1976 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 27–10 vs. Colorado
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 6
Record9–2–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPBob Brudzinski
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1975
1977 →
1976 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 6 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

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

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 111:30 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 4
W 49–2186,509
September 183:30 p.m.at No. 7 Penn State*No. 2
ABCW 12–762,503
September 251:30 p.m.Missouri*No. 2
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
L 21–2287,936
October 21:30 p.m.No. 4 UCLA*No. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCT 10–1087,969
October 92:30 p.m.at IowaNo. 10
W 34–1459,170
October 162:30 p.m.at WisconsinNo. 9
W 30–2079,579
October 231:30 p.m.PurdueNo. 9
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 24–387,898
October 302:30 p.m.at IndianaNo. 8
W 47–739,663–49,254[1][2]
November 61:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 8
W 42–1087,564
November 132:00 p.m.at MinnesotaNo. 8
W 9–353,190
November 2012:30 p.m.No. 4 MichiganNo. 8
ABCL 0–2288,250
January 1, 19777:30 p.m.vs. No. 12 Colorado*No. 11
NBCW 27–1065,537
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Depth chart

[3]

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Michigan State

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At Penn State

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Missouri

Missouri Tigers (1–1) at #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Missouri 0 7 7822
Ohio St 0 21 0021

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 25, 1976
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 87,936
  • Box Score
Game information

The loss snapped 25-game home win streak

External videos
video icon Game highlights (part 1)
video icon Game highlights (part 2)
video icon Game highlights (part 3)
video icon Game film (silent)

UCLA

1 234Total
UCLA 0 037 10
Ohio St 0 703 10
Scoring summary
2OSUJohnson 4-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 7-0
3UCLACorral 47-yard field goalOSU 7-3
4UCLADankworth 1-yard run (Corral kick)UCLA 10-7
4OSUSkladany 25-yard field goalTied 10-10

[4]

At Iowa

1 234Total
• Ohio State 21 3100 34
Iowa 0 0014 14
Scoring summary
1OSUGerald 17-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 7-0
1OSUJohnson 1-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 14-0
1OSUJohnson 1-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 21-0
2OSUSkaladany 26-yard field goalOSU 24-0
3OSUSkladany 46-yard field goalOSU 27-0
3OSUJohnson 3-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 34-0
4IOWASheeler 5-yard run (Quartaro kick)OSU 34-7
4IOWACaldwell 3-yard run (Quartaro kick)OSU 34-14

[5]

At Wisconsin

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Purdue

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At Indiana

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Illinois

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At Minnesota

1 234Total
• Ohio St 3 600 9
Minnesota 0 300 3
Scoring summary
1OHSTSkladany 39-yard field goalOhio St 3-0
2MINNRogind 49-yard field goalTie 3-3
2OHSTPacenta 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.[6]

Michigan

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Orange Bowl (vs Colorado)

1 234Total
Colorado 10 000 10
• Ohio State 7 1037 27
Scoring summary
1CUZetterberg 26-yard field goalCU 3-0
1CUMorehead 11-yard pass from Knapple (Zetterberg kick)CU 10-0
1OSULogan 36-yard run (Skladany kick)CU 10-7
2OSUSkaldany 28-yard field goalTied 10-10
2OSUJohnson 3-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 17-10
3OSUSkladany 20-yard field goalOSU 20-10
4OSURod Gerald 4-yard run (Skladany kick)OSU 27-10

[7]

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
Ed Thompson 8 210 Linebacker New York Jets
Nick Buonamici 9 238 Defensive tackle Chicago Bears

References

  1. ^ Herman, Steve (October 31, 1976). "Bucks' 2nd Half Caves In On Indiana". The Marion Star. Marion, Ohio. p. 1B. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  2. ^ "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  3. ^ 1977 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  4. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1976 Oct 3.
  5. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Oct 10.
  6. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 14.
  7. ^ "My Favorite Bowl Games. Retrieved 04-May-2012". Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
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