User:Buckboard/Draft: Ohio State Buckeyes football

Image:Logo_OhioStateBuckeyes1.jpg
Program description*
Participants:	104 (85 scholarships)
Coaches:	10 full-time, 2 part-time
Revenues (US$):	$51,810,607 (2004)
Total Expenses:	$25,711,478
Game-day expenses:	$3,914,431
Recruiting expenses:	$418,975
Pageantry
Nickname:	Buckeyes
Colors:	Scarlet and Gray
Fight songs:	Across the Field and Buckeye Battle Cry
Mascot:	Brutus Buckeye
Marching Band:	The Ohio State University Marching Band
Stadium:	Ohio Stadium
Rivals:	Michigan Wolverines and Illinois Fighting Illini
Records
All-time Record:	775-300-53
Bowl Record:	17-19
BCS Record:	4-0
Awards
National Titles:	7
Conference Titles:	30
Heisman Winners:	6
1st Team All-Americans:	125
*Source: 2005 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act filing

For information specifically about the 2006 team, see 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Ohio State Buckeyes football is the intercollegiate American football varsity sports program of The Ohio State University. The program represents the university as a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association, playing at the Division I-A level. The team nickname is derived from the state tree of Ohio. The Buckeyes have played their home games in Ohio Stadium since 1922.

In its 116-year-history, the Buckeyes have been consensus Division IA National Champions four times (1942, 1954, 1968, and 2002), and officially recognize titles in three other years (1957, 1961, and 1970).^[1]

Since January 18, 2001, the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes has been Jim Tressel. He heads a staff of approximately eighty-five persons: ten assistant coaches, a strength and conditioning staff of three, a program operations and support staff of eleven (including two part-time coaches), a sports medicine staff of eleven team physicians and seven consultants, twenty-five athletic trainers, six equipment managers, and approximately fifteen student managers.

In the spring of 1890 the growing fever of the Walter Camp-style of football, formulated between 1880 and 1883 among colleges of the future Ivy League, reached Columbus, Ohio. George Cole, an undergraduate, is generally given credit for organizing the first intercollegiate team at Ohio State.^[2] He persuaded Alexander S. Lilley to coach the squad and brought in a reknowned Princeton fullback and soon-to-be coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, Knowlton Lyman "Snake" Ames,^[3] to familiarize the team with fundamentals. The Buckeyes first game, played on May 3, 1890, at Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan University, was a victory, but two other projected spring games could not be arranged.^[4]

Play resumed in November, with home games played at Recreation Park (near the current Schiller Park in south Columbus), but Ohio State lost all three. The next year representatives met with counterparts from Adelbert, Denison, Buchtel, and Kenyon Colleges to agree to various terms and laid the groundwork for the informal "Big Six" conference of Ohio colleges.^[5] Throughout its first decade nearly all of Ohio State's opponents were in-state teams.

Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the team played to a cumulative record of 31 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties. Home games were moved to a field on campus at Neil and 11th Avenues, then in 1898 to University Field at High Street and Woodruff Avenue. Play was brutal and dangerous but continued to grow in popularity. The first game against Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34-0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1-7-1 record.

In 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm away from Kenyon College. He brought professional coaching skills to the program and immediately won the Big Six for the first time by going undefeated, as well as beating Oberlin College after previous teams had gone 0-6. His second season was almost as successful, as the 8-1-1 record included a scoreless tie against Michigan. In 1901, however, center John Sigrist, a 27-year-old senior, was fatally injured in a game against Western Reserve and the continuation of intercollegiate football at Ohio State was in serious question. Although the school's athletic board backed away from a confrontation and let the team decide its future, a faculty resolution to cancel the season was not easily defeated and Eckstorm resigned. ^[6]

In 1902 the team won its first four games by a combined score of 86-0, then traveled to Ann Arbor and lost to the Wolverines—86-0. From that humiliation Fred Cornell, a freshman football player, wrote Carmen Ohio, which became the school's alma mater.^[7] In 1906, yet another coaching change saw the hiring of Albert A. Herrnstein, the coach of Purdue, who had been a running back for Michigan and had scored six touchdowns against Ohio State in 1902. Herrnstein's four years were successful (although not against his former team) and also saw the first use of the forward pass by the Buckeyes.^[8]

In 1908 the name of University Field was changed to Ohio Field, and although the team continued to prosper, continuing losses to Michigan, Case, and Oberlin saw the cycle of coaching changes continue. By the end of the 1912 season, Ohio State's 23rd, the team had had eleven coaches, sixteen coaching changes, and stood 126-72-17, having never beaten Michigan. Among the oddities occurring during its formative years, the Buckeyes won a game by forfeit (its only win in 1897, over Ohio Medical), lost one by forfeit (Penn State in 1912), and had a player play for both teams in one game (Bob Hager, loaned to Marietta College in 1898, a game which Marietta won).^[9]

Football underwent a number of developments in 1912 that mark the year as a watershed point in Buckeye history. In the game itself, touchdowns were re-valued to the six points they are now. On April 6, the Western Conference approved Ohio State's application to join. The Bucks would play their first conference schedule in 1913 and be limited by its rules to just seven games a season. The price at the time was steep: Michigan had left the conference in 1906 and conference policy forbade playing the Wolverines.^[10]

The program itself was removed from the Department of Physical Education and made a part of the new Department of Athletics, an organization under faculty control, but a move which saw the hiring of full-time coaches with faculty status. The new football coach, John Richards, was also named the first Director of Athletics but resigned from both positions at the end of the football season. Lynn W. St. John, a medical student who had just been hired as business manager for OSU athletics, was named the second AD and served in that capacity for 35 years.^[11]

Ohio State's entry into the Western Conference initally saw a reduction in the number of games played each season but otherwise continued success for the program, with their first three seasons' record 14-5-2 and finishes in conference standings of 6th, 4th, and 3rd place. Coach John Wilce brought a stability to the program not previously experienced, and in 1916 he also brought Charles W. "Chic" Harley, the first "triple threat" (runner, passer, and kicker), to the varsity team. The Buckeyes had their first undefeated-untied season in 1916, and repeated as conference champions in 1917, going 8-0-1. Harley left school for wartime service in the U.S. Army Air Service, and the Buckeyes saw an undefeated streak broken at 22 games as a result. Harley returned in 1919, named an All-American for the third time, but Ohio State finished second in the Western Conference when Illinois, in the season's last game, scored the only touchdown of the year against the Buckeyes, then kicked a field goal on the final play to win 9-7.^[12] However 1919 also saw the first Buckeye victory over Michigan (which had re-joined the conference in 1917), 13-3 in Ann Arbor, the first of three straight wins against its rival.

Harley's exploits prompted both a new surge of popularity in Ohio State football and higher attendance figures, with the demand far outreaching the capacity of Ohio Field. Discussion of a new, larger facility at a location away from High Street had begun as early as 1913 but plans took shape when a horseshoe design was presented by alumnus Howard Dwight Smith ('07) in 1918 and a professionally-managed public fundraising drive begun in October 1920 that quickly pledged more than $1 million of the $1.34 million cost stipulated in the April 1921 construction contract. Ground was broken on August 3, 1921, and Ohio Stadium opened October 7, 1922.^[13]

With the opening of the new stadium, however, Buckeye fortunes on the gridiron also turned sour. Ohio State had won its third Big Ten championship in 1920, losing its only game to California in the Rose Bowl, and a superb 1921 season had been marred by two inexplicable losses to Oberlin (the last Buckeye loss to an Ohio team) and to winless Illinois. The dedication game for Ohio Stadium was against Michigan, which became the first of six straight losses to the Wolverines, and the 1922 season the first of three losing seasons. The Buckeyes rebounded in 1926, losing only to Michigan as a result of a missed extra point with two minutes to play. The game was also notable in that more than 90,000 attended, a "standing room only" figure that exceeded stadium seating capacity by nearly forty per cent.

However Ohio State had otherwise unspectacular seasons and never finished higher than third place in the conference, going 28-21-6 in Wilce's final seven years as head coach. Criticism of Wilce was widespread, particularly from the "downtown coaches" (a term that came into usage in the 1920's to describe vocal businessmen and other influential supporters of the program), for both failing to win the conference and for the extended losing streak to Michigan. Wilce forestalled further criticism and possible removal by resigning on June 3, 1928, effective at the end of the upcoming season, to practice medicine. His sixteen years as coach had brought Ohio State to the forefront of intercollegiate football and his .695 winning percentage remains impressive.^[14]

Wilce's assistant and former Buckeye letterman, Sam Willaman, was expected to inherit the head coaching position at the December meeting of the Athletic Board, but Athletic Director St. John refused to publicly commit the program to his succession. During 1928 there had been public speculation that Knute Rockne, famed coach of Notre Dame but enduring a mediocre season and stung by persistent criticisms of overemphasis of football at Notre Dame, might leave the Irish to take the position at Ohio State.^[15] At least two sources^[16][17] indicate that St. John and Rockne met in early January in New Orleans and that Rockne accepted the position at OSU contingent on his release by Notre Dame. Whether Rockne was merely trying to gain leverage for a new, larger stadium in South Bend and fewer road games, or whether he seriously contemplated coaching the Buckeyes will never be known, for history records that he was "unusually silent on the matter."^[18]

Willaman, a reticent, methodical man, was then selected and completely overhauled the coaching staff. Among the new coaches hired were Don Miller, one of Notre Dame's famous "Four Horsemen", and Ernie Godfrey, who went on to coach at Ohio State for 33 years. Willaman's stint began auspiciously with three wins that included a victory over Michigan, but the team finished poorly with an overall 4-3-1, and although the 1930 team had a better record, it lost to its rival and still managed only a fourth place finish in the Big Ten. The situation grew worse in 1932 when an experienced Buckeye team disappointed expectations and the effects of the Great Depression significantly lowered attendance. The 1933 team lost only once, but it was to Michigan and again cost the Bucks a conference title. Heavily criticized within and without the university, Willaman resigned in January 1934 to become head coach at Western Reserve, hounded out of Columbus (according to Time Magazine) by the "downtown coaches".^[19]

In hiring Francis Schmidt in March 1934 to coach the Buckeyes football team, Ohio State moved an already "big-time" program to a higher level of competition. Schmidt was a well-established high-profile coach, having successfully coached Tulsa, Arkansas, and Texas Christian University, and he was both an appealingly eccentric personality and an acknowledged offensive innovator. His TCU teams had won two straight Southwest Conference championships and had only lost five times in five seasons. Schmidt's offensive schemes, which totaled more than 300 plays out of seven formations, featured speed, passing, trickery, and numerous laterals, a "wide-open" style called "razzle-dazzle," and were always changing. He did not neglect defensive play, either; his TCU teams had won 34 of their 47 victories by shutout.

Eligible for call-up into the military by the Selective Service, Paul Brown accepted a commission as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the United States Navy on April 12, 1944, and was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center at Chicago. Brown submitted the name of his assistant coach, Carroll Widdoes, to direct the team in his absence. Widdoes had been an assistant to Brown since 1934 and had turned down the prestigious head coach position at Washington High School to go with Brown to Ohio State. Though his only head coaching experience was at Massillon's Longfellow Junior High School, Widdoes was appointed acting head coach by the OSU Athletic Board on April 14.

The 1944 team fielded only thirteen upperclassmen and 31 freshmen, and had lost Dean Sensenbaugher to an appointment to West Point. However in August it received a tremendous boost when the U.S. Army's ASTP training program was discontinued at Ohio State and the Big Ten granted graduate student Les Horvath, discharged from ASTP, a fourth year of eligibility. Widdoes moved him to quarterback in the T formation and played him at tailback in the single wing in an otherwise freshman backfield, and as a result Ohio State went undefeated and untied. One of their victories was over Paul Brown's previously unbeaten Great Lakes Navy team, with Horvath scoring two of the Buckeyes' three final quarter touchdowns. The Buckeyes preserved their perfect season with a dramatic 4th quarter drive for a come-from-behind victory over Michigan. Ohio State finished second in the national rankings behind Army and Horvath became the first Buckeye to be awarded the Heisman Trophy.

The football program took an unexpected turn when Paul Brown, still in the Navy and with the war continuing, signed a contract on February 6, 1945, to coach what would become the Cleveland Browns of the professional All-America Football Conference. A week later Carroll Widdoes was made the official head coach of Ohio State. World War II ended by the time the 1945 season began and Widdoes integrated a number of returning military veterans into his team, and although the Buckeyes had a creditable year at 7-2, they were manhandled at home by Purdue and lost a tight game to Michigan, finishing third in the conference behind Indiana and Michigan. Despite having the highest two-year winning percentage of any Buckeye coach, Widdoes asked to return to an assistant's position, which was granted. A few years later he left Ohio State to take the head coach and athletic director's position at Ohio University.

Paul Bixler, an assistant coach, replaced Widdoes as head coach in 1946. Bixler had been hired away from Colgate in 1941 by Paul Brown, familiar with his work when Bixler was an assistant at Canton McKinley High School, and had never head-coached a team before taking over the Buckeyes. Although personable and detail-oriented, Bixler did not garner the respect of his players,^[20] partly because he rarely played anyone but the starters,^[21] and Ohio State endured a mediocre 4-3-2 season. The season ended with a humiliating 58-6 loss to Michigan. Bixler resigned and returned to Colgate to be its football head coach. Talk of Ohio State being a "graveyard of coaches" became commonplace, a reputation that lingered for decades.^[22]

Wes Fesler became head coach with a five-year contract as the result of a collaborative selection process by retiring Athletic Director Lynn St. John and his successor, Dick Larkins. Fesler was an Ohio State alumnus and had been a star athlete, winning nine letters (three in football), had been a three-time All-American, and was Big Ten MVP in 1930. As head coach at Pittsburgh he had nearly beaten Ohio State in 1946 and seemed the best choice to bring stability back to the program.

Fesler employed a single wing offense with Dean Sensenbaugher at tailback and Joe Whisler at fullback, but two of his key veterans, Tommy James and Tony Adamle, had left school to play professional football and the Bucks had a dismal 2-6-1 record, shut out four times and scoring only 60 points the entire season. Finishing last in the Big Ten for the only time in team history, only an improbable win against Northwestern had kept the record from matching 1897's worst ever.

Trailing the Wildcats 6-0 and having already turned the ball over on downs with two minutes to play, Ohio State threw an interception on what was apparently the last play of the game, but a penalty gave the Buckeyes an extra play after time had expired. That too was stopped and again negated by penalty. The Bucks then tied the game on a pass, only to have the try for extra point blocked. Again a penalty negated the play, and on the fourth extra play of the game the Buckeyes made the conversion and won 7-6.

Although again hurt by players leaving to play pro football, Ohio State improved greatly in 1948, winning six games and losing three in a year when the Big Ten was an exceptionally strong conference.^[23] In 1949 the Buckeyes overcame an early lopsided loss to Minnesota to go on to a successful season, due in great part to the play of sophomore Vic Janowicz. Tying Michigan in Ann Arbor to become Big Ten co-champions, Ohio State also received the Rose Bowl invitation, where they came from behind to defeat California.

1950 was thought to be a rebuilding year for Ohio State after 21 seniors on the 1949 team graduated but that team's sophomores were a very strong class, having been recruited in part by an alumni organization known as "The Front-Liners" ^[24], and Vic Janowicz was moved to quarterback. Fesler, rumored to be resigning because of pressures associated with the position and abuse of his family by anonymous critics, returned to coach the Buckeyes on a run for a national championship.

Fesler's 5-4-2 defense^[25] while strong against the run, proved vulnerable to the pass, and an opening game matchup between Janowicz and SMU's Kyle Rote (the recipient and runner-up, respectively, for the 1950 Heisman Trophy) was lost when the Mustangs overcame a 17-point deficit with four touchdown passes. Fesler responded by playing Janowicz at halfback again, although he continued to be a serious passing threat to opposing teams, and Ohio State won six games in a row, most by wide margins, to move into the top ranking in the AP poll. However the season fell completely apart in the final two games when the Buckeyes turned the ball over seven times to lose to Illinois, and in a game infamously known to Ohio State fans as the "Snow Bowl", lost to Michigan 9-3 in a blizzard. The teams punted a combined 45 times and all the scoring—a Janowicz field goal and a safety and touchdown for Michigan—resulted from blocked punts. Fesler's decision to punt on third down with 47 seconds remaining in the first half, recovered for a touchdown by Michigan, was severely criticized.

Two weeks after the Snow Bowl, citing concerns about his health and family, Fesler resigned to go into real estate. Less than two months later, however, he was named head coach at Minnesota. Detractors of Ohio State in general and Woody Hayes in particular have cited Fesler as a victim of unremitting abuse by "big football" at Ohio State^[26]but throughout the 1950 season speculation that Minnesota's Bernie Bierman would retire had repeatedly suggested that Fesler was a prime candidate for his replacement.^[27]

The search for a coach to replace Wes Fesler was in some ways a replay of the talent search to replace Francis Schmidt: Paul Brown, even though he had become a successful coach on the professional level, was the immediate "favorite" and had a well-organized corps of supporters boosting his cause. As in 1940, the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association voiced their support for Brown early on.^[28] However Brown had also alienated many Buckeye alumni by failing to return to the coaching position reserved for him at the end of World War II, and the athletics department by signing Buckeye players, Lou Groza chief among them, to professional contracts before their college eligibility had ended.

A unanimous vote of the board of trustees endorsed the choice of the selection committee and on February 18, 1951, named as head coach Wayne Woodrow Hayes, who had achieved success as head coach of both his alma mater Denison University and Miami of Ohio.^[29] Hayes, ironically, had not been the committee's first choice. The head coach of Missouri, Don Faurot, had been offered and accepted the position a week earlier, but changed his mind two days later.^[30] Going into his first season, Hayes thus did not enjoy widespread support among Ohio State's following.

Hayes had Janowicz returning for his senior year but he converted the Buckeye offense from single-wing to T-formation, limiting the tailback's effectiveness. He also instituted a demanding practice regimen and was both aggressive and vocal in enforcing it, alienating many players accustomed to Fesler's laid-back style.

In the initial USA Today Coaches' Poll, which is part of the Bowl Championship Series formula for determining which two teams play for the National Championship, Ohio State is ranked number one.^[31] The same poll has the defending national champions, the Texas Longhorns ranked 2nd,^[32] meaning the 9 September 2006 game between the two teams could be a rare early-season meeting of the two most highly ranked teams in the sport.^[33]

Name/Position/(First season in position)(former position held and seasons)//Alma mater/(Year graduated)

• Jim Tressel, Head Coach (2001)

Baldwin-Wallace College 1975

• Jim Bollman, Offensive Coordinator /Offensive Line Coach (2001)

Ohio University 1977

• Joe Daniels, Passing Game Coordinator (2004)/Quarterbacks Coach (2002) (formerly Wide Receivers Coach 2002-2003)

Slippery Rock University 1964

• Darrell Hazell, Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach (2004)

Muskingum College 1986

• John Peterson, Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach (2004)

The Ohio State University 1991

• Dick Tressel, Running Backs Coach (2004) (formerly Associate Director of Football Operations 2001-2003)

Baldwin-Wallace College 1970

• Jim Heacock, Defensive Coordinator (2005)/Defensive Line Coach (2000) (formerly Defensive Tackles Coach 1996-1999)

Muskingum College 1970

• Luke Fickell, Co-Defensive Coordinator (2005)/Linebackers Coach (2004) (formerly Special Teams Coach 2002-2003)

The Ohio State University 1997

• Tim Beckman, Defensive Backs Coach (2005)

University of Findlay 1988

• Paul Haynes, Defensive Backs Coach (2005)

Kent State University 1993

• Eric Lichter, Director of Football Performance (2006)

Weber State University 1997

• Joe Rudolph, Strength Coordinator (2006)

University of Wisconsin-Madison 1995

• Butch Reynolds, Speed Coordinator (2005)

The Ohio State University 1991

• Bob Tucker, Director of Football Operations (2001)

College of Wooster 1965

• Stan Jefferson, Associate Director of Football Operations (2004)

The Ohio State University 1974

Main article: 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Ohio State football is rich in traditions, and Coach Tressel has since his hiring made upholding tradition a cornerstone of his program.^[34] The following are football traditions in chronogical order of longevity:

• Senior tackle

Begun in 1913 by head coach John Wilce, seniors on the team are recognized at the last practice of the season, either before the Michigan game or before departing Columbus to play in a bowl game, and hit the blocking sled a final time.^[35]

• Illibuck

The winner of the Ohio State-Illinois game has been awarded the Illibuck trophy since 1925.^[36]

• Gold pants

A gold miniature charm depicting a pair of football pants is given to all players and coaches following a victory over the Michigan Wolverines. The tradition began as the result of a comment to reporters by newly-hired head coach Francis Schmidt on March 2, 1934: "How about Michigan? They put their pants on one leg at a time, the same as we do!" The first gold pants, which were a creation of Simon Lazarus (president of the Lazarus chain of department stores) and Herbert Levy,^[37] were awarded that year for a 34-0 drubbing of the Wolverines.^[38]

• Captain's Breakfast

1934 also saw the first gathering of former team captains for breakfast on the Sunday following the Homecoming game. The event began when local businessman Walter Jeffrey invited twenty former captains to the Scioto Country Club to honor them, and continues to welcome new captains and award them mugs bearing their names and season.^[39][40]

• Buckeye Grove

Begun in 1934, each player who wins "first-team All-American" honors is recognized by the planting of a buckeye tree and installation of a plaque in Buckeye Grove, now located near the southwestern corner of Ohio Stadium next to Morrill Tower. Trees are planted in ceremonies held prior to the Spring Game. All 125 Buckeye All-Americans dating back to 1914 have been so honored.^[41]

• Michigan Week

Since 1935 the annual game against Michigan has been the final meeting of the regular season for both teams. The week prior to "The Game", known as Michigan Week, is characterized by scheduled school spirit and public service events, such as rallies, touch football games, and blood drives;^[42] and by massive displays of school colors and banners in much of Ohio. (In an unofficial culmination to Michigan Week, since 1990 on the Thursday night before "The Game" students have participated in the "Mirror Lake jump", an unofficial gathering at Mirror Lake, a pond between Pomerene Hall and The Oval, in which masses of students jump into the water.)^[43]

• Block O

Since 1938 the registered student organization Block O has been the "Official Cheering Section" of the Buckeyes. "Known for spreading spirit, starting cheers and performing card stunts, Block 'O' was founded...by Clancy Isaac".^[44] They occupy Section 39A in the South grandstand of Ohio Stadium, next to the band.^[45][46]

• Victory Bell

The Victory Bell is rung after every Ohio State victory by members of Alpha Phi Omega, a tradition that began after the Bucks beat California October 2, 1954. Reputedly the ringing can be heard five miles away "on a calm day." Located 150 feet high in the southeast tower of Ohio Stadium, the bell was a gift of the classes of 1943, 1944 and 1945, and weighs 2,420 pounds. ^[47]

• Hang on Sloopy

First played at the Minnesota game of October 9, 1965, the rock song Hang On Sloopy is now played by the marching band before the start of the fourth quarter, with fans performing an O-H-I-O chant in the intervals between the refrains. The song is also played to encourage the team's defensive players when opponents are moving the ball on offense late in a game.^[48]

• Buckeye leaves

Since 1968 the helmets of Ohio State players have been adorned with white decals approximately the size of a quarter depicting a buckeye leaf, awarded for making significant plays and for consistency of performance.^[49]

• Tunnel of Pride

The Tunnel of Pride began with the 1994 Michigan game when all former players who were in attendance formed a tunnel through which the team ran to take the field, and Ohio State beat its rival that day, 22-6. Rex Kern, quarterback of the 1968 National Championship team, and then Director of Athletics Andy Geiger together used the concept as a means of connecting current Buckeyes with those who played before them. The Tunnel of Pride was next formed for the 1995 Notre Dame game, which the Buckeyes also won. In each home game against Michigan since, the tradition has been repeated. ^[50][51]

• Carmen Ohio

Instituted by Coach Tressel in 2001, at the conclusion of all home games the coaches, players and cheerleaders gather in the south end zone next to the marching band to sing the university's alma mater, Carmen Ohio.^[52]

• TBDBITL

Main article: The Ohio State University Marching Band

The Marching Band, known by its acronym as "The Best Damned Band In The Land," is the most visible and possibly best-known tradition of Ohio State football.^[53] Home games are preceded by three much-anticipated traditions, and a fourth, "dotting the 'i'" of Script Ohio, enjoys a reputation all its own:^[54]

• • Skull Session
  • Ramp entrance
  • The Back Bend
  • Script Ohio

Main article: Michigan-Ohio State rivalry

While its rivalry with the University of Michigan is its most reknowned and intense, Ohio State has two other series marked by their longevity, both Big Ten Conference rivals, those of Indiana and Illinois. The series versus Indiana began as a non-conference matchup, with Indiana going undefeated at 0-4-1. In conference, however, the Buckeyes (despite losing the opening conference game) are 64-8-4 through the 2005 season, the most wins against any opponent. Illinois also began with non-conference games (0-1-1) but became the longest continuous series in 2002 when the schools played in their 89th consecutive year. (Michigan and Ohio State will play their 90th consecutive year in 2007.) Through 2005 Ohio State's record against the Illini is 59-29-4.

Retired football jerseys[55]
Number	Player
45	Archie Griffin
31	Vic Janowicz
40	Howard "Hopalong" Cassady
22	Les Horvath
27	Eddie George
47	Charles "Chic" Harley

Through the 2005 season Ohio State players have by a significant margin won more major trophies than any other school in the Big Ten Conference, and since 1990 have won more than any other NCAA Division 1A program. Ohio State players have won 27 major awards, with the next closest in the conference being 15.

Ohio State players have won the Heisman Trophy six times. Archie Griffin is the only two-time recipient in the history of the award.

• Les Horvath 1944
• Vic Janowicz 1950
• Howard "Hopalong" Cassady 1955
• Archie Griffin 1974
• Archie Griffin 1975
• Eddie George 1995

Ohio State players have won the Lombardi Award six times. Orlando Pace is the only two-time recipient in the history of the award.

• Jim Stillwagon 1970
• John Hicks 1973
• Chris Spielman 1987
• Orlando Pace 1995
• Orlando Pace 1996
• A. J. Hawk 2006

Four Ohio State players have won the Maxwell Award:

• Howard Cassady 1955
• Bob Ferguson 1961
• Archie Griffin 1975
• Eddie George 1995

Four Ohio State players have won the Outland Trophy:

• Jim Parker 1956
• Jim Stillwagon 1970
• John Hicks 1973
• Orlando Pace 1996

• Eddie George received the Doak Walker Award in 1995
• Terry Glenn received the Biletnikoff Award in 1995
• Andy Katzenmoyer received the Butkus Award in 1997
• Antoine Winfield received the Jim Thorpe Award in 1998
• LeCharles Bentley received the Dave Rimington Trophy in 2000
• B.J. Sander received the Ray Guy Award in 2003
• Mike Nugent received the Lou Groza Award in 2004

Voted by players at the end of the season.

• 2005 A. J. Hawk - linebacker
• 2004 Mike Nugent - place kicker
• 2003 Michael Jenkins - wide receiver
• 2002 Craig Krenzel - quarterback / Chris Gamble - wide receiver/defensive back
• 2001 Jonathan Wells - tailback
• 2000 Derek Combs - tailback
• 1999 Ahmed Plummer - defensive back
• 1998 Joe Germaine - quarterback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1997 Antoine Winfield - defensive back
• 1996 Orlando Pace - offensive tackle - also Big Ten MVP
• 1995 Eddie George - tailback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1994 Korey Stringer - offensive tackle
• 1993 Raymont Harris - tailback
• 1992 Kirk Herbstreit - quarterback
• 1991 Carlos Snow - tailback
• 1990 Jeff Graham - wide receiver
• 1989 Derek Isaman - linebacker
• 1988 Jeff Uhlenhake - center
• 1987 Chris Spielman - linebacker
• 1986 Cris Carter - wide receiver
• 1985 Jim Karsatos - quarterback
• 1984 Keith Byars - running back - also Big Ten MVP
• 1983 John Frank - tight end
• 1982 Tim Spencer - running back
• 1981 Art Schlichter - quarterback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1980 Calvin Murray - tailback
• 1979 Jim Laughlin - linebacker
• 1978 Tom Cousineau - linebacker
• 1977 Dave Adkins - linebacker
• 1976 Bob Brudzinski - defensive end
• 1975 Cornelius Greene - quarterback
• 1974 Archie Griffin - tailback
• 1973 Archie Griffin - tailback
• 1972 George Hasenohrl - defensive lineman
• 1971 Tom DeLeone- center
• 1970 Jim Stillwagon - defensive lineman
• 1969 Jim Otis - fullback
• 1968 Mark Stier - linebacker
• 1967 Dirk Worden - linebacker
• 1966 Ray Pryor - center
• 1965 Doug Van Horn - offensive guard
• 1964 Ed Orazen - defensive lineman
• 1963 Matt Snell - fullback
• 1962 Billy Armstrong - center
• 1961 Bob Ferguson - fullback
• 1960 Tom Matte - quarterback
• 1959 Jim Houston - end
• 1958 Jim Houston - end
• 1957 Bill Jobko - guard
• 1956 Jim Parker - guard
• 1955 Howard "Hopalong" Cassady - halfback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1954 Howard "Hopalong" Cassady - halfback
• 1953 George Jacoby - tackle
• 1952 Fred Bruney - halfback
• 1951 Vic Janowicz - halfback
• 1950 Vic Janowicz - halfback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1949 Jack Lininger - center
• 1948 Joe Whisler - fullback
• 1947 Dave Templeton - guard
• 1946 Cecil Souders - end
• 1945 Ollie Cline - halfback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1944 Les Horvath - quarterback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1943 Gordon Appleby - center
• 1942 Chuck Csuri - tackle
• 1941 Jack Graf - fullback - also Big Ten MVP
• 1940 Claude White - center
• 1939 Steve Andrako - center
• 1938 Jim Langhurst - fullback
• 1937 Ralph Wolf - center
• 1936 Ralph Wolf - center
• 1935 Gomer Jones - center
• 1934 Gomer Jones - center
• 1933 Mickey Vuchinich - fullback
• 1932 Lew Hinchman - halfback
• 1931 Robert Haubrich - tackle
• 1930 Wes Fesler - end - also Big Ten MVP

Three Ohio State head coaches have received the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award as NCAA Coach of the Year a total of five times:

• Woody Hayes 1957, 1968, 1975
• Earle Bruce 1979
• Jim Tressel 2002

In addition, two coaches were voted "National Coach of the Year" before the inception of the Bryant Award. Carroll Widdoes, acting head coach after Paul Brown had entered the U.S. Navy, was voted the honor in 1944. Brown himself was voted the honor in 1942 for winning the National Championship but declined in favor of Georgia Tech's Bill Alexander.

Through 2005 125 Buckeyes have been named First team All-Americans since 1914. 234 have been named to the All-Big Ten team, and 14 have won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player award. The Athletic Directors of the Big Ten Conference voted Eddie George Big Ten-Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year for 1996.

On December 6, 1985, Mike Lanese was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he graduated in 1988. Lanese also won the 2006 Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Ohio State University Department of Political Science.

Academic All-American Hall of Fame

• Class of 1992 Randy Gradishar

Academic All-Americans

Academic All-American Player of the Year

• 2003 Craig Krenzel

Academic All-Americans

(All awards first team except as noted)

• 1952 John Borton, QB
• 1954 Dick Hilinski, T
• 1958 Bob White, FB
• 1961 Tom Perdue, E
• 1965 Bill Ridder, MG
• 1966 Dave Foley, OT
• 1967 Dave Foley, OT
• 1968 Dave Foley, OT
• 1968 Mark Stier, LB
• 1969 Bill Urbanik, DT
• 1971 Rick Simon, OT
• 1973 Randy Gradishar, LB
• 1974 Brian Baschnagel, RB
• 1975 Brian Baschnagel, RB
• 1976 Pete Johnson, FB
• 1976 Bill Lukens, OG
• 1977 Jeff Logan, RB
• 1980 Marcus Marek, LB
• 1980 John Weisensell, OG (2nd team)
• 1982 Joe Smith, OT
• 1982 John Frank, TE
• 1983 John Frank, TE
• 1983 Dave Crecelius, DT (2nd team)
• 1984 Dave Crecelius, DT
• 1984 Mike Lanese, WR
• 1984 Anthony Tiuliani, DT (2nd team)
• 1985 Mike Lanese, WR
• 1987 Joe Staysniak, OT (2nd team)
• 1989 Joe Staysniak, OT
• 1990 Greg Smith, DL (2nd team)
• 1992 Len Hartman, OG
• 1992 Greg Smith, DL
• 1995 Greg Bellisari, LB
• 1996 Greg Bellisari, LB
• 1998 Jerry Rudzinski, LB (2nd team)
• 1999 Ahmed Plummer, CB
• 2002 Craig Krenzel, QB (2nd team)
• 2002 Ben Hartsock, TE (2nd team)
• 2003 Craig Krenzel, QB

Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy ("Academic Heisman")

• 1995 Bobby Hoying
• 2003 Craig Krenzel

National Scholar-Athlete Awards

Ohio State's eighteen NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards rank second only to Nebraska's twenty among all college football programs.

• 1965 Willard Sander
• 1968 David Foley
• 1970 Rex Kern
• 1973 Randy Gradishar
• 1975 Brian Baschnagel
• 1979 James Laughlin
• 1982 Joe Smith
• 1983 John Frank
• 1984 Dave Crecelius
• 1985 Mike Lanese
• 1989 Joe Staysniak
• 1990 Greg Frey
• 1992 Greg Smith
• 1994 Joey Galloway
• 1995 Bobby Hoying
• 1996 Greg Bellisari
• 1999 Ahmed Plummer

All-time coaching records

Head Coach	Period	W-L-T Record	Win %	Big10	N/C	vs Michigan
Alexander S. Lilley	1890-1891	3-5	37.5	n/a		n/a
Frederick B. "Jack" Ryder	1892-95/1898	22-22-2	50.0	n/a		n/a
Charles A. Hickey	1896	5-5-1¹	50.0	n/a		n/a
David F. Edwards	1897	1-7-1	16.7	n/a		0-1
John B. Eckstorm	1899-1901	22-4-3	81.0	n/a		0-1-1
Perry Hale	1902-1903	14-5-2	71.4	n/a		0-2
Edwin R. Sweetland	1904-1905	14-7-2	65.2	n/a		0-2
Albert E. Herrnstein	1906-1909	28-10-1	73.1	n/a		0-4
Howard H. Jones	1910	6-1-3	75.0	n/a		0-0-1
Harry Vaughan	1911	5-3-2	60.0	n/a		0-1
John R. Richards	1912	6-3	66.7			0-1
John W. Wilce	1913-1928	78-33-9	68.8	3		4-7
Sam S. Willaman	1929-1933	26-10-5	69.5			2-3
Francis A. Schmidt	1934-1940	39-16-1	70.5	2		4-3
Paul E. Brown	1941-1943	18-8-1	68.5	1	1	1-1-1
Carroll C. Widdoes	1944-1945	16-2	88.9	1		1-1
Paul O. Bixler	1946	4-3-2	55.6			0-1
Wesley E. Fesler	1947-1950	21-13-3	60.8	1		0-3-1
W.W. "Woody" Hayes	1951-1978	205–61-10	76.1	13	5²	16-11-1
Earle Bruce	1979-1987	81-26-1	75.5	4		5-4
John Cooper	1988-2000	111-43-4	71.5	3		2-10-1
James P. Tressel	2001-2005	50-13	79.4	2	1	4-1
TOTALS	1890-2005	775-300-53	71.1	30	7	39-57-6

All totals per OSU Athletics

¹ Hickey was hired part-way into the season and a student coached the team several games.

² 1970 national title recognized by OSU Athletics

Buckeyes in the NFL
NFL Draft selections
Total selected:	317
First picks in draft:	3
1st Round:	64
NFL achievements
Total Players:	308
In the Super Bowl:	54
Hall of Famers:	5

54 former Ohio State players are currently active on rosters of National Football League teams: Will Allen, Tim Anderson, Kyle Andrews, Rodney Bailey, LeCharles Bentley, David Boston, Bobby Carpenter, Drew Carter, Bam Childress, Adrien Clarke, Nate Clements, Na'il Diggs, Mike Doss, Tyler Everett, Dustin Fox, Simon Fraser, Joey Galloway, Chris Gamble, Terry Glenn, Marcus Green, Andy Groom, Ben Hartsock, A. J. Hawk, Santonio Holmes, Kevin Houser, Josh Huston, Michael Jenkins, Branden Joe, Mike Kudla, Nick Mangold, Donnie Nickey, Mike Nugent, Shane Olivea, Orlando Pace, Kenny Peterson, Ryan Pickett, Robert Reynolds (football), Nate Salley, B.J. Sander, Darnell Sanders, Anthony Schlegel, Darrion Scott, Rob Sims, Will Smith, Shawn Springs, Alex Stepanovich, E.J. Underwood, Mike Vrabel, Tyson Walter, Donte Whitner, Matt Wilhelm, Dan Wilkinson, Antoine Winfield, and Ashton Youboty.

Former notable NFL players who played at Ohio State include: Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Jim Parker, Jim Marshall, Bill Willis, Jim Houston, Paul Warfield, Jack Tatum, Jim Lachey, Cris Carter, Tom Tupa, Chris Spielman, Korey Stringer, Raymont Harris, and Eddie George. Groza, Lavelli, Parker, Warfield, and Willis have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ohio State Players Selected In 2006 NFL Draft

Round	Pick #	Team	Player	Position
1	5	Green Bay Packers	A. J. Hawk	Outside Linebacker
1	8	Buffalo Bills	Donte Whitner	Safety
1	18	Dallas Cowboys	Bobby Carpenter	Outside Linebacker
1	25	Pittsburgh Steelers	Santonio Holmes	Wide Receiver
1	29	New York Jets	Nick Mangold	Center
3	70	Buffalo Bills	Ashton Youboty	Cornerback
3	76	New York Jets	Anthony Schlegel	Inside Linebacker
4	121	Carolina Panthers	Nate Salley	Safety
4	128	Seattle Seahawks	Rob Sims	Guard

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