American college football season
The 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season . The Buckeyes compiled a 10–0–1 record, including the 1974 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California , where they won, 42–21, against the USC Trojans . The Ohio State Buckeyes were named national champion by the National Championship Foundation, Poling System, David Rothman (statistician) and the Sagarin Ratings, but this championship is not claimed by Ohio State.
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 15 1:30 p.m. Minnesota No. 3 W 56–786,005 September 29 1:30 p.m. TCU * No. 3 W 37–387,439 October 6 1:30 p.m. Washington State * No. 1 W 27–387,425 October 13 2:00 p.m. at Wisconsin No. 1 W 24–077,413 October 20 1:30 p.m. at Indiana No. 1 W 37–753,183 October 27 1:30 p.m. Northwestern No. 1 W 60–087,453 November 3 2:00 p.m. at Illinois No. 1 W 30–060,707 November 10 1:30 p.m. Michigan State No. 1 W 35–087,600 November 17 1:30 p.m. Iowa No. 1 W 55–1387,447 November 24 12:30 p.m. at No. 4 Michigan No. 1 ABC T 10–10105,223 January 1, 1974 5:00 p.m. vs. No. 7 USC * No. 4 NBC W 42–21105,267 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 95 Richard Applegate DL 92 Marvin Battle LB 37 Brian Bowers DL 84 Robert Brudzinski DL 75 Nick Buonamici DB 23 Craig Cassady DL 78 Robert Coan CB 20 Neal Colzie DE 91 Jim Cope LB 98 James Cramer DL 90 Patrick Curto DT 71 Pete Cusick DT 67 Dan Cutillo DB 16 Jeff Davis DB 29 Jerome Davis DE 88 Van DeCree S 12 Tim Fox DB 25 Robert Gentry LB 53 Randy Gradishar LB 42 Arnie Jones DL 49 Larry Kain DL 14 Robert Kelly DB 21 Carl Kern LB 62 Vic Koegel LB 54 Ken Kuhn DB 46 Steve Luke DL 81 Thomas Marendt DB 30 Lou Mathis LB 32 Rick Middleton (C) DB 11 Max Midlam DL 79 Craig Nemitz DL 99 Lawrence O'Rourke DB 24 Rich Parsons DB 28 Doug Plank LB 35 Rocco Rich DB 43 Bruce Ruhl LB 97 Ted Smith LB 39 Harold Thornton DB 6 Monty Thompson DL 93 Edward Trepanier DL 83 Louis Willott
Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Blair Conway P 5 Mike Keeton K Tom Klaban P 1 Tom Skladany Fr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
Game information First quarter
OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:24. Ohio State 7–0. Drive: OSU – Cornelius Greene 4-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:44. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: Second quarter
MINN – John King 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick), 12:59. Ohio State 14–7. Drive: OSU – Archie Griffin 93-yard kickoff return (Blair Conway kick), 12:45. Ohio State 21–7. OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:51. Ohio State 28–7. Drive: OSU – Brian Baschnagel 5-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:00. Ohio State 35–7. Drive: Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 78-yard punt return (Blair Conway kick), 5:36. Ohio State 42–7. Fourth quarter
OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:39. Ohio State 49–7. Drive: OSU – Billy Ezzo 55-yard pass from Greg Hare (Blair Conway kick), 1:51. Ohio State 56–7. Drive: Top passers MINN – John Lawing – 5/9, 31 yards, INT OSU – Greg Hare – 2/2, 64 yards, TD Top rushers MINN – John King – 17 rushes, 51 yards, TD OSU – Archie Griffin – 15 rushes, 129 yards Top receivers MINN – Keith Fahnhorst – 3 receptions, 23 yards OSU – Billy Ezzo – 1 reception, 55 yards, TD
[ 1]
TCU Horned Frogs (1–0) at #3 Ohio State Buckeyes (1–0)
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : September 29Game time : 1:30 p.m.Game weather : Rain, 78 °F (26 °C)Game attendance : 87,439
Game information First quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 68-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 12:17. Ohio State 7–0. Drive: OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:42. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: 69 yards. Second quarter
TCU – Berl Simmons 23-yard field goal, 9:18. Ohio State 14–3. Drive: OSU – Cornelius Greene 72-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:02. Ohio State 21–3. Drive: OSU – Cornelius Greene 8-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:33. Ohio State 28–3. Drive: OSU – Blair Conway 37-yard field goal, 0:00. Ohio State 31–3. Drive: Third quarter
Fourth quarter
OSU – Fred Pagac 13-yard pass from Greg Hare (kick failed), 6:25. Ohio State 37–3. Drive: Top passers TCU – Kent Marshall – 7/17, 54 yards OSU – Cornelius Greene – 3/6, 34 yards, INT Top rushers TCU – Mike Luttrell – 14 rushes, 44 yards OSU – Archie Griffin – 14 rushes, 119 yards, TD Top receivers TCU — John Ott – 2 receptions, 20 yards OSU – Ted Powell – 1 reception, 22 yards
