BuckeyePlanet

6. The 1944 Ohio State Buckeyes

The year 1944 was the height of World War Two, and the United States was fighting on three fronts - in Italy and France against the Germans, and in the Pacific against the Japanese. With patriotism running high (and the draft in full force and effect), many young men were leaving college campuses to join the war effort. For that reason, most college football teams that year were comprised solely of freshmen who were too young to enlist or be drafted, together with a few older players who were physically unable to serve in the military and were granted "4F" status. With 31 of its 44 players being freshmen, Ohio State was no exception.

In fact, the only colleges that were unaffected by the war effort were the military academies, whose students were obviously exempt from immediate military service because they were in school for the express purpose of receiving officer training. Led by future Heisman Trophy...

7. The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes

The greatest football coach of all time was Paul Brown. Brown's record as a high school coach during the 1930's (primarily at his home town school, Massillon Washington) was 92-10-3 (.890 winning percentage), with seven state titles and four national championships. As the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1962, Brown turned the fledgling franchise into the greatest power in professional football, with a record of 111-44-5 (.709 winning percentage), with seven titles (4 AAFC, 3 NFL). Brown even had a winning record with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Between high school and the pros, Paul Brown was briefly (1941-43) the head coach of Ohio State. Although he was on the job for only three seasons, Brown led the Buckeyes to their first national championship in 1942. The Ohio State offense was led by a pair of All Americans, fullback Gene Fekete (910 yards, 10 TDs) and halfback Paul...

8. The 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes

In 1957, a mediocre team from Texas Christian (5-4-1) once again cost Ohio State a perfect season and a chance for a consensus national championship. The Buckeyes began the season unranked, so expectations for that team were not very high. But after playing poorly in an 18-14 loss to the Horned Frogs in the opening game, it seemed that the 1957 season was going to be even worse than anticipated.

However, under the guidance of head coach Woody Hayes, the Buckeyes quickly righted the ship and ran off nine straight victories to close out their schedule. The highlights were road wins against Washington, #19 Wisconsin, and archrival Michigan, and a hard-fought home victory against #6 Iowa. The Buckeyes capped off their surprising season with a 10-7 triumph over #17 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and they were named national champions in the coaches poll and by the FWAA.

In looking back on the 1957 season, it...

9. The 1961 Ohio State Buckeyes

For Buckeye fans, 1961 was the year of almost: Fullback Bob Ferguson almost won the Heisman Trophy (he finished a mere 53 points behind Syracuse running back Ernie Davis, the third closest ballot of all time), thereby almost becoming the first black player to win that award (Davis, who was also black, did earn that distinction). The Buckeyes almost went to the Rose Bowl, but an Ohio State faculty committee voted (28-25) to keep the team out of that "commercial venture" lest the school become an "athletic factory" where "the football tail is wagging the college dog." And the Buckeyes almost finished with a perfect record and almost won a consensus national championship.

The 1961 Buckeyes got off to a slow start, playing a hapless Texas Christian squad (3-5-2 final record) to a 7-7 draw in Columbus in the opening game. Behind the running of two-time All American fullback...

T-10. The 1996 & 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes

2-10-1: That's about the only thing most Buckeye fans remember about the John Cooper Era, although the hardcore cynics are quick to point out that his teams were also 3-8 in bowl games. But lost amongst those dismal numbers is the undeniable fact that Coop lead Ohio State to a pair of second-place finishes in both major polls.

The 1996 Buckeyes had lost all their offensive superstars to the NFL – first round picks running back Eddie George (Heisman trophy), wide receiver Terry Glenn (Biletnikoff Award), and tight end Rickey Dudley had combined for 4,363 yards and 49 touchdowns in 1995, and third round selection quarterback Bobby Hoying set many single-season and career records (since broken). But the Buckeyes still had All-World left tackle Orlando Pace (1995-96 Lombardi; 1996 Outland) to anchor the offensive line and a Silver Bullet defense headed by All...

Even though it was the middle of the offseason, July was a very good month for the Ohio State football program. The Buckeyes landed seven verbal commitments during the month:

DE Nick Bosa (Class of 2016; Ft. Lauderdale FL St. Thomas Aquinas; 6' 3" 265 lbs) is one of the best prospects in the country, earning a five-star, top-20 ranking from Rivals, Scout, and 247Sports. Nick is the younger (but not little) brother of current Buckeye All American defensive end Joey Bosa.

DT Jerron Cage (Class of 2017; Cincinnati OH Winton Woods; 6' 2" 275 lbs) is currently the "sleeper" recruit in this class...

This top ten list is late - absurdly so. As the 2015-16 season draws near, this may be the last list of its kind to get published. Like you though, I'm an Ohio State superfan and I know that we don't stop talking about this stuff just because it's old and everybody else has moved on. So here it is, a long overdue look at the top plays from last season:

10.) Joey Bosa & Darron Lee - forced fumble and return for TD vs. Navy



It was the season's first touchdown for the Buckeyes, and it came at a key moment. While they would get upset by Virginia Tech the next week, that wasn't nearly as big of a black eye as losing to Navy would have been. While we can scarcely imagine that possibility now, it was a very real one coming out of halftime of this game with the Buckeyes trailing 7-6. Joey Bosa, a leading player on the Buckeye defense, caused the miscue by penetrating into the backfield to force an early option pitch. Lee...

