1976 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1976 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Orange Bowl Champions Big Ten Co-Champions
Orange Bowl, W 27-10 vs. Colorado
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 6
1976 record	9-2-1 (7-1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes
MVP	Bob Brudzinski
Captain	Bill Lukens
Captain	Tom Skladany
Captain	Ed Thompson
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 83,112)
Seasons

1976 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#3/3 Michigan §	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#6/5 Ohio State §	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
§ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1976 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1976-1977. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–2–1 record, including the 1977 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, where they won 27–10 against the Colorado Buffaloes.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	Michigan State	#4	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	W 49-21	86,509
September 18*	at #7 Penn State	#2	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	W 12-7	62,503
September 25*	Missouri	#2	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	L 21-22	87,936
October 2*	#4 UCLA	#8	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	T 10-10	87,969
October 9	at Iowa	#10	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	W 34-14	59,170
October 16	at Wisconsin	#9	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	W 30-20	79,579
October 23	Purdue	#9	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	W 24-3	87,898
October 30	at Indiana	#8	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	W 47-7	39,663
November 6	Illinois	#8	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	W 42-10	87,564
November 13	at Minnesota	#8	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 9-3	53,190
November 20	#4 Michigan	#8	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	L 0-22	88,250
January 1*	vs. #12 Colorado	#11	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	W 27-10	65,537
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Depth Chart

Defensive Starters FS Joe Allegro ⋅ WLB SLB Ed Thompson Tom Cousineau ⋅ ⋅ SS Ray Griffin ⋅ CB Mike Guess ⋅ DE DT NT DT DE Bob Brudzinski Nick Buonamici Aaron Brown Eddie Beamon Kelton Dansler ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ CB Tom Roche ⋅ Offensive Starters SE Herman Jones ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Chris Ward Jim Savoca Mark Lang Bill Lukens Lou Pietrini ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ TE Bill Jaco Jimmy Moore WB Jim Harrell ⋅ QB Rod Gerald Jim Pacenta FB Pete Johnson Paul Campbell Special Teams P Tom Skladany RB Jeff Logan Ron Springs

Coaching staff

• Woody Hayes - Head Coach (26th year)
• George Chaump - Offense (9th year)
• George Hill (American football coach) - Defensive Coordinator (6th year)
• Alex Gibbs - Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line (2nd year)
• Mickey Jackson - (3rd year)
• John Mummey - Quarterbacks (8th year)
• Ralph Staub - (7th year)
• Dick Walker - Defensive Backs (8th year)

Game notes

UCLA

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total UCLA 0 0 3 7 10 Ohio St 0 7 0 3 10 Date: October 2 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Scoring summary 2 OSU Johnson 4 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 7-0 3 UCLA Corral 47 yard field goal OSU 7-3 4 UCLA Dankworth 1 yard run (Corral kick) UCLA 10-7 4 OSU Skladany 25 yard field goal Tied 10-10

Iowa

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 21 3 10 0 34 Iowa 0 0 0 14 14 Date: October 9 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 59,170 Scoring summary 1 OSU Gerald 17 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 7-0 1 OSU Johnson 1 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 14-0 1 OSU Johnson 1 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 21-0 2 OSU Skaladany 26 yard field goal OSU 24-0 3 OSU Skladany 46 yard field goal OSU 27-0 3 OSU Johnson 3 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 34-0 4 IOWA Sheeler 5 yard run (Quartaro kick) OSU 34-7 4 IOWA Caldwell 3 yard run (Quartaro kick) OSU 34-14

Minnesota

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 3 6 0 0 9 Minnesota 0 3 0 0 3 Date: November 13 Location: Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota Scoring summary 1 OHST Skladany 39 yard field goal Ohio St 3-0 2 MINN Rogind 49 yard field goal Tie 3-3 2 OHST Pacenta 4 yard run (kick blocked) Ohio St 9-3

Ohio State clinches at least a share of Big Ten title for record fifth straight year.

Orange Bowl

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Colorado 10 0 0 0 10 • Ohio State 7 10 3 7 27 Date: January 1 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL Game attendance: 65,537 Scoring summary 1 CU Zetterberg 26 yard field goal CU 3-0 1 CU Morehead 11 yard pass from Knapple (Zetterberg kick) CU 10-0 1 OSU Logan 36 yard run (Skladany kick) CU 10-7 2 OSU Skaldany 28 yard field goal Tied 10-10 2 OSU Johnson 3 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 17-10 3 OSU Skladany 20 yard field goal OSU 20-10 4 OSU Rod Gerald 4 yard run (Skladany kick) OSU 27-10

1977 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Club
Bob Brudzinski	1	23	Linebacker	Los Angeles Rams
Tom Skladany	2	46	Punter	Cleveland Browns
Pete Johnson	2	49	Running Back	Cincinnati Bengals
Giovanni Strassini	6	162	Tight End	Cleveland Browns
Ed Thompson	8	210	Linebacker	New York Jets
Nick Buonamici	9	238	Defensive Tackle	Chicago Bears

References

Win/Loss statistics

• Ohio State Historical Scores

Draft data

• Ohio State Drafted Players