Skip to main content

Looking Back At Ohio State’s Lone Previous Meeting With Utah Ahead Of The Rose Bowl

The Buckeyes dismantled the Utes, who were part of the Western Athletic Conference in 1986.

When Ohio State takes on Utah in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, it will be just the second all-time meeting between the two programs. The previous time came in 1986, when the Buckeyes blew out the Utes, 64-6, in Columbus.

Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Earle Bruce, Ohio State rushed for 394 yards and seven touchdowns, including four scores by fullback George Cooper, two by running back Vince Workman and one by running back James Bryant.

Buckeyes quarterback Jim Karsatos threw for 224 yards and one score, while backup Tom Tupa threw for 97 yards and one touchdown while also booting a 55-yard punt.

Defensively, Ohio State was led by linebacker Chris Spielman, who recorded a team-high 11 tackles and helped keep the Utes out of the end zone. Utah managed just a pair of field goals by kicker Andre Guardi when they were already trailing 21-0 and 38-3.

The Buckeyes went on to finish the regular season 9-3, including a loss to No. 6 Michigan in the regular season finale to split the Big Ten title with the Wolverines. They then beat No. 8 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to end the year at No. 6 in the AP Poll.

The Utes, meanwhile, wrapped up their second season under the late Jim Fassel – who later coached the New York Giants to Super Bowl XXXV – with a 2-9 record, including 1-7 in the Western Athletic Conference. 

-----

Be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Former Arizona State RB DeaMonte Trayanum Transferring To Ohio State

2023 Ohio State WR Target Zachariah Branch Commits To USC

Ohio State Sold Just Two-Thirds Of Ticket Allotment For Rose Bowl Vs. Utah

2023 Florida DE Derrick LeBlanc Includes Ohio State Among Top Schools

Six Former Ohio State Buckeyes Named To 2022 Pro Bowl

Former Ohio State CB Ryan Watts Transferring To Texas

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook!