1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 17–20 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 13
Record	9–3 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Earle Bruce (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Glen Mason (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Tucker (3rd season)
MVP	Keith Byars
Captains	Pepper Johnson Mark Krerowicz Kirk Lowdermilk Mike Tomczak
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium

1984 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Ohio State $	7	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Illinois	6	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Purdue	6	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 16 Iowa	5	–	3	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
Wisconsin	5	–	3	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Michigan State	5	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Michigan	5	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Indiana	0	–	9	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1985 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they lost, 20–17, to the USC Trojans.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	12:00 p.m.	Oregon State*	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	SV	W 22–14	88,072
September 15	3:30 p.m.	Washington State*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	SV	W 44–0	89,297
September 22	1:30 p.m.	No. 14 Iowa	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	SV	W 45–26	89,733
September 29	8:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 3	The Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 35–22	47,543
October 6	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 2	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		L 23–28	66,261
October 13	3:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	CBS, WOSU	W 45–38	89,937
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at Michigan State	No. 8	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 23–20	75,123
October 27	12:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 6	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	CBS	L 14–16	78,606
November 3	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 50–7	89,366
November 10	2:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 13	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 52–3	31,087
November 17	12:00 p.m.	Michigan	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	CBS	W 21–6	90,286
January 1, 1985	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 18 USC*	No. 6	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 17–20	102,594
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Depth chart

Defense
FS 12 Terry White 11 Steve Hill		OLB ILB ILB OLB 82 Byron Lee 98 Pepper Johnson 33 Larry Kolic 58 Dennis Hueston ⋅ 90 Fred Ridder 36 Chris Spielman (ankle injury) 14 Eric Kumerow					ROV 7 Sonny Gordon ⋅
CB 37 William White ⋅		DE NT DE 57 Dave Morrill 59 Tony Giuliani 97 Dave Crecelius 95 Darryl Lee 55 Ray Holliman ⋅						CB 29 Greg Rogan 8 Scott Leach
Offense
SE 2 Cris Carter 49 Doug Smith		LT LG C RG RT 75 Rory Graves 64 Jim Lachey 63 Kirk Lowdermilk 74 Scott Zalenski 73 Mark Krerowicz ⋅ ⋅ 71 Bob Maggs 56 Jim Gilmore ⋅					TE 80 Ed Taggart 85 Judd Groza	FL 1 Mike Lanese 6 Jamie Holland
				QB 15 Mike Tomczak 16 Jim Karsatos
				FB 28 Roman Bates 43 Barry Walker			Special teams PK 10 Rich Spangler P 19 Tom Tupa
				RB 41 Keith Byars 25 John Wooldridge

Coaching staff

• Earle Bruce – Head coach – 6th year
• Gary Blackney – Defensive backs (1st year)
• Bill Conley – Inside linebacker (1st year)
• Steve Devine – Offensive line (2nd year)
• Randy Hart – Defensive line (3rd year)
• Glen Mason – Offensive coordinator (7th year)
• Bill Myles – Offensive line (8th year)
• Fred Pagac – Defensive linebackers (3rd year)
• Jim Tressel – Quarterbacks (2nd year)
• Bob Tucker – Defensive coordinator (6th year)

Game summaries

Oregon State

1 2 3 4 Total Oregon State 7 7 0 0 14 • Ohio State 0 3 12 7 22 Date: September 8 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 88,297

Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Washington State 0 0 0 0 0 • Ohio State 3 20 0 21 44 Date: September 15 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 PM EDT Game attendance: 88,297

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 3 17 6 0 26 • Ohio State 10 21 7 7 45 Date: September 22 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 PM EDT Game attendance: 89,733

Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 7 14 7 7 35 Minnesota 0 7 7 8 22 Date: September 29 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis Game start: 8:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 47,543

Purdue

See also: 1984 Purdue Boilermakers football team

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes at Purdue Boilermakers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	3	7	6	23
Purdue	7	0	7	14	28

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

• Date: October 6, 1984
• Game time: 1:31 p.m.
• Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 74 °F (23 °C)
• Game attendance: 66,261
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter PUR – Steve Griffin 20-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:00. Purdue 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 1:00. OSU – Keith Byars 20-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 4:09. Tie 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 29 yards, 0:50. Second quarter OSU – Rich Spangler 34-yard field goal, 0:02. Ohio St 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 35 yards, 0:26. Third quarter OSU – Keith Byars 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 3 plays, 37 yards, 1:20. PUR – Steve Griffin 65-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), Ohio St 17–14. Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 2:54. Fourth quarter PUR – Bruce King 4-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 14:03. Purdue 21–17. Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 3:43. PUR – Rod Woodson 55-yard interception return (Mike Rendina kick), 10:03. Purdue 28–17. OSU – Cris Carter 5-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (run failed), 2:35. Purdue 28–23. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 0:52. Top passers OSU – Mike Tomczak – 20/41, 280 yards, TD, 2 INT PUR – Jim Everett – 17/23, 257 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers OSU – Keith Byars – 30 rushes, 191 yards, 2 TD PUR – Ray Wallace – 20 rushes, 89 yards Top receivers OSU – Keith Byars – 9 receptions, 102 yards PUR – Steve Griffin – 6 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 17 7 11 3 38 • Ohio State 0 21 14 10 45 Date: October 13 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3:28 Game attendance: 89,937 Game weather: Mostly sunny; 61 °F (16 °C); wind 5–6 mph (8.0–9.7 km/h) SE Referee: Otho Kortz

Scoring summary Q1 7:40 ILL Grant 3 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick) ILL 7-0 Q1 2:58 ILL White 26 yard field goal ILL 10-0 Q1 1:14 ILL Williams 10 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick) ILL 17-0 Q2 14:47 ILL Boso 8 yard pass from Trudeau (White kick) ILL 24-0 Q2 4:13 OHST Byars 16 yard run (Spangler kick) ILL 24-7 Q2 3:23 OHST Carter 33 yard pass from Tomczak ILL 24-14 Q2 :23 OHST Byars 4 yard run (Spangler kick) ILL 24-21 Q3 13:40 OHST Byars 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 28-24 Q3 10:42 ILL White 46 yard field goal OHST 28-27 Q3 8:57 OHST Byars 67 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 35-27 Q3 1:09 ILL Wilson 9 yard pass from Trudeau (Trudeau run) Tie 35-35 Q4 10:21 OHST Spangler 46 yard field goal OHST 38-35 Q4 3:18 ILL White 16 yard field goal Tie 38-38 Q4 :36 OHST Byars 3 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 45-38

• Keith Byars 39 Rush, 274 Yds
• Cris Carter 7 Rec, 134 Yds

Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 3 6 7 7 23 Michigan State 0 0 6 14 20 Date: October 20 Location: Spartan Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:45 Game attendance: 75,133 Game weather: Cloudy; 55 °F (13 °C); wind 12–17 mph (19–27 km/h) S Referee: John Nealon

Scoring summary Q1 2:14 OHST Spangler 36 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q2 2:23 OHST Spangler 42 yard field goal OHST 6–0 Q2 0:10 OHST Spangler 30 yard field goal OHST 9–0 Q3 14:13 OHST Byars 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 16–0 Q3 9:03 MSU Morse 2 yard pass from Yarema (kick failed) OHST 16–6 Q4 11:40 MSU Ingram 75 yard pass from Yarema (pass failed) OHST 16–12 Q4 4:44 OHST Tomczak 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 23–12 Q4 4:32 MSU Jackson 93 yard kickoff return (Rolle pass from Yarema) OHST 23–20

• Lanese 7 Rec, 116 Yds

Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 0 0 7 7 14 • Wisconsin 0 10 0 6 16 Date: October 27 Location: Camp Randall Stadium Game start: 12 Noon EDT Elapsed time: 3:22 Game attendance: 78,606 Referee: Tom Quinn

Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 0 0 0 7 7 • Ohio State 10 23 10 7 50 Date: November 3 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 1:30 EST Elapsed time: 2:41 Game attendance: 89,366 Referee: Jerry Hendrickson

Scoring summary Q1 10:21 OHST Spangler 36 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q1 9:24 OHST White 20 yard interception return (Spangler kick) OHST 10–0 Q2 11:04 OHST Byars 3 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 17–0 Q2 5:13 OHST Carter 44 yard pass from Tomczak (Spangler kick) OHST 24-0 Q2 1:25 OHST Walker 3 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 31–0 Q2 :25 OHST Safety, Razmic blocked punt through end zone by Richardson OHST 33–0 Q3 9:31 OHST Woolridge 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 40–0 Q3 3:42 OHST Spangler 27 yard field goal OHST 43–0 Q4 9:07 IU Brown 1 yard run (Rogers kick) OHST 43–7 Q4 1:24 OHST Delaney 2 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 50–7

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 0 21 14 17 52 Northwestern 3 0 0 0 3 Date: November 10 Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL Game start: 2:30 PM EST Elapsed time: 2:52 Game attendance: 31,087 Game weather: Overcast

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 3 3 0 6 • Ohio St 7 0 14 0 21 Date: November 17 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 90,286 Game weather: Mostly sunny; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 3 mph (4.8 km/h) W Referee: Otho Kortz

Scoring summary Q1 4:47 OHST Byars 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 7-0 Q2 :01 MICH Bergeron 37 yard field goal OHST 7-3 Q3 7:55 MICH Bergeron 45 yard field goal OHST 7-6 Q3 6:08 OHST Byars 2 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 14-6 Q3 4:43 OHST Byars 2 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 21-6

Rose Bowl

See also: 1985 Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St 3 3 3 8 17 • USC 10 7 3 0 20 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California Game start: 2:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 102,594 Game weather: Sunny; 75 °F (24 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h) S Referee: James Sprenger TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary Q1 12:08 OHST Spangler 21 yard field goal OHST 3-0 Q1 8:52 USC Jordan 51 yard field goal Tie 3-3 Q1 1:54 USC Cormier 3 yard pass from Green (Jordan kick) USC 10-3 Q2 :22 USC Ware 19 yard pass from Green (Jordan kick) USC 17-3 Q2 :00 OHST Spangler 46 yard field goal USC 17-6 Q3 8:37 OHST Spangler 52 yard field goal USC 17-9 Q3 4:05 USC Jordan 51 yard field goal USC 20-9 Q4 7:34 OHST Carter 18 yard pass from Tomczak (Spangler kick) USC 20-17

• Rich Spangler's 52 yard field goal (Rose Bowl record)
• Cris Carter 9 Rec, 172 Yds

1985 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Jim Lachey	1	12	Tackle	San Diego Chargers
Kirk Lowdermilk	3	59	Center	Minnesota Vikings
Mark Krerowicz	6	147	Guard	Cleveland Browns