Countdown To Kickoff 2022: Ohio State Dismantles Utah, 64-6

We’re counting the days until the 2022 season by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

There are many ways to countdown to the upcoming college football season, though none may be more popular than naming the best player in school history by jersey number.

We've decided to do something a little different, though, and will be counting the days until Ohio State's season opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 3 by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

For example, Ohio State scored 48 points in its win over Utah in the Rose Bowl back in January. That game could very well be highlighted when there are 48 days remaining in the offseason.

We understand that this approach won't allow us to do a daily countdown, especially with higher point totals, but we're hopeful that looking back at some of the more notable games in school history will build anticipation for the upcoming season.

With that said, let's continue the countdown...

Ohio State 64, Utah 6 - Sept. 27, 1986

In the first-ever meeting between this year's Rose Bowl participants, fullback George Cooper scored four touchdowns to lead Ohio State to a 64-6 dismantling of Utah in 1986.

The Buckeyes, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Earle Bruce, rushed for 394 yards and seven touchdowns against the Utes to clinch the 600th victory in school history.

That includes 168 yards and two touchdowns from running back Vince Workman and 151 yards and one score from running back Jim Bryant. Cooper, meanwhile, finished the game with 38 yards and the four touchdowns on just eight carries.

"It was a great day for Ohio State," Bruce said after the game. "This is the 600th victory for our program. That's quite a milestone, and I'm happy that this team got to be a part of it."

Quarterback Jim Karsatos and backup Tom Tupa also combined for 321 yards and two touchdowns passing, helping the Buckeyes become the first team in Big Ten history to rush for 300 yards and pass for 300 yards in the same game.

Ohio State was led defensively by linebacker Chris Spielman, who recorded a team-high 11 tackles. Utah, on the other hand, turned the ball over four times and only managed a pair of field goals when the game was already in hand.

"We played very bad," Utes head coach Jim Fassel said. "I've never seen us execute so poorly. Our tackling has never been so bad. We just seemed to go sour in so many areas of the game. Ohio State is an excellent Big Ten football team, and when they play well – as they did – and we play poorly – as we did – that makes for a blowout."

The Buckeyes racked up 715 yards of total offense to break the conference record (713) set by Iowa in a 61-21 win over Northwestern in 1983. The 58-point differential was also the widest margin of victory for Ohio State since a 70-6 victory over the Wildcats in 1981. 

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