1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football Big Ten Conference Big Ten 12 15 9–3 6–2 Earle Bruce 3rd Glen Mason 2nd Dennis Fryzel 3rd Art Schlichter Glen Cobb Art Schlichter Ohio Stadium Big Ten co-championLiberty Bowl champion Liberty Bowl W 31–28 vs. Navy The 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1981 Big Ten season. In their third season under head coach Earle Bruce, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record (6–2 in conference games), tied with Iowa for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 356 to 225. They concluded the season with a 31–28 victory over Navy in the 1981 Liberty Bowl.1981 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football August 1, 2025 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/ohio-state/1981-schedule.html The team's statistical leaders included: Quarterback Art Schlichter ranked third in the conference with 2,551 passing yards and 2,509 total yards and fifth with a 52.3 pass completion percentage.1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football November 19, 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/1981.html Running back Tim Spencer led the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns and ranked second with 1,217 rushing yards and 1,427 yards from scrimmage. Wide receiver Gary Williams ranked third in the conference with 50 receptions and fourth with 941 receiving yards. Placekicker Bob Atha led the conference with 88 points scored and 44 extra points made and ranked second with 13 field goals made and a 68.4% field goal percentage. The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Ohio. Schedule 1981 AP Eastern September 12 1:30 p.m. w y 11 Duke Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH 34–13 86,266 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-buckeyes-incons/139766923/ The Akron Beacon Journal Buckeyes inconsistent in win September 13, 1981 January 28, 2024 Newspapers.com September 19 1:30 p.m. w 8 Michigan State Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH 27–13 87,084 https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-osu-flies-2713/158374549/ St. Petersburg Times OSU flies 27–13 September 20, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com September 26 4:30 p.m. w y y 8 Stanford Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA 24–19 76,102 https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-ohio-state-schlichter-b/158338367/ Chicago Tribune Ohio State, Schlichter beat Stanford, Elway September 27, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com October 3 1:30 p.m. l y 7 Florida State Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH 27–36 87,158 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-passing-marks-f/158215364/ The Akron Beacon Journal Passing marks fall; so do Buckeyes October 4, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com October 10 2:30 p.m. l y 18 Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI 21–24 78,973 https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-wisconsin-numbs-ohio-state/158376401/ News Journal Wisconsin numbs Ohio State 24–21 October 11, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com October 17 1:30 p.m. w Illinois Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Illibuck 34–27 87,158 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-ohio-state-survives-air/158376834/ The Plain Dealer Ohio State survives air assault by Illini October 18, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com October 24 1:30 p.m. w Indiana Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH 29-10 87,182 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-atha-boots-bucks/158366772/ The Cincinnati Enquirer Atha boots Bucks past Indiana, 29–10 October 25, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com