The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 1942 Big Ten Conference football season. The team was led by wingback Les Horvath and quarterback and team captain George Lynn. They were coached by Paul Brown. The Buckeyes were awarded the national championship by the Associated Press, the first claimed and generally recognized national title in program history. The 1933 Ohio State team had been awarded a national championship via the Dunkel System, with Michigan, Princeton, and USC also receiving titles from different ranking systems.
| 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football | |
|---|---|
AP Poll national champion Big Ten champion | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 1 |
| Record | 9–1 (5–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive scheme | Heavy run |
| Base defense | Multi |
| MVP | Charles Csuri |
| Home stadium | Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 66,210) |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Buckeyes only loss was to the Wisconsin Badgers in what many[who?] 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 Hirsch. However, the Badgers had a loss and a tie giving Ohio State the Big Ten championship.
Horvath then led the Buckeyes to three scores through the air to upset Michigan and win their first league championship in three years and their sixth in 30 years since joining the Big Ten Conference in 1913. The Buckeyes outscored their opponents on the season by an average score of 34–11 by scoring a total 337 and allowing 114.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | Fort Knox* | No. 1 | W 59–0 | 22,555 | |
| October 3 | Indiana | No. 1 |
| W 32–21 | 48,227 |
| October 10 | USC* | No. 1 |
| W 28–12 | 56,436 |
| October 17 | Purdue | No. 1 |
| W 26–0 | 45,943 |
| October 24 | at Northwestern | No. 1 | W 20–6 | 40,000 | |
| October 31 | at No. 6 Wisconsin | No. 1 | L 7–17 | 45,000 | |
| November 7 | Pittsburgh* | No. 6 |
| W 59–19 | 34,893 |
| November 14 | vs. No. 13 Illinois | No. 10 | W 44–20 | 68,586 | |
| November 21 | No. 4 Michigan | No. 5 |
| W 21–7 | 71,691 |
| November 28 | Iowa Pre-Flight* | No. 3 |
| W 41–12 | 27,259 |
| |||||
Coaching staff
- Paul Brown, head coach, second year
Awards
All-Americans
- Charles Csuri, T (Team MVP)
- Gene Fekete, FB
- Lindell Houston, G
- Paul Sarringhaus, HB
- Bob Shaw, E
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, p. 74