1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1977 Big Ten season. In their 27th year under head coach Woody Hayes, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record (7–1 in conference games), tied with Michigan for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 337 to 85. In games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 5 Michigan, and No. 3 Alabama in the 1978 Sugar Bowl. They were ranked as high as No. 3 but dropped to No. 11 in the final AP poll after losing to Michigan and Alabama.^[1]

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)
Offensive coordinator	Alex Gibbs (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	George Hill (7th season)
MVP	Dave Adkins
Captains	Aaron Brown Ray Griffin Jeff Logan Chris Ward
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
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 Buckeyes gained an average of 294.5 rushing yards and 84.8 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 119.6 rushing yards and 92.0 passing yards per game.^[2] The team's individual statistical leaders included quarterback Rod Gerald (913 passing yards, 61.9% completion percentage), running back Ron Springs (1,092 rushing yards, 5.7 yards per carry), and Jim Harrell (13 receptions for 310 yards).^[2] Offensive tackle Chris Ward and linebacker Tom Cousineau were consensus first-team All-Americans.^[3]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

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	[4]
September 17	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 38–7	87,799	[5]
September 24	1:30 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma*	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 28–29	88,119	[6]
October 1	8:30 p.m.	at SMU*	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX		W 35–7	51,970	[7]
October 8	1:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 46–0	87,707	[8]
October 15	2:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 5	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 27–6	60,070	[9]
October 22	2:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 4	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 35–15	29,563	[10]
October 29	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 42–0	87,837	[11]
November 5	2:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)		W 35–0	66,973	[12]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 35–7	87,786	[13]
November 19	12:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Michigan	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 6–14	106,024	[14]
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	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Miami (FL)

Team	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

Scoring summary

Q2	10:40	OSU	Janakievski 31 yard field goal	OSU 3–0
Q2	4:56	OSU	Springs 21 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OSU 10–0

• Ron Springs 27 Rush, 114 Yds

Minnesota

Team	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

Scoring summary

Q1	6:57	OHST	Jones 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick)	OHST 7–0
Q2	13:03	OHST	Janakievski 18 yard field goal	OHST 10–0
Q3	4:45	OHST	Volley 2 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 17–0
Q3	4:29	MINN	Weber 100 yard kickoff return	OHST 17–7
Q4	9:16	OHST	Springs 8 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 24–7
Q4	5:19	OHST	Donley 38 yard pass from Castignola (Janakievski kick)	OHST 31–7
Q4	0:41	OHST	Payton 7 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 38–7

• Ron Springs 27 Rush, 147 Yds

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

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

Team	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

See also: 1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team

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

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

Team	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

See also: 1977 Northwestern Wildcats football team

#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

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

Team	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

Team	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

Scoring summary

2		OHST	Campbell 1-yard run (Janakievski kick)	Ohio St 7-0
3		OHST	Payton 1-yard run (Janakievski kick)	Ohio St 14-0
3		OHST	Springs 15-yard run (Janakievski kick)	Ohio St 21-0
3		OHST	Harrell 5-yard run (Janakievski kick)	Ohio St 28-0
4		OHST	Johnson 15-yard run (Janakievski kick)	Ohio St 35-0

^[16]

Indiana

Team	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

Scoring summary

1		IND	Calvin 2 yard pass from Arnett (Freud kick)	IND 7–0
1		OHST	Payton 3 yard run (Janakievski kick)	Tie 7–7
3		OHST	Harrell 29 yard pass from Gerald (Janakievski kick)	OHST 14–7
3		OHST	Gerald 8 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 21–7
3		OHST	Springs 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 28–7
4		OHST	Campbell 1 yard run (Janakievski kick)	OHST 35–7

^[17]

Michigan

Team	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

Team	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)

Personnel

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

^[18]

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