# 1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1975 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the 1976 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 23–10, to the UCLA Bruins.
In 1975, Archie Griffin became college football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner. Griffin won four Big Ten Conference titles with the Ohio State Buckeyes and became the only player ever to start in four Rose Bowls.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Michigan State | No. 3 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | W 21–0 | 80,383 |
| September 20 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 7 Penn State* | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | | W 17–9 | 88,093 |
| September 27 | 1:30 p.m. | North Carolina* | No. 2 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 32–7 | 87,750 |
| October 4 | 9:00 p.m. | at No. 13 UCLA* | No. 2 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 41–20 | 55,482 |
| October 11 | 1:30 p.m. | Iowa | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 49–0 | 87,826 |
| October 18 | 1:30 p.m. | Wisconsin | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 56–0 | 87,820 |
| October 25 | 2:30 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 1 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | W 35–6 | 69,405 |
| November 1 | 1:30 p.m. | Indiana | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 24–14 | 87,835 |
| November 8 | 2:00 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 40–3 | 67,751 |
| November 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 38–6 | 87,817 |
| November 22 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 4 Michigan | No. 1 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 21–14 | 105,543 |
| January 1, 1976 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 11 UCLA* | No. 1 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | L 10–23 | 105,464 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Tim Fox
* Duncan Griffin
| WLB | SLB |
| Ed Thompson | Ken Kuhn |
| Dave Adkins | Tom Cousineau |
* SS
* Ray Griffin
* Joe Allegro
* CB
* Craig Cassady
* Max Midlam
| DE | DT | NT | DT | DE |
| Bob Brudzinski | Nick Buonamici | Aaron Brown | Eddie Beamon | Pat Curto |
| Kelton Dansler | Mark Sullivan | Mark Lang | Byron Cato | ⋅ |
| ⋅ | Tyrone Harris | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ |
* CB
* Bruce Ruhl
* Lenny Mills
Offense :
* SE
* Lenny Willis
* Herman Jones
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Chris Ward | Ted Smith | Rick Applegate | Bill Lukens | Scott Dannelley |
| Lou Pietrini | Jim Savoca | Ron Ayers | ⋅ | Garth Cox |
| ⋅ | ⋅ | Doug Porter | ⋅ | ⋅ |
* TE
* Larry Kain
* Jimmy Moore
* Greg Storer
* WB
* Brian Baschnagel
* Jimmy Harrell
* QB
* Cornelius Greene
* Rod Gerald
* Jim Pacenta
* FB
* Pete Johnson
* Lou Williott
* Special teams
* PK Tom Klaban
* P Tom Skladany
* P Mike Keeton
* KR Lenny Willis
* RB
* Archie Griffin
* Jeff Logan
* Woody Roach

## Coaching staff

* Woody Hayes - Head Coach (25th year)
* George Chaump - Offense (8th year)
* George Hill - Defensive Coordinator (5th year)
* Charles Clausen - Defense (5th year)
* Alex Gibbs - Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line (1st year)
* Mickey Jackson - (2nd year)
* John Mummey - Quarterbacks (7th year)
* Ralph Staub - (6th year)
* Dick Walker - Defensive Backs (7th year)
* Jeff Kaplan - 'brain coach' & counselor (3rd year)

## Game summaries
### Michigan State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Michigan St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: September 13
* Game weather: Partly sunny • Mid 50s • Wind W–NW 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
* Game attendance: 80,383
* TV: ABC
* Ohio State Football Archives
Game information :
Ohio St
Greene 3/7, 85 Yds, TD, INT
Griffin 29 Rush, 108 Yds
Willis 2 Rec, 82 Yds, TD
Michigan St
Baggett 5/9, 67 Yds, 3 INT
Jackson 20 Rush, 58 Yds
Fortney 3 Rec, 35 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | OSU | MSU |
| 2 | 1:16 | 8 | 57 | | Ohio St | Johnson 6-yard touchdown run, Klaban kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | 6:52 | 6 | 76 | | Ohio St | Willis 64-yard touchdown reception from Grenne, Klaban kick good | 14 | 0 |
| 4 | 14:56 | 4 | 30 | | Ohio St | Johnson 9-yard touchdown run, Klaban kick good | 21 | 0 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 21 | 0 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penn St | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| • Ohio St | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 41 |
| UCLA | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Purdue | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Archie Griffin broke Cornell's Ed Marinaro NCAA career rushing record with a 23-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter.

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| • Ohio St | 3 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 38 |

### Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Michigan | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Date: November 22, 1975
* Game weather: Clear, 36 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 105,543
* TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Pete Johnson 7-yard pass from Cornelius Greene (Tom Klaban kick), 4:43. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 15 plays, 63 yards.
Second quarter
MICH – Jim Smith 11-yard pass from Gordon Bell (Bob Wood kick), 0:24. Tie 7–7. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards.
Fourth quarter
MICH – Rick Leach 1-yard run (Bob Wood kick), 7:11. Michigan 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 43 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 3:18. Tie 14–14. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards.
OSU – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 2:19. Ohio St 21–14. Drive: 1 play, 3 yards.
Top passers
OSU – Cornelius Greene – 7/16, 84 yards, TD, 2 INT
MICH – Rick Leach – 7/20, 102 yards, 3 INT
Top rushers
OSU – Pete Johnson – 18 rushes, 52 yards, 2 TD
MICH – Gordon Bell – 21 rushes, 124 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Lenny Willis – 2 receptions, 32 yards
MICH – Jim Smith – 3 receptions, 31 yards, TD :

## Awards and honors

* Archie Griffin, Heisman Trophy

## 1976 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Tim Fox | 1 | 21 | Defensive Back | New England Patriots |
| Archie Griffin | 1 | 24 | Running Back | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Brian Baschnagel | 3 | 66 | Wide Receiver | Chicago Bears |
| Leonard Willis | 4 | 118 | Wide Receiver | Minnesota Vikings |
| Ken Kuhn | 7 | 205 | Linebacker | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Craig Cassady | 8 | 213 | Defensive Back | New Orleans Saints |
| Tom Klaban | 10 | 287 | Kicker | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Cornelius Greene | 11 | 317 | Quarterback | Dallas Cowboys |
| Larry Kain | 13 | 375 | Tight End | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Pat Curto | 16 | 441 | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons |
| Scott Dannelley | 17 | 482 | Guard | Cincinnati Bengals |