1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Consensus national champion Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 27–16 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	10–0 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (18th season)
MVP	Mark Stier
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ←  1967 1969  →

1968 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		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

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 defending national champion USC 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 No. 1 Purdue in their third game.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	1:30 p.m.	SMU *	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 35–14	73,855	[2]
October 5	1:30 p.m.	Oregon *	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 21–6	70,191
October 12	1:30 p.m.	No. 1 Purdue	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 13–0	84,834
October 19	2:20 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 2	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 45–21	83,454
October 26	2:30 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)		W 31–24	56,174
November 2	1:30 p.m.	No. 16 Michigan State	No. 2	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 25–20	84,859
November 9	2:30 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 2	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 43–8	40,972
November 16	2:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 2	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 33–27	44,131
November 23	1:30 p.m.	No. 4 Michigan	No. 2	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)		W 50–14	85,371
January 1, 1969	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 USC *	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 27–16	102,063	[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

SMU

See also: 1968 SMU Mustangs football team

SMU Mustangs at #11 Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
SMU	0	7	7	0	14
Ohio St	14	12	0	9	35

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

Game information
SMU Hixson 37/69, 417 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT Richardson 11 rush, 62 yards Levias 15 rec, 160 yards Ohio St Kern 8/14, 139 yards, 2 TD Brungard 14 rush, 101 yards, TD Brockington 2 rec, 54 yards

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SMU OSU 1 3:22 10 80 Ohio St Kern 2-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick good 0 7 1 0:46 7 28 Ohio St Otis 9-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick good 0 14 2 13:17 SMU Fleming 8-yard touchdown reception from Hixson, Lesser kick good 7 14 2 12:29 3 54 Ohio St Brungard 41-yard touchdown run, Merryman kick no good (blocked) 7 20 2 0:35 15 72 Ohio St Brungard 18-yard touchdown reception from Kern, Merryman kick no good (miss right) 7 26 3 0:21 7 49 SMU Fleming 6-yard touchdown reception from Hixson, Lesser kick good 14 26 4 7:55 Ohio St Hixson tackled in end zone for a safety by Debevc 14 28 4 6:45 4 43 Ohio St Brungard 20-yard touchdown reception from Kern, Merryman kick good 14 35 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 35

Oregon

See also: 1968 Oregon Ducks football team

Oregon at No. 6 Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	6	0	0	6
•No. 6 Ohio State	7	0	7	7	21

• Date: October 5, 1968
• Location:
  Ohio Stadium
  Columbus, OH
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Game attendance: 70,191
• Game weather: Sunny; 50 °F (10 °C); wind 9 mph NW
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	13:38	OSU	Pulaski 12 yard blocked punt return (Merryman kick)	OSU 7–0
Q2	:55	ORE	Schuler 14 yard pass from Harrington (kick failed)	OSU 7–6
Q3	3:19	OSU	Otis 35 yard run (Merryman kick)	OSU 14–6
Q4	13:34	OSU	Jankowski 55 yard pass from Maciejowski (Merryman kick)	OSU 21–6

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Purdue	0	0	0	0	0
•No. 4 Ohio State	0	0	13	0	13

• Date: October 12, 1968
• Location:
  Ohio Stadium
  Columbus, OH
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Game attendance: 84,834
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); no wind
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q3	13:34	OSU	Provost 34 yard interception return (kick failed)	OSU 6–0
Q4	3:55	OSU	Long 14 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 13–0

• Jim Otis 29 rush, 144 yards

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	7	7	7	0	21
•No. 2 Ohio State	6	15	6	18	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 (18 °C); wind 5–15 mph W
• Television network: ABC

Scoring summary

Q1	7:08	OSU	White 72 yard pass from Kern (kick failed)	OSU 6–0
Q1	2:59	NW	Harrington 14 yard pass from Shelburne (Emmerich kick)	NW 7–6
Q2	7:56	OSU	Kern 7 yard run (Long pass from Zelina)	OSU 14–7
Q2	5:49	NW	Shelburne 4 yard run (Emmerich kick)	Tie 14–14
Q2	2:50	OSU	Otis 6 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 21–14
Q3	3:38	OSU	Jankowski 23 yard pass from Kern (kick failed)	OSU 27–14
Q3	:07	NW	Hittman 7 yard pass from Shelburne (Emmerich kick)	OSU 27–21
Q4	11:49	OSU	Otis 6 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 33–21
Q4	4:34	OSU	Hayden 3 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 39–21
Q4	2:13	OSU	Bender 37 yard pass from Maciejowski (kick failed)	OSU 45–21

• Rex Kern 20 rush, 121 yards

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

No. 2 Ohio State at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 2 Ohio State	3	21	0	7	31
Illinois	0	0	16	8	24

• Date: October 26, 1968
• Location:
  Memorial Stadium
  Champaign, IL
• Game start: 2:30 p.m. EDT
• Game attendance: 56,174
• Game weather: Clear; 55 °F (13 °C); wind 8–15 mph SW
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	2:21	OSU	Roman 21 yard field goal	OSU 3–0
Q2	13:55	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 10–0
Q2	9:57	OSU	Kern 11 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 17–0
Q2	2:35	OSU	Kern 16 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 24–0
Q3	11:11	ILL	Johnson 2 yard run (Johnson run)	OSU 24–8
Q3	:21	ILL	Naponic 2 yard run (Naponic run)	OSU 24–16
Q4	4:38	ILL	Bargo 2 yard run (Bargo run)	Tie 24–24
Q4	1:30	OSU	Otis 2 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 31–24

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Michigan State	0	7	13	0	20
•No.2 Ohio State	7	12	6	0	25

• Date: November 2, 1968
• Location:
  Ohio Stadium
  Columbus, OH
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 84,859
• Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C); wind 5 mph SW
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	13:17	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 7–0
Q2	13:36	OSU	Jankowski 8 yard pass from Kern (kick failed)	OSU 13–0
Q2	5:51	MSU	Tripplett 1 yard run (Boyce kick)	OSU 13–7
Q2	1:16	OSU	Otis 3 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 19–7
Q3	9:17	MSU	Foreman 13 yard pass from Tripplett (Boyce kick)	OSU 19–14
Q3	7:04	OSU	Maciejowski 2 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 25–14
Q3	:43	MSU	Love 1 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 25–20

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 2 Ohio State	10	0	20	13	43
Wisconsin	0	0	0	8	8

• Date: November 9, 1968
• Location:
  Camp Randall Stadium
  Madison, WI
• Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 40,972
• Game weather: Overcast; 34 °F (1 °C); wind 8 mph N
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	11:21	OSU	Roman 23 yard field goal	OSU 3–0
Q1	5:08	OSU	Zelina 8 yard pass from Maciejowski (Roman kick)	OSU 10–0
Q3	10:38	OSU	Maciejowski 5 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 17–0
Q3	6:54	OSU	Otis 2 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 24–0
Q3	1:53	OSU	Otis 2 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 30–0
Q4	12:26	WISC	Ryan 1 yard run (Voigt pass from Ryan)	OSU 30–8
Q4	9:56	OSU	Maciejowski 1 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 36–8
Q4	1:44	OSU	Maciejowski 10 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 43–8

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 2 Ohio State	6	6	14	7	33
Iowa	0	0	6	21	27

• Date: November 16, 1968
• Location:
  Kinnick Stadium
  Iowa City, IA
• Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 44,131
• Game weather: Rain; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 12 mph E
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	12:13	OSU	Otis 7 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 6-0
Q2	6:42	OSU	Kern 3 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 12-0
Q3	10:40	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 19-0
Q3	6:45	IOWA	Lawrence 1 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 19-6
Q3	1:19	OSU	Kern 1 yard run (Zelina kick)	OSU 26-6
Q4	8:59	IOWA	Podolak 3 yard run (Melendez kick)	OSU 26-13
Q4	7:07	OSU	Brockington 22 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 33-13
Q4	4:02	IOWA	Manning 12 yard pass from Lawrence (Melendez kick)	OSU 33-20
Q4	:09	IOWA	Reardon 9 yard pass from Lawrence (Melendez kick)	OSU 33-27

