1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an American football team that represented the Ohio State University in the 1968 Big Ten Conference football season. It is considered one of the strongest in OSU history, fielding 11 All-Americans and six first-round NFL draft picks. With quarterback Rex Kern and running back Jim Otis leading a powerful OSU offense and Jack Tatum on defense, Woody Hayes' Buckeyes capped an undefeated season with a dominating 50–14 victory over archrival Michigan and a come-from-behind 27–16 victory over Southern California in the 1969 Rose Bowl to secure the national title.[1] This was also the first year the Buckeye players were awarded Buckeye pride stickers for their helmets, each one a reward for a good play. This would be Ohio State's last outright national championship until 2002. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year for the Buckeyes was their upset of #1 Purdue in their third game.

1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Consensus national champion
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 27–16 vs. USC
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1968 record10–0 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPMark Stier
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 81,455)
1968 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 7 –0 –0  10 –0 –0
No. 12 Michigan 6 –1 –0  8 –2 –0
No. 10 Purdue 5 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
Minnesota 5 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
Indiana 4 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Iowa 4 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Michigan State 2 –5 –0  5 –5 –0
Illinois 1 –6 –0  1 –9 –0
Northwestern 1 –6 –0  1 –9 –0
Wisconsin 0 –7 –0  0 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 281:30 p.m.SMU*No. 11
W 35–1473,855
October 51:30 p.m.Oregon*No. 6
W 21–670,191
October 121:30 p.m.No. 1 PurdueNo. 4
W 13–084,834
October 192:20 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 2
ABCW 45–2183,454
October 262:30 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 2
W 31–2456,174
November 21:30 p.m.No. 16 Michigan StateNo. 2
W 25–2084,859
November 92:30 p.m.at WisconsinNo. 2
W 43–840,972
November 162:30 p.m.at IowaNo. 2
W 33–2744,131
November 231:30 p.m.No. 4 MichiganNo. 2
W 50–1485,371
January 1, 19695:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 USC*No. 1
NBCW 27–16102,063
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Personnel
1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
E 85 Charles Aldrin So
OG 57 Thomas Backhus Jr
HB 19 Ed Bender Sr
HB 48 Jay Bombach Sr
HB 42 John Brockington So
HB 12 Dave Brungard Jr
OG 75 Dave Cheney So
FB 36 Rich Cunningham So
OG 66 Brian Donovan So
OT 70 Dave Foley (C) Sr
HB 11 Ray Gillian Jr
HB 44 Horatius Greene Jr
OT 65 Randy Hart Jr
HB 22 Leo Hayden So
FB 34 Paul Huff Jr
OT 72 Charles Hutchison Jr
OG 61 Alan Jack Jr
E 82 Bruce Jankowski So
QB 10 Rex Kern So
E 81 Dick Kuhn So
OG 64 Ted Kurz So
QB 24 Bill Long Sr
QB 18 Ron Maciejowski So
OT 73 Rufus Mayes Sr
C 55 John Muhlbach Sr
OT 76 Jim Opperman So
FB 35 Jim Otis Jr
C 58 Larry Qualls So
C 52 Jim Roman Sr
OT 59 Gary Roush Sr
HB 23 Kevin Rusnak Jr
E 87 Robert Smith Sr
E 92 John Stowe Sr
OG 62 Phil Strickland So
OT 71 Rich Troha So
E 80 Jan White So
HB 16 Larry Zelina So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 63 Doug Adams So
CB 26 Tim Anderson So
DE 86 Dan Aston Jr
LB 33 Tom Bartley Sr
LB 21 Arthur Burton Jr
CB 47 Jim Coburn So
DE 83 Mark Debevc So
DT 78 John Dombos So
DE 90 Tom Ecrement So
S 28 Jerry Ersham Sr
LB 39 James Gentile Jr
LB 51 Bill Hackett Jr
MG 67 Ralph Halloway So
DT 77 Brad Nielsen Jr
CB 15 Mike Polaski Jr
CB 46 Ted Provost Jr
S 43 Rich Quilling Jr
LB 55 Mike Radtke Jr
DE 89 Nick Roman Sr
DT 74 Paul Schmidlin Jr
S 3 Mike Sensibaugh So
DT 50 Butch Smith Jr
DE 91 John Sobolewski Sr
LB 54 Mark Stier Sr
MG 68 Jim Stillwagon So
MG 69 Vic Stottlemeyer Sr
LB 32 Jack Tatum So
CB 17 Bob Trapuzzano Jr
DT 79 Bill Urbanik Jr
CB 41 Tim Wagner So
DE 88 Dave Whitfield Jr
LB 56 Dirk Worden (C) Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2016-Feb-12

