# 1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 6–4 record.
The Buckeyes entered the season knowing it could not go to a bowl game, due to the Big Ten's "no repeat" rule, prohibiting conference schools from appearing in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons, plus the rule banning schools from playing in any bowl other than the Rose Bowl. The no-repeat rule was rescinded December 9 and went into effect for 1972; the prohibition on playing in bowls other than the Rose was not repealed until 1975.
This was the first season Ohio Stadium had artificial turf. The playing surface was scheduled to be installed in time for the 1970 season, but had been delayed. The AstroTurf field remained in place through the 1989 season.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | 1:30 p.m. | Iowa | No. 11 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 52–21 | 75,596 |
| September 25 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 10 Colorado* | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | L 14–20 | 85,586 |
| October 2 | 1:30 p.m. | California* | No. 14 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 35–3 | 86,280 |
| October 9 | 2:30 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 15 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 24–10 | 53,555 |
| October 16 | 1:30 p.m. | at Indiana | No. 13 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | | W 27–7 | 50,812 |
| October 23 | 1:30 p.m. | Wisconsin | No. 12 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 31–6 | 86,559 |
| October 30 | 2:30 p.m. | at Minnesota | No. 10 | Memorial StadiumMinneapolis, MN | | W 14–12 | 36,281 |
| November 6 | 1:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 9 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | L 10–17 | 86,616 |
| November 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | L 10–14 | 86,062 |
| November 20 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Michigan | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | | L 7–10 | 104,016 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Ohio St | 17 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 52 |
Don Lamka, who spent the last two seasons as a reserve defensive back, made his debut at quarterback with 211 total yards and four touchdowns.

### Colorado

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colorado | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Ohio St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 25, 1971
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 85,586
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
COL – Ken Johnson 6-yard run (kick failed), 6:51. Colorado 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards.
Second quarter
COL – Cliff Branch 68-yard punt return (J.B. Dean kick), 10:49. Colorado 13–0.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Don Lamka 1-yard run (Fred Schram kick), 4:28. Colorado 13–7. Drive: 7 plays, 43 yards.
COL – Ken Johnson 39-yard run (J.B. Dean kick), 3:30. Colorado 20–7. Drive: 3 plays, 45 yards.
OSU – Rick Middleton 14-yard pass from Don Lamka (Fred Schram kick), 2:11. Colorado 20–14. Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards.
Top passers
COL – Ken Johnson – 4/9, 97 yards, 2 INT
OSU – Don Lamka – 20/33, 255 yards, TD
Top rushers
COL – Charlie Davis – 18 rushes, 135 yards
OSU – Don Lamka – 23 rushes, 60 yards, TD
Top receivers
COL – Willie Nichols – 2 receptions, 61 yards
OSU – Dick Wakefield – 11 receptions, 172 yards :

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| California | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 35 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Illinois | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| • Ohio St | 0 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 31 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Northwestern | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Michigan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

## 1972 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Tom DeLeone | 5 | 106 | Center | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Harry Howard | 9 | 225 | Defensive Back | Los Angeles Rams |
| Jimmy Harris | 12 | 312 | Wide Receiver | Dallas Cowboys |
| Tom Campana | 13 | 316 | Defensive Back | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Dick Wakefield | 16 | 409 | Wide Receiver | Cleveland Browns |
| Stan White | 17 | 438 | Linebacker | Baltimore Colts |