# 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 10–0–1 record, including the 1974 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they won, 42–21, against the USC Trojans. The Ohio State Buckeyes were named national champion by the National Championship Foundation, Poling System, David Rothman (statistician) and the Sagarin Ratings, but this championship is not claimed by Ohio State.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 56–7 | 86,005 |
| September 29 | 1:30 p.m. | TCU* | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 37–3 | 87,439 |
| October 6 | 1:30 p.m. | Washington State* | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 27–3 | 87,425 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 1 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 24–0 | 77,413 |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | at Indiana | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | | W 37–7 | 53,183 |
| October 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 60–0 | 87,453 |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 30–0 | 60,707 |
| November 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 35–0 | 87,600 |
| November 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Iowa | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 55–13 | 87,447 |
| November 24 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Michigan | No. 1 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | ABC | T 10–10 | 105,223 |
| January 1, 1974 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 7 USC* | No. 4 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 42–21 | 105,267 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Minnesota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Ohio State | 14 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 56 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 15
* Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 86,005
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:24. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
OSU – Cornelius Greene 4-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:44. Ohio State 14–0. Drive:
Second quarter
MINN – John King 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick), 12:59. Ohio State 14–7. Drive:
OSU – Archie Griffin 93-yard kickoff return (Blair Conway kick), 12:45. Ohio State 21–7.
OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:51. Ohio State 28–7. Drive:
OSU – Brian Baschnagel 5-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:00. Ohio State 35–7. Drive:
Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 78-yard punt return (Blair Conway kick), 5:36. Ohio State 42–7.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:39. Ohio State 49–7. Drive:
OSU – Billy Ezzo 55-yard pass from Greg Hare (Blair Conway kick), 1:51. Ohio State 56–7. Drive:
Top passers
MINN – John Lawing – 5/9, 31 yards, INT
OSU – Greg Hare – 2/2, 64 yards, TD
Top rushers
MINN – John King – 17 rushes, 51 yards, TD
OSU – Archie Griffin – 15 rushes, 129 yards
Top receivers
MINN – Keith Fahnhorst – 3 receptions, 23 yards
OSU – Billy Ezzo – 1 reception, 55 yards, TD :

### TCU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| TCU | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 14 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 37 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 29
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Rain, 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 87,439
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 68-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 12:17. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:42. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: 69 yards.
Second quarter
TCU – Berl Simmons 23-yard field goal, 9:18. Ohio State 14–3. Drive:
OSU – Cornelius Greene 72-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:02. Ohio State 21–3. Drive:
OSU – Cornelius Greene 8-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:33. Ohio State 28–3. Drive:
OSU – Blair Conway 37-yard field goal, 0:00. Ohio State 31–3. Drive:
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
OSU – Fred Pagac 13-yard pass from Greg Hare (kick failed), 6:25. Ohio State 37–3. Drive:
Top passers
TCU – Kent Marshall – 7/17, 54 yards
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 3/6, 34 yards, INT
Top rushers
TCU – Mike Luttrell – 14 rushes, 44 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 14 rushes, 119 yards, TD
Top receivers
TCU — John Ott – 2 receptions, 20 yards
OSU – Ted Powell – 1 reception, 22 yards :
* Cornelius Greene 15 Rush, 113 Yds
* Champ Henson tore a knee ligament during the game

### Washington State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Washington State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 27 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: October 6
* Game weather: Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 87425
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 17-yard run (kick failed), 7:14. Ohio State 6–0. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards.
OSU – Archie Griffin 6-yard pass from Cornelius Greene (pass good), 3:20. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards.
WSU – Joe Danelo 41-yard field goal, 0:22. Ohio State 14–3. Drive: 40 yards.
Third quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 26-yard run (kick blocked), 9:21. Ohio State 20–3. Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards.
OSU – Bruce Elia 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:13. Ohio State 27–3. Drive: 3 plays, 33 yards.
Fourth quarter
No scoring
Top passers
WSU – Wally Bennett – 7/11, 50 yards, INT
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 3/6, 62 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
WSU – Andrew Jones – 17 rushes, 64 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 15 rushes, 128 yards, TD
Top receivers
WSU – Fritz Brayton – 6 receptions, 45 yards
OSU – Dave Hazel – 1 reception, 49 yards :

### At Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
* Date: October 13
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 77,413
* Referee: Glenn Fortin
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:18. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 11:29. Ohio State 14–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 36-yard field goal, 11:12. Ohio State 17–0. Drive:
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:09. Ohio State 24–0. Drive:
Top passers
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 1/6, 22 yard, INT
WIS – Gregg Bohlig – 9/18, 98 yards, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Archie Griffin – 29 rushes, 169 yards, TD
WIS – Billy Marek – 13 rushes, 49 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Fred Pagac – 1 reception, 22 yards
WIS – Art Sanger – 2 receptions, 35 yards :

### At Indiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 7 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
* Date: October 20
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Clear, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,183
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 6-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 7:29. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
Second quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 37-yard field goal, 13:05. Ohio State 10–0. Drive:
OSU – Cornelius Greene 11-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:26. Ohio State 17–0. Drive:
OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:36. Ohio State 24–0. Drive:
Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 55-yard interception return (Blair Conway kick), 14:14. Ohio State 31–0.
Fourth quarter
IND – Trent Smock 51-yard pass from Mike Flanagan (Frank Stavroff kick), 7:50. Ohio State 31–7. Drive:
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (kick failed), 3:18. Ohio State 37–7. Drive:
Top passers
OSU – Greg Hare – 1/2, 39 yards
IND – Mike Glazier – 9/18, 84 yards, 2 INT
Top rushers
OSU – Archie Griffin – 25 rushes, 130 yards
IND – Courtney Snyder – 16 rushes, 81 yards
Top receivers
OSU – John Smurda – 2 receptions, 42 yards
IND – Trent Smock – 4 receptions, 70 yards, TD :
* Bruce Elia 24 rushes, 123 yards

### Northwestern

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 27 | 26 | 7 | 60 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: October 27
* Game time: 1:35 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 61 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 87,453
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:10. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
OSU – Archie Griffin 18-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 6:40. Ohio State 14–0. Drive:
OSU – Tim Fox 20-yard blocked punt return (kick failed), 5:21. Ohio State 20–0.
OSU – Brian Baschnagel 4-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 1:27. Ohio State 27–0. Drive:
Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 19-yard interception return (Blair Conway kick), 14:49. Ohio State 34–0.
OSU – Cornelius Greene 55-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 11:36. Ohio State 41–0. Drive:
OSU – Archie Griffin 2-yard run (kick failed), 7:39. Ohio State 47–0. Drive:
OSU – Elmer Lippert 5-yard run (kick failed), 3:09. Ohio State 53–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter
OSU – Morris Bradshaw 8-yard pass from Greg Hare (Blair Conway kick), 11:13. Ohio State 60–0. Drive:
Top passers
NW – Mitch Anderson – 3/9, 37 yards, 2 INT
OSU – Greg Hare – 4/6, 71 yards, TD
Top rushers
NW – Jim Trimble – 8 rushes, 36 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 17 rushes, 105 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
NW – Steve Harris – 2 receptions, 29 yards
OSU – Tim Holycross – 2 receptions, 60 yards :

### At Illinois

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 3 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 30 |
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
* Date: November 3
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear, 53 °F (12 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,707
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 25-yard field goal, 7:18. Ohio State 3–0.
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:14. Ohio State 10–0. Drive: 41 yards.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 7-yard run (kick failed), 14:15. Ohio State 16–0. Drive: 16 yards.
OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:36. Ohio State 23–0. Drive: 31 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:42. Ohio State 30–0. Drive: 31 yards.
Top passers
OSU – Dave Purdy – 2/4, 18 yards
ILL – Jeff Hollenbach – 3/11, 27 yards, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Archie Griffin – 29 rushes, 108 yards
ILL – Lonnie Perrin – 7 rushes, 34 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Fred Pagac – 1 reception, 12 yards
ILL – Garvin Roberson – 2 receptions, 15 yards :

### Michigan State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: November 10
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 87,600
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 3:24. Ohio St 7–0.
Second quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:26. Ohio St 14–0.
OSU – Neal Colzie 43-yard punt return (Blair Conway kick), 2:08. Ohio St 21–0.
Third quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:57. Ohio St 28–0.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 13:53. Ohio St 35–0.
Top passers
MSU – Tyrone Willingham – 1/2, 6 yards
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 3/6, 31 yards, INT
Top rushers
MSU – Mike Holt – 13 rushes, 52 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 21 rushes, 131 yards
Top receivers
MSU – Mike Cobb – 1 reception, 6 yards
OSU – Elmer Lippert – 1 reception, 20 yards :

### Iowa

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Ohio State | 14 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 55 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: November 17
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear, 42 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 87,447
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:21. Ohio State 7–0.
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:30. Ohio State 14–0.
Second quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (kick failed), 2:27. Ohio State 20–0.
OSU – Dave Hazel 41-yard run pass from Cornelius Greene (Blair Conway kick), 0:07. Ohio State 27–0.
Third quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 7:38. Ohio State 34–0.
OSU – Archie Griffin 8-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:49. Ohio State 41–0.
OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:34. Ohio State 48–0.
Fourth quarter
IOWA – Bill Schultz 78-yard pass from Butch Caldwell (Harry Kokolus kick), 14:48. Ohio State 48–7.
IOWA – Rod Wellington 2-yard run (pass failed), 8:22. Ohio State 48–13.
OSU – Elmer Lippert 12 yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 6:44. Ohio State 55–13.
Top passers
IOWA – Butch Caldwell – 6/17, 129 yards, TD
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 1/3, 41 yards
Top rushers
IOWA – Rod Wellington – 24 rushes, 117 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 30 rushes, 246 yards, TD
Top receiver
IOWA – Bill Schultz – 1 reception, 78 yards, TD
OSU – Dave Hazel – 1 reception, 41 yards, TD :

### At Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Date: November 24
* Game time: 12:05 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 105,223
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 31-yard field goal, 11:04. Ohio State 3–0.
OSU – Pete Johnson 5-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:53. Ohio State 10–0.
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
MICH – Mike Lantry 30-yard field goal, 14:23. Ohio State 10–3.
MICH – Dennis Franklin 10-yard run (Mike Lantry kick), 9:32. Tie 10–10.
Top passers
OSU – Greg Hare – 0/4, INT
MICH – Dennis Franklin – 7/11, 99 yards, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Archie Griffin – 30 rushes, 163 yards
MICH – Ed Shuttlesworth – 27 rushes, 116 yards
Top receivers
OSU – None
MICH – Clint Haslerig – 5 receptions, 64 yards :
Cornelius Greene played with injured thumb (did not attempt a pass)

### Rose Bowl (vs. USC)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 3 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 42 |
at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
* Date: January 1, 1974
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. PST
* Game attendance: 105,267
* TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
USC – Chip Limahelu 47-yard field goal, 12:27. USC 3–0.
OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick). Ohio State 7–3. Drive: 18 plays, 80 yards.
Second quarter
USC – Chip Limahelu 42-yard field goal. Ohio State 7–6
USC – J.K. McKay 10-yard pass from Anthony Davis (pass good), 5:16. USC 14–7.
OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:49. Tie 14–14. Drive: 12 plays.
Third quarter
USC – Anthony Davis 1-yard run (Chip Limahelu kick), 6:30. USC 21–14. Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 4-yard run (kick failed), 4:53. USC 21–20. Drive: 4 plays, 79 yards.
OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:12. Ohio State 27–21.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (run good), 10:38. Ohio State 35–21.
OSU – Archie Griffin 47-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:35. Ohio State 42–21.
Top passers
USC – Pat Haden – 21/39, 229 yards
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 6/8, 129 yards, INT
Top rushers
USC – Anthony Davis – 16 rushes, 74 yards, TD
OSU – Archie Griffin – 22 rushes, 149 yards, TD
Top receivers
USC – J.K. McKay – 6 receptions, 83 yards, TD
OSU – Fred Pagac – 4 receptions, 89 yards :
MVP - Cornelius Greene 174 yards total offense, rush TD

## 1974 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| John Hicks | 1 | 3 | Guard | New York Giants |
| Rick Middleton | 1 | 13 | Linebacker | New Orleans Saints |
| Randy Gradishar | 1 | 14 | Linebacker | Denver Broncos |
| Morris Bradshaw | 4 | 93 | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders |
| Gregg Hare | 8 | 203 | Quarterback | Buffalo Bills |
| Dan Scott | 9 | 224 | Guard | Cleveland Browns |
| Jim Kregel | 10 | 243 | Guard | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Vic Koegel | 12 | 304 | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons |