Wikipedia

1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1942 season. In their second season under head coach Paul Brown, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 337 to 114, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll, thus earning Ohio State their first ever national championship in program history.

1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football
AP Poll national champion
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 1
Record9–1 (5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive schemeHeavy run
Base defenseMultiple
MVPJack Graf
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1941
1943 →
1942 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 3 Wisconsin 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 1
No. 9 Michigan 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Illinois 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Iowa 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
No. 19 Minnesota 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Indiana 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Purdue 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by wingback Les Horvath, quarterback and team captain George Lynn, and halfback Gene Fekete. Fekete led the Big 10 with 910 rushing yards.

The Buckeyes' only loss was to No. 3 Wisconsin. Half of the Buckeye players contracted an intestinal disorder after drinking from an unsanitary drinking fountain on the train to Madison.[1] Horvath then led the Buckeyes to three scores through the air to upset Michigan.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26Fort Knox*
W 59–022,555
October 3Indiana
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 32–2148,227
October 10USC*
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 28–1256,436
October 17PurdueNo. 1
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 26–045,943
October 24at NorthwesternNo. 1
W 20–640,000
October 31at No. 6 WisconsinNo. 1
L 7–1745,000
November 7Pittsburgh*No. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 59–1934,893[2]
November 14vs. No. 13 IllinoisNo. 10
W 44–2068,586
November 21No. 4 MichiganNo. 5
W 21–771,691
November 28Iowa Pre-Flight*No. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 41–1227,259[3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

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See also: 1942 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll1234567Final
AP2 (12)1 (58)1 (80)610 (1)5 (1)3 (16)1 (84)

Coaching staff

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Awards

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All-Americans

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All-Big Ten

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Big Ten Scholar/Athlete

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  • Don Steinberg, WR

1943 NFL draftees

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Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Les Horvath 6 45 Halfback Cleveland Rams
Bill Vickroy 12 105 Center Cleveland Rams
Don McCafferty 13 116 End New York Giants

References

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  1. ^ Gutridge, Mike (June 21, 2016). "100 Teams in 100 Days: Brown, Buckeyes Capture Program's First National Championship In 1942". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Scoring Spree Staged at Columbus". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 8, 1942. p. 33. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Ohio State Takes 41-12 Grid Contest: Buckeyes Score in Every Period To Outclass Iowas Seahawks". The Baltimore Sun (AP story). November 29, 1942. p. Sports 4.
General
  • Lindy's (2002), A Championship Season...and the Battle for #1, p. 74
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