^[4]

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 Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry

No. 4 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Michigan	7	7	0	0	14
•No. 2 Ohio State	7	14	6	23	50

• Date: November 23, 1968
• Location:
  Ohio Stadium
  Columbus, OH
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 85,371
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C); wind 15 mph SW
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• Television network: WOSU-TV

Scoring summary

Q1	7:54	MICH	Johnson 1 yard run (Killian kick)	MICH 7-0
Q1	2:04	OSU	Otis 5 yard run (Roman kick)	Tie 7-7
Q2	14:37	OSU	Kern 5 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 14-7
Q2	7:12	MICH	Johnson 1 yard run (Killian kick)	Tie 14-14
Q2	:36	OSU	Otis 2 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 21-14
Q3	10:32	OSU	Zelina 6 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 27-14
Q4	12:25	OSU	Roman 32 yard field goal	OSU 30-14
Q4	10:14	OSU	Kern 3 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 37-14
Q4	3:37	OSU	Otis 2 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 44-14
Q4	1:23	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 50-14

^[5]

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 1 Ohio State	0	10	3	14	27
No. 2 USC	0	10	0	6	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 (29 °C)
• Referee: Charles Moffett
• Television network: NBC

Scoring summary

Q2	9:40	USC	Ayala 21 yard field goal	USC 3–0
Q2	6:38	USC	Simpson 80 yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 10–0
Q2	1:45	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Roman kick)	USC 10–7
Q2	:03	OSU	Roman 26 yard field goal	Tie 10–10
Q3	1:40	OSU	Roman 25 yard field goal	OSU 13–10
Q4	13:52	OSU	Hayden 4 yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)	OSU 20–10
Q4	10:05	OSU	Gillian 16 yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)	OSU 27–10
Q4	:45	USC	Dickerson 19 yard pass from Sogge (pass failed)	OSU 27–16

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

Roster

1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class E 85 Charles Aldrin So G 57 Thomas Backhus Jr HB 19 Ed Bender Sr HB 48 Jay Bombach Sr HB 42 John Brockington So HB 12 Dave Brungard Jr G 75 Dave Cheney So FB 36 Rich Cunningham So G 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 G 61 Alan Jack Jr E 82 Bruce Jankowski So QB 10 Rex Kern So E 81 Dick Kuhn So G 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 G 62 Phil Strickland So OT 71 Rich Troha So E 80 Jan White So HB 16 Larry Zelina So	Defense Pos. # Name Class 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 Stottlemyer 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. # Name Class	Head coach Woody Hayes Coordinators/assistant coaches Earle Bruce George Chaump Glenn Ellison Hugh Hindman Lou Holtz Rudy Hubbard Bill Mallory Lou McCullough Esco Sarkkinen Carlin B. Carpenter (GA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2016-Feb-12

Statistical leaders

• Scoring: Jim Otis
• Rushing: Jim Otis
• Passing: Rex Kern
• Receiving: Bruce Jankowski

Players in the 1969 NFL draft

See also: 1969 NFL/AFL draft

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Rufus Mayes	1	14	Tackle	Chicago Bears
Dave Foley	1	26	Tackle	New York Jets
Steve Howell	10	239	Tight end	Cincinnati Bengals

References

1. OSU Football National Championships Archived 2008-10-20 at the Wayback Machine , Ohio State University Archives
2. "Buckeyes shoot down SMU's aerial circus". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 29, 1968. Retrieved March 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Ohio State rallies for easy win over USC in Rose Bowl". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1969. Retrieved September 14, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Ohio State '68: All the Way to the Top." Greenberg, Steve and Larry Zelina. 1998.
5. "Ohio St Shocks Michigan, 50-14." The Palm Beach Post. 1968 Nov 25.