1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 28–23 vs. Pittsburgh
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 9
Record	9–3 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Earle Bruce (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Glen Mason (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Tucker (2nd season)
MVP	John Frank
Captains	John Frank Bill Roberts
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium

1983 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Illinois $	9	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	8	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Iowa	7	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State	6	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	5	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Michigan State	2	–	6	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Indiana	2	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1983 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Earle Bruce, the Buckeyes compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the Big Ten. Ohio State was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Buckeyes defeated Pittsburgh. The team played home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	1:30 p.m.	Oregon*	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 31–6	88,524	[1]
September 17	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Oklahoma*	No. 6	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ABC	W 24–14	75,008	[2]
September 24	3:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Iowa	No. 3	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	CBS	L 14–20	66,175	[3]
October 1	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 69–18	89,192	[4]
October 8	1:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 33–22	89,384	[5]
October 15	2:00 p.m.	at No. 19 Illinois	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		L 13–17	73,414	[6]
October 22	1:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 17	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 21–11	89,104	[7]
October 29	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 45–27	89,203	[8]
November 5	1:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 56–17	51,176	[9]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 55–7	88,703	[10]
November 19	1:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Michigan	No. 10	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	WXYZ-TV	L 21–24	106,115	[11]
January 2, 1984	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh*	No. 14	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	W 28–23	66,484	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Oregon

1 2 3 4 Total Oregon 0 6 0 0 6 • Ohio St 7 3 21 0 31 Date: September 10 Location: Ohio Stadium

At Oklahoma

See also: 1983 Oklahoma Sooners football team

#6 Ohio State Buckeyes (1–0) at #2 Oklahoma Sooners (1–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	7	7	3	24
Oklahoma	0	7	7	0	14

at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma

• Date: September 17
• Game time: 2:50 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Sunny • 93 °F (34 °C) • Wind S 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
• Game attendance: 75,008
• Referee: Tom Quinn (Big Ten)
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
• Ohio State Football Archive

Game information
Ohio State Tomczak 15/25, 234 Yds, 2 TD, INT Lindsey 16 Rush, 75 Yds Frank 7 Rec, 108 Yds, 2 TD Oklahoma Bradley 9/21, 170 Yds, TD Tillman 13 Rush, 83 Yds, TD Shepard 3 Rec, 85 Yds, TD

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Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OSU OU 1 8:44 13 80 6:16 Ohio St Frank 16-yard touchdown reception from Tomczak, Spangler kick good 7 0 2 10:57 1 15 0:06 Ohio St Frank 15-yard touchdown reception from Tomczak, Spangler kick good 14 0 2 9:14 4 85 1:43 Oklahoma Tillman 37-yard touchdown run, Culver kick good 14 7 3 8:30 10 57 Ohio St Bates 2-yard touchdown run, Spangler kick good 21 7 3 1:01 8 62 Oklahoma Shepard 22-yard touchdown reception from Bradley, Culver kick good 21 14 4 9:15 16 59 Ohio St 22-yard field goal by Spangler 24 14 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 14

At Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 7 0 0 7 14 • Iowa 3 0 10 7 20 Date: September 24 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

See also: 1983 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 3 9 0 6 18 • Ohio State 7 31 24 7 69 Date: October 1 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 1:30 EDT

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers (1–2–1) at #6 Ohio State Buckeyes (3–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	7	0	0	15	22
Ohio St	6	6	14	7	33

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 8, 1983
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 76 °F (24 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,384
• Referee: Tom Quinn
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter OSU – Paul Allen 21-yard field goal, 9:41. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 5:11. OSU – Paul Allen 41-yard field goal, 4:30. Ohio St 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 3:34. PUR – Eric Jordan 40-yard run (Tim Clark kick), 2:27. Purdue 7–6. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:00. Second quarter OSU – Keith Byars 4-yard run (pass failed), 5:23. Ohio St 12–7. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:59. Third quarter OSU – Garcia Lane 63-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 13:43. Ohio St 19–7. OSU – Garcia Lane 71-yard punt return (Rich Spangler kick), 2:51. Ohio St 26–7. Fourth quarter PUR – Tim Clark 39-yard field goal, 14:20. Ohio St 26–10. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:31. OSU – Keith Byars 2-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 10:56. Ohio St 33–10. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:19. PUR – Cliff Benson 5-yard pass from Scott Campbell (pass failed), 3:50. Ohio St 33–16. Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 3:59. PUR – Mel Gray 20-yard run (pass failed), 2:58. Ohio St 33–22. Drive: 4 plays, 48 yards, 0:46. Top passers PUR – Scott Campbell – 23/36, 228 yards, TD OSU – Mike Tomczak – 8/17, 145 yards, 2 INT Top rushers PUR – Eric Jordan – 9 rushes, 89 yards, TD OSU – Keith Byars – 23 rushes, 135 yards, 2 TD Top receivers PUR – Steve Griffin – 5 receptions, 62 yards OSU – Keith Byars – 4 receptions, 120 yards

At Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St 0 3 10 0 13 • Illinois 7 3 0 7 17 Date: October 15 Location: Memorial Stadium

Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan St 3 0 0 8 11 • Ohio St 7 7 0 7 21 Date: October 22 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:28 Game attendance: 89,104 Game weather: Rainy; 56 °F (13 °C); wind 15–25 mph (24–40 km/h) SE Referee: Jerry Hendrickson

Scoring summary Q1 10:08 OHST Byars 1 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 7–0 Q1 4:30 MSU Mojsiejenko 33 yard field goal OHST 7–3 Q2 2:17 OHST Frank 39 yard pass from Karsatos (Spangler kick) OHST 14–3 Q4 11:47 OHST Byars 5 yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 21–3 Q4 :57 MSU Tyree recovered blocked punt in end zone (Belk pass from Brown) OHST 21–11

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers (5–2) at #16 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	14	7	6	0	27
Ohio St	7	21	10	7	45

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 29, 1983
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Clear, 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,203
• Referee: Jim Kemerling
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter WIS – Gary Ellerson 2-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick), 11:34. Wisconsin 7–0. OSU – Thad Jemison 19-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Rich Spangler kick), 5:25. Tie 7–7. WIS – Thad McFadden 20-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 2:50. Wisconsin 14–7. Second quarter OSU – Mike Tomczak 28-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:19. Tie 14–14. OSU – Keith Byars 13-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 7:16. Ohio St 21–14. OSU – Vaughn Broadnax 1-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 2:07. Ohio St 28–14. WIS – Nick Toon 22-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 0:57. Ohio St 28–21. Third quarter WIS – Brett Pearson 7-yard pass from Randy Wright (kick failed), 11:36. Ohio St 28–27. OSU – Rich Spangler 36-yard field goal, 4:41. Ohio St 31–27. OSU – Keith Byars 3-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 1:36. Ohio St 38–27. Fourth quarter OSU – Roman Bates 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 12:48. Ohio St 45–27. Top passers WIS – Randy Wright – 23/39, 319 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT OSU – Mike Tomczak – 12/14, 162 yards, TD Top rushers WIS – Joe Armentrout – 10 rushes, 40 yards OSU – Keith Byars – 29 rushes, 174 yards, 2 TD Top receivers WIS – Thad McFadden – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD OSU – Cedric Anderson – 4 receptions, 70 yards

Woody Hayes dotted the "i" in the pregame Script Ohio.

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External videos
Script Ohio/Woody Hayes dots the "i"
Game highlights

At Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 14 14 14 14 56 Indiana 3 0 6 8 17 Date: November 5 Location: Memorial Stadium

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 0 0 7 7 • Ohio State 20 21 7 7 55 Date: November 12 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game attendance: 88,703

At Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 0 7 7 7 21 • Michigan 10 0 0 14 24 Date: November 19 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Vs. Pittsburgh (Fiesta Bowl)

1984 Fiesta Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 7 7 0 14 28 Pittsburgh 0 7 0 16 23 Date: January 2, 1984 Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona Game attendance: 66,484 TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Bob Griese

