1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 10–7 vs. BYU
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 14
Record9–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGlen Mason (6th season)
Defensive coordinatorGary Blackney (1st season)
MVPJim Karsatos
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Iowa $ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 2 Michigan 6 – 1 – 1 10 – 1 – 1
Illinois 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 5 – 1
No. 14 5 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Michigan State 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 2 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Indiana 1 – 7 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Northwestern 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1985 Big Ten season. In their seventh year under head coach Earle Bruce, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference games), tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 315 to 205. Against ranked opponents, they defeated No. 1 Iowa, lost to No. 6 Michigan, and defeated No. 9 BYU in the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 14 in the final AP poll.[1]

The Buckeyes gained an average of 163.8 rushing yards and 184.1 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 147.2 rushing yards and 180.3 passing yards per game.[2] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jim Karsatos (2,115 passing yards, 62.2% completion percentage), running back John Wooldridge (728 rushing yards, 4.9 yards per carry), and wide receiver Cris Carter (53 receptions for 879 yards).[2] Linebackers Pepper Johnson and Chris Spielman received first-team All-America honors from the UPI and NEA, respectively.[3][4] Six received first-team honors on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Johnson (AP/UPI); Spielman (AP/UPI); Carter (AP/UPI); center Bob Maggs (AP/UPI); offensive tackle Rory Graves (UPI); and punter Tom Tupa (UPI).[5][6][7]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 148:00 p.m.Pittsburgh*No. 9
WTBSW 10–788,518[8]
September 213:30 p.m.at Colorado*No. 7
W 36–1347,022[9]
September 281:30 p.m.Washington State*No. 5
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 48–3289,954[10]
October 52:00 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 5
L 28–3176,343[11]
October 121:30 p.m.IndianaNo. 15
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 48–789,846[12]
October 1912:00 p.m.PurdueNo. 11
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
CBSW 41–2789,888[13]
October 263:30 p.m.at No. 20 MinnesotaNo. 9
CBSW 23–1964,455[14]
November 22:30 p.m.No. 1 IowaNo. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
CBSW 22–1390,467[15]
November 912:30 p.m.at NorthwesternNo. 4
WTBSW 35–1726,477[16]
November 161:30 p.m.WisconsinNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
L 7–1289,873[17]
November 231:30 p.m.at No. 6 MichiganNo. 12
CBSL 17–27106,102[18][19]
December 281:00 p.m.vs. No. 9 BYU*No. 17
NBCW 10–750,920[20]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Pittsburgh

Team 1 234Total
Pittsburgh 0 007 7
• Ohio St 0 307 10

Colorado

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 15014 36
Colorado 7 006 13

Washington State

Team 1 234Total
Washington St 14 3312 32
• Ohio St 7 28310 48
  • Date: September 28
  • Location: Ohio Stadium

Illinois

Team 1 234Total
Ohio St 0 14140 28
• Illinois 14 0710 31

Indiana

Team 1 234Total
Indiana 0 700 7
• Ohio St 7 28103 48
  • Date: October 12
  • Location: Ohio Stadium

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers (3–2) at #11 Ohio State Buckeyes (4–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Purdue 0 10 10727
Ohio St 14 3 71741

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: October 19, 1985
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Overcast, 75 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 89,888
  • Referee: Otho Kortz
  • TV: CBS
  • Box Score
Game information
External videos
video icon Game highlights

at No. 20 Minnesota

#9 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–1) at #20 Minnesota Golden Gophers (5–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 10 01323
Minnesota 3 9 7019

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: October 26, 1985
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 64,455
  • Referee: Jim Kemmerling
  • Box Score
Game information

No. 1 Iowa

Team 1 234Total
No. 1 Hawkeyes 0 706 13
• No. 8 Buckeyes 5 1007 22
Scoring summary
111:03OSURich Spangler 28-yard field goalOSU 3-0
10:02OSUSafety, Sonny Gordan blocked punt out of end zoneOSU 5-0
29:06OSUJohn Woolridge 57-yard run (Spangler kick)OSU 12-0
25:00OSURich Spangler 26-yard field goalOSU 15-0
20:28IowaRonnie Harmon 3-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)OSU 15-7
411:39OSUVince Workman 4-yard run (Spangler kick)OSU 22-7
48:19IowaDavid Hudson 2-yard run (Kevin Harmon run failed)OSU 22-13
See also: 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
Iowa Ohio St
First Downs 21 16
Rushing Yards 186 233
Passing 17–34–4 10–17–2
Passing Yards 169 151
Total Offense 345 370
Fumbles Lost 2–1 1–0
Punts-Average 4–32.5 4–45.3
Penalties 3–16 7–57
Team Category Player Statistics
Iowa Passing Chuck Long 19–26, 169 yards, 4 INT
Rushing Ronnie Harmon 26 carries, 120 yards, TD
Receiving Ronnie Harmon 5 receptions, 19 yards
Ohio State Passing Jim Karsatos 10–17, 151 yards, 2 INT
Rushing George Cooper 17 carries, 104 yards
Receiving Cris Carter 3 receptions, 65 yards

Northwestern

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 14 1470 35
Northwestern 0 0710 17

Wisconsin

Team 1 234Total
• Wisconsin 3 360 12
Ohio St 0 700 7
  • Date: November 16
  • Location: Ohio Stadium

at No. 6 Michigan

See also: Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry
#12 Ohio State Buckeyes at #6 Michigan Wolverines
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio State 0 10 0717
Michigan 3 7 10727

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • Date: November 23
  • Game weather: Overcast, 40 °F (4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 106,102
  • TV: CBS
  • Box Score
Game information

vs No. 9 BYU (Citrus Bowl)

Team 1 234Total
• No. 17 Buckeyes 0 370 10
No. 9 Cougars 0 700 7
Main article: 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl

Personnel

Roster

1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Sean Bell
DL Henry Brown
DB 7 Sonny Gordon
DB Steve Hill
DL Ray Holliman
LB Pepper Johnson Sr
LB Larry Kolic
LB Eric Kumerow
LB Scott Leach
LB Byron Lee
DL 95 Daryll Lee
DL Fred Ridder
DB 29 Greg Rogan
LB 36 Chris Spielman So
DB 12 Terry White
DB William White
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Rich Spangler
P, QB 19 Tom Tupa So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Depth chart

[21]

Awards and honors

  • Pepper Johnson, UPI First Team All-America, Football News First Team All-America

1986 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Keith Byars 1 10 Running back Philadelphia Eagles
Pepper Johnson 2 51 Linebacker New York Giants
Byron Lee 7 176 Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles
Larry Kolic 7 193 Linebacker Miami Dolphins

References

  1. ^ "1985 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "1985 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "Bo Jackson, Sooner Casillas Head 60th UPI All-America Team". Tyrone Daily Herald. December 12, 1985. p. 7.
  4. ^ "NEA 1985 All-America football team". Lead (SD) Daily Call. December 6, 1985. p. 7.
  5. ^ "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
  6. ^ "Long nips Everett for UPI first team". The Indianapolis Star. November 26, 1985. p. 22.
  7. ^ "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
  8. ^ "Buckeyes nip Pitt". The Times Recorder. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "CU no match for Ohio State". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. September 22, 1985. p. 4B.
  10. ^ "Bucks romp 48–32". The Times Recorder. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Late Illini FG tips Ohio St". The Miami Herald. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Woolridge making OSU forget Byars". The Ironton Tribune. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Byars leads OSU, 41–27". The Plain Dealer. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Backs' injuries make Ohio State's victory a costly one". The Akron Beacon Journal. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "No. 1 Hawkeyes stunned by inspired OSU, 22–13". The Daily Nonpareil. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Karsatos has big passing day as Bucks win 8th". The Tribune. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Wisconsin upsets Ohio State". Wisconsin State Journal. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Wolverines roll over Buckeyes". Minneapolis Star & Tribune. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search".
  20. ^ "Ohio State defense peels Brigham Young in Citrus". The Charlotte Observer. December 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ 1986 Ohio State Football Media Guide
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