CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Ohio State

11–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Earle Bruce, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1979, game by game: won vs. Syracuse 31–8; won at Minnesota 21–17; won vs. Washington State 45–29; won at No. 17 UCLA 17–13; won vs. Northwestern 16–7; won vs. Indiana 47–6; won vs. Wisconsin 59–0; won vs. Michigan State 42–0; won at Illinois 44–7; won vs. Iowa 34–7; won at No. 13 Michigan 18–15; lost vs. No. 3 USC 16–17+59−1Won 31–8 vs. Syracuse+23SyracuseWon 21–17 at Minnesota+4MinnesotaWon 45–29 vs. Washington State+16Washington StateWon 17–13 at No. 17 UCLA+4No. 17 UCLAWon 16–7 vs. Northwestern+9NorthwesternWon 47–6 vs. Indiana+41IndianaWon 59–0 vs. Wisconsin+59WisconsinWon 42–0 vs. Michigan State+42Michigan StateWon 44–7 at Illinois+37IllinoisWon 34–7 vs. Iowa+27IowaWon 18–15 at No. 13 Michigan+3No. 13 MichiganLost 16–17 vs. No. 3 USC-1No. 3 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsSyracuseW 31–⁠874%
Sep 15atMinnesotaW 21–⁠1760%
Sep 22vsWashington StateW 45–⁠2981%
Sep 29at17UCLAW 17–⁠1342%
Oct 6vsNorthwesternW 16–⁠791%
Oct 13vsIndianaW 47–⁠674%
Oct 20vsWisconsinW 59–⁠083%
Oct 27vsMichigan StateW 42–⁠076%
Nov 3atIllinoisW 44–⁠784%
Nov 10vsIowaW 34–⁠785%
Nov 17at13MichiganW 18–⁠1542%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3USCRose BowlL 16–⁠1737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 17–⁠16 in the Rose Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 15
  2. Wk 3: 16
  3. Wk 4: 14
  4. Wk 5: 8
  5. Wk 6: 8
  6. Wk 7: 6
  7. Wk 8: 4
  8. Wk 9: 5
  9. Wk 10: 3
  10. Wk 11: 2
  11. Wk 12: 2
  12. Wk 13: 3
  13. Wk 14: 1
  14. 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 1979.

Big Ten champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteArt Schlichter, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanKen Fritz, OG

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearEarle Bruce, coach

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 1
Points
390–⁠126
Coach
Earle Bruce
Elo
1725 +137 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 7 of 135; offense No. 8, defense No. 20
SRS
24.9 No. 4 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Dennis Fryzel
Captains
Ken Fritz, Mike Guess, Jim Laughlin and Tom Waugh
Most valuable player
Jim Laughlin

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 4Jim Laughlin LBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 6Mike Guess DBChicago Bears

All-Big Ten

11 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠011–⁠14
Purdue7–⁠110–⁠210
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠38–⁠419
Iowa4–⁠45–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Michigan State3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠54–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1
Northwestern0–⁠91–⁠10

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