# 1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–2 record, including the 1973 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost 42–17 to the USC Trojans.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 16 | 1:30 p.m. | Iowa | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 21–0 | 77,098 |
| September 30 | 1:30 p.m. | North Carolina* | No. 5 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 29–14 | 86,180 |
| October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | at California* | No. 3 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | | W 35–18 | 45,000 |
| October 14 | 1:30 p.m. | Illinois | No. 4 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 26–7 | 86,298 |
| October 21 | 1:30 p.m. | Indiana | No. 4 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 44–7 | 86,365 |
| October 28 | 2:30 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 4 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 28–20 | 78,713 |
| November 4 | 1:30 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 5 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 27–19 | 86,439 |
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | at Michigan State | No. 5 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | L 12–19 | 76,264 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northwestern | No. 9 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | | W 27–14 | 34,475 |
| November 25 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 3 Michigan | No. 9 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | ABC | W 14–11 | 87,040 |
| January 1, 1973 | 4:45 p.m. | vs. No. 1 USC* | No. 3 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | L 17–42 | 106,869 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Rick Seifert
* Rich Parsons
| WLB | MLB | SLB |
| Rick Middleton | Arnie Jones | Randy Gradishar |
| ⋅ | Vic Koegel | ⋅ |
* SS
* Lou Mathis
* Doug Plank
* CB
* Neal Colzie
* Tim Fox
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| Van DeCree | Pete Cusick | George Hasenhorl | Jim Cope |
| Mike Scannell | Shad Williams | ⋅ | Tom Marendt |
* CB
* Jeff Davis
* John Hughes
Offense :
* SE
* Mike Bartoszek
* Morris Bradshaw
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Merv Teague | Jim Kregel | Steve Myers | Charles Bonica | John Hicks |
| Doug France | ⋅ | Steve Luke | Larry Wiggins | ⋅ |
* TE
* Fred Pagac
* Ted Powell
* WB
* Brian Baschnagel
* Rich Galbos
* QB
* Greg Hare
* Steve Morrison
* FB
* Champ Henson
* Randy Keith
* Special teams
* PK Blair Conway
* P Gary Lago
* PR Neal Colzie
* RB
* Archie Griffin
* Elmer Lippert

## Coaching staff

* Woody Hayes – Head Coach (22nd year)
* George Chaump – Offense (5th year)
* George Hill – Defensive Coordinator (2nd year)
* Rudy Hubbard – Running Backs (5th year)
* Charles Clausen – Defense Line (2nd year)
* Edward Ferkany – Offensive Line / Punter (1st year)
* Rudy Hubbard – Running Backs (5th year)
* John Mummey – Quarterbacks (4th year)
* Ralph Staub – Tackles / Tight ends / Kickers (3rd year)
* Dick Walker – Defensive Backs (4th year)

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 3 (4) | 3 (5) | 4 (2) | 5 (1) | 3 | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 5 (1) | 5 (1) | 9 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Coaches | 4 (2) | 4 (4) | 5 (2) | 6 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Ohio St | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### North Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Carolina | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Ohio St | 3 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 29 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 30, 1972
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)
* Game attendance: 86,180
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
UNC – Gene Brown recovered blocked punt in end zone (Ellis Alexander kick), 9:37. North Carolina 7–0.
OSU – Blair Conway 22-yard field goal, 0:06. North Carolina 7–3. Drive: 73 yards.
Second quarter
OSU – Greg Hare 17-yard run (kick failed), 11:50. Ohio St 9–7. Drive: 47 yards.
Third quarter
OSU – Randal Keith 11-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:41. Ohio St 16–7. Drive: 87 yards.
OSU – Champ Henson 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:00. Ohio St 23–7. Drive: 84 yards.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:13. Ohio St 30–7. Drive: 31 yards.
UNC – Earle Bethea 37-yard pass from Nick Vidnovic (Ellis Alexander), 0:00. Ohio St 30–14. Drive: 1 play, 37 yards, 0:05.
Top passers
UNC – Nick Vidnovic – 4/14, 65 yards, TD, 2 INT
OSU – Greg Hare – 5/12, 96 yards, INT
Top rushers
UNC – Ike Oglesby – 14 rushes, 67 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 27 rushes, 239 yards, TD
Top receivers
UNC – Earle Bethea – 1 reception, 37 yards, TD
OSU – Richard Galbos – 3 receptions, 72 yards :
Ohio State was the only team to beat the Tar Heels in 1972.
Archie Griffin set the school single game rushing record in just his second game.

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 3 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 35 |
| California | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 18 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Illinois | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Ohio St | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 26 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 44 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 13 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 27 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| • Michigan State | 6 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 19 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 27 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| Ohio St | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: November 25, 1972
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Rain, 39 °F (4 °C)
* Game attendance: 87,040
* Referee: Ross Dean (Big Ten)
* TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson
* Box Score
Game information :
Second quarter
MICH – Mike Lantry 35-yard field goal, 14:13. Michigan 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, 1:36.
OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:30. Ohio St 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 46 yards, 3:44.
Third quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 30-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 12:32. Ohio St 14–3. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 2:18.
MICH – Ed Shuttlesworth 1-yard run (pass good), 4:48. Ohio St 14–11. Drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, 7:35.
Top passers
MICH – Dennis Franklin – 13/23, 160 yards
OSU – Greg Hare – 1/3, 17 yards, INT
Top rushers
MICH – Chuck Heater – 14 rushes, 65 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 17 rushes, 75 yards, TD
Top receivers
MICH – Paul Seal – 4 receptions, 60 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 1 reception, 17 yards :
Ohio State made two goal line stands, one in each half, to hold on to the 14–11 victory. The first came just before halftime as Dennis Franklin fumbled on fourth down at the two. In the fourth quarter, Randy Gradishar stopped Franklin on a sneak from the one. The Buckeyes' fans tore down the goal posts with 13 seconds remaining.

### Vs. No. 1 USC (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Buckeyes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| • No. 1 Trojans | 7 | 0 | 21 | 14 | 42 |

## draft picks

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Rick Seifert | 8 | 194 | Defensive back | New York Jets |
| George Hasenohrl | 8 | 198 | Defensive tackle | New York Giants |
| John Bledsoe | 8 | 203 | Running back | Detroit Lions |
| Rich Galbos | 9 | 218 | Running back | Washington Redskins |
| Earl Belgrave | 17 | 435 | Tackle | Detroit Lions |