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1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1977
team	Ohio State Buckeyes
sport	football
image	Ohio State Buckeyes Logo 1898-1978.png
conference	Big Ten Conference
short_conf	Big Ten
CoachRank	12
APRank	11
record	9–3
conf_record	7–1
head_coach	Woody Hayes
hc_year	27th
off_coach	Alex Gibbs
oc_year	3rd
def_coach	George Hill
dc_year	7th
mvp	Dave Adkins
captain	Aaron Brown
captain2	Ray Griffin
captain3	Jeff Logan
captain4	Chris Ward
stadium	Ohio Stadium
champion	Big Ten co-champion
bowl	[Sugar Bowl](1978-sugar-bowl)
bowl_result	L 6–35 vs. [Alabama](1977-alabama-crimson-tide-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.

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. 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).

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

Schedule

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Game summaries

Miami (FL)

Ron Springs 27 Rush, 114 Yds

Minnesota

Ron Springs 27 Rush, 147 Yds

Oklahoma

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

Purdue

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

At Northwestern

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

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

Sugar Bowl

Personnel

Roster

Woody Hayes
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)

Depth chart

1978 NFL draftees

Aaron C. Brown	10	252	Linebacker	[Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1978-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)

References

"1977 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
"1977 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
(2016). "Football Award Winners". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA).
(September 11, 1977). "Buckeyes squeak out 10–0 triumph". News Journal.
(September 18, 1977). "Buckeye offense awes humbled Gophers, fans". The Marion Star.
(September 25, 1977). "Oklahoma's Uwe gets his kicks, 29–28". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
(October 2, 1977). "Ohio State topples Mustangs". The Marshall News Messenger.
(October 9, 1977). "Payton keys Buckeyes". The Post-Crescent.
(October 16, 1977). "Rugged Buckeyes conquer Iowa, 27–6". The Sioux City Journal.
(October 23, 1977). "Big plays pace Buckeyes past Northwestern, 35–15". The Pantagraph.
(October 30, 1977). "Badgers overwhelmed, 42–0". Wisconsin State Journal.
(November 6, 1977). "Ohio State rolls over Illini, 35–0". The Grand Rapids Press.
(November 13, 1977). "Bucks' strong second-half overcomes IU". Journal and Courier.
Curt Sylvester. (November 20, 1977). "Ah! Everything Comes Up Roses For Bo's Gutty Wolverines, 14–6". Detroit Free Press.
(January 3, 1978). "Tide rips Onio State 35–6 in sweet Sugar". Birmingham Post-Herald.
''Eugene Register-Guard''. November 6, 1977.
''Eugene Register-Guard''. November 13, 1977.
1978 Ohio State Football Media Guide

Info: Wikipedia Source

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