# 1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1985 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 20–17, to the USC Trojans.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Oregon State* | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | SV | W 22–14 | 88,072 |
| September 15 | 3:30 p.m. | Washington State* | No. 9 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | SV | W 44–0 | 89,297 |
| September 22 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 14 Iowa | No. 5 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | SV | W 45–26 | 89,733 |
| September 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at Minnesota | No. 3 | The MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN | | W 35–22 | 47,543 |
| October 6 | 2:30 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 2 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | L 23–28 | 66,261 |
| October 13 | 3:30 p.m. | Illinois | No. 8 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy) | CBS, WOSU | W 45–38 | 89,937 |
| October 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at Michigan State | No. 8 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 23–20 | 75,123 |
| October 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 6 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | CBS | L 14–16 | 78,606 |
| November 3 | 1:30 p.m. | Indiana | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 50–7 | 89,366 |
| November 10 | 2:30 p.m. | at Northwestern | No. 13 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | | W 52–3 | 31,087 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | Michigan | No. 11 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | CBS | W 21–6 | 90,286 |
| January 1, 1985 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 18 USC* | No. 6 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | L 17–20 | 102,594 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* 12 Terry White
* 11 Steve Hill
| OLB | ILB | ILB | OLB |
| 82 Byron Lee | 98 Pepper Johnson | 33 Larry Kolic | 58 Dennis Hueston |
| ⋅ | 90 Fred Ridder | 36 Chris Spielman (ankle injury) | 14 Eric Kumerow |
* ROV
* 7 Sonny Gordon
* CB
* 37 William White
| DE | NT | DE |
| 57 Dave Morrill | 59 Tony Giuliani | 97 Dave Crecelius |
| 95 Darryl Lee | 55 Ray Holliman | ⋅ |
* CB
* 29 Greg Rogan
* 8 Scott Leach
Offense :
* SE
* 2 Cris Carter
* 49 Doug Smith
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| 75 Rory Graves | 64 Jim Lachey | 63 Kirk Lowdermilk | 74 Scott Zalenski | 73 Mark Krerowicz |
| ⋅ | ⋅ | 71 Bob Maggs | 56 Jim Gilmore | ⋅ |
* TE
* 80 Ed Taggart
* 85 Judd Groza
* FL
* 1 Mike Lanese
* 6 Jamie Holland
* QB
* 15 Mike Tomczak
* 16 Jim Karsatos
* FB
* 28 Roman Bates
* 43 Barry Walker
* Special teams
* PK 10 Rich Spangler
* P 19 Tom Tupa
* RB
* 41 Keith Byars
* 25 John Wooldridge

## Coaching staff

* Earle Bruce – Head coach – 6th year
* Gary Blackney – Defensive backs (1st year)
* Bill Conley – Inside linebacker (1st year)
* Steve Devine – Offensive line (2nd year)
* Randy Hart – Defensive line (3rd year)
* Glen Mason – Offensive coordinator (7th year)
* Bill Myles – Offensive line (8th year)
* Fred Pagac – Defensive linebackers (3rd year)
* Jim Tressel – Quarterbacks (2nd year)
* Bob Tucker – Defensive coordinator (6th year)

## Game summaries
### Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon State | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Ohio State | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 22 |

### Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Washington State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Ohio State | 3 | 20 | 0 | 21 | 44 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 3 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| • Ohio State | 10 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 |

### Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Purdue | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 6, 1984
* Game time: 1:31 p.m.
* Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 66,261
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
PUR – Steve Griffin 20-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:00. Purdue 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 1:00.
OSU – Keith Byars 20-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 4:09. Tie 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 29 yards, 0:50.
Second quarter
OSU – Rich Spangler 34-yard field goal, 0:02. Ohio St 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 35 yards, 0:26.
Third quarter
OSU – Keith Byars 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 3 plays, 37 yards, 1:20.
PUR – Steve Griffin 65-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), Ohio St 17–14. Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 2:54.
Fourth quarter
PUR – Bruce King 4-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:03. Purdue 21–17. Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 3:43.
PUR – Rod Woodson 55-yard interception return (Mike Rendina kick), 10:03. Purdue 28–17.
OSU – Cris Carter 5-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (run failed), 2:35. Purdue 28–23. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 0:52.
Top passers
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 20/41, 280 yards, TD, 2 INT
PUR – Jim Everett – 17/23, 257 yards, 3 TD, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Keith Byars – 30 rushes, 191 yards, 2 TD
PUR – Ray Wallace – 20 rushes, 89 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Keith Byars – 9 receptions, 102 yards
PUR – Steve Griffin – 6 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD :

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Illinois | 17 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 38 |
| • Ohio State | 0 | 21 | 14 | 10 | 45 |
* Keith Byars 39 Rush, 274 Yds
* Cris Carter 7 Rec, 134 Yds

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 20 |
* Lanese 7 Rec, 116 Yds

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| • Wisconsin | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Ohio State | 10 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 50 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 0 | 21 | 14 | 17 | 52 |
| Northwestern | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |

### Rose Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| • USC | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
* Rich Spangler's 52 yard field goal (Rose Bowl record)
* Cris Carter 9 Rec, 172 Yds

## 1985 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Jim Lachey | 1 | 12 | Tackle | San Diego Chargers |
| Kirk Lowdermilk | 3 | 59 | Center | Minnesota Vikings |
| Mark Krerowicz | 6 | 147 | Guard | Cleveland Browns |