# 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an American football team that represented the Ohio State University in the 1968 Big Ten Conference football season. It is considered one of the strongest in OSU history, fielding 11 All-Americans and six first-round NFL draft picks. With quarterback Rex Kern and running back Jim Otis leading a powerful OSU offense and Jack Tatum on defense, Woody Hayes' Buckeyes capped an undefeated season with a dominating 50–14 victory over archrival Michigan and a come-from-behind 27–16 victory over defending national champion USC in the 1969 Rose Bowl to secure the national title. This was also the first year the Buckeye players were awarded Buckeye pride stickers for their helmets, each one a reward for a good play. This would be Ohio State's last outright national championship until 2002. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year for the Buckeyes was their upset of #1 Purdue in their third game.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | 1:30 p.m. | SMU* | No. 11 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 35–14 | 73,855 |
| October 5 | 1:30 p.m. | Oregon* | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 21–6 | 70,191 |
| October 12 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 1 Purdue | No. 4 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 13–0 | 84,834 |
| October 19 | 2:20 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 2 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 45–21 | 83,454 |
| October 26 | 2:30 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 2 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | | W 31–24 | 56,174 |
| November 2 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 16 Michigan State | No. 2 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 25–20 | 84,859 |
| November 9 | 2:30 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 2 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 43–8 | 40,972 |
| November 16 | 2:30 p.m. | at Iowa | No. 2 | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 33–27 | 44,131 |
| November 23 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 Michigan | No. 2 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | | W 50–14 | 85,371 |
| January 1, 1969 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 USC* | No. 1 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 27–16 | 102,063 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### SMU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| SMU | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Ohio St | 14 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 35 |
at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear • 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind N 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn) to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Game attendance: 73,855
* TV: WOSU-TV
* Ohio State Football Archive
Game information :
SMU
Hixson 37/69, 417 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Richardson 11 rush, 62 yards
Levias 15 rec, 160 yards
Ohio St
Kern 8/14, 139 yards, 2 TD
Brungard 14 rush, 101 yards, TD
Brockington 2 rec, 54 yards :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SMU | OSU |
| 1 | 3:22 | 10 | 80 | | Ohio St | Kern 2-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 0:46 | 7 | 28 | | Ohio St | Otis 9-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 13:17 | | | | SMU | Fleming 8-yard touchdown reception from Hixson, Lesser kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 2 | 12:29 | 3 | 54 | | Ohio St | Brungard 41-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick no good (blocked) | 7 | 20 |
| 2 | 0:35 | 15 | 72 | | Ohio St | Brungard 18-yard touchdown reception from Kern, Merryman kick no good (miss right) | 7 | 26 |
| 3 | 0:21 | 7 | 49 | | SMU | Fleming 6-yard touchdown reception from Hixson, Lesser kick good | 14 | 26 |
| 4 | 7:55 | | | | Ohio St | Hixson tackled in end zone for a safety by Debevc | 14 | 28 |
| 4 | 6:45 | 4 | 43 | | Ohio St | Brungard 20-yard touchdown reception from Kern, Merryman kick good | 14 | 35 |
| "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. | 14 | 35 |

### Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 6 Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | ORE |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Purdue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 4 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
* Jim Otis 29 rush, 144 yards
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | PUR |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
| Statistic | OSU |
| Passing | |
| Rushing | Jim Otis (144) |
| Receiving | |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • No. 2 Ohio State | 6 | 15 | 6 | 18 | 45 |
* Rex Kern 20 rush, 121 yards
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | NW |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
| Statistic | OSU |
| Passing | |
| Rushing | Rex Kern (121) |
| Receiving | |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Ohio State | 3 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 24 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | ILL |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Michigan State | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| • No.2 Ohio State | 7 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 25 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | MSU |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 6 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Ohio State | 10 | 0 | 20 | 13 | 43 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | WISC |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Ohio State | 6 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 33 |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 27 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | Iowa |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Michigan | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • No. 2 Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 6 | 23 | 50 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | MICH |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

### Rose Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 1 Ohio State | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
| No. 2 USC | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
Game statistics
| Statistic | OSU | USC |
| Total yards | | |
| Passing yards | | |
| Rushing yards | | |
| Penalties | | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 5 |
| Time of possession | | |
Game Leaders
* Statistic
* Passing
* Rushing
* Receiving

## Statistical leaders

* Scoring – Jim Otis
* Rushing – Jim Otis
* Passing – Rex Kern
* Receiving – Bruce Jankowski

## Players in the 1969 NFL Draft

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Rufus Mayes | 1 | 14 | Tackle | Chicago Bears |
| Dave Foley | 1 | 26 | Tackle | New York Jets |
| Steve Howell | 10 | 239 | Tight end | Cincinnati Bengals |