The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in the

1979 Big Ten Conference football season The 1979 Big Ten Conference football season was the 84th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team c ...

. The Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record, including the

1980 Rose Bowl The 1980 Rose Bowl was It was the 66th edition of the college football bowl game, played on Tuesday, January 1, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, where they lost, 17–16, to the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

Schedule

Roster

Depth chart

1980 Ohio State Football Media Guide

Coaching staff

Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of ...

- Head Coach (1st year) *

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

- Defensive Backs (1st year) * Dennis Fryzel - Defensive Coordinator (1st year) *

Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is an American former college football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of M ...

- Offensive Line / Defensive Inside Linebackers (2nd year) *

Bill Myles William “Bill” Myles (21 November 1936 - 12 May 2020) was a former high school and college football coach and college sports administrator. Early life Bill Myles graduated from Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri in 1954. Myles's ...

- 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 Fred Zechman (born ) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at New Mexico State University from 1983 to 1985, compiling a record of 9–24. Zechman graduated from Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, where he p ...

- Quarterbacks/Receivers (1st year)

1980 NFL draftees

Game summaries

Syracuse

Minnesota

Washington State

The longest pass in school history to date, an 86-yard bomb from

Art Schlichter Arthur Ernest Schlichter (, born April 25, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts franchise. He also played one Ca ...

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.

UCLA

Northwestern

Indiana

Wisconsin

Michigan State

Illinois

Iowa

At Michigan

Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

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 Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

Rose Bowl

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Ohio State Buckeyes football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, since 1 ...