• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Bye Week News and Notes

Here are some interesting facts and trivia concerning Ohio State scoring records, mostly dealing with very long (and very short) touchdowns. Enjoy your bye week!

1. The big play is one of the reasons that football is so exciting. The Buckeyes have been a big play team throughout the new millennium, and especially during the Urban Meyer era. Since 2001, Ohio State has had 109 scoring plays of 50+ yards, broken down as follows: 63 receptions, 46 runs, 15 punt returns, 11 interceptions, 4 kick-off returns, 4 fumble recoveries, and 1 blocked field goal.

2. Last week against Rutgers, Michael Thomas caught a 50-yard touchdown pass. It was the fourth 50+ yard TD reception of his Buckeye career, the other three all coming during the 2014 season: 53 yards against Virginia Tech, 63 yards against Kent State, and 79 yards against Michigan State. Thomas is now tied with David Boston and Terry Glenn with four TD catches of 50+ yards, which is good for third place in Buckeye history. Devin Smith and Ted Ginn, Jr. are tied for first place with seven each.

3. Devin Smith also has eight touchdown receptions of between 40 and 49 yards, giving him a team record 15 touchdown receptions of 40+ yards.

4. Only 18 Buckeyes have four or more TD plays of 50+ yards. Nine have played in the new millennium. Three are currently on the team: Braxton Miller (8 TDs); Ezekiel Elliott (8 TDs); and Michael Thomas (4 TDs).

5. Ezekiel Elliott leads all Buckeye rushers with eight touchdown runs of 50+ yards. Braxton Miller is second with seven.

6. Ted Ginn, Jr. tops all Ohio State players with sixteen total touchdowns of 50+ yards. By the way, Ohio State's record books are complete back only to the 1960 season.

7. Here's a chart showing all 18 Buckeyes who have scored four or more TDs of 50+ yards:

Buckeye PlayerYears ActiveRun TD 50+Rec TD 50+PR TD 50+KR TD 50+Total TD 50+
Ted Ginn, Jr.2004-2006176216
Ezekiel Elliott2013-201580008
Braxton Miller2011-201571008
Devin Smith2011-201407007
Parris Campbell2015-201806006
David Boston1996-199804206
Jeff Graham1988-199003306
J.K. Dobbins2017-201950005
Beanie Wells2006-200850005
Michael Wiley1996-199922015
Joey Galloway1991-199413015
Chris Olave2017 - 202004004
Terry McLaurin2015-201804004
Michael Thomas2012-201504004
Philly Brown2010-201302204
Santonio Holmes2002-200503104
Michael Jenkins2000-200303104
Terry Glenn1993-199504004
Eddie George1992-199540004
Tim Spencer1979-198240004
Lenny Willis1974-197511024
Robert Klein1960-196221014
8. Some notable names missing from the above list, with the amount of 50+ yard TDs in parentheses: Archie Griffin (3); Keith Byars (3); Cornelius Greene (3); Carlos Hyde (3); Antonio Pittman (3); Paul Warfield (2); Cris Carter (1)

9. Lenny Willis scored only five touchdowns during his Buckeye career, and four of them were from 50+ yards: a 53-yard run, a 64-yard reception, and kick-off returns of 93 and 97 yards. His fifth touchdown was a 48-yard reception. Average length of his TDs: 71.0 yards

10. The one blocked field goal for a touchdown referenced in Paragraph #1 came courtesy of Ashton Youboty against Michigan State in 2005. Youboty's 72-yard return on the last play of the first half helped to swing the game in Ohio State's favor and led to an epic meltdown by Sparty head coach John L. Smith. It is also the only blocked-FG TD in OSU's recorded history.

11. There have been 56 touchdowns of 80+ yards (runs, passes, returns) in Ohio State history, broken down as follows: 20 kick-off returns, 12 runs, 9 receptions, 9 interceptions, and 6 punt returns.

12. Of the eleven touchdown runs of 80+ yards, five were made by current Buckeyes: Ezekiel Elliott (runs of 80, 81, and 85 yards); Braxton Miller (run of 81 yards); and J.T. Barrett (run of 86 yards).

13. One of the eight interceptions of 80+ yards was a joint effort. Facing the Indiana Hoosiers on October 30, 1976, defensive lineman Nick Buonamici intercepted a pass at the five-yard line, ran for 22 yards, and then lateralled the ball to defensive back Ray Griffin who took it the final 73 yards for the score.

14. The leaders in touchdowns of 80+ yards are Ted Ginn, Jr. and Ezekiel Elliott, each of whom has/had three during his career. Ginn scored on an 82-yard punt return, a 93-yard kick-off return, and a 100-yard kick-off return, while Elliott has scored on runs of 80, 81, and 85 yards.

15. Seven Buckeyes have had two touchdowns of 80+ yards, namely: Dean Sensanbacher (kick-off returns of 98 and 103 yards); Robert Klein (80-yard reception, 90-yard kick-off return); Morris Bradshaw (88-yard run, 88-yard kick-off return); Lenny Willis (kick-off returns of 93 and 97 yards); Jeff Graham (80-yard reception, 81-yard punt return); Santonio Holmes (receptions of 80 and 85 yards); and Devin Smith (receptions of 80 and 90 yards).

16. Ezekiel Elliott (2014), Lenny Willis (1974), and Morris Bradshaw (1971) each had two 80+ yard touchdowns in the same season.

17. Morris Bradshaw is the only Buckeye to have two 80+ yard touchdowns in the same game. On October 23, 1971, Bradshaw had an 88-yard touchdown run (the longest run from scrimmage in Ohio State history) and an 88-yard kick-off return for a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers. Bradshaw had only six total touchdowns during his Ohio State career before he went on to the NFL for ten seasons (mostly with the Oakland Raiders).

18. The Buckeyes have had three other scoring plays of 80+ yards, all of which were defensive two-point conversions. The first two occurred in 1991, when linebacker Steve Tovar (96-yard interception versus Washington State) and defensive end Jason Simmons (85-yard blocked extra point versus Iowa) each pulled off that trick. The last Buckeye to accomplish this strange feat was linebacker Brian Rolle, who went 99 yards with an intercepted two-point conversion attempt against Navy in 2009.

19. The longest recorded touchdown in Ohio State history was a 103-yard kick-off return by Dean Sensanbaugher in 1943. The NCAA does not recognize touchdowns of greater than 100 yards, reducing any such touchdown to 100 yards. Ohio State has had seven other touchdowns of 100 yards (or more): William Wentz (kick-off return, 1960); David Brown (interception, 1986); Carlos Snow (kick-off return, 1988); Marlon Kerner (interception, 1993); Michael Wiley (kick-off return, 1997); Will Allen (interception, 2003); and Ted Ginn, Jr. (kick-off return, 2005).

20. Below is a chart showing the longest scoring plays in Ohio State history by type of play:

Type of PlayPlayer(s)Yardage
RushMorris Bradshaw88
ReceptionKenny Guiton to Devin Smith90
Field GoalTom Skladany59
Kick-Off ReturnDean Sensanbaugher103
Punt ReturnBrian Hartline90
InterceptionDavid Brown; Marlon Kerner; Will Allen100
Fumble RecoveryRob Kelly79
Blocked PuntSevyn Banks33
Blocked Field GoalAshton Youboty72
Defensive 2-PointBrian Rolle99
21. On October 19, 1996, in a game against Purdue, Rob Kelly set the Ohio State record for longest touchdown on a fumble recovery. In that same game, Purdue quarterback John Reeves connected with Isaac Jones for an 86-yard touchdown reception, the third-longest TD pass (and sixth-longest scoring play from scrimmage) by a Buckeye opponent.

22. The shortest touchdown in Ohio State history is zero yards, which has happened 24 times: 13 blocked punts recovered in the end zone, 10 fumbles recovered in the end zone, and one interception in the end zone.

23. Wide receiver Terry Glenn set a team record in 1995 with 17 touchdown receptions (including receptions of 56, 61, 75, and 82 yards). Glenn's only other touchdown for his Buckeye career came in 1993 against Illinois when the Illini punter fumbled the snap and Glenn recovered the ball in the end zone for a 0-yard touchdown.

24. The Buckeyes have recorded 25 safeties since 1960. The team record for safeties in a single season is three in 2001, which included a team record two against Purdue on November 10th.

25. Neal Colzie holds the Ohio State record for the shortest punt return for a touchdown (43 yards vs Michigan State in 1973); Jordan Hall holds the Ohio State record for shortest kick-off return for a touchdown (85 yards vs Michigan in 2010); and Haskell Garrett holds the Ohio State record for shortest interception return for a touchdown (0 yards vs Michigan State in 2020).

26. Ted Ginn, Jr. holds the team record for most special teams touchdowns with eight, including a team-record six punt returns and a team-record (shared with two others) two kick-off returns.

27. The team record for most special teams touchdowns in one year is five set in 2004. All five touchdowns were by way of punt returns, four by Ted Ginn, Jr. (60, 65, 67, and 82 yards) and one by Santonio Holmes (63 yards).

28. Michael Doss holds the team record for most defensive touchdowns with four, which includes three fumble recoveries (0, 30, and 73 yards) and one interception (45 yards). Bradley Roby has the most total touchdowns for a defensive player with five, including two interceptions (41 and 63 yards), one fumble recovery (1 yard), and two blocked punts (both 0 yards). Neal Colzie holds the single-season record for most total touchdowns by a defensive player with four in 1973 (interceptions of 19 and 55 yards; punt returns of 43 and 78 yards).

29. The team record for most defensive touchdowns in one season is seven in 2000, including a record four in one game against Fresno State on September 2nd. Defensive back David Mitchell scored on a 51-yard interception and a 34-yard fumble recovery; safety Michael Doss scored on a 0-yard fumble recovery; and linebacker Matt Wilhelm scored on a 25-yard interception.

30. That Fresno State game was also notable for another reason. With Ohio State leading 37-3 in the fourth quarter, Fresno State drove 88 yards in 13 plays to score a touchdown with just 5 seconds left on the clock. For some reason, Fresno State then attempted an on-side kick. That move must have pissed off Buckeye head coach John Cooper, because instead of taking a kneel down to end the game he called for a flag pass (bomb), which quarterback Scott McMullen completed to Ricky Bryant for a 44-yard touchdown as time expired. Final score: Ohio State 43, Fresno State 10.
 
Last edited:
Our offense must've sucked in the Fresno State game where we had the four defensive TDs. If the score was 37-3 in the fourth, that meant we had only one offensive TD and a FG (and a missed PAT) up until the TD bomb at the end of the game.
 
Upvote 0
Our offense must've sucked in the Fresno State game where we had the four defensive TDs. If the score was 37-3 in the fourth, that meant we had only one offensive TD and a FG (and a missed PAT) up until the TD bomb at the end of the game.

That Fresno game in 2000 was funny. Fresno opened with a 10 play, 54 yard drive but had the FG try blocked. OSU took over at their 15, drove 17 plays, 84 yards, using 9 minutes of clock, and turned it over on downs at the Fresno 1. Fresno was flagged for encroachment twice at the goalline on consecutive plays before stuffing a couple dives, a QB sneak, and a sweep. On Fresno's second play trying to get out of their end zone they fumbled giving OSU a TD. OSU gets an excessive celebration penalty after the score, so Stultz misses the 34 yard XP.

On the first play of a the next possession, a Fresno receiver fumbled the ball, and that was returned for a TD. OSU again gets an excessive celebration penalty, but Stultz makes that kick.

OSU held the ball over 9 minutes of the first quarter scoring 0 offensive points, yet had a 13-0 lead thanks to a FG block and two defensive TDs in a 32 second span to close the quarter.

Fresno had a really good D (for a mid-major) back then and OSU still rushed for about 250 yards. That was also the David Carr era. He passed 50 times for nearly 300 yards, but was doomed by 4 INTs.

Also keep in mind this was the 2000 Buckeye team that got Cooper fired. They had nearly 150 yards in penalties.
 
Upvote 0
This article dealt with Ohio State's long touchdowns (50+ yards), very long touchdowns (80+) yards, and defensive and special teams touchdowns.

Since last year's bye week (8 games), Ohio State has had only one long touchdown from scrimmage (Curtis Samuel's 79-yard reception against Bowling Green), and two long touchdowns on defense (Rodjay Burns's 75-yard pick six against Bowling Green, Jerome Baker's 68-yard touchdown against Oklahoma).

Zeke Elliott narrowly missed logging the ninth long touchdown run of his Buckeye career with a 47-yarder versus Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

The 2016 Buckeyes have four pick sixes through three games, which means that they have an excellent chance to tie or break the Ohio State single-season record for defensive touchdowns (seven in 2000).
 
Upvote 0
This article dealt with Ohio State's long touchdowns (50+ yards), very long touchdowns (80+) yards, and defensive and special teams touchdowns. Here are a few updates:

1. Parris Campbell is added to the list of Buckeyes with at least four long touchdowns, as he had six touchdowns receptions of 50+ yards (57, 63, 69, 71, 74, 78). Interestingly, the two longest plays of Campbell's Buckeye career did not result in scores: an 82-yard kickoff return against UNLV on September 23, 2017; and a 91-yard kickoff return against Indiana on October 8, 2016.

2. Terry McLaurin is also added to the list, with four touchdown receptions of 50+ yards (51, 68, 75, 84).

3. With his 67-yard TD run last week versus Michigan State, J.K. Dobbins is also added to the list with four touchdown runs of 50+ yards (52, 52, 60, 67). Dobbins's longest run did not result in a touchdown, a 77-yard jaunt against Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game (December 2, 2017).

4. Curtis Samuel just missed the list, with two long touchdown receptions and one long touchdown run, all coming during the 2016 season: 74-yard run vs Penn State (October 22, 2016); 75-yard reception vs Nebraska (November 5, 2016); 79-yard reception vs Bowling Green (September 3, 2016).

Samuel is the only Buckeye to have three scoring plays from scrimmage of 70+ yards in the same season, although Zeke Elliott accomplished the feat over two seasons but in the same calendar year: 85-yard run vs Alabama (January 1, 2015); 80-yard run vs Virginia Tech (September 7, 2015); 75-yard run vs Indiana (October 3, 2015).

5. Regarding very long touchdowns (80+ yards), the Buckeyes had none in 2016; two in 2017 (Mike Weber 82-yard run; Terry McLaurin 84-yard reception); none on 2018; and one so far in 2019 (Damon Arnette 96-yard interception return).

6. The Buckeyes had one safety in 2016 (Terry McLaurin vs Penn State); one in 2017 (Dre'Mont Jones vs UNLV); two in 2018 (Keandre Jones vs Nebraska; "team" vs Michigan State); and one so far in 2019 (Chris Olave vs Indiana). The Buckeyes now have 30 safeties since 1960 (the first year for which individual game logs are available).

7. The Buckeyes did not have any 0-yard touchdowns in 2015, 2016, or 2017, but had three in 2018, all by way of fumble recoveries: Nick Bosa (Oregon State); Davon Hamilton (Texas Christian); and Dre'Mont Jones (Michigan State). The Buckeyes now have 26 touchdowns of 0 yards since 1960 (13 fumble recoveries; 13 blocked punts).

8. In 2016, the Buckeyes tied their team record with seven defensive touchdowns in one season (also accomplished in 2000). All seven were interception returns: Malik Hooker had a team-record (single season and career) three pick sixes (26 yards vs Tulsa; 48 yards vs Nebraska; 16 yards vs Michigan); and four other players had one each: Rodjay Burns (75 yards vs Bowling Green); Marshon Lattimore (40 yards vs Tulsa); Jerome Baker (68 yards vs Oklahoma); and Damon Webb (36 yards vs Nebraska).

9. Sevyn Banks set the Buckeye record for longest blocked punt touchdown with his 33-yard return against Michigan in 2018. In case you forgot "Plucked Out Of The Air!", here it is once again:

 
Upvote 0
Back
Top