1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (21st season)
MVP	Tom DeLeone
Captains	Tom DeLeone Harry Howard
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 81,475)
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Northwestern	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Illinois	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Indiana	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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 The no-repeat rule was rescinded December 9 and went into effect for 1972; the prohibition on playing in bowls other than the Rose was not repealed until 1975.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 (rivalry)		L 7–10	104,016
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game 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
G	`68`	Charles Baxter	So
OT	`78`	Charles Beecroft	Jr
OT	`77`	Earl Belgrave	Jr
FB	`34`	John Bledsoe	Jr
G	`58`	Charles Bonica	Jr
QB	`15`	Bill Boyle	So
HB	`25`	Morris Bradshaw	So
HB	`24`	Tom Campagna	Sr
G	`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
G	`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
G	`57`	Tom Houser	Sr
G	`61`	John Husband	So
SE	`84`	Scott Jones	So
FB	`38`	Randal Keith	So
G	`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
G	`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
G	`60`	Milan Vecanski	Sr
SE	`91`	Dick Wakefield	Sr
DB	`49`	Bill Wendorff	So
G	`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 Whately	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

Woody Hayes

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Earle Bruce
George Chaump
Charles Clausen
George Hill
Rudy Hubbard
John Mummey
Esco Sarkkinen
Ralph Staub
Dick Walker

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 (19 °C)

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

Colorado Buffaloes at Ohio State Buckeyes

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	6	7	0	7	20
Ohio St	0	0	0	14	14

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 25, 1971
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
Game attendance: 85,586
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

COL – Ken Johnson 6-yard run (kick failed), 6:51. Colorado 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards.

Second quarter

COL – Cliff Branch 68-yard punt return (J.B. Dean kick), 10:49. Colorado 13–0.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Don Lamka 1-yard run (Fred Schram kick), 4:28. Colorado 13–7. Drive: 7 plays, 43 yards.
COL – Ken Johnson 39-yard run (J.B. Dean kick), 3:30. Colorado 20–7. Drive: 3 plays, 45 yards.
OSU – Rick Middleton 14-yard pass from Don Lamka (Fred Schram kick), 2:11. Colorado 20–14. Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards.

Top passers

COL – Ken Johnson – 4/9, 97 yards, 2 INT
OSU – Don Lamka – 20/33, 255 yards, TD

Top rushers

COL – Charlie Davis – 18 rushes, 135 yards
OSU – Don Lamka – 23 rushes, 60 yards, TD

Top receivers

COL – Willie Nichols – 2 receptions, 61 yards
OSU – Dick Wakefield – 11 receptions, 172 yards

California

	1	2	3	4	Total
California	0	3	0	0	3
• Ohio St	14	0	0	21	35

Date: October 2
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game start: 1:32p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:28
Game attendance: 86,280
Game weather: Clear, 85 °F (29 °C)

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

^[3] ^[4]

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 (16 km/h), 53 °F (12 °C)

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

^[5] ^[6]

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	7	3	3	14	27
Indiana	0	0	7	0	7

Date: October 16
Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Game start: 1:30p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 3:35
Game attendance: 50,812
Game weather: Overcast, 74 °F (23 °C)

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

^[7] ^[8]

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	0	0	0	6	6
• Ohio St	0	17	0	14	31

Date: October 23
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game start: 2:00p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:40
Game attendance: 86,559
Game weather: Rainy, 62 °F (17 °C)

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

^[9]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	0	7	7	14
Minnesota	0	6	0	6	12

Date: October 30
Location: Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game start: 1:30 CST
Elapsed time: 2:25
Game attendance: 36,281
Game weather: Rain, windy E(20-25 mph (40 km/h)), 50 °F (10 °C)

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

^[10] ^[11]

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 (2 °C)

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

^[12]

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 (16 °C)

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

^[13]

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 (27 km/h), 32 °F (0 °C)
Referee: Jerry Markbreit (Big Ten)

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

^[14]

1972 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Tom DeLeone	5	106	Center	Cincinnati Bengals
Harry Howard	9	225	Defensive Back	Los Angeles Rams
Jimmy Harris	12	312	Wide Receiver	Dallas Cowboys
Tom Campana	13	316	Defensive Back	St. Louis Cardinals
Dick Wakefield	16	409	Wide Receiver	Cleveland Browns
Stan White	17	438	Linebacker	Baltimore Colts

References

^ "Buckeyes Romp Past Iowa." Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 Sept 12.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Bucks Batter Bears." Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct 3.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Oct 10.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Oct 16.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Buckeyes Win." Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct 24.
^ "Ohio State Rallies." Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct 31.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Illibuck Trophy Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
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National championship seasons in bold