CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 Ohio State

9–⁠2–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Woody Hayes, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1976, game by game: won vs. Michigan State 49–21; won at No. 7 Penn State 12–7; lost vs. Missouri 21–22; tied vs. No. 4 UCLA 10–10; won at Iowa 34–14; won at Wisconsin 30–20; won vs. Purdue 24–3; won at Indiana 47–7; won vs. Illinois 42–10; won at Minnesota 9–3; lost vs. No. 4 Michigan 0–22; won vs. No. 12 Colorado 27–10+40−22Won 49–21 vs. Michigan State+28Michigan StateWon 12–7 at No. 7 Penn State+5No. 7 Penn StateLost 21–22 vs. Missouri-1MissouriTied 10–10 vs. No. 4 UCLA0No. 4 UCLAWon 34–14 at Iowa+20IowaWon 30–20 at Wisconsin+10WisconsinWon 24–3 vs. Purdue+21PurdueWon 47–7 at Indiana+40IndianaWon 42–10 vs. Illinois+32IllinoisWon 9–3 at Minnesota+6MinnesotaLost 0–22 vs. No. 4 Michigan-22No. 4 MichiganWon 27–10 vs. No. 12 Colorado+17No. 12 Colorado
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsMichigan StateW 49–⁠2174%
Sep 18at7Penn StateW 12–⁠749%
Sep 25vsMissouriL 21–⁠2277%
Oct 2vs4UCLAT 10–⁠1060%
Oct 9atIowaW 34–⁠1478%
Oct 16atWisconsinW 30–⁠2078%
Oct 23vsPurdueW 24–⁠385%
Oct 30atIndianaW 47–⁠783%
Nov 6vsIllinoisW 42–⁠1086%
Nov 13atMinnesotaW 9–⁠375%
Nov 20vs4MichiganL 0–⁠2262%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs12ColoradoOrange BowlW 27–⁠1059%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Colorado 27–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1976.

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

2 consensus All-AmericansChris Ward, OT; Bob Brudzinski, DE

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 2
Points
305–⁠149
Coach
Woody Hayes
Elo
1747 +62 this season
SP+ rating
25.8 No. 6 of 132; offense No. 18, defense No. 3
SRS
22.9 No. 4 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Alex Gibbs
Defensive coordinator
George Hill
Captains
Bill Lukens, Tom Skladany and Ed Thompson
Most valuable player
Bob Brudzinski

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 1Bob Brudzinski LBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 2Tom Skladany PCleveland Browns
Rd 2Pete Johnson RBCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

9 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠23
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠2–⁠16
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern1–⁠71–⁠10

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