# 1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1984 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, where they won, 28–23, against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Oregon* | No. 7 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 31–6 | 88,524 |
| September 17 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Oklahoma* | No. 6 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | ABC | W 24–14 | 75,008 |
| September 24 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 7 Iowa | No. 3 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | CBS | L 14–20 | 66,175 |
| October 1 | 1:30 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 8 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 69–18 | 89,192 |
| October 8 | 1:30 p.m. | Purdue | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 33–22 | 89,384 |
| October 15 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Illinois | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | L 13–17 | 73,414 |
| October 22 | 1:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 17 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 21–11 | 89,104 |
| October 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Wisconsin | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 45–27 | 89,203 |
| November 5 | 1:30 p.m. | at Indiana | No. 14 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | | W 56–17 | 51,176 |
| November 12 | 1:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 10 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 55–7 | 88,703 |
| November 19 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Michigan | No. 10 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | WXYZ-TV | L 21–24 | 106,115 |
| January 2, 1984 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh* | No. 14 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | W 28–23 | 66,484 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* 4 Kelvin Bell
| ROLB | ILB | ILB | LOLB |
| 11 Curt Curtis | 32 Rowland Tatum | 17 Clark Backus | 37 Orlando Lowry |
| 82 Byron Lee | 98 Pepper Johnson | ⋅ | 58 Dennis Hueston |
* ROV
* 27 Doug Hill
* 19 Steve Hill
* CB
* 2 Shaun Gayle
* 21 Kevin Richardson
| DE | NT | DE |
| 57 Dave Morrill | 54 Spencer Nelms | 97 Dave Crecelius |
| 84 Henry Brown | 59 Tony Giuliani | ⋅ |
* CB
* 12 Garcia Lane
* 7 Sonny Gordon
Offense :
* SE
* 88 Thad Jemison
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| 70 William Roberts | 63 Kirk Lowdermilk | 78 Joe Dooley | 74 Scott Zalenski | 73 Mark Krerowicz |
| 75 Rory Graves | ⋅ | ⋅ | 64 Jim Lachey | 77 Jim Carson |
* TE
* 89 John Frank
* 80 Judd Groza
* FL
* 22 Cedric Anderson
* 1 Mike Lanese
* QB
* 15 Mike Tomczak
* 16 Jim Karsatos
* Key reserves
* 28 Roman Bates (TB/FB)
* 25 John Wooldridge (TB)
* FB
* 38 Vaughn Broadnax
* 43 Barry Walker
* Special teams
* PK 10 Rich Spangler
* P 5 Karl Edwards
* RB
* 41 Keith Byars
* 20 Kelvin Lindsey

## Game summaries
### Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 31 |

### At Oklahoma

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
* Date: September 17
* Game time: 2:50 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • 93 °F (34 °C) • Wind S 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
* Game attendance: 75,008
* Referee: Tom Quinn (Big Ten)
* TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
* Ohio State Football Archive
Game information :
Ohio State
Tomczak 15/25, 234 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Lindsey 16 Rush, 75 Yds
Frank 7 Rec, 108 Yds, 2 TD
Oklahoma
Bradley 9/21, 170 Yds, TD
Tillman 13 Rush, 83 Yds, TD
Shepard 3 Rec, 85 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | OSU | OU |
| 1 | 8:44 | 13 | 80 | 6:16 | Ohio St | Frank 16-yard touchdown reception from Tomczak, Spangler kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | 10:57 | 1 | 15 | 0:06 | Ohio St | Frank 15-yard touchdown reception from Tomczak, Spangler kick good | 14 | 0 |
| 2 | 9:14 | 4 | 85 | 1:43 | Oklahoma | Tillman 37-yard touchdown run, Culver kick good | 14 | 7 |
| 3 | 8:30 | 10 | 57 | | Ohio St | Bates 2-yard touchdown run, Spangler kick good | 21 | 7 |
| 3 | 1:01 | 8 | 62 | | Oklahoma | Shepard 22-yard touchdown reception from Bradley, Culver kick good | 21 | 14 |
| 4 | 9:15 | 16 | 59 | | Ohio St | 22-yard field goal by Spangler | 24 | 14 |
| "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. | 24 | 14 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Iowa | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 20 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 69 |

### Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Purdue | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
| Ohio St | 6 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 33 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: October 8, 1983
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 76 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 89,384
* Referee: Tom Quinn
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Paul Allen 21-yard field goal, 9:41. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 5:11.
OSU – Paul Allen 41-yard field goal, 4:30. Ohio St 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 3:34.
PUR – Eric Jordan 40-yard run (Tim Clark kick), 2:27. Purdue 7–6. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:00.
Second quarter
OSU – Keith Byars 4-yard run (pass failed), 5:23. Ohio St 12–7. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:59.
Third quarter
OSU – Garcia Lane 63-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 19–7.
OSU – Garcia Lane 71-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 2:51. Ohio St 26–7.
Fourth quarter
PUR – Tim Clark 39-yard field goal, 14:20. Ohio St 26–10. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:31.
OSU – Keith Byars 2-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 10:56. Ohio St 33–10. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:19.
PUR – Cliff Benson 5-yard pass from Scott Campbell (pass failed), 3:50. Ohio St 33–16. Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 3:59.
PUR – Mel Gray 20-yard run (pass failed), 2:58. Ohio St 33–22. Drive: 4 plays, 48 yards, 0:46.
Top passers
PUR – Scott Campbell – 23/36, 228 yards, TD
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 8/17, 145 yards, 2 INT
Top rushers
PUR – Eric Jordan – 9 rushes, 89 yards, TD
OSU – Keith Byars – 23 rushes, 135 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
PUR – Steve Griffin – 5 receptions, 62 yards
OSU – Keith Byars – 4 receptions, 120 yards :

### At Illinois

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

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| • Ohio St | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| Ohio St | 7 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 45 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: October 29, 1983
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 89,203
* Referee: Jim Kemerling
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
WIS – Gary Ellerson 2-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick), 11:34. Wisconsin 7–0.
OSU – Thad Jemison 19-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Rich Spangler kick), 5:25. Tie 7–7.
WIS – Thad McFadden 20-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 2:50. Wisconsin 14–7.
Second quarter
OSU – Mike Tomczak 28-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:19. Tie 14–14.
OSU – Keith Byars 13-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 7:16. Ohio St 21–14.
OSU – Vaughn Broadnax 1-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 2:07. Ohio St 28–14.
WIS – Nick Toon 22-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 0:57. Ohio St 28–21.
Third quarter
WIS – Brett Pearson 7-yard pass from Randy Wright (kick failed), 11:36. Ohio St 28–27.
OSU – Rich Spangler 36-yard field goal, 4:41. Ohio St 31–27.
OSU – Keith Byars 3-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 1:36. Ohio St 38–27.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Roman Bates 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 12:48. Ohio St 45–27.
Top passers
WIS – Randy Wright – 23/39, 319 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 12/14, 162 yards, TD
Top rushers
WIS – Joe Armentrout – 10 rushes, 40 yards
OSU – Keith Byars – 29 rushes, 174 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
WIS – Thad McFadden – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD
OSU – Cedric Anderson – 4 receptions, 70 yards :
Woody Hayes dotted the "i" in the pregame Script Ohio.

### At Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
| Indiana | 3 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 17 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Ohio State | 20 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 55 |

### At Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Michigan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

### Vs. Pittsburgh (Fiesta Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 23 |

## 1984 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| William Roberts | 1 | 27 | Guard | New York Giants |
| John Frank | 2 | 56 | Tight end | San Francisco 49ers |
| Garcia Lane | 3 | 61 | Defensive back | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Rowland Tatum | 6 | 165 | Linebacker | Miami Dolphins |
| Shaun Gayle | 10 | 271 | Defensive back | Chicago Bears |
| Joe Dooley | 10 | 274 | Center | Los Angeles Rams |
| Thad Jemison | 12 | 310 | Wide receiver | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |