1969 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

1969 Ohio State Buckeyes football

National champion (MGR) Big Ten co-champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 4
Record	8–1 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (19th season)
MVP	Jim Otis
Captains	Alan Jack Dave Whitfield
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Michigan +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Purdue	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Iowa	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Michigan State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1969 Big Ten Conference football season. The defending national champion Buckeyes compiled an 8–1 record.

Top-ranked all season, the Buckeyes lost the rivalry game at Michigan on November 22 and dropped to fourth in the final AP Poll. There was no bowl game for Ohio State, because prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl, and prior to 1972, a team could not represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 27	1:30 p.m.	TCU*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 62–0	86,412
October 4	4:30 p.m.	at Washington*	No. 1	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		W 41–14	57,150
October 11	1:30 p.m.	No. 19 Michigan State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 54–21	86,641
October 18	2:30 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN		W 34–7	53,016
October 25	1:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)		W 41–0	86,576
November 1	2:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 1	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	ABC	W 35–6	41,279
November 8	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 62–7	86,519
November 15	1:30 p.m.	No. 10 Purdue	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 42–14	85,027
November 22	1:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Michigan	No. 1	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 12–24	103,588
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Depth chart

Defense

FS
Mike Sensibaugh
⋅

LB	LB
Doug Adams	Phil Strickland
Bob Trapuzzano	Mike Radtke

SS
Jack Tatum
⋅

CB
Tim Anderson
Mike Polaski

DE	DT	NT	DT	DE
Mark Debevc	Bill Urbanik	Jim Stillwagon	Paul Schmidlin	Dave Whitfield
Nick Roman	Brad Nielsen	⋅	Ralph Holloway	Ken Luttner

CB
Ted Provost
⋅

Offense

SE
Bruce Jankowski
Jimmie Harris

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Dave Cheney	Thomas Backhus	Brian Donovan	Alan Jack	Charles Hutchison
Randy Hart	Ted Kurz	Tom DeLeone	⋅	Rick Simon

TE
Jan White
Dick Kuhn

WB
Larry Zelina
Tom Campana

QB
Rex Kern
Ron Maciejowski

FB
Jim Otis
John Brockington

Special teams

RB
Leo Hayden
Ray Gillian

^[1]

Coaching staff

Woody Hayes – Head Coach (19th year)
Earle Bruce – Offense (4th year)
George Chaump – Offense (2nd year)
Hugh Hindman – (7th year)
Rudy Hubbard – Running Backs (2nd year)
Dave McClain – (1st year)
Lou McCullough – Defensive Coordinator (2nd year)
John Mummey – Quarterbacks (1st year)
Dick Walker – Defensive Backs (1st year)

Game summaries

TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
TCU	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	19	14	14	15	62

Date: September 27
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m.
Elapsed time: 2:13
Game attendance: 86,412
Game weather: Rain; 63 °F (17 °C); wind 7 mph SE

Scoring summary

Q1	13:47	OHST	Jankowski 58 yard pass from Kern (White kick)	OHST 7–0

Q1	8:34	OHST	Otis 1 yard run (kick failed)	OHST 13–0

Q1	3:32	OHST	Brockington 1 yard run (kick blocked)	OHST 19–0

Q2	8:15	OHST	Otis 8 yard run (White kick)	OHST 26–0

Q2	5:35	OHST	Brockington 5 yard run (White kick)	OHST 33–0

Q3		OHST	Kern 17 yard run (White kick)	OHST 40–0

Q3		OHST	Kern 5 yard run (White kick)	OHST 47–0

Q4	7:21	OHST	Brockington 2 yard run (Brockington run)	OHST 55–0

Q4	:16	OHST	Campagna 62 yard pass from Rusnak (White kick)	OHST 62–0

Jim Otis 27 Rush, 121 Yds^[2]
Ohio State's biggest win since 1957 versus Indiana and most points scored in a game since 1950 versus Iowa.^[3]

Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	14	7	14	6	41
Washington	0	7	0	7	14

Date: October 4
Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
Game attendance: 58,000

Scoring summary

Q1	OHST	Kern 64 yard run (White kick)	OHST 7–0

Q1	OHST	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OHST 14–0

Q2	OHST	Otis 3 yard run (White kick)	OHST 21–0

Q2	WASH	Willis 1 yard run (Volbrecht kick)	OHST 21–7

Q3	OHST	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OHST 28–7

Q3	OHST	Kern 4 yard run (White kick)	OHST 35–7

Q4	OHST	Maciejowski 5 yard run (kick failed)	OHST 41–7

Q4	WASH	Kennamer 6 yard run (Warner kick)	OHST 41–14

^[4]

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	7	7	0	7	21
• Ohio St	27	7	6	14	54

Date: October 11
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:31 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:28
Game attendance: 86,641
Game weather: Cloudy 74 °F (23 °C)

Scoring summary

Q1	12:42	OHST	Debevc 14 yard interception (White kick)	OHST 7–0

Q1	8:54	OHST	Kern 1 yard rush (White kick)	OHST 14–0

Q1	6:45	OHST	Zelina 73 punt return (Kick failed)	OHST 20–0

Q1	5:47	MSU	Triplett 76 yard pass to Foreman (Boyce kick)	OHST 20–7

Q1	1:40	OHST	Kern 4 yard rush (White kick)	OHST 27–7

Q2	3:14	MSU	Triplett 40 yard pass to Foreman (Boyce kick)	OHST 27–14

Q2	0:30	OHST	Kern 24 yard pass to White (White kick)	OHST 34–14

Q3	4:10	OHST	Kern 14 yard pass toJankowski (Kick failed)	OHST 40–14

Q4	12:31	MSU	Highsmith 3 yard rush (Boyce kick)	OHST 42–21

Q4	11:18	OHST	Kern 29 yard pass to Campana (White kick)	OHST 49–21

Q4	0:40	OHST	Kern 5 yard pass to Campana (White kick)	OHST 54–21

^[5] ^[6]

Attendance: 86,641 (record)
Rex Kern 10/21, 187 Yds, 2 TD, 2 rush TD (left early in 4th)

^[7]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	14	6	0	14	34
Minnesota	0	0	7	0	7

Date: October 18
Location: Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis
Game start: 1:30 p.m.
Elapsed time: 2:18
Game attendance: 53,016
Game weather: 55 degrees, windy 20 mph SW

Scoring summary

Q1	OHST	Otis 8 yard run (kick failed)	OHST 6–0

Q1	OHST	Otis 2 yard run (Kern pass to Zelina)	OHST 14–0

Q2	OHST	Rusnak 25 yard pass to Jankowski (kick failed)	OHST 20–0

Q3	MINN	Carter 6 yard run (Nygren kick)	OHST 20–7

Q4	OHST	Hayden 7 yard run (White kick)	OHST 27–7

Q4	OHST	Gillian 1 yard run (Warner kick)	OHST 34–7

^[8]

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	7	14	7	13	41

Date: October 25
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:12
Game attendance: 86,576
Game weather: Sunny, 56 °F (13 °C)

Scoring summary

Q1	7:17	OHST	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OHST 7–0

Q2	8:22	OHST	Kern 10 yard pass to White (White kick)	OHST 14–0

Q2	1:09	OHST	Kern 15 yard pass to White (White kick)	OHST 21–0

Q3	0:50	OHST	Kern 4 yard run (White kick)	OHST 28–0

Q4	9:16	OHST	Brockington 2 yard run (White kick)	OHST 35–0

Q4	3:47	OHST	Brockington 1 yard trun (Kick failed)	OHST 41–0

^[9]

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	7	14	7	7	35
Northwestern	0	0	0	6	6

Date: November 1
Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
Game attendance: 41,279
Game weather: Cloudy

Scoring summary

Q1	0:42	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OSU 7–0

Q2	6:09	OSU	Kern 21 yard pass to White (White kick)	OSU 14–0

Q2	2:00	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OSU 21–0

Q3	10:23	OSU	Hayden 33 yard run (White kick)	OSU 28–0

Q1	6:13	OSU	Maciejowski 12 yard pass to Otis (White kick)	OSU 35–0

Q4	3:57	NW	Hudson 10 yard run (Kick failed)	OSU 35–6

^[10]

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	0	0	0	7	7
• Ohio State	21	13	7	21	62

Date: November 8
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:31p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:20
Game attendance: 86,519
Game weather: Cloudy, 48 °F (9 °C); Wind NE 12-15 mph

Scoring summary

Q1	9:54	OSU	Maciejowski 31 yard pass to Jankowski (White kick)	OSU 7–0

Q1	1:12	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OSU 14–0

Q1	0:24	OSU	Maciejowski 19 yard pass to Kuhn (White kick)	OSU 21–0

Q2	9:33	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Kick failed)	OSU 27–0

Q2	0:26	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (White kick)	OSU 34–0

Q3	5:53	OSU	Rusnak 5 yard pass to Kuhn (White kick)	OSU 41–0

Q4	14:21	OSU	Rusnak 5 yard pass to Campana (White kick)	OSU 48–0

Q4	6:56	OSU	Brockington 1 yard run (White kick)	OSU 55–0

Q4	4:51	WIS	Losse 14 yard pass to Reddick (Yaeger kick)	OSU 55–7

Q4	1:22	OSU	Colburn 5 yard run (Johnston kick)	OSU 62–7

^[11] ^[12]

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	7	0	7	14
• Ohio St	6	22	14	0	42

Date: November 15
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 2:29
Game attendance: 85,027
Game weather: Snow; 23 °F (−5 °C); wind 15–20 mph SW
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

Q1	2:56	OHST	Kern 6 yard run (kick blocked)	OHST 6–0

Q2	9:47	OHST	White 33 yard field goal	OHST 9–0

Q2	5:32	OHST	Otis 5 yard run (kick failed)	OHST 15–0

Q2	3:44	OHST	Kern 1 yard run (White kick)	OHST 22–0

Q2	:52	OHST	Jankowski 38 yard pass from Kern (kick blocked)	OHST 28–0

Q2	:39	PUR	Brown 98 yard kickoff return (Jones kick)	OHST 28–7

Q3	13:08	OHST	Hayden 4 yard run (White kick)	OHST 35–7

Q3	10:58	OHST	Zelina 57 yard punt return (White kick)	OHST 42–7

Q4	1:12	PUR	Bell 3 yard pass from Phipps (Jones kick)	OHST 42–14

^[13]

Michigan

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (8–0) at #12 Michigan Wolverines (7–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	6	6	0	0	12
Michigan	7	17	0	0	24

at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date: November 22
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny • 45 °F (7 °C)
Game attendance: 103,588
Referee: Jerry Markbreit
TV announcers (ABC): Bill Flemming and Lee Grosscup
^[14]

Game information

Ohio St

Rex Kern
6/17, 88 Yds, TD, 4 INT
Jim Otis
28 Rush, 144 Yds, TD
Jan White
3 Rec, 62 Yds, TD

Michigan

Don Moorhead
10/20, 108 Yds, INT
Billy Taylor
23 Rush, 84 Yds
Jim Mandich
6 Rec, 78 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	OSU	MICH
1	7:38	5	16		Ohio St	Otis 1-yard touchdown run, S. White kick no good	6	0
1	3:35	10	55		Michigan	Craw 2-yard touchdown run, Titas kick good	6	7
2	14:52	10	74		Ohio St	J. White 22-yard touchdown reception from Rex Kern, 2-point run failed	12	7
2	11:54	9	77		Michigan	Craw 1-yard touchdown run, Titas kick good	12	14
2	10:10	2	3		Michigan	Moorhead 2-yard touchdown run, Titas kick good	12	21
2	1:15	16	72		Michigan	25-yard field goal by Killian	12	24
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							12	24

1970 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Chuck Hutchison	2	38	Guard	St. Louis Cardinals
Ted Provost	7	162	Defensive back	Los Angeles Rams
Jim Otis	9	218	Running back	New Orleans Saints
Nick Roman	10	241	Defensive end	Cincinnati Bengals

References

^ 1970 Ohio State Football Media Guide
^ "Game: 6901, Date: Sept. 27, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Buckeyes rout TCU, 62-0." Eugene-Register Guard. 1969 Sept 28.
^ "Buckeyes humiliate Huskies." Eugene-Register Guard. 1969 Oct 5.
^ "Summary of Football Game Statistics, Ohio State v. Michigan State, 10/11/1969" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
^ "Game: 6903, Date: Oct. 11, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017.
^ "Buckeyes rip Spartans 54-21 for 17th win." Eugene-Register Guard. 1969 Oct 12.
^ "Summary of Football Game Statistics, Minnesota v. Ohio State, 10/18/69" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
^ "Game: 6905, Date: Oct. 25, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017.
^ "Game: 6906, Date: Nov. 1, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017.
^ "Game: 6907, Date: Nov. 8, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017.
^ "Summary of Football Game Statistics, Ohio State v. Wisconsin, 11/08/69" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
^ "Game: 6908, Date: Nov 15, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
^ "Game: 6909, Date: Nov. 22, 1969" (PDF). Ohio State Athletics. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2018.

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Illibuck Trophy Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold