American Football Database
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1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football
AP Poll National Champions
Big Ten Champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 1
1942 record9-1 (5-1 Big Ten)
Head coachPaul Brown
Offensive schemeHeavy Run
Base defenseMulti
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1941
1943 →
1942 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Ohio State 5 1 0     9 1 0
#3 Wisconsin 4 1 0     8 1 1
#9 Michigan 3 2 0     7 3 0
Illinois 3 2 0     6 4 0
Iowa 3 3 0     6 4 0
#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 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was led by WB Les Horvath and QB/Captain George Lynn. They were the first national title team in Ohio State football history. They were coached by Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown. Because the Big Ten Conference did not let its teams participate in any bowl game except for the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes were given the title by the Associated Press. The Buckeyes outscored their opponents by an average score of 34-11 by scoring a total 337 and 114 for opponents.

The Buckeyes only loss was to the Wisconsin Badgers in what many now refer to as "The Bad Water Game" where half of the Buckeye players contracted an intestinal disorder after drinking from an unsanitary drinking fountain on the train to Madison. The Buckeyes were defeated by the Badgers who were led by Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. However, the Badgers had a loss and a tie giving Ohio State the Big Ten Championship.

Horvath then led the Bucks to three scores through the air to upset Michigan and win their first league championship in three years and their sixth in thirty years since joining the Western Conference in 1913.

Top ranked Boston College lost its season ending game, giving Ohio State their first consensus football National Championship. Ohio State had been awarded a National Championship via the Dunkel System in 1933, with Michigan, Princeton and Southern California also being given titles by different ranking systems.

Schedule[]

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 26* Fort Knox Army squad #1 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 59-0   22,555
October 3 Indiana #1 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 32-21   48,227
October 10* USC #1 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 28-12   56,436
October 17 Purdue #1 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 26-0   45,943
October 24 at Northwestern #1 Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL W 20-6   40,000
October 31 at #6 Wisconsin #1 Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI L 7-17   45,000
November 7* Pittsburgh #6 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 59-19   34,893
November 14 vs. #13 Illinois #10 Cleveland StadiumCleveland, OH W 44-20   68,586
November 21 #4 Michigan #5 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 21-7   71,691
November 28* Iowa Pre-Flight #3 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 41-12   27,259
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Coaching staff[]

All-Americans[]

All-Big Ten[]

  • Lindell Houston, G
  • Paul Sarringhaus, HB
  • Bob Shaw, E

Big Ten Scholar/Athlete[]

  • Don Steinberg, WR

1943 NFL draftees[]

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[]

General
  • Lindy's (2002), A Championship Season...and the Battle for #1, pp. 74.
Win/Loss statistics
Draft data
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