October 31 12:30 p.m. w y Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN ABC 45–33 69,927 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-buckeyes-take-b/158374017/ The Akron Beacon Journal Buckeyes take Big Ten lead November 1, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com November 7 2:00 p.m. l y 18 Minnesota Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN 31–35 42,793 https://www.newspapers.com/article/springfield-news-sun-minnestas-passing/158375364/ Springfield News-Sun Minnesota's passing devastates Bucks November 8, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com November 14 1:30 p.m. w Northwestern Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH 70–6 86,912 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-marion-star-bucks-bomb-wildcats-in/158366246/ The Marion Star Bucks bomb Wildcats in 'Big Game' tuneup November 15, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com November 21 12:30 p.m. w y Michigan 7 Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI rivalry ABC 14–9 106,043 https://www.newspapers.com/article/lansing-state-journal-u-m-goes-down/158378204/ Lansing State Journal U-M goes down November 22, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com December 30 8:00 p.m. w y y 15 Navy Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl USA 31–28 43,216 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-navys-hit-b/158216645/ The Knoxville News-Sentinel Navy's hit by a Gayle (Jimmy) December 31, 1981 November 3, 2024 Newspapers.com 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football November 3, 2024 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/ohio-state/1981-schedule.html Game summaries Duke November 2018 Michigan State Michigan St 0 0 7 6 Ohio St 7 10 0 10 September 12 Ohio Stadium 87,084 Stanford Ohio State 0 17 7 0 Stanford 3 3 0 13 September 26 Stanford Stadium • Palo Alto, California ESPN yes 1 Stanford Mark Harmon 25-yard field goal Stanford 3-0 2 OSU Shaun Gayle 1-yard run (Atha kick) OSU 7-3 2 Stanford Mark Harmon 39-yard field goal) OSU 7-6 2 OSU Robert Atha 45-yard field goal OSU 10-6 2 OSU Brad Dwelle 5-yard pass from Art Schlichter (Atha kick) OSU 17-6 3 OSU Brad Dwelle 7-yard pass from Art Schlicther (Atha kick) OSU 24-6 4 Stanford Donald Lonslinger 4-yard pass from John Elway (pass failed) OSU 24-12 4 Stanford Michael Tolliver 23-yard pass from John Elway (Harmon kick) OSU 24-19 yes Florida State Florida St 10 13 13 0 Ohio State 7 14 0 6 October 3 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio USA http://www.seminoles.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/fsu-m-footbl-fsuosuhist.html Florida State University Official Athletic Site - Football 2014-04-27 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140427221727/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/fsu-m-footbl-fsuosuhist.html 2014-04-27 Wisconsin Ohio St 7 7 0 7 Wisconsin 0 17 0 7 October 10 Camp Randall Stadium 78,973 Illinois Illinois 10 10 7 0 Ohio St 21 3 7 3 October 17 Ohio Stadium Indiana Indiana 7 3 0 0 Ohio St 3 9 14 3 October 24 Ohio Stadium 87,182 At Purdue Ohio State Buckeyes 2; text-align:center collapsed Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (5–2) October 31, 1981 12:30 p.m. Ohio St 0 17 7 21 Purdue 7 7 6 13 Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana 69,927 Partly sunny, 66 F C Jerry Hendrickson ABC Al Michaels and Ara Parseghian Box Score left Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio St Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Art Schlichter 19/33, 336 Yds, 3 TD, INT Tim Spencer 22 Rush, 95 Yds, TD Gary Williams 7 Rec, 126 Yds Scott Campbell 31/52, 516 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT Jimmy Smith 11 Rush, 33 Yds Steve Bryant 10 Rec, 195 Yds, 2 TD OSU PU collapsed 1 3:11 Purdue 10 71 3:40 RecTD Cliff Benson Scott Campbell 11 good Tim Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 11:24 Ohio St 6 32 2:46 FG 53 Bob Atha 3 7 2 8:45 Ohio St 2 16 0:42 RushTD Art Schlichter 14 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 10 7 2 6:58 Ohio St 1 47 0:07 RecTD Cedric Anderson Art Schlichter 47 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 7 2 4:38 Purdue 5 70 2:20 RecTD Steve Bryant Scott Campbell 32 good Tim Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 14 3 12:24 Purdue 7 80 2:36 FG 26 Tim Clark 17 17 3 10:45 Ohio St 9 83 1:39 RushTD Jim Gayle 2 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 17 3 2:04 Purdue 6 59 1:26 FG 38 Tim Clark 24 20 4 14:45 Ohio St 9 75 2:19 RushTD Tim Spencer 2 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 31 20 4 14:32 Ohio St 1 23 0:05 RecTD Cedric Anderson Art Schlichter 23 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 38 20 4 9:10 Purdue 15 71 5:22 RushTD Wally Jones 1 pass failed 38 26 4 7:12 Purdue 2 8 0:09 RecTD Steve Bryant Scott Campbell 4 good Tim Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 38 33 4 2:19 Ohio St 5 62 1:44 RecTD John Frank Art Schlichter 29 good Bob Atha run/pass good/failed/incomplete 45 33 45 33 Minnesota 1981 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team Ohio State Buckeyes 2; text-align:center collapsed Ohio State Buckeyes at Minnesota Golden Gophers November 7 1:00 p.m. Ohio St 14 7 7 3 Minnesota 0 7 14 14 Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 42,793 Clear, 64 F C Glenn Fortin Box Score First quarter OSU – John Frank 7-yard pass from Art Schlichter (Bob Atha kick), 5:33. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards. OSU – Tim Spencer 73-yard run (Bob Atha kick), 0:00. Ohio St 14–0. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:10. Second quarter MINN – Todd Hallstrom 1-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Jim Gallery kick), 9:53. Ohio St 14–7. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:07. OSU – Tim Spencer 2-yard run (Bob Atha kick), 7:39. Ohio St 21–7. Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards, 2:14. Third quarter MINN – Jay Carroll 27-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Jim Gallery kick), 11:25. Ohio St 21–14. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 2:35. MINN – Frank Jacobs 17-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Jim Gallery kick), 8:34. Tie 21–21. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 1:20. OSU – Art Schlichter 1-yard run (Bob Atha kick), 0:30. Ohio St 28–21. Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 3:39. Fourth quarter OSU – Bob Atha 31-yard field goal, 8:18. Ohio St 31–21. Drive: 4 plays, 27 yards, 1:13. MINN – Jay Carroll 18-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Jim Gallery kick), 6:56. Ohio St 31–28. Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 1:23. MINN – Jay Carroll 28-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Jim Gallery kick), 2:38. Minnesota 35–31. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 1:03 Top passers OSU – Art Schlichter – 13/33, 169 yards, TD, INT MINN – Mike Hohensee – 37/67, 444 yards, 5 TD, INT Top rushers OSU – Tim Spencer – 16 rushes, 135 yards, 2 TD MINN – Tony Hunter – 6 rushes, 19 yards Top receivers OSU – Gary Williams – 4 receptions, 72 yards MINN – Chester Cooper – 12 receptions, 182 yards Northwestern Northwestern 0 6 0 0 Ohio St 7 28 28 7 November 14 Ohio Stadium 86,916 Michigan Ohio State 0 7 0 7 Michigan 3 0 6 0 November 21 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan 106,043 Al Michaels and Lee Grosscup ABC yes 1 MICH Ali Haji-Sheikh 19-yard field goal MICH 3-0 2 OSU Art Schlichter 1-yard run (Robert Atha kick) OSU 7-3 3 MICH Ali Haji-Sheikh 26-yard field goal OSU 