–10–2 |
| WISCONSIN | W17 | 35–7–4 |
| PURDUE | W5 | 18–7–2 |
| INDIANA | W13 | 40–10–4 |
| ILLINOIS | W9 | 42–19–4 |
| MINNESOTA | W9 | 15–5 |
| MICHIGAN | L1 | 28–40–5 |
| COLORADO | W1 | 1–1 |
October 23rd • Purdue • Ohio Stadium
Ohio State ran through Iowa and Wisconsin in Weeks 5 and 6. The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 34-14 and Badgers 30-20. Both victories came on the road and marked the 12th straight win against Iowa and the 17th consecutive against Wisconsin.
The No. 9 Buckeyes led by a slim 3-0 margin against unranked Purdue after two periods of play.
Gerald broke his back in the third quarter and did not return in the regular season. Jim Pacenta replaced him.
Purdue kicked off to start the second half. Ron Springs fumbled the kick and Purdue recovered at the Ohio State 19. The Buckeyes' defense held tough and the Boilermakers had to settle for a field goal which tied the game.
From that point on, Logan and Johnson took over. Logan rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, Johnson added 52 yards and a score. Ohio State won its fifth straight game against Purdue with the 24-3 victory. This was the last time the Buckeyes faced a team coach by Alex Agase.
Ohio State defeated Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota by a combined score of 98-20 over the next three weeks.
November 20th • #4 Michigan • Ohio Stadium
This 45 degree and sunny November day did not turn out the way the Buckeyes planned. After a scoreless first half, Michigan dominated over the last two quarters.
A recap of the game from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Michigan tailback Rob Lytle almost destroyed the Buckeyes by scoring once and rushing for 165 yards. The brilliant Michigan defense also rose to the occasion by holding the Buckeyes to a minus-seven yards in the second half.
Lytle, the Fremont, Ohio, whiz who outgained the entire Ohio State team with his impressive total, was virtually unstoppable as he helped spark Michigan to two third-quarter touchdowns.
Fullback Russell Davis scored the first two for the Wolverines on runs of three yards and Lytle added the topper with a three-yard blast in the fourth period.
Ohio State, which shares the Big Ten title with Michigan, played the Wolverines to a standstill in the first half. The Buckeyes squandered a chance for a score with 1:26 to go before intermission when quarterback Jim Pacenta's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Jim Pickens. That was the extent of Ohio State's attack.
The second half belonged to Michigan, with the Wolverines attacking the outside on option sweeps as sophomore quarterback Rick Leach pitched to Lytle who shredded Ohio State's defense.
The Wolverines won the game 22-0, the first time the Buckeyes failed to score in 12 years.
The victory put Michigan in a tie with Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines earned the nod to play USC in the Rose Bowl, while the Buckeyes faced Colorado in the Orange Bowl.
After the game, Hayes said: "I want to start out by saying that we played a great team that was coached by a great coach. Michigan will get my vote as the No. 1 team in the country. Bo will get my vote as Coach of the Year. I think the job that Bo did this year in view of the fact he had open heart surgery was one of the most courageous things I have ever seen in sports."
January 1st • #12 Colorado • Orange Bowl
Colorado (8–2) received the nod for the Orange Bowl after Nebraska lost to Oklahoma to end the Big 8 conference schedule. The 11th-ranked Buckeyes (8–2–1) searched for their first bowl game victory in three years.
From the 2015 Ohio State Team Guide:
After Colorado jumped to an early 10-0 lead, Rod Gerald came off the Buckeyes’ bench to lead OSU to its ninth victory of the season.
Gerald, idle since the seventh game of the schedule with a bone
chip in his lower back, rushed 14 times for 81 yards, including 17 on his first snap. That run set up a 36-yard scoring dash by Jeff Logan to get OSU on the board with 3:11 to go in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes went on to score on the next two possessions, beginning with Tom Skladany’s 28-yard field goal with 9:33 left in the half. Pete Johnson went in from 3 yards out to cap a 99-yard march following a blocked Buffalo field goal attempt to give OSU the lead for good with 24 seconds remaining before intermission.
Gerald ended the scoring with a 4-yard run late in the fourth quarter, and was later named the back of the game.
OSU outgained Colorado 330-271, including 271 yards rushing.
No. 2 Ohio State was favored to defeat John Ralston's Stanford team. This was the third time the school's played in football and the series was tied 1–1. The Buckeyes knew a victory would result in the national championship as Texas lost to Notre Dame earlier that day.
Ohio State won its first bowl game other than the Rose Bowl by a score of 27-10.
1976 Recap
- Ohio State defeated Michigan State 49-21 to start the season.
- The Buckeyes beat No. 7 Penn State in their first game played in Beaver Stadium.
- Missouri converted a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State.
- UCLA and Ohio State played to a 10-10 tie.
- Rod Gerald was lost for the regular season when he broke his back against Purdue. The Buckeyes still defeated the Boilermakers 24-3.
- Michigan defeated Ohio State 22-0. It marked the first time the Buckeyes were shutout in since 1964.
- Hayes and Ohio State defeated No. 12 Colorado 27-10.
- Ohio State started the season as the No. 4 team in the nation but finished 1976 ranked sixth in the AP Poll.
- Bob Brudzinski, Chris Ward and Tom Skladany were named All-Americans. This marked the third All-American honor for Skladany.
- Bob Brudzinski, Tom Skladany, Pete Johnson, Ed Thompson and Nick Buonamici were selected in the NFL Draft.
Ohio State benefited from the Big Ten's new stance on bowl games. A year after the conference decided to allow more than one team to attend a postseason contest, the Buckeyes defeated Colorado in the Orange Bowl.
Although the Buckeyes lost two games, Hayes won at least a share of his 12th Big Ten title and led Ohio State to its 20th overall.
