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1976 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1976
team	Ohio State Buckeyes
sport	football
image	Ohio State Buckeyes Logo 1898-1978.png
conference	Big Ten Conference
short_conf	Big Ten
CoachRank	5
APRank	6
record	9–2–1
conf_record	7–1
head_coach	Woody Hayes
hc_year	26th
off_coach	Alex Gibbs
oc_year	2nd
def_coach	George Hill
dc_year	6th
mvp	Bob Brudzinski
captain	Bill Lukens
captain2	Tom Skladany
captain3	Ed Thompson
stadium	Ohio Stadium
champion	Big Ten co-champion
Orange Bowl champion
bowl	[Orange Bowl](1977-orange-bowl)
bowl_result	W 27–10 vs. [Colorado](1976-colorado-buffaloes-football-team)

Orange Bowl champion The 1976 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 1976 Big Ten season. In their 26th year under head coach Woody Hayes, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–2–1 record (7–1 in conference games), tied with Michigan for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 278 to 139. They lost to Michigan in the final game of the regular season and concluded the season with a 27–10 victory over Colorado in the 1977 Orange Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 6 in the final AP poll.

The Buckeyes gained an average of 235.8 rushing yards and 52.8 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 144.3 rushing yards and 118.0 passing yards per game. The team's individual statistical leaders included quarterback Jim Pacenta (404 passing yards, 52.8% completion percentage), running back Jeff Logan (1,169 rushing yards, 5.7 yards per carry), and Jim Harrell (12 receptions for 229 yards). Punter Tom Skladany won first-team All-America honors from College Football News and The Sporting News.

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

Schedule

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Game summaries

Michigan State

At Penn State

Missouri

First quarter

No scoring Second quarter
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 14:25. ''Ohio St 7–0. '''Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 4:34.'''''
UM – Joe Stewart 31-yard pass from Pete Woods (Tim Gibbons kick), 11:56. ''Tie 7–7. '''Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 2:22.'''''
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 9:47. ''Ohio St 14–7. '''Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, 2:02.'''''
OSU – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 7:33. ''Ohio St 21–7. '''Drive: 2 plays, 12 yards, 0:22.''''' Third quarter
UM – Curtis Brown 4-yard run (Tim Gibbons kick), 9:00. ''Ohio St 21–14. '''Drive: 8 plays, 36 yards, 2:50.''''' Fourth quarter
UM – Leo Lewis 2-yard pass from Pete Woods (run good), 0:12. ''Missouri 22–21. '''Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 4:30.''''' ;Top passers
UM – Pete Woods – 9/19, 113 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
OSU – Rod Gerald – 1/8, 9 yards, INT ;Top rushers
UM – Curtis Brown – 20 rushes, 108 yards, TD
OSU – Pete Johnson – 23 rushes, 119 yards, 3 TD ;Top receivers
UM – Joe Stewart – 3 receptions, 65 yards, TD
OSU – Herman Jones – 1 reception, 9 yards

The loss snapped 25-game home win streak

UCLA

At Iowa

At Wisconsin

Purdue

At Indiana

Illinois

At Minnesota

Ohio State clinches at least a share of Big Ten title for record fifth straight year.

Michigan

Orange Bowl (vs Colorado)

Personnel

Roster

Woody Hayes (26th year)
George Chaump – Offense (9th year)
George Hill (American football) – Defensive Coordinator (6th year)
Alex Gibbs – Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line (2nd year)
Mickey Jackson – (3rd year)
John Mummey – Quarterbacks (8th year)
Ralph Staub – (7th year)
Dick Walker – Defensive Backs (8th year)

Depth chart

1977 NFL draftees

Nick Buonamici	9	238	Defensive tackle	[Chicago Bears](1977-chicago-bears-season)

References

"1976 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
"1976 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
(2016). "Football Award Winners". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA).
(December 12, 1976). "Sporting News Picks Three in Big Eight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
(September 12, 1976). "Woody shows Spartans no mercy". The Des Moines Register.
(September 19, 1976). "Ohio State nips Nittany Lions, 12–7". Kingsport Times-News.
(September 26, 1976). "Mizzou: never thought tie". The Rock Island Argus.
(October 3, 1976). "Hayes praises Bruins after tie". The Bakersfield Californian.
(October 10, 1976). "Hawks comeback too little, too late". The Rock Island Argus.
(October 17, 1976). "Ninth-ranked Buckeyes rap Badgers behind tailback Logan's 113 yards". The Marion Star.
(October 24, 1976). "Buckeyes blast Boilermakers, 24–3". Evansville Courier and Press.
Herman, Steve. (October 31, 1976). "Bucks' 2nd Half Caves In On Indiana". [[The Marion Star]].
. ["Indiana Football 2023 Record Book"](https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/pdf/fb/2023/23-FB-Record_Book_Full.pdf). *[[Indiana University]]*.
(November 7, 1976). "Johnson leads Buckeyes past Illini". The Post-Crescent.
(November 14, 1976). "Ohio State edges Gophers". The Winona Daily News.
(November 21, 1976). "U–M ends frustration, gains Rose Bowl berth". The Bay City Times.
(January 2, 1977). "QB Gerald's return lifts Buckeyes, 27–10". The Miami Herald.
''Palm Beach Post''. 1976 Oct 3.
''Eugene Register-Guard''. 1976 Oct 10.
Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 14.
"My Favorite Bowl Games. Retrieved 04-May-2012.".
1977 Ohio State Football Media Guide

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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