Game summaries

SMU
See also: 1968 SMU Mustangs football team
SMU Mustangs at #11 Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0)
1 2 34Total
SMU 0 7 7014
Ohio St 14 12 0935

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 28
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Clear • 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind N 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn) to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
  • Game attendance: 73,855
  • TV: WOSU-TV
  • Ohio State Football Archive

Oregon
See also: 1968 Oregon Webfoots football team
Oregon at No. 6 Ohio State
1 234Total
Oregon 0 600 6
• No. 6 Ohio State 7 077 21

[2]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU ORE
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 0 2
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU ORE
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Purdue
See also: 1968 Purdue Boilermakers football team
No. 1 Purdue at No. 4 Ohio State
1 234Total
No. 1 Purdue 0 000 0
• No. 4 Ohio State 0 0130 13

[3]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU PUR
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 0 2
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU PUR
Passing
Rushing Jim Otis (144)
Receiving

Northwestern
See also: 1968 Northwestern Wildcats football team
Northwestern at No. 2 Ohio State
1 234Total
Northwestern 7 770 21
• No. 2 Ohio State 6 15618 45
  • Date: October 19, 1968
  • Location:
    Ohio Stadium
    Columbus, OH
  • Game start: 2:20 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 83,454
  • Game weather: 65°F; wind 5–15 W
  • Television network: ABC

[4]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU NW
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 0 2
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU NW
Passing
Rushing Rex Kern (121)
Receiving

Illinois
See also: 1968 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illibuck Trophy
No. 2 Ohio State at Illinois
1 234Total
• No. 2 Ohio State 3 2107 31
Illinois 0 0168 24

[5]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU ILL
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 2 3
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU ILL
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Michigan State
See also: 1968 Michigan State Spartans football team
No. 16 Michigan State at No. 2 Ohio State
1 234Total
No. 16 Michigan State 0 7130 20
• No.2 Ohio State 7 1260 25

[6]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU MSU
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 2 6
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU MSU
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Wisconsin
See also: 1968 Wisconsin Badgers football team
No. 2 Ohio State at Wisconsin
1 234Total
• No. 2 Ohio State 10 02013 43
Wisconsin 0 008 8

[7]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU WISC
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 0 4
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU WISC
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Iowa
See also: 1968 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
No. 2 Ohio State at Iowa
1 234Total
• No. 2 Ohio State 6 6147 33
Iowa 0 0621 27

[8][9]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU Iowa
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 2 3
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU Iowa
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Michigan
See also: 1968 Michigan Wolverines football team and The Game
No. 4 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State
1 234Total
No. 4 Michigan 7 700 14
• No. 2 Ohio State 7 14623 50

[10] [11]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU MICH
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 3 4
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU MICH
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Rose Bowl
See also: 1968 USC Trojans football team and 1969 Rose Bowl
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 USC
1 234Total
• No. 1 Ohio State 0 10314 27
No. 2 USC 0 1006 16
  • Date: January 1, 1969
  • Location:
    Rose Bowl
    Pasadena, CA
  • Game start: 5:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 102,063
  • Game weather: Sunny; 84°F
  • Referee: Charles Moffett
  • Television network: NBC

[12]


Game Statistics

Statistic OSU USC
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Penalties
Turnovers 0 5
Time of Possession

Game Leaders

Statistic OSU USC
Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Statistical leaders
  • Scoring-Jim Otis
  • Rushing-Jim Otis
  • Passing-Rex Kern
  • Receiving-Bruce Jankowski

Players in the 1969 NFL Draft
See also: 1969 NFL Draft
PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL club
Rufus Mayes114TackleChicago Bears
Dave Foley126TackleNew York Jets
Steve Howell10239Tight endCincinnati Bengals

References
  1. OSU Football National Championships Archived 2008-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio State University Archives
  2. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  3. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  4. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  5. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  6. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  7. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  8. "Ohio State '68: All the Way to the Top." Greenberg, Steve and Larry Zelina. 1998.
  9. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  10. "Ohio St Shocks Michigan, 50-14." The Palm Beach Post. 1968 Nov 25.
  11. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
  12. Ohio State Football Archives. Retrieved 2018-Oct-1.
Win/Loss statistics
Draft data
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