![]() The Rose Bowl was a titanic battle between the Scarlet and Gray and the Southern California Trojans. Ohio State was 9-0 and headed to Pasadena. Leggett accounted for the first two Buckeye scores with passes to Frederick Kriss and Richard Brubaker, and Cassady iced the game with a one-yard dive late in the game. Cassady ended the day with 94 rushing yards while Leggett had 42 and 58 yards passing. But, led by the running of Cassady and the passing of Leggett, Ohio State scored 14 fourth-quarter points for a 21-7 victory. The Buckeyes and the Wolverines battled to a 7-7 tie through the first three quarters and neither team could gain an edge. Wins over the Pitt Panthers, 26-0, and the Purdue Boilermakers, 28-6, preceeded the annual Michigan finale. Robert Watkins had a pair of big games in that span, rushing for 112 and 105 against Illinois and Iowa, respectively. OSU drilled Illinois 40-7 the next week and then beat Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern in its next three outings. He also led the squad with four catches for 50 yards. The Buckeyes defeated western powerhouse Cal 21-13 the next week in Columbus as Cassady rushed for 104 yards and had touchdown runs of 29 and 26 yards. Quarterback Will Leggett rushed for 45 yards and passed for another 64 to lead the way. OSU opened the season with a 28-0 victory over Indiana in Columbus. On the year, Ohio State held its foes to 7.5 points and 110 rushing yards per game, recovered 17 fumbles and had 18 interceptions and did not give up more than two touchdowns in a game. The defense was led by Jim Parker, who became an All-America guard the next two years, won the Outland Trophy as a senior and was a first round NFL draft pick of the Baltimore Colts. End Dean Dugger also earned All-America honors and four other players earned all-Big Ten honors, as the Buckeyes ran roughshod over their opponents that season, outscoring the opposition 249-75. He led the team with 609 rushing yards and 12 receptions. Woody’s 1954 team was the first in Ohio State history to win 10 games and had one of the Buckeyes’ best ever players in Howard “Hopalong” Cassady.Ĭassady, who won the Heisman trophy the next season, accounted for 849 yards and earned first-team All-American honors in 1954. It would be the first of five for Hayes, who won 205 games at OSU. In his fourth season at the OSU helm, Hayes pushed his team to the limit and came away with the ultimate prize, his first National Championship. One week later, the Buckeyes clinched the National Championship with a 41-12 win over the Iowa Seahawks.It didn’t take Woody Hayes long to put his mark on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Wolverines, who had beaten Notre Dame a week earlier, were a heavy favorites, but the Buckeyes dazzled the Maize and Blue with three passing touchdowns and prevailed 21-7. A week later, they pounded Illinois to set up a showdown with the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes rebounded from the loss with a 59-19 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Panthers. OSU narrowly avoided a shutout with a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Sarringhaus. In that game, Wisconsin All-Americans Elroy Hirsch, Marlin Harder and Dave Schreiner dominated the Buckeyes, with Hirsch and Harder combining for 212 yards and 11 points. OSU rolled to easy wins over USC, Purdue and Northwestern before making the trip to Madison for the battle with the Badgers. Fekete rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Buckeyes back from a 21-19 third-period deficit to the victory. Ohio State battled Big Ten rival Indiana the next week, grabbing a 32-21 victory in front of the home crowd. OSU poured it on in the second half with 20 points in both the third and fourth quarters. The Buckeyes had 19 first downs to only one for Ft. Fekete and Dick Palmer scored two touchdowns each as the Buckeyes rolled up 440 yards rushing to -14 for the service squad. OSU opened the season with a 59-0 pasting of Fort Knox. ![]() The amazingly talented team rolled through the regular season with only a single blemish (a 17-7 loss to Wisconsin) and finished the season ranked No. On defense, George Lynn and Tom James each ranked among the Top 10 in the Big Ten with five interceptions. Fekete led the Big Ten in scoring with 92 points, while Sarringhaus was second with 72. Fullbacks Gene Fekete and Paul Sarringhaus were among the conference’s leaders in rushing with 916 and 672 yards, respectively. ![]() The defense, on the other hand, allowed only 114 points and held its opponents to seven or fewer points four times in the 10-game season.Įnd Robert Shaw, tackle Chuck Csuri and guard Lindel Houston earned All-America honors, and seven players earned all-Big Ten honors. It was an amazing squad that grabbed the National Title in 1942 with an overwhelming offense and a smothering defense.Ĭoached by Hall of Famer Paul Brown, the offense averaged 33.7 points per game while piling up 281.2 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. ![]()
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