Washington State Cougars (1–2) at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : October 6Game weather : Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)Game attendance : 87425Box Score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 17-yard run (kick failed), 7:14. Ohio State 6–0. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards. OSU – Archie Griffin 6-yard pass from Cornelius Greene (pass good), 3:20. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards. WSU – Joe Danelo 41-yard field goal, 0:22. Ohio State 14–3. Drive: 40 yards. Third quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 26-yard run (kick blocked), 9:21. Ohio State 20–3. Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards. OSU – Bruce Elia 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:13. Ohio State 27–3. Drive: 3 plays, 33 yards. Fourth quarter
Top passers WSU – Wally Bennett – 7/11, 50 yards, INT OSU – Cornelius Greene – 3/6, 62 yards, TD, INT Top rushers WSU – Andrew Jones – 17 rushes, 64 yards OSU – Archie Griffin – 15 rushes, 128 yards, TD Top receivers WSU – Fritz Brayton – 6 receptions, 45 yards OSU – Dave Hazel – 1 reception, 49 yards
[ 2]
Game information First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:18. Ohio State 7–0. Drive: Second quarter
Third quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 11:29. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: Fourth quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 36-yard field goal, 11:12. Ohio State 17–0. Drive: OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:09. Ohio State 24–0. Drive: Top passers OSU – Cornelius Greene – 1/6, 22 yard, INT WIS – Gregg Bohlig – 9/18, 98 yards, INT Top rushers Top receivers OSU – Fred Pagac – 1 reception, 22 yards WIS – Art Sanger – 2 receptions, 35 yards
Game information First quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 6-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 7:29. Ohio State 7–0. Drive: Second quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 37-yard field goal, 13:05. Ohio State 10–0. Drive: OSU – Cornelius Greene 11-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:26. Ohio State 17–0. Drive: OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:36. Ohio State 24–0. Drive: Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 55-yard interception return (Blair Conway kick), 14:14. Ohio State 31–0. Fourth quarter
IND – Trent Smock 51-yard pass from Mike Flanagan (Frank Stavroff kick), 7:50. Ohio State 31–7. Drive: OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (kick failed), 3:18. Ohio State 37–7. Drive: Top passers OSU – Greg Hare – 1/2, 39 yards IND – Mike Glazier – 9/18, 84 yards, 2 INT Top rushers OSU – Archie Griffin – 25 rushes, 130 yards IND – Courtney Snyder – 16 rushes, 81 yards Top receivers OSU – John Smurda – 2 receptions, 42 yards IND – Trent Smock – 4 receptions, 70 yards, TD
[ 3]
Northwestern Wildcats (2–4) at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–0)
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : October 27Game time : 1:35 p.m.Game weather : Cloudy, 61 °F (16 °C)Game attendance : 87,453Box Score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:10. Ohio State 7–0. Drive: OSU – Archie Griffin 18-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 6:40. Ohio State 14–0. Drive: OSU – Tim Fox 20-yard blocked punt return (kick failed), 5:21. Ohio State 20–0. OSU – Brian Baschnagel 4-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 1:27. Ohio State 27–0. Drive: Third quarter
OSU – Neal Colzie 19-yard interception return (Blair Conway kick), 14:49. Ohio State 34–0. OSU – Cornelius Greene 55-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 11:36. Ohio State 41–0. Drive: OSU – Archie Griffin 2-yard run (kick failed), 7:39. Ohio State 47–0. Drive: OSU – Elmer Lippert 5-yard run (kick failed), 3:09. Ohio State 53–0. Drive: Fourth quarter
OSU – Morris Bradshaw 8-yard pass from Greg Hare (Blair Conway kick), 11:13. Ohio State 60–0. Drive: Top passers NW – Mitch Anderson – 3/9, 37 yards, 2 INT OSU – Greg Hare – 4/6, 71 yards, TD Top rushers NW – Jim Trimble – 8 rushes, 36 yards OSU – Archie Griffin – 17 rushes, 105 yards, 2 TD Top receivers NW – Steve Harris – 2 receptions, 29 yards OSU – Tim Holycross – 2 receptions, 60 yards
[ 4]
Game information First quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 25-yard field goal, 7:18. Ohio State 3–0. Second quarter
Third quarter
OSU – Archie Griffin 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:14. Ohio State 10–0. Drive: 41 yards. Fourth quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 7-yard run (kick failed), 14:15. Ohio State 16–0. Drive: 16 yards. OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:36. Ohio State 23–0. Drive: 31 yards. OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 5:42. Ohio State 30–0. Drive: 31 yards. Top passers OSU – Dave Purdy – 2/4, 18 yards ILL – Jeff Hollenbach – 3/11, 27 yards, INT Top rushers Top receivers OSU – Fred Pagac – 1 reception, 12 yards ILL – Garvin Roberson – 2 receptions, 15 yards
[ 5]
Michigan State Spartans (3–5) at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–0)
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : November 10Game time : 1:30 p.m.Game weather : 36 °F (2 °C)Game attendance : 87,600Box Score
Game information First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 3:24. Ohio St 7–0. Second quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 9:26. Ohio St 14–0. OSU – Neal Colzie 43-yard punt return (Blair Conway kick), 2:08. Ohio St 21–0. Third quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:57. Ohio St 28–0. Fourth quarter
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 13:53. Ohio St 35–0. Top passers Top rushers MSU – Mike Holt – 13 rushes, 52 yards OSU – Archie Griffin – 21 rushes, 131 yards Top receivers MSU – Mike Cobb – 1 reception, 6 yards OSU – Elmer Lippert – 1 reception, 20 yards
[ 6]
Iowa Hawkeyes (0–9) at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (8–0)
at Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Date : November 17Game time : 12:30 p.m. CSTGame weather : Clear, 42 °F (6 °C)Game attendance : 87,447Box Score
Game information First quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:21. Ohio State 7–0. OSU – Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:30. Ohio State 14–0. Second quarter
OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (kick failed), 2:27. Ohio State 20–0. OSU – Dave Hazel 41-yard run pass from Cornelius Greene (Blair Conway kick), 0:07. Ohio State 27–0. Third quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 7:38. Ohio State 34–0. OSU – Archie Griffin 8-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:49. Ohio State 41–0. OSU – Bruce Elia 3-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:34. Ohio State 48–0. Fourth quarter
IOWA – Bill Schultz 78-yard pass from Butch Caldwell (Harry Kokolus kick), 14:48. Ohio State 48–7. IOWA – Rod Wellington 2-yard run (pass failed), 8:22. Ohio State 48–13. OSU – Elmer Lippert 12 yard run (Tom Klaban kick), 6:44. Ohio State 55–13. Top passers IOWA – Butch Caldwell – 6/17, 129 yards, TD OSU – Cornelius Greene – 1/3, 41 yards Top rushers IOWA – Rod Wellington – 24 rushes, 117 yards OSU – Archie Griffin – 30 rushes, 246 yards, TD Top receiver IOWA – Bill Schultz – 1 reception, 78 yards, TD OSU – Dave Hazel – 1 reception, 41 yards, TD
[ 7]
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (9–0) at #4 Michigan Wolverines (10–0)
at Michigan Stadium , Ann Arbor, Michigan
Date : November 24Game time : 12:05 p.m. ESTGame weather : Cloudy, 50 °F (10 °C)Game attendance : 105,223TV : ABCBox Score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
OSU – Blair Conway 31-yard field goal, 11:04. Ohio State 3–0. OSU – Pete Johnson 5-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:53. Ohio State 10–0. Third quarter
Fourth quarter
MICH – Mike Lantry 30-yard field goal, 14:23. Ohio State 10–3. MICH – Dennis Franklin 10-yard run (Mike Lantry kick), 9:32. Tie 10–10. Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
Cornelius Greene played with injured thumb (did not attempt a pass) [ 8]
[ edit ] Game information First quarter
USC – Chip Limahelu 47-yard field goal, 12:27. USC 3–0. OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick). Ohio State 7–3. Drive: 18 plays, 80 yards. Second quarter
USC – Chip Limahelu 42-yard field goal. Ohio State 7–6 USC – J.K. McKay 10-yard pass from Anthony Davis (pass good), 5:16. USC 14–7. OSU – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:49. Tie 14–14. Drive: 12 plays. Third quarter
USC – Anthony Davis 1-yard run (Chip Limahelu kick), 6:30. USC 21–14. Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards. OSU – Pete Johnson 4-yard run (kick failed), 4:53. USC 21–20. Drive: 4 plays, 79 yards. OSU – Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:12. Ohio State 27–21. Fourth quarter
OSU – Bruce Elia 2-yard run (run good), 10:38. Ohio State 35–21. OSU – Archie Griffin 47-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:35. Ohio State 42–21. Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
MVP - Cornelius Greene 174 yards total offense, rush TD [ 9]
^ "Ohio State Powers to 56-7 Romp Over Gophers." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Sept 16. ^ "Sub Fullback leads Buckeyes to Victory." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 7. Retrieved 2015-Nov-05. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Oct 21. ^ "Ohio State Hits Quickly." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 28. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 4. ^ "Colzie, Griffin Lead Ohio State to Victory." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 11. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Nov 18. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Nov 25. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1974 Jan 2.
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