1988 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1988 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 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach John Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled a 4–6–1 record (2–5–1 in conference games), tied for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 283 to 229. It was Ohio State's first losing season since 1959, and the Buckeyes were unranked in the final AP poll.

1988 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–6–1 (2–5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Colletto (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Young (1st season)
MVP	Jeff Uhlenhake
Captains	Michael McCray Mike Sullivan Jeff Uhlenhake Vince Workman
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Michigan $	7	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Iowa	4	–	1	–	3			6	–	4	–	3
No. 20 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Ohio State	2	–	5	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	6	–	2			2	–	7	–	2
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The Buckeyes gained an average of 150.4 rushing yards and 187.1 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 192.4 rushing yards and 192.9 passing yards per game. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Greg Frey (2,028 passing yards, 51.9% completion percentage), running back Carlos Snow (775 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry), and tight end Jeff Ellis (40 receptions for 492 yards). No Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 1988 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Center Jeff Uhlenhake, defensive back Zack Dumas, and kicker Pat O'Morrow received second-team honors.

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	3:30 p.m.	Syracuse*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 26–9	89,768
September 17	7:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh*	No. 18	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	L 10–42	56,500
September 24	3:30 p.m.	No. 7 LSU*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 36–33	90,584
October 1	1:30 p.m.	Illinois		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)		L 12–31	90,274
October 8	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ABC	L 7–41	52,133
October 15	1:30 p.m.	Purdue		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 26–31	90,970
October 22	8:00 p.m.	Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 13–6	44,221
October 29	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 10–20	77,111
November 5	1:30 p.m.	Wisconsin		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 34–12	90,032
November 12	12:00 p.m.	at Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		T 24–24	67,700
November 19	12:00 p.m.	No. 12 Michigan		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 31–34	90,176
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Syracuse

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Syracuse	3	3	0	3	9
• Ohio St	0	17	6	3	26

• Date: September 10
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Scoring summary

1		SYR	Greene 24-yard field goal	Syracuse 3-0
2		OHST	O'Morrow 27-yard field goal	Tie 3-3
2		OHST	Snow 14-yard run (O'Morrow kick)	Ohio St 10-3
2		OHST	Ellis 2-yard pass from Frey (O'Morrow kick)	Ohio St 17-3
2		SYR	Greene 45-yard field goal	Ohio St 17-6
3		OHST	O'Morrow 33-yard field goal	Ohio St 20-6
3		OHST	O'Morrow 41-yard field goal	Ohio St 23-6
4		SYR	Greene 38-yard field goal	Ohio St 23-9
4		OHST	O'Morrow 30-yard field goal	Ohio St 26-9

Pittsburgh

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	3	0	0	7	10
• Pittsburgh	14	14	0	14	42

• Date: September 17
• Location: Pitt Stadium

LSU

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
LSU	3	10	10	10	33
• Ohio St	0	14	3	19	36

• Date: September 24
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Game attendance: 90,584

Scoring summary

1		LSU	Browndyke 38 yard field goal	LSU 3–0
2		OHST	Snow 1 yard run (O'Morrow kick)	OHST 7–3
2		OHST	McCray 22 yard blocked punt return (O'Morrow kick)	OHST 14–3
2		LSU	Moss 30 yard pass from Hodson (Browndyke kick)	OHST 14–10
2		LSU	Browndyke 27 yard field goal	OHST 14–13
3		OHST	O'Morrow 35 yard field goal	OHST 17–13
3		LSU	E. Fuller 3 yard run (Browndyke kick)	LSU 20–17
3		LSU	Browndyke 35 yard field goal	LSU 23–17
4		OHST	O'Morrow 41 yard field goal	LSU 23–20
4		LSU	Browndyke 20 yard field goal	LSU 26–20
4		LSU	Lee 55 yard pass from Hodson (Browndyke kick)	LSU 33–20
4		OHST	Snow 5 yard run (O'Morrow kick)	LSU 33–27
4		OHST	Safety, Bourgeois ran through end zone	LSU 33–29
4		OHST	Olive 20 yard pass from Frey (O'Morrow kick)	OHST 36–33

Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Illinois	7	3	0	21	31
Ohio St	0	3	3	6	12

• Date: October 1
• Location: Ohio Stadium

Indiana

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

• Date: October 8
• Location: Memorial Stadium
• Game attendance: 52,133

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers (2–3) at Ohio State Buckeyes (2–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	7	14	10	31
Ohio St	7	10	3	6	26

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 15
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Partly sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
• Game attendance: 90,970
• Referee: Jim Kemerling
• TV: WCMH

Game information

First quarter OSU – Carlos Snow 58-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 9:32. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 68 yards, 1:30. Second quarter OSU – Greg Frey 1-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 13:18. Ohio St 14–0. Drive: 12 plays, 86 yards, 5:13. PUR – Lance Scheib 46-yard pass from Brian Fox (Larry Sullivan kick), 10:52. Ohio St 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards, 2:17. OSU – Pat O'Morrow 35-yard field goal, 0:48. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 7 plays, 12 yards, 3:52. Third quarter OSU – Pat O'Morrow 24-yard field goal, 10:22. Ohio St 20–7. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 3:10. PUR – Ernie Schramayr 5-yard pass from Brian Fox (Larry Sullivan kick), 6:23. Ohio St 20–14. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 3:54. PUR – Brian Fox 3-yard run (Larry Sullivan kick), 4:59. Purdue 21–20. Drive: 4 plays, 16 yards, 1:14. Fourth quarter PUR – Ernie Schramayr 7-yard pass from Brian Fox (Larry Sullivan kick), 14:56. Purdue 28–20. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:29. OSU – James Bryant 5-yard run (pass failed), 12:12. Purdue 28–26. Drive: 6 plays, 66 yards, 2:38. PUR – Larry Sullivan 49-yard field goal, 6:28. Purdue 31–26. Drive: 12 plays, 42 yards, 5:39. Top passers PUR – Brian Fox – 19/27, 223 yards, 3 TD OSU – Greg Frey – 10/21, 193 yards, 2 INT Top rushers PUR – Jarrett Scales – 21 rushes, 62 yards OSU – Carlos Snow – 20 rushes, 128 yards, TD Top receivers PUR – Ernie Schramayr – 13 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD OSU – Jeff Ellis – 3 receptions, 66 yards

Minnesota

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	3	7	3	0	13
Minnesota	3	3	0	0	6

• Date: October 22
• Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

Michigan State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	3	0	0	10
• Michigan St	7	3	10	0	20

• Date: October 29
• Location: Spartan Stadium

Wisconsin

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	6	6	0	0	12
• Ohio St	3	21	3	7	34

• Date: November 5
• Location: Ohio Stadium

Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	7	7	3	24
Iowa	14	7	0	3	24

• Date: November 12
• Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 12:15 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 3:20
• Game attendance: 67,700
• Game weather: Rain; 40 °F (4 °C); wind 10–12 mph (16–19 km/h) SE
• Referee: Gil Marchman

Scoring summary

Q1	10:12	IOWA	Stewart 1 yard run (Skillett kick)	IOWA 7–0
Q1	8:41	IOWA	Cook 29 yard pass from Hartlieb (Skillett kick)	IOWA 14–0
Q1	4:17	OSU	M. Sullivan 13 yard interception return (O'Morrow kick)	IOWA 14–7
Q2	11:45	IOWA	Harberts 48 yard pass from Hartlieb (Skillett kick)	IOWA 21–7
Q2	7:51	OSU	Ellis 2 yard pass from Frey (O'Morrow kick)	IOWA 21–14
Q3	9:56	OSU	S. Graham 5 yard run (O'Morrow kick)	Tie 21–21
Q4	8:21	OSU	O'Morrow 39 yard field goal	OSU 24–21
Q4	:16	IOWA	Skillett 40 yard field goal	Tie 24–24

Michigan

Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	10	10	0	14	34
Ohio St	0	0	14	17	31

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: November 19, 1988
• Game time: 12:10 p.m.
• Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
• Game attendance: 90,176
• Referee: John Nealow

Game information

First quarter MICH – Mike Gillette 22-yard field goal, 5:47. Michigan 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 4:09. MICH – Greg McMurtry 57-yard pass from Demetrius Brown (Mike Gillette kick), 1:06. Michigan 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 1:44. Second quarter MICH – Leroy Hoard 18-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 8:35. Michigan 17–0. Drive: 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:53. MICH – Mike Gillette 56-yard field goal, 0:00. Michigan 20–0. Drive: 5 plays, 36 yards, 2:35. Third quarter OSU – Carlos Snow 4-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 12:06. Michigan 20–7. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:48. OSU – Bill Matlock 9-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 4:59. Michigan 20–14. Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:08. Fourth quarter OSU – Bobby Olive 4-yard pass from Greg Frey (Pat O'Morrow kick), 11:26. Ohio St 21–20. Drive: 8 plays, 90 yards, 3:42. OSU – Pat O'Morrow 21-yard field goal, 8:30. Ohio St 24–20. Drive: 6 plays, 18 yards, 2:50. MICH – Leroy Hoard 8-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 4:20. Michigan 27–24. Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 4:03. OSU – Bill Matlock 16-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 2:02. Ohio St 31–27. Drive: 6 plays, 92 yards, 2:12. MICH – John Kolesar 41-yard pass from Demetrius Brown (Mike Gillette kick), 1:37. Michigan 34–31. Drive: 2 plays, 41 yards, 0:15. Top passers MICH – Demetrius Brown – 11/17, 223 yards, 2 TD OSU – Greg Frey – 14/29, 192 yards, TD, INT Top rushers MICH – Leroy Hoard – 23 rushes, 158 yards, 2 TD OSU – Carlos Snow – 21 rushes, 170 yards, TD Top receivers MICH – John Kolesar – 3 receptions, 95 yards, TD OSU – Bobby Olive – 3 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Roster

1988 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 76 Dan Beatty  So WR 88 Greg Beatty Fr FB 38 Chris Boddie  So FB 41 James Bryant Jr FL 18 Gary Clift Sr QB 12 Nick Cochran Fr OT 66 Karl Coles  Jr TE 81 Anthony Cook  So G 50 Jeff Davidson Jr SE 27 John Dawson  Fr FL 2 Bernard Edwards  Fr TE 89 Jeff Ellis So FL 47 Tony Fenstermaker  So QB 9 Jason Frank Fr G 70 Steve France  Jr QB 15 Greg Frey  So RB 33 Tony Goodgame Fr SE 84 Jeff Graham So FB 35 Scottie Graham  Fr G 65 Erik Grimm  So OL 77 Len Hartman Fr QB 19 Kirk Herbstreit Fr RB 23 Marc Hicks Jr C 60 Dan Hirneise  So RB 29 Buster Howe Fr C 71 Mike Huddleston Fr TE 87 Rich Huffman  So RB 30 Brent Johnson Fr FL 82 David Menges So OT 64 Mike Kuri  Jr C 62 Travis Lutz  Fr FB 11 Bill Matlock Sr QB 21 David McAllister  Jr OT 74 Tim Moxley  Jr G 63 Roy Nichols  Fr FL 37 Bobby Olive So TE 85 Jim Palmer  Jr OT 75 John Peterson  So QB 13 Scott Powell  Sr TB 1 Lance Price  So SE 5 Everett Ross Sr TE 80 Chris Roy Fr TE 91 Scott St. John  So OT 69 John Schilling Fr C 53 Tom Scholl  Sr OT 73 Paul Sherrick Fr OT 78 Mike Shoaf  Fr SE 4 Wes Siegenthaler  So TB 25 Carlos Snow So TB 28 John Spencer So QB 14 Chris Stablein  So OT 79 Joe Staysniak  Jr C 68 Jeff Uhlenhake (C)  Sr G 61 Ken Voll  So QB 17 John Wagoner  So TB 42 Vince Workman (C) Sr G 51 Greg Zackeroff  Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 32 Dave Bals Fr S 3 Sean Bell  Sr ILB 91 Brian Benio  So S 27 David Brown  Jr LB 58 Joe Carpenter  So OLB 16 Mike Chancey  So CB 7 Vince Clark So LB 44 Tony Closson Fr DT 92 Ken Coleman  So DB 83 Bryan Cook Fr ILB 56 Orlondo Craig Jr CB 22 Tony Cupe  So DB 17 Doug Dinan  Jr CB 21 Zack Dumas Jr LB 94 Derrick Foster Fr DT 90 Rich Frimel Fr CB 11 Mike Giesler  So ILB 49 Andrew Gurd So LB 39 Tyrone Harrison So LB 36 Judah Herman Fr DB 18 Troy Hilsenroth  Fr OLB 95 John Kacherski So LB 62 Charles Keenan  Jr LB 35 Kristofer Kostival  Fr OLB 81 Tom Lease Fr ILB 86 Gary Lickovitch  So DT 53 Paul Long Fr DT 93 Derek MacCready Sr LB 43 John Martin Fr OLB 99 Michael McCray (C) Sr LB 34 Joe Metzger Fr DT 97 Tony Moore  So DB 25 Chris Ntukgou  So DT 72 Corey Pargo Fr S 46 Jim Peel  So S 48 Mark Pelini  So DB 33 Trevor Poole  So S 13 Brady Pugh  Fr DT 66 Stephen Robbins  So OLB 47 Patrick Rogan Fr CB 24 Tim Rutledge So DT 98 Mike Showalter Jr CB 20 Dwight Smith  Sr ILB 57 John Sullivan Sr NG 67 Mike Sullivan (C) Sr OLB 30 Otto Susec  So NG 54 Pat Thomas  Jr OLB 55 Jason Warner  Fr OLB 96 Srecko Zizakovic  Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 26 Jeff Bohlman  So PK 41 Brian Eisenberg  Fr PK 28 Bob Hoyt  So LS 52 Tom Moore Sr PK 6 Pat O'Morrow Jr PK 42 Scott Osborne  Fr P 8 Mark Smith  Fr	Head coach John Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Blackney Inside linebackers Jim Colletto Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Bill Dudley Quarterbacks Bert Hill Conditioning coach Ron Hudson Running backs Gene Huey Wide receiver Harry Justvig Volunteer Assistant Fred Pagac Outside linebackers Bob Palcic Centers, Guards Bill Young Defensive coordinator Ron Zook Defensive backs Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2016-Dec-02

1989 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Jeff Uhlenhake	5	121	Center	Miami Dolphins
Vince Workman	5	127	Running back	Green Bay Packers
Derek MacCready	9	226	Defensive end	Detroit Lions
Everett Ross	12	335	Wide receiver	Minnesota Vikings