American college football season
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 * W 31–886,205
September 15 2:30 p.m. at Minnesota No. 15 W 21–1743,926
September 22 1:30 p.m. Washington State * No. 16 W 45–2987,495
September 29 4:00 p.m. at No. 17 UCLA * No. 14 ABC W 17–1347,228
October 6 1:30 p.m. Northwestern No. 8 W 16–787,406
October 13 1:30 p.m. Indiana No. 8 W 47–687,521
October 20 1:30 p.m. Wisconsin No. 6 W 59–087,585
October 27 1:30 p.m. Michigan State No. 4 W 42–087,747
November 3 2:00 p.m. at Illinois No. 5 W 44–741,870
November 10 1:00 p.m. Iowa No. 3 W 34–787,835
November 17 12:30 p.m. at No. 13 Michigan No. 2 ABC W 18–15106,255
January 1, 1980 5:00 p.m. vs. No. 3 USC * No. 1 NBC L 16–17105,526
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Roster
1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Depth chart
Defense
CB
Mike Guess
Doyle Lewis
⋅
DE
NT
DE
Jerome Foster
Tim Sawicki
Luther Henson
Reggie Echols
Mark Sullivan
Gary Dulin
⋅
⋅
⋅
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
FB
Ricardo Volley
Paul Campbell
Cliff Belmer
[1]
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)
[2]
Game summaries
Syracuse
1
2 3 4 Total
Syracuse
0
0 8 0
8
• Ohio St
7
14 3 7
31
Date: September 8Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46Game attendance: 86,205Game weather: Partly cloudy; 67 °F (19 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) N
[3]
Minnesota
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
7
0 6 8
21
Minnesota
14
3 0 0
17
Date: September 15Location: Memorial Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:36Game attendance: 43,926Game weather: Sunny; 68 °F (20 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h) SEReferee: Otho Kertz
[4]
Washington State
1
2 3 4 Total
Wash St
3
0 10 16
29
• Ohio St
7
17 7 14
45
Date: September 22Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46Game attendance: 87,495Game weather: Overcast; 64 °F (18 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) NE
[5]
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.[6]
UCLA
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
0
7 3 7
17
UCLA
10
0 0 3
13
Date: September 29Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Game start: 1:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:46Game attendance: 47,228Game weather: Cloudy; 71 °F (22 °C); light wind SWReferee: Bill Love
[7]
Northwestern
1
2 3 4 Total
Northwestern
0
0 0 7
7
• Ohio St
10
3 0 3
16
Date: October 6Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:41Game attendance: 87,406Game weather: Partly cloudy; 58 °F (14 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) SW
[8]
[9]
Indiana
1
2 3 4 Total
Indiana
0
0 6 0
6
• Ohio St
9
17 14 7
47
Date: October 13Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:48Game attendance: 87,251Game weather: Cloudy; 44 °F (7 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h) NW
[10]
Wisconsin
1
2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin
0
0 0 0
0
• Ohio St
14
14 10 21
59
Date: October 20Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:48Game attendance: 87,585Game weather: Sunny; 77 °F (25 °C); wind 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) S
[11]
Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
Michigan St
0
0 0 0
0
• Ohio St
14
14 7 7
42
Date: October 27Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:35Game attendance: 87,747Game weather: Mostly sunny; 53 °F (12 °C); wind 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) S
[12]
Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
• Ohio St
3
14 10 17
44
Illinois
0
0 7 0
7
Date: November 3Location: Memorial Stadium Game attendance: 41,870Game weather: Clear; 51 °F (11 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h) NW
[13]
Iowa
1
2 3 4 Total
Iowa
0
0 0 7
7
• Ohio St
13
14 0 7
34
Date: November 10Location: Ohio Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:51Game attendance: 87,835Game weather: Cloudy; 41 °F (5 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) NW
[14]
At Michigan
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 .[15]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
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 .
18
15
Rose Bowl
1980 Rose Bowl
1
2 3 4 Total
• USC
3
7 0 7
17
Ohio St
0
10 3 3
16
Date: January 1Location: Rose Bowl Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 105,526TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, O.J. Simpson
[16]
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore Media People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Western Conference Big Ten Big Nine Big Ten National championships in bold