# 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the 1980 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 17–16, to the USC Trojans.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 8 | 1:30 p.m. | Syracuse* | | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 31–8 | 86,205 |
| September 15 | 2:30 p.m. | at Minnesota | No. 15 | Memorial StadiumMinneapolis, MN | | W 21–17 | 43,926 |
| September 22 | 1:30 p.m. | Washington State* | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 45–29 | 87,495 |
| September 29 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 17 UCLA* | No. 14 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 17–13 | 47,228 |
| October 6 | 1:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 8 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 16–7 | 87,406 |
| October 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Indiana | No. 8 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 47–6 | 87,521 |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | Wisconsin | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 59–0 | 87,585 |
| October 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 4 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 42–0 | 87,747 |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 5 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 44–7 | 41,870 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Iowa | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 34–7 | 87,835 |
| November 17 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 13 Michigan | No. 2 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 18–15 | 106,255 |
| January 1, 1980 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 USC* | No. 1 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | L 16–17 | 105,526 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Vince Skillings
* Bob Murphy
| WLB | ILB | ILB | SLB |
| Jim Laughlin | Al Washington | Marcus Marek | Keith Ferguson |
| Ben Lee | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ |
* ROV
* Todd Bell
* CB
* Mike Guess
* Doyle Lewis
| DE | NT | DE |
| Jerome Foster | Tim Sawicki | Luther Henson |
| Reggie Echols | Mark Sullivan | Gary Dulin |
* CB
* Ray Ellis
* Norm Burrows
Offense :
* SE
* Gary Williams
* Chuck Hunter
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tim Burke | Ernie Andria | Tom Waugh | Ken Fritz | Joe Lukens |
| Tom Levenick | Scott Burris | Jim DeLeone | Joe Smith | Tom Levenick |
* TE
* Brad Dwelle
* Bill Jaco
* Ron Barwig
* FL
* Doug Donley
* Tyrone Hicks
* QB
* Art Schlichter
* Greg Castignola
* FB
* Ricardo Volley
* Paul Campbell
* Cliff Belmer
* Special teams
* PK Vlade Janakievski
* P Tom Orosz
* LS John Hutchings
* RB
* Calvin Murray
* Jimmy Gayle
* Tim Spencer

## Coaching staff

* Earle Bruce - Head Coach (1st year)
* Pete Carroll - Defensive Backs (1st year)
* Dennis Fryzel - Defensive Coordinator (1st year)
* Glen Mason - Offensive Line / Defensive Inside Linebackers (2nd year)
* Bill Myles - Offensive Line (3rd year)
* Wayne Stanley - Running Backs (1st year)
* Steve Szabo - Defensive Line (1st year)
* Bob Tucker - Defensive Outside Linebackers (1st year)
* Fred Zechman - Quarterbacks/Receivers (1st year)

## 1980 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Jim Laughlin | 4 | 91 | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons |
| Mike Guess | 6 | 156 | Defensive Back | Chicago Bears |
| Ken Fritz | 10 | 277 | Guard | Pittsburgh Steelers |

## Game summaries
### Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Syracuse | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Minnesota | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wash St | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 29 |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
The longest pass in school history to date, an 86-yard bomb from Art Schlichter to Calvin Murray, helped propel Ohio State to a 45-29 win over Washington State. The previous record was an 80-yard pass from Joe Sparma to Bob Klein in 1961 versus Michigan.

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| UCLA | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Ohio St | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| • Ohio St | 9 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 47 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 59 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 3 | 14 | 10 | 17 | 44 |
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Ohio St | 13 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 34 |

### At Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Michigan | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Date: November 17
* Game weather: Sunny • 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) SW
* Game attendance: 106,255
* TV: ABC
* Ohio State Football - Archives
Game information :
Ohio St
Art Schlichter 12/22, 196 Yds, TD, INT
James Gayle 9 Rush, 72 Yds
Doug Donley 3 Rec, 87 Yds
Michigan
John Wangler 4/9, 133 Yds, TD, INT
Butch Woolfolk 18 Rush, 68 Yds
Anthony Carter 2 Rec, 125 Yds, TD :
Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl with an 18-15 victory over their archrivals. The Buckeyes had not beaten nor scored a touchdown against Michigan since 1975, the last time they had gone to Pasadena.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | OSU | MICH |
| 2 | 3:48 | | | | Ohio St | 23-yard field goal by Janakievski | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 1:30 | | | | Michigan | Carter 59-yard touchdown reception from Wangler, Virgil kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | 0:08 | | | | Ohio St | 25-yard field goal by Janakievski | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | 7:19 | | | | Ohio St | Hunter 18-yard touchdown reception from Schlichter, 2-point pass failed/incomplete | 12 | 7 |
| 3 | 3:58 | | | | Michigan | Smith 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point run good | 12 | 15 |
| 4 | 11:21 | | | | Ohio St | Blocked punt returned 18 yards for touchdown by Bell, Janakievski kick failed | 18 | 15 |
| "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. | 18 | 15 |

### Rose Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • USC | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Ohio St | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |