CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1974 Ohio State

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Woody Hayes, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1974, game by game: won at Minnesota 34–19; won vs. Oregon State 51–10; won vs. SMU 28–9; won at Washington State 42–7; won vs. No. 13 Wisconsin 52–7; won vs. Indiana 49–9; won at Northwestern 55–7; won vs. Illinois 49–7; lost at Michigan State 13–16; won at Iowa 35–10; won vs. No. 3 Michigan 12–10; lost vs. No. 5 USC 17–18+48−3Won 34–19 at Minnesota+15MinnesotaWon 51–10 vs. Oregon State+41Oregon StateWon 28–9 vs. SMU+19SMUWon 42–7 at Washington State+35Washington StateWon 52–7 vs. No. 13 Wisconsin+45No. 13 WisconsinWon 49–9 vs. Indiana+40IndianaWon 55–7 at Northwestern+48NorthwesternWon 49–7 vs. Illinois+42IllinoisLost 13–16 at Michigan State-3Michigan StateWon 35–10 at Iowa+25IowaWon 12–10 vs. No. 3 Michigan+2No. 3 MichiganLost 17–18 vs. No. 5 USC-1No. 5 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14atMinnesotaW 34–⁠1964%
Sep 21vsOregon StateW 51–⁠1089%
Sep 28vsSMUW 28–⁠979%
Oct 5atWashington StateW 42–⁠772%
Oct 12vs13WisconsinW 52–⁠782%
Oct 19vsIndianaW 49–⁠992%
Oct 26atNorthwesternW 55–⁠788%
Nov 2vsIllinoisW 49–⁠785%
Nov 9atMichigan StateL 13–⁠1672%
Nov 16atIowaW 35–⁠1088%
Nov 23vs3MichiganW 12–⁠1055%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5USCRose BowlL 17–⁠1849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 18–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1974.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Michigan

Led the nationArchie Griffin: rushing yards (1,695 yds)

Heisman TrophyArchie Griffin, RB; also the Walter Camp

3 consensus All-AmericansKurt Schumacher, OT; Steve Myers, C; Archie Griffin, RB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 1
Points
437–⁠129
Coach
Woody Hayes
Elo
1757 +79 this season
SP+ rating
25.3 No. 6 of 124; offense No. 2, defense No. 24
SRS
27.8 No. 2 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
George Hill
Captains
Neal Colzie, Pete Cusick, Archie Griffin, Arnold Jones and Steve Myers
Most valuable player
Archie Griffin

Drafted in 1975

The 1975 draft
Rd 1Kurt Schumacher OGNew Orleans Saints
Rd 1Doug France OTLos Angeles Rams
Rd 1Neal Colzie DBOakland Raiders
Rd 3Pete Cusick DTNew England Patriots
Rd 4Steve Luke DBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 4Harold Henson RBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Bruce Elia LBMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Jim Cope LBCleveland Browns

All-Big Ten

13 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1974 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1974 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠13
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠24
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠112
Wisconsin5–⁠37–⁠4
Illinois4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠63–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠63–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.