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1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1983
team	Ohio State Buckeyes
sport	football
conference	Big Ten Conference
short_conf	Big Ten
CoachRank	8
APRank	9
record	9–3
conf_record	6–3
head_coach	Earle Bruce
hc_year	5th
off_coach	Glen Mason
oc_year	4th
def_coach	Bob Tucker
dc_year	2nd
mvp	John Frank
captain	John Frank
captain2	Bill Roberts
stadium	Ohio Stadium
champion	Fiesta Bowl champion
bowl	[Fiesta Bowl](1984-fiesta-bowl)
bowl_result	W 28–23 vs. [Pittsburgh](1983-pittsburgh-panthers-football-team)

The 1983 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 1983 Big Ten season. In their fifth year under head coach Earle Bruce, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record (6–3 in conference games), finished in fourth place the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 382 to 183. They opened the season with victories over Oregon and No. 2 Oklahoma, lost to No. 7 Iowa, No. 19 Illinois, and No. 8 Michigan, and concluded the season with a victory over Pittsburgh in the 1984 Fiesta Bowl. They were ranked No. 9 in the final AP poll.

The Buckeyes gained an average of 210.2 rushing yards and 176.8 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 101.9 rushing yards and 209.3 passing yards per game. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Mike Tomczak (1,716 passing yards, 56.6% completion percentage), running back Keith Byars (1,126 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry, 20 touchdowns), and tight end John Frank (41 receptions for 584 yards).

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

Schedule

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Game summaries

Oregon

At Oklahoma

;Ohio State

Tomczak 15/25, 234 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Lindsey 16 Rush, 75 Yds
Frank 7 Rec, 108 Yds, 2 TD ;Oklahoma
Bradley 9/21, 170 Yds, TD
Tillman 13 Rush, 83 Yds, TD
Shepard 3 Rec, 85 Yds, TD

At Iowa

Minnesota

Purdue

First quarter

OSU – Paul Allen 21-yard field goal, 9:41. ''Ohio St 3–0. '''Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 5:11.'''''
OSU – Paul Allen 41-yard field goal, 4:30. ''Ohio St 6–0. '''Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 3:34.'''''
PUR – Eric Jordan 40-yard run (Tim Clark kick), 2:27. ''Purdue 7–6. '''Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:00.''''' Second quarter
OSU – Keith Byars 4-yard run (pass failed), 5:23. ''Ohio St 12–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:59.''''' Third quarter
OSU – Garcia Lane 63-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 19–7.
OSU – Garcia Lane 71-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 2:51. Ohio St 26–7. Fourth quarter
PUR – Tim Clark 39-yard field goal, 14:20. ''Ohio St 26–10. '''Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:31.'''''
OSU – Keith Byars 2-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 10:56. ''Ohio St 33–10. '''Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:19.'''''
PUR – Cliff Benson 5-yard pass from Scott Campbell (pass failed), 3:50. ''Ohio St 33–16. '''Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 3:59.'''''
PUR – Mel Gray 20-yard run (pass failed), 2:58. ''Ohio St 33–22. '''Drive: 4 plays, 48 yards, 0:46.''''' ;Top passers
PUR – Scott Campbell – 23/36, 228 yards, TD
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 8/17, 145 yards, 2 INT ;Top rushers
PUR – Eric Jordan – 9 rushes, 89 yards, TD
OSU – Keith Byars – 23 rushes, 135 yards, 2 TD ;Top receivers
PUR – Steve Griffin – 5 receptions, 62 yards
OSU – Keith Byars – 4 receptions, 120 yards

At Illinois

Michigan State

Wisconsin

First quarter

WIS – Gary Ellerson 2-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick), 11:34. Wisconsin 7–0.
OSU – Thad Jemison 19-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Rich Spangler kick), 5:25. Tie 7–7.
WIS – Thad McFadden 20-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 2:50. Wisconsin 14–7. Second quarter
OSU – Mike Tomczak 28-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:19. Tie 14–14.
OSU – Keith Byars 13-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 7:16. Ohio St 21–14.
OSU – Vaughn Broadnax 1-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 2:07. Ohio St 28–14.
WIS – Nick Toon 22-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 0:57. Ohio St 28–21. Third quarter
WIS – Brett Pearson 7-yard pass from Randy Wright (kick failed), 11:36. Ohio St 28–27.
OSU – Rich Spangler 36-yard field goal, 4:41. Ohio St 31–27.
OSU – Keith Byars 3-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 1:36. Ohio St 38–27. Fourth quarter
OSU – Roman Bates 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 12:48. Ohio St 45–27. ;Top passers
WIS – Randy Wright – 23/39, 319 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 12/14, 162 yards, TD ;Top rushers
WIS – Joe Armentrout – 10 rushes, 40 yards
OSU – Keith Byars – 29 rushes, 174 yards, 2 TD ;Top receivers
WIS – Thad McFadden – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD
OSU – Cedric Anderson – 4 receptions, 70 yards

Woody Hayes dotted the "i" in the pregame Script Ohio.

At Indiana

Northwestern

At Michigan

Vs. Pittsburgh (Fiesta Bowl)

Main article: 1984 Fiesta Bowl

Personnel

Roster

Earle Bruce
Dom Capers (DB)
Steve Devine (Recruiting)
Randy Hart (DL)
Glen Mason (OC)
Bill Myles (OL)
Fred Pagac (LB)
Wayne Stanley (RB)
Jim Tressel (QB)
Bob Tucker (DC)

Depth chart

1984 NFL draftees

Thad Jemison	12	310	Wide receiver	[Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1984-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)

References

"1983 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
"1983 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
(December 1, 1983). "Hawkeyes represented well on AP all-Big 10 football teams". The Daily Reporter.
Barry Minkoff. (November 22, 1983). "All-Big Ten". The Bryan Times (UPI story).
(September 11, 1983). "Tomczak, OSU romps Oregon 31–6". The Ironton Tribune.
(September 18, 1983). "OSU's best too much for Oklahoma, 24–14". Lansing State Journal.
(September 25, 1983). "Ohio State stumbles at Iowa, 20–14". The Times Recorder.
(October 2, 1983). "Ohio State, Byars rip Gophers 69–18". Grand Forks Herald.
(October 9, 1983). "Lane's punt returns aid Ohio State victory". The Post-Crescent.
(October 16, 1983). "Late Illinois march sinks Buckeyes, 17–13". The Des Moines Register.
(October 23, 1983). "Ohio State pass combo a splash against Spartans". News Journal.
(October 30, 1983). "Buckeyes, Byars bounce Badgers". The Duluth News Tribune.
(November 6, 1983). "Ohio State romps past Indiana by 56 to 17". The Salisbury Post.
(November 13, 1983). "According to script, Ohio State murders Northwestern". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
(November 20, 1983). "Michigan bound for Sugar after victory over Ohio State". The Kalamazoo Gazette.
(January 3, 1984). "Late TD pass lifts Buckeyes in Fiesta". The Arizona Republic.
[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=dBzKUGQurMsC&dat=19830918&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Ohio St. Is Superb In Beating Sooners." Gainesville Sun. 1983 Sept 18.]
[http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/osu/graphics/pdf/m-footbl/1983/1983-07-MichiganState.pdf Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives] {{Webarchive. link. (2014-12-21 . Retrieved 2014-Dec-20.)
Gainesville Sun. 1983 Oct 30.
(2008). "Ohio State Spring Football Media Guide".
1984 Ohio State Football Media Guide

Info: Wikipedia Source

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