Here's our recap of Friday Night Lights 2015, which saw the Buckeyes hosting dozens of top prospects from around the country - here's a partial list, including the twenty Buckeye commitments who were in attendance. We will provide more updates as they become available.

Two Verbal Commitments

Ohio State earned a pair of verbal commitments at Friday Night Lights (July 24th). The first was long expected, namely tight end Luke Farrell (Perry, Ohio; 6' 6" 240 lbs; Rivals 4*, #7 TE; #158 overall; Scout 4*, #7 TE, #195 overall; 247Sports 4*, #5 TE, #147 overall) who finally pulled the trigger after favoring Ohio State for months. Farrell becomes the third tight end in the...

By now, everyone is likely aware that FNL will be stocked with talent spanning from the class of 2016 all the way down to the class of 2018. With so many Ohio State commitments and prospects with the Buckeyes high on their list, this Friday may well give a glimpse into the future of matchups in practice. Regardless, there will be a number of elite matchups that will catch the attention of our loyal recruitniks here at BP. In particular, here are the matchups I cannot wait to see unfold (bear in mind that the visitor list morphs almost every day, so the list is subject to change and certain players may not end up actually competing if they do attend):

• 2016 WR Austin Mack vs. 2016 DB Damar Hamlin: With Mack (Buckeye verbal)...

July 24th (Friday Night Lights)

2016 RB Demario McCall (North Ridgeville, OH) - Ohio State verbal
2016 RB George Hill (Hubbard, OH) - Ohio State verbal
2016 WR Austin Mack (Ft. Wayne, IN) - Ohio State verbal
2016 WR Ahmir Mitchell (Egg Harbor City, NJ)
2016 WR Donnie Corley (Wyandotte, MI)
2016 WR/TE...

2017 Names to Watch:

• Mission Viejo (CA) WR Keyshawn Johnson Jr. (4*, #18 WR, #124 nationally). Offered by the Buckeyes all the way back in March of 2014. Keyshawn is the cousin of current Ohio State WR Michael Thomas, and of course the son of former Southern Cal great Keyshawn Johnson, Sr. Many believe this will be an OSU-USC battle, with Nebraska also being in the mix.

• Maple Heights (OH) WR JaVont'e Richardson (4*, #35 WR, #227 nationally). Richardson...

Top 2016 Uncommitted Targets:

• 2016 Cedar Creek (NJ) WR Ahmir Mitchell (4*, #6 ATH, #78 nationally composite) checks in at 6' 3", 206 lbs. Mitchell was offered by the Buckeyes in December of 2014, and he has visited campus several times since then. Ahmir now looks to show off his skills in front of the Buckeye staff. Michigan currently leads the Crystal Ball Predictions.

• 2016 Detroit (MI) Martin Luther King WR Donnie Corley (4*, #18 WR) was also...

On November 18, 2006, #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan played in the most-hyped edition of The Game in its long and storied history. The Buckeyes entered the contest with a scoring average of 36 points, while the Wolverines, with the nation's #1 rushing defense, allowed only 12 points per game. Something had to give.

During that game, Ohio State exploited a fundamental issue with the Michigan defense, namely a lot of big slow linebackers and defensive backs with questionable coverage skills. Lloyd Carr and his defensive staff had assembled a group that was very adept at stuffing the inside running game, but was susceptible to misdirection, edge pressure, and a dynamic passing attack. The Buckeyes were successful in exposing Michigan's defense to the tune of 42 points and 503 yards of total offense.

On the other hand, Ohio State showed in that game that their own defense was trying to evolve into the kind that could stop a high-powered offense, but subsequent events soon proved that...

For continued developments, see the main thread.


Talk about a self-made man.

Four days ago, a simple question was posed to a small (but committed) community of Ohio State football fans.

Did anyone among them remember Giovanni Strassini?

Oddly enough, no one did. It was odd because the most readily available information indicated that Strassini had achieved so much in his career. Initial research revealed that he had been a tight end for the Buckeyes from 1973 to 1977, an All-American in both football and baseball, had shared in the 1974 Rose Bowl win over the USC Trojans, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns before leaving the NFL to play minor league baseball, and eventually named to the Ohio State All-Century Team.

Quite a guy. No Chuck Csuri or anything...

This came up in the countdown thread and i thought I'd post a quickie but a goodie about it. The 8 years between 1968 and 1975 were probably the single best era in OSU history and for those who don't know why I'll give a quick recap and compare it to current times.

The super sophs could very well have gone 30-0 with 3 straight NC's.
1968 10-0 B10 and National Champs. Outscored opponents 323 to 150.
1969 9-1 last game of the season was played for a NC but lost to tsun in the single worst loss in tOSU history imo. Outscored opponents 383-93 that year and never had a close game untill The Game. We beat a huge underdog tsun team and we are B2B NC's. The team could not go to a second consecutive RB at the time.
1970 9-1 B10 champ and some say NC although we lost to Stanford in RB. 4th quarter collapse vs another underdog team costs us NC, I personally never could count this as one. You can't lose the last game and still be NC imo.

Quick reload year...