1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion
Rose Bowl, L 17–42 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 9
Record	9–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (22nd season);
MVP	George Hasenohrl
Captains	Richard Galbos; George Hasenohrl;
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium; (Capacity: 81,667)
	Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Purdue	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–2 record, including the 1973 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost 42–17 to the USC Trojans.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	1:30 p.m.	Iowa	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 21–0	77,098
September 30	1:30 p.m.	North Carolina*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 29–14	86,180	^[1]
October 7	4:00 p.m.	at California*	No. 3	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA		W 35–18	45,000
October 14	1:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)		W 26–7	86,298
October 21	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 44–7	86,365
October 28	2:30 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 4	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 28–20	78,713
November 4	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 27–19	86,439
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at Michigan State	No. 5	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	L 12–19	76,264
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 9	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 27–14	34,475
November 25	1:00 p.m.	No. 3 Michigan	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 14–11	87,040	^[2]
January 1, 1973	4:45 p.m.	vs. No. 1 USC*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 17–42	106,869
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Depth chart

Defense

FS
Rick Seifert
Rich Parsons

WLB	MLB	SLB
Rick Middleton	Arnie Jones	Randy Gradishar
⋅	Vic Koegel	⋅

SS
Lou Mathis
Doug Plank

CB
Neal Colzie
Tim Fox

DE	DT	DT	DE
Van DeCree	Pete Cusick	George Hasenhorl	Jim Cope
Mike Scannell	Shad Williams	⋅	Tom Marendt

CB
Jeff Davis
John Hughes

Offense

SE
Mike Bartoszek
Morris Bradshaw

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Merv Teague	Jim Kregel	Steve Myers	Charles Bonica	John Hicks
Doug France	⋅	Steve Luke	Larry Wiggins	⋅

TE
Fred Pagac
Ted Powell

WB
Brian Baschnagel
Rich Galbos

QB
Greg Hare
Steve Morrison

FB
Champ Henson
Randy Keith

Special teams
PK Blair Conway
P Gary Lago
PR Neal Colzie

RB
Archie Griffin
Elmer Lippert

^[3]

Coaching staff

Woody Hayes – Head Coach (22nd year)
George Chaump – Offense (5th year)
George Hill – Defensive Coordinator (2nd year)
Rudy Hubbard – Running Backs (5th year)
Charles Clausen – Defense Line (2nd year)
Edward Ferkany – Offensive Line / Punter (1st year)
Rudy Hubbard – Running Backs (5th year)
John Mummey – Quarterbacks (4th year)
Ralph Staub – Tackles / Tight ends / Kickers (3rd year)
Dick Walker – Defensive Backs (4th year)
^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	3 (4)	3 (5)	4 (2)	5 (1)	3	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	5 (1)	5 (1)	9	9	4	3	9
Coaches	4 (2)	4 (4)	5 (2)	6 (1)	4 (1)	4	5	3	4	4	9	8	4	3	Not released

Game summaries

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	0	7	7	7	21

Date: September 16
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game start: 1:31p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:21
Game attendance: 77,098
Game weather: Clear, 74 °F (23 °C)

^[4] ^[5]

North Carolina

North Carolina Tar Heels at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
North Carolina	7	0	0	7	14
Ohio St	3	6	14	6	29

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 30, 1972
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)
Game attendance: 86,180
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UNC – Gene Brown recovered blocked punt in end zone (Ellis Alexander kick), 9:37. North Carolina 7–0.
OSU – Blair Conway 22-yard field goal, 0:06. North Carolina 7–3. Drive: 73 yards.

Second quarter

OSU – Greg Hare 17-yard run (kick failed), 11:50. Ohio St 9–7. Drive: 47 yards.

Third quarter

OSU – Randal Keith 11-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:41. Ohio St 16–7. Drive: 87 yards.
OSU – Champ Henson 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 2:00. Ohio St 23–7. Drive: 84 yards.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Archie Griffin 9-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:13. Ohio St 30–7. Drive: 31 yards.
UNC – Earle Bethea 37-yard pass from Nick Vidnovic (Ellis Alexander), 0:00. Ohio St 30–14. Drive: 1 play, 37 yards, 0:05.

Top passers

UNC – Nick Vidnovic – 4/14, 65 yards, TD, 2 INT
OSU – Greg Hare – 5/12, 96 yards, INT

Top rushers

UNC – Ike Oglesby – 14 rushes, 67 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 27 rushes, 239 yards, TD

Top receivers

UNC – Earle Bethea – 1 reception, 37 yards, TD
OSU – Richard Galbos – 3 receptions, 72 yards

Ohio State was the only team to beat the Tar Heels in 1972.^[6]

Archie Griffin set the school single game rushing record in just his second game.

California

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	3	0	19	13	35
California	0	9	3	6	18

Date: October 7
Location: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California
Game start: 1:31p.m. PST
Elapsed time: 2:44
Game attendance: 45,000
Game weather: Cloudy, warm

^[7]

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	7	0	0	7
• Ohio St	13	6	0	7	26

Date: October 14
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game start: 1:33p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:29
Game attendance: 86,298
Game weather: Cloudy, 59 °F (15 °C)

^[8] ^[9]

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	0	7	0	0	7
• Ohio St	14	3	14	13	44

Date: October 21
Location: Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio
Game start: 1:32p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:18
Game attendance: 86,365
Game weather: Cloudy, 51 °F (11 °C)

^[10] ^[11]

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	14	14	0	0	28
Wisconsin	0	7	7	6	20

Date: October 28
Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
Game start: 1:31p.m. CST
Elapsed time: 2:36
Game attendance: 78,713
Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 12 mph (19 km/h) wind, 47 °F (8 °C)

^[12] ^[13] ^[14]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	13	0	0	6	19
• Ohio State	7	14	0	6	27

Date: November 4
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:31p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:17
Game attendance: 86,439
Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)

^[15]

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio State	3	9	0	0	12
• Michigan State	6	6	7	0	19

Date: November 11
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Game start: 1:00p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:45
Game attendance: 76,264
Game weather: Cloudy, WNW wind 10 mph (16 km/h), 41 °F (5 °C)

^[16]

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	7	0	13	7	27
Northwestern	0	7	7	0	14

Date: November 18
Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
Game start: 1:00p.m. CST
Elapsed time: 2:29
Game attendance: 34,475
Game weather: Cloudy, cold

^[17]

Michigan

Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	0	3	8	0	11
Ohio St	0	7	7	0	14

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: November 25, 1972
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Rain, 39 °F (4 °C)
Game attendance: 87,040
Referee: Ross Dean (Big Ten)
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson
Box Score

Game information

Second quarter

MICH – Mike Lantry 35-yard field goal, 14:13. Michigan 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, 1:36.
OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 4:30. Ohio St 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 46 yards, 3:44.

Third quarter

OSU – Archie Griffin 30-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 12:32. Ohio St 14–3. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 2:18.
MICH – Ed Shuttlesworth 1-yard run (pass good), 4:48. Ohio St 14–11. Drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, 7:35.

Top passers

MICH – Dennis Franklin – 13/23, 160 yards
OSU – Greg Hare – 1/3, 17 yards, INT

Top rushers

MICH – Chuck Heater – 14 rushes, 65 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 17 rushes, 75 yards, TD

Top receivers

MICH – Paul Seal – 4 receptions, 60 yards
OSU – Archie Griffin – 1 reception, 17 yards

Ohio State made two goal line stands, one in each half, to hold on to the 14–11 victory. The first came just before halftime as Dennis Franklin fumbled on fourth down at the two. In the fourth quarter, Randy Gradishar stopped Franklin on a sneak from the one. The Buckeyes' fans tore down the goal posts with 13 seconds remaining. ^[18]

Vs. No. 1 USC (Rose Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Buckeyes	0	7	3	7	17
• No. 1 Trojans	7	0	21	14	42

Date: January 1, 1973
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Game start: 2:00p.m. PST
Game attendance: 106,869
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis

draft picks

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Rick Seifert	8	194	Defensive back	New York Jets
George Hasenohrl	8	198	Defensive tackle	New York Giants
John Bledsoe	8	203	Running back	Detroit Lions
Rich Galbos	9	218	Running back	Washington Redskins
Earl Belgrave	17	435	Tackle	Detroit Lions

References

^ "Frosh find leads Beckeyes by N.C." The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Curt Sylvester (November 26, 1972). "Bye, Roses! M Loses, 14-11: Goal-Line Stands Send OSU To Bowl". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 7E – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b 1973 Ohio State Media Guide
^ Palm Beach Post. 1972 September 17.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Freshman sparkles." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Sept 30.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 15.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 22.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 29.
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1972 Oct 29.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Palm Beach Post. 1972 Nov 19.
^ "Everything Just Rosy for Ohio State." Palm Beach Post. 1972 Nov 26.

[1] "Frosh find leads Beckeyes by N.C." The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] Curt Sylvester (November 26, 1972). "Bye, Roses! M Loses, 14-11: Goal-Line Stands Send OSU To Bowl". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 7E – via Newspapers.com.

[RecordBook-3] 1973 Ohio State Media Guide

[4] Palm Beach Post. 1972 September 17.

[5] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[6] "Freshman sparkles." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Sept 30.

[7] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 15.

[9] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[10] Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 22.

[11] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[12] Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 29.

[13] Ocala Star-Banner. 1972 Oct 29.

[14] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[15] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[16] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[17] Palm Beach Post. 1972 Nov 19.

[18] "Everything Just Rosy for Ohio State." Palm Beach Post. 1972 Nov 26.

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v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Illinois: Battle for Illibuck Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold