The 1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 6–4 record.
The Buckeyes entered the season knowing it could not go to a bowl game, due to the Big Ten's "no repeat" rule, prohibiting conference schools from appearing in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons, plus the rule banning schools from playing in any bowl other than the Rose Bowl. The no-repeat rule was rescinded December 9 and went into effect for 1972; the prohibition on playing in bowls other than the Rose was not repealed until 1975.
This was the first season Ohio Stadium had artificial turf. The playing surface was scheduled to be installed in time for the 1970 season, but had been delayed. The AstroTurf field remained in place through the 1989 season.
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
September 11 |
1:30 p.m. |
Iowa |
No. 11 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
|
W 52–21 |
75,596 |
September 25 |
1:30 p.m. |
No. 10 Colorado* |
No. 6 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
|
L 14–20 |
85,586 |
October 2 |
1:30 p.m. |
California* |
No. 14 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
|
W 35–3 |
86,280 |
October 9 |
2:30 p.m. |
at Illinois |
No. 15 |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) |
|
W 24–10 |
53,555 |
October 16 |
1:30 p.m. |
at Indiana |
No. 13 |
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
|
W 27–7 |
50,812 |
October 23 |
1:30 p.m. |
Wisconsin |
No. 12 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
ABC |
W 31–6 |
86,559 |
October 30 |
2:30 p.m. |
at Minnesota |
No. 10 |
Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN |
|
W 14–12 |
36,281 |
November 6 |
1:30 p.m. |
Michigan State |
No. 9 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
|
L 10–17 |
86,616 |
November 13 |
1:30 p.m. |
Northwestern |
No. 16 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
|
L 10–14 |
86,062 |
November 20 |
1:30 p.m. |
at No. 3 Michigan |
|
Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (The Game) |
|
L 7–10 |
104,016 |
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. |
Personnel
1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster |
Players |
Coaches |
Offense
Pos. | # | Name | Class |
SE |
23 |
Tom Battista |
Jr |
OG |
68 |
Charles Baxter |
So |
OT |
78 |
Charles Beecroft |
Jr |
OT |
77 |
Earl Belgrave |
Jr |
FB |
34 |
John Bledsoe |
Jr |
OG |
58 |
Charles Bonica |
Jr |
QB |
15 |
Bill Boyle |
So |
HB |
25 |
Morris Bradshaw |
So |
HB |
24 |
Tom Campagna |
Sr |
OG |
64 |
Bill Conley |
Sr |
OT |
45 |
John Cummings |
Jr |
HB |
16 |
Jeff Davis |
So |
C |
52 |
Tom DeLeone (C) |
Sr |
TE |
98 |
John Doll |
Jr |
FB |
37 |
Pat Eggers |
So |
HB |
46 |
Michael Gaffney |
So |
HB |
33 |
Richard Galbos |
Jr |
HB |
22 |
Richard Gales |
So |
OG |
66 |
Larry Graf |
Jr |
QB |
18 |
Greg Hare |
So |
SE |
85 |
Jimmie Lee Harris |
Sr |
SE |
82 |
David Hazel |
So |
OT |
75 |
John Hicks |
Jr |
OG |
57 |
Tom Houser |
Sr |
OG |
61 |
John Husband |
So |
SE |
84 |
Scott Jones |
So |
FB |
38 |
Randal Keith |
So |
OG |
63 |
Jim Kregel |
So |
QB |
19 |
Don Lamka |
Sr |
HB |
47 |
Elmer Lippert |
So |
OT |
74 |
David Long |
Sr |
C |
54 |
James Meckstroth |
So |
TE |
32 |
Richard Middleton |
So |
QB |
12 |
Ross Moore |
Jr |
OT |
72 |
Greg Mountz |
Sr |
C |
56 |
Tom Nixon |
Jr |
TE |
80 |
Fred Pagac |
So |
OG |
50 |
Tony Pistick |
Jr |
OT |
76 |
Dan Scott |
So |
OT |
73 |
Richard Simon |
Sr |
TE |
96 |
John Smurda |
So |
TE |
89 |
Mark Straka |
So |
TE |
90 |
Mervin Teague |
Jr |
OG |
60 |
Milan Vecanski |
Sr |
SE |
91 |
Dick Wakefield |
Sr |
DB |
49 |
Bill Wendorff |
So |
OG |
65 |
Tim Wersel |
Jr |
OT |
71 |
Bob Willard |
So |
|
Defense
Pos. | # | Name | Class |
DT |
99 |
Tom Baxa |
Jr |
DE |
93 |
Jeff Brown |
Jr |
CB |
29 |
Louis Cameron |
So |
DE |
86 |
Richard Cappell |
Sr |
CB |
11 |
Randall Cowman |
Jr |
DB |
8 |
Dan Cunnigham |
Sr |
DT |
69 |
Dan Cutillo |
So |
LB |
51 |
Ken Dixon |
Jr |
LB |
39 |
Richard Ferko |
Jr |
MG |
55 |
Kevin Fletcher |
Jr |
LB |
53 |
Randy Gradishar |
So |
DT |
70 |
George Hasenhorl |
Jr |
CB |
28 |
Harry Howard (C) |
Sr |
DB |
44 |
John Hughes |
Jr |
DB |
14 |
Robert Kelly |
So |
DB |
21 |
Carl Kern |
So |
CB |
20 |
Marvin Kinsey |
Jr |
LB |
62 |
Victor Koegel |
So |
S |
17 |
Martin Lucki |
Jr |
DE |
87 |
Ken Luttner |
Sr |
DE |
81 |
Tom Marendt |
So |
MG |
36 |
Glen Mason |
Sr |
CB |
30 |
Louis Mathis |
So |
DE |
95 |
Randall Patton |
So |
LB |
59 |
Fred Pisanelli |
Jr |
MG |
35 |
Rocco Rich |
So |
LB |
27 |
John Rossetti |
So |
DT |
71 |
Robert Sapanaro |
Sr |
DE |
83 |
Mike Scannell |
Jr |
DT |
97 |
Joe Sciulli |
Sr |
S |
41 |
Richard Seifert |
Jr |
DB |
26 |
Warren Sharpp |
So |
DB |
5 |
Daniel Sivinski |
Jr |
DE |
94 |
Terry Strong |
Jr |
DT |
67 |
Tom Szabo |
So |
DB |
6 |
Monty Thompson |
So |
S |
3 |
Randy Whatley |
So |
LB |
88 |
Stan White |
Sr |
DT |
78 |
Shad Williams |
Jr |
DB |
7 |
Roger Zeune |
Jr |
|
Special teams
Pos. | # | Name | Class |
PK |
2 |
Paul Johnston |
Sr |
P |
92 |
Gary Lago |
Jr |
PK |
4 |
Elliott Rice |
Jr |
PK |
1 |
Fred Schram |
Sr |
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster Last update: 2016-Oct-18 |
Game summaries
Iowa
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Iowa |
0 |
7 | 7 | 7 |
21 |
• Ohio St |
17 |
7 | 14 | 14 |
52 |
- Date: September 11
- Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
- Game start: 1:32p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:36
- Game attendance: 75,596
- Game weather: Rain, 67°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 13:07 | OHST | Schram 39-yard field goal | Ohio St 3–0 |
| Q1 | 5:39 | OHST | Bledsoe 3-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 10–0 |
| Q1 | 4:55 | OHST | Lamka 21-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 17–0 |
| Q2 | 11:37 | IOWA | Holmes 1-yard run (Kokolus kick) | Ohio St 17–7 |
| Q2 | 7:41 | OHST | Bledsoe 11-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 24–7 |
| Q3 | 13:26 | IOWA | Cabalka 10-yard pass from Sunderman (Kokolus kick) | Ohio St 24–14 |
| Q3 | 10:42 | OHST | Lamka 19-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 31–14 |
| Q3 | 5:20 | OHST | Lamka 6-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 38–14 |
| Q4 | 12:14 | OHST | Lamka 1-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 45–14 |
| Q4 | 6:55 | OHST | Lippert 10-yard run (Schram kick) | Ohio St 52–14 |
| Q4 | 3:02 | IOWA | Mitchell 6-yard run (Kokolus kick) | Ohio St 52–21 |
|
Don Lamka, who spent the last two seasons as a reserve defensive back, made his debut at quarterback with 211 total yards and four touchdowns.
[1]
[2]
Colorado
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Colorado |
6 |
7 | 0 | 7 |
20 |
Ohio State |
0 |
0 | 0 | 14 |
14 |
- Date: September 25
- Location: Ohio Stadium
- Game start: 1:31p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:29
- Game attendance: 85,586
- Game weather: Cloudy, 64°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 6:51 | COLO | Johnson 6 yard run (Kick failed) | COLO 0–6 |
| Q2 | 10:49 | COLO | Branch 68 yard punt return (Dean kick) | COLO 0–13 |
| Q4 | 4:28 | OSU | Lamka 1 yard rush (Schram kick) | COLO 7–13 |
| Q4 | 3:30 | COLO | Johnson 39 yard run (Dean kick) | COLO 7–20 |
| Q4 | 2:11 | OSU | Lamka 14 yard pass to Middleton (Schram kick) | COLO 14–20 |
|
[3]
California
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
California |
0 |
3 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
• Ohio St |
14 |
0 | 0 | 21 |
35 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 6:17 | OHST | Lamka 4 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 7–0 |
| Q1 | 1:50 | OHST | Bradshaw 12 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 14–0 |
| Q2 | 7:20 | CAL | Wersching 47 yard field goal | OHST 14–3 |
| Q4 | 13:02 | OHST | Hare 40 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 21–3 |
| Q4 | 9:39 | OHST | Bradshaw 4 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 28–3 |
| Q4 | 0:33 | OHST | Eggers 1 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 35–3 |
|
[4]
[5]
Illinois
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Ohio St |
14 |
0 | 10 | 0 |
24 |
Illinois |
0 |
3 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
- Date: October 9
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
- Game start: 1:32p.m. CST
- Elapsed time: 2:32
- Game attendance: 53,555
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, NE wind 10 mph, 53°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 11:58 | OHST | Keith 1 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 7–0 |
| Q1 | 10:09 | OHST | Keith 2 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 14–0 |
| Q2 | 9:52 | ILL | Wells 37 yard field goal | OHST 14–3 |
| Q3 | 9:47 | OHST | Hare 3 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 21–3 |
| Q3 | 6:12 | OHST | Schram 26 yard field goal | OHST 24–3 |
| Q4 | 8:22 | ILL | Navarro 1 yard run (Wells kick) | OHST 24–10 |
|
[6]
[7]
Indiana
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Ohio State |
7 |
3 | 3 | 14 |
27 |
Indiana |
0 |
0 | 7 | 0 |
7 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 11:06 | OHST | Keith 3 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 7–0 |
| Q2 | 0:10 | OHST | Schram 31 yard field goal | OHST 10–0 |
| Q3 | 12:24 | IND | St. Pierre 21 yard run (Garner kick) | OHST 10–7 |
| Q3 | 10:23 | OHST | Schram 40 yard field goal | OHST 13–7 |
| Q4 | 13:15 | OHST | Keith 1 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 20–7 |
| Q4 | 0:47 | OHST | Lamka 25 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 27–7 |
|
[8]
[9]
Wisconsin
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Wisconsin |
0 |
0 | 0 | 6 |
6 |
• Ohio St |
0 |
17 | 0 | 14 |
31 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q2 | 12:45 | OHST | Lippert 48 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 7–0 |
| Q2 | 10:37 | OHST | Bradshaw 88 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 14–0 |
| Q2 | 0:44 | OHST | Schram 41 yard field goal | OHST 17–0 |
| Q4 | 13:49 | OHST | Galbos 1 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 24–0 |
| Q4 | 1:07 | WIS | Lund 12 yard run (pass failed) | OHST 24–6 |
| Q4 | 0:55 | OHST | Bradshaw 88 yard kickoff return (Schram kick) | OHST 31–6 |
|
[10]
[11]
Minnesota
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Ohio St |
0 |
0 | 7 | 7 |
14 |
Minnesota |
0 |
6 | 0 | 6 |
12 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q2 | 1:27 | MINN | Kingsriter 31 yard pass from Curry (kick failed) | MINN 6–0 |
| Q3 | 7:42 | OHST | Wakefield 4 yard pass from Lamka (Schram kick) | OHST 7–6 |
| Q4 | 4:00 | OHST | Galbos 4 yard run (Schram kick) | OHST 14–6 |
| Q4 | 0:39 | MINN | Curry 2 yard run (run failed) | OHST 14–12 |
|
[12]
[13]
Michigan State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Michigan State |
0 |
10 | 0 | 7 |
17 |
Ohio State |
0 |
10 | 0 | 0 |
10 |
- Date: November 6
- Location: Ohio Stadium
- Game start: 1:29p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:20
- Game attendance: 86,616
- Game weather: Rain/Snow, 35°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q2 | 14:12 | MSU | Shlapak 47 yard field goal | MSU 0–3 |
| Q2 | 9:55 | OSU | Bradshaw 11 yard run (Schram kick) | OSU 7–3 |
| Q2 | 5:54 | MSU | Allen 5 yard run (Shlapak kick) | MSU 7–10 |
| Q2 | 2:32 | OSU | Shram 30 yard field goal | TIED 10–10 |
| Q4 | 14:21 | MSU | Allen 1 yard run (Shlapak kick) | MSU 17–10 |
|
[14]
Northwestern
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Northwestern |
7 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
14 |
Ohio State |
7 |
3 | 0 | 0 |
10 |
- Date: November 13
- Location: Ohio Stadium
- Game start: 1:32p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:18
- Game attendance: 86,062
- Game weather: Clear, 60°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | 4:19 | OSU | Lamka 7 run (Schram kick) | OSU 7–0 |
| Q1 | 4:05 | NW | Strunk 93 yard kick-off return (Planisek kick) | TIED 7–7 |
| Q2 | 5:13 | OSU | Schram 27 yard field goal | OSU 10–7 |
| Q4 | 7:25 | NW | Anderson 1 yard run (Planisek kick) | NW 10–14 |
|
[15]
Michigan
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Ohio State |
0 |
0 | 7 | 0 |
7 |
• Michigan |
0 |
3 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
- Date: November 20
- Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
- Game start: 1:30p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:22
- Game attendance: 104,016
- Game weather: Overcast to Sunny, winds gusty 17 mph, 32°F
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q2 | 5:19 | MICH | Coin 32 yard field goal | MICH 3–0 |
| Q3 | 2:07 | OSU | Campana 85 yard punt return (Schram kick) | OSU 3–7 |
| Q4 | 2:07 | MICH | Taylor 21 yard run (Coin kick) | MICH 10–7 |
|
[16]
References
- Win/Loss statistics
- Draft data
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National championship seasons in bold |