7-6 3 MICH Ali Haji-Sheikh 24-yard field goal MICH 9-7 4 OSU Art Schlichter 6-yard run (Robert Atha kick) OSU 14-9 yes Liberty Bowl 1981 Liberty Bowl Ohio State 10 7 7 7 Navy 7 6 7 8 December 30 Liberty Bowl • Memphis, Tennessee Personnel Coaching staff Earle Bruce – Head Coach (3rd year) Dennis Fryzel – Defensive Coordinator (3rd year) Glen Mason – Offensive Coordinator (4th year) Bill Myles – Offensive Line (5th year) Nick Saban – Defensive Backs (2nd year) Wayne Stanley – Running Backs (3rd year) Steve Szabo – Defensive Line (3rd year) Bob Tucker – Defensive Outside Linebackers (3rd year) Fred Zechman – Quarterbacks/Receivers (3rd year) Roster 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes f 1 Sr Robert Atha QB 4 Fr James Karsatos QB 6 So Timothy Stephens QB 9 Fr Gary Alders QB 10 Sr Arthur Schlichter QB 13 Fr Walter Norley QB 32 Jr Timothy Spencer FB 38 So Vaughn Broadnax FB 42 Jr Craig Dunn FB 46 Jr Brien Smith TB 50 Sr James DeLeone C 52 Jr Bernhard Brown C 53 Jr Craig Pack C 54 Fr Timothy O'Cain TB 56 Jr Steven Simpson OG 58 So Joseph Apke C 59 Jr Gary Burris C 60 Fr Richard Czyzynski OG 61 Sr David Medich OG 63 Fr Kirk Lowdermilk OG 67 Fr Donte Wheat OG 69 So Scott Zalenski OG 72 Fr John Lucente C 73 Fr Mark Krerowicz OT 74 Jr Gary Williams SE 75 Fr Rory Graves OT 76 Jr Steven Corbin OT 77 So James Carson OT 78 So Joseph Dooley OT 79 Jr Michael Palahnuk OG 80 Jr Jeffrey McCarthy SE 81 Jr Brad Dowelie TE 84 Jr Russell Gatewood TE 85 So L. Judson Groza TE 86 Sr Ben Lee OLB 88 So Thad Jemison SE 89 So John Frank TE 90 Jr Joseph Smith OT 95 Jr Larry Phillips DT 97 Fr David Crecelius DT 99 Sr Nicholas Miller MG 27 So Douglas Hill ROV 33 Fr Larry Kolic LB 34 Fr Jay Holland CB 35 Jr Glen Cobb LB 37 So Orlando Lowry OLB 39 Sr Robert Manning OLB 41 Jr Mark Eberts CB 43 Fr James Palmer CB 44 So Rowland Tatum ROV 47 Jr Thomas Anthony CB 48 Sr Anthony Griggs OLB 49 Fr Douglas Smith S 57 Fr David Morrill DT 62 Sr Alan Balen DT 64 Fr James Lachey OT 66 So Richard Czyzynski LB 68 Fr John Sullivan DT 70 Jr Larry Roberts OT 71 Jr Scott Burrows MG 72 Fr John Lucente C 73 Fr Mark Krerowicz OT 75 Fr Rory Graves OT 77 So James Carson OT 78 So Joseph Dooley OT 79 Jr Michael Palahnuk OG 80 Jr Jeffrey McCarthy SE 81 Jr Brad Dowelie TE 82 Jr Michael Tomczak OB 84 Jr Russell Gatewood TE 85 So L. Judson Grola TE 86 Sr Ben Lee OLB 87 Fr Rory Graves OT 88 So Thad Jemison SE 89 So John Frank TE 90 Jr Joseph Smith OT 91 Fr James Gilmore DT 92 So Mark Hocevar MG 93 Fr Larry Phillips DT 94 Jr Joseph Berner LB 95 Jr Larry Phillips DT 96 Sr Michael D’Andrea DT 97 Fr David Crecelius DT 98 Sr Michael D’Andrea DE 99 Sr Nicholas Miller MG 19 Jr William Andrews PK 5 So Karl Edwards P *Earle Bruce *Glen Mason (OC) Dennis Fryzel (DC) Nick Saban (DB) Depth chart I-Formation 3-4 Yes No No Art Schlichter Mike Tomczak Tim Spencer Jimmy Gayle Vaughn Broadnax Gary Williams Thad Jemison SE Cedric Anderson FL John Frank Brad Dwelle William Roberts Jim Lachey Scott Zalenski Jim DeLeone Kirk Lowdermilk Joe Lukens Joe Smith Jim Carson Anthony Griggs Ben Lee ROLB Glen Cobb Marcus Marek Mike D’Andrea Orlando Lowry LOLB Garcia Lane Doug Hill Rowland Tatum ROV Shaun Gayle Jeff Cisco Kelvin Bell Mark Eberts Chris Riehm Nick Miller Spencer Nelms Jerome Foster Bob Atha Gary Alders Karl Edwards 85 85 No 1982 Ohio State Football Media Guide 1982 NFL draftees 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Player Round Pick Position NFL club Art Schlichter 1 4 Quarterback Baltimore Colts Anthony Griggs 4 105 Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles Bob Atha 12 317 Kicker St. Louis Cardinals References Ohio State Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football seasons Category:Big Ten Conference football champion seasons Category:Liberty Bowl champion seasons Ohio State Buckeyes football