Main article: 1984 Fiesta Bowl

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Personnel

Roster

1983 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Cedric Anderson RB Roman Bates RB Ken Blair RB Vaughn Broadnax RB Keith Byars OL Jim Carson OL Joe Dooley TE John Frank (C) WR Jay Holland WR Thad Jemison QB Jim Karsatos Fr OL Mark Krerowicz OL Jim Lachey WR Mike Lanese RB Kelvin Lindsey OL Kirk Lowdermilk QB Brent Offenbecher OT Bill Roberts (C) TE Doug Smith QB Tim Stephens QB 15 Mike Tomczak Jr RB Barry Walker RB John Woolridge OL Scott Zalenski	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Clark Backus DB Kelvin Bell DL Dave Crecelius LB Curt Curtis DB Shaun Gayle DB Doug Hill DB Steve Hill LB Pepper Johnson CB Garcia Lane (C) LB Byron Lee DL Darryl Lee LB Orlando Lowry DL Dave Morrill DL Spencer Nelms LB Rowland Tatum (C)	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Paul Allen P Karl Edwards K Rich Spangler	Head coach Earle Bruce Coordinators/assistant coaches Dom Capers (DB) Steve Devine (Recruiting) Randy Hart (DL) Glen Mason (OC) Bill Myles (OL) Fred Pagac (LB) Wayne Stanley (RB) Jim Tressel (QB) Bob Tucker (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Depth chart

Defense FS 4 Kelvin Bell ⋅ ROLB ILB ILB LOLB 11 Curt Curtis 32 Rowland Tatum 17 Clark Backus 37 Orlando Lowry 82 Byron Lee 98 Pepper Johnson ⋅ 58 Dennis Hueston ROV 27 Doug Hill 19 Steve Hill CB 2 Shaun Gayle 21 Kevin Richardson DE NT DE 57 Dave Morrill 54 Spencer Nelms 97 Dave Crecelius 84 Henry Brown 59 Tony Giuliani ⋅ CB 12 Garcia Lane 7 Sonny Gordon Offense SE 88 Thad Jemison ⋅ LT LG C RG RT 70 William Roberts 63 Kirk Lowdermilk 78 Joe Dooley 74 Scott Zalenski 73 Mark Krerowicz 75 Rory Graves ⋅ ⋅ 64 Jim Lachey 77 Jim Carson TE 89 John Frank 80 Judd Groza FL 22 Cedric Anderson 1 Mike Lanese QB 15 Mike Tomczak 16 Jim Karsatos Key reserves 28 Roman Bates (TB/FB) 25 John Wooldridge (TB) FB 38 Vaughn Broadnax 43 Barry Walker Special teams PK 10 Rich Spangler P 5 Karl Edwards RB 41 Keith Byars 20 Kelvin Lindsey

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1984 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
William Roberts	1	27	Guard	New York Giants
John Frank	2	56	Tight end	San Francisco 49ers
Garcia Lane	3	61	Defensive back	Kansas City Chiefs
Rowland Tatum	6	165	Linebacker	Miami Dolphins
Shaun Gayle	10	271	Defensive back	Chicago Bears
Joe Dooley	10	274	Center	Los Angeles Rams
Thad Jemison	12	310	Wide receiver	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References

1. "Tomczak, OSU romps Oregon 31–6". The Ironton Tribune. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "OSU's best too much for Oklahoma, 24–14". Lansing State Journal. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Ohio State stumbles at Iowa, 20–14". The Times Recorder. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Ohio State, Byars rip Gophers 69–18". Grand Forks Herald. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lane's punt returns aid Ohio State victory". The Post-Crescent. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Late Illinois march sinks Buckeyes, 17–13". The Des Moines Register. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Ohio State pass combo a splash against Spartans". News Journal. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Buckeyes, Byars bounce Badgers". The Duluth News Tribune. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Ohio State romps past Indiana by 56 to 17". The Salisbury Post. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "According to script, Ohio State murders Northwestern". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Michigan bound for Sugar after victory over Ohio State". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Late TD pass lifts Buckeyes in Fiesta". The Arizona Republic. January 3, 1984. Retrieved February 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Ohio St. Is Superb In Beating Sooners." Gainesville Sun. 1983 Sept 18.
14. Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2014-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-Dec-20.
15. Gainesville Sun. 1983 Oct 30.
16. "Ohio State Spring Football Media Guide" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2020.
17. 1984 Ohio State Football Media Guide