CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1983 Ohio State

9–⁠3 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Earle Bruce, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1983, game by game: won vs. Oregon 31–6; won at No. 2 Oklahoma 24–14; lost at No. 7 Iowa 14–20; won vs. Minnesota 69–18; won vs. Purdue 33–22; lost at No. 19 Illinois 13–17; won vs. Michigan State 21–11; won vs. Wisconsin 45–27; won at Indiana 56–17; won vs. Northwestern 55–7; lost at No. 8 Michigan 21–24; won vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh 28–23+51−6Won 31–6 vs. Oregon+25OregonWon 24–14 at No. 2 Oklahoma+10No. 2 OklahomaLost 14–20 at No. 7 Iowa-6No. 7 IowaWon 69–18 vs. Minnesota+51MinnesotaWon 33–22 vs. Purdue+11PurdueLost 13–17 at No. 19 Illinois-4No. 19 IllinoisWon 21–11 vs. Michigan State+10Michigan StateWon 45–27 vs. Wisconsin+18WisconsinWon 56–17 at Indiana+39IndianaWon 55–7 vs. Northwestern+48NorthwesternLost 21–24 at No. 8 Michigan-3No. 8 MichiganWon 28–23 vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh+5No. 15 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsOregonW 31–⁠685%
Sep 17at2OklahomaW 24–⁠1444%
Sep 24at7IowaL 14–⁠2051%
Oct 1vsMinnesotaW 69–⁠1887%
Oct 8vsPurdueW 33–⁠2284%
Oct 15at19IllinoisL 13–⁠1748%
Oct 22vsMichigan StateW 21–⁠1184%
Oct 29vsWisconsinW 45–⁠2770%
Nov 5atIndianaW 56–⁠1776%
Nov 12vsNorthwesternW 55–⁠793%
Nov 19at8MichiganL 21–⁠2444%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs15PittsburghFiesta BowlW 28–⁠2347%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 28–⁠23 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 17
  9. Wk 9: 16
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 14
  15. Wk 15: 14
  16. Final: 9

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 1983.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠3 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 3
Points
410–⁠206
Coach
Earle Bruce
Elo
1706 +67 this season
SP+ rating
17.8 No. 15 of 108; offense No. 6, defense No. 43
SRS
15.4 No. 10 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Glen Mason
Defensive coordinator
Bob Tucker
Captains
John Frank and Bill Roberts
Most valuable player
John Frank

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1William Roberts OTNew York Giants
Rd 2John Frank TESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Rowland Tatum LBMiami Dolphins

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1983 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1983 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois9–⁠010–⁠210
Michigan8–⁠19–⁠38
Iowa7–⁠29–⁠314
Ohio State6–⁠39–⁠39
Wisconsin5–⁠47–⁠4
Purdue3–⁠5–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Michigan State2–⁠6–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Indiana2–⁠73–⁠8
Northwestern2–⁠72–⁠9
Minnesota0–⁠91–⁠10

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