A Brief History of Ohio State Football

[DaddyBigBucks]

A post in the Minnesota game thread made me examine Minnesota's record for how often they've been better than 8-4 (0.667).

That got me looking into the same thing for Ohio State.

From 1968-1986 (19 seasons, inclusive) the Buckeyes had only 2 seasons below the 0.667 mark. That was their best run in history and was only matched in ...

2020

So the Tressel-Meyer-Day era (including only 2002-2020) has only now matched the Hayes-Bruce era (including only 1968-1986) in terms of seasons > 0.667.

You think just maybe they surpass that mark this year?

For those of you who are curious:

Record 1968-1986: 173-42-3 (0.8005)
Record 2002-2020: 211-35-0 (0.8577)

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

In the above post I was looking for just the longest stretches with the fewest "bad years by Buckeye standards" (8-4 or worse). So the 19 season (inclusive) stretches from 1968-1986 and 2002-2020 really stood out.

This begs the question of the best 20 year runs in school history. In looking through the numbers (you might want to sit down for this) it appears that Ohio State has been doing pretty well recently.

The 20 season runs with the fewest "bad years by Buckeye standards" (8-4 or worse):

1967-1986: Three such seasons
1968-1987: Three
2001-2020: Three

Since we will be dropping the 2001 mark of 7-5 this year and replacing it with whatever 2021 brings, it seems likely that the result will be the first 20 season run in school history with only 2 "bad years by Buckeye standards".

As for which 20 season runs resulted in the best overall records for the Buckeyes, the following are the seven twenty-year stretches in school history with a winning percentage greater than 80%.

1995-2014: 80.86%
1996-2015: 81.25%
1997-2016: 80.93%
1998-2017: 81.40%
1999-2018: 81.54%
2000-2019: 83.59%
2001-2020: 84.50%

For those who are wondering, the 1921-1940 stretch was the worst in school history with an overall record of 98-49-12 (65.41%)
This, I strongly suspect, is the highest "floor" in CFB history for any school. I will examine this next.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

The table below shows the 12 teams with highest winning percentage in CFB history and their best/worst 20 year periods.

Notes on methodology:

Only periods beginning in the 20th or 21st centuries were considered.
All forfeited games were restored to actual result. All vacated wins were restored. Alabama was helped most by this.



Notes on results:

Highest Ceiling: Notre Dame - But it's also nearly the oldest, so whatever. Which Brings us to...
Oldest Ceiling: TTUN - That's right. The oldest range considered was TTUN's ceiling

Most Recent Ceiling: Ohio State tied with Georgia, but...
Lowest Ceiling: Georgia (Buckeyes have the 4th highest ceiling, which will be improving this year)

Lowest Floor: Nebraska - yeah they really sucked before I was born... whatever
Oldest Floor: Tennessee - But as low as their current winning percentage is, a bad year this year and the current 20 year period will be their new floor.

Most Recent Floor: Until Tennessee overtakes them after this season - Notre Dame
Highest Floor: Ohio State - And it's also one of the oldest floors. Everyone else has had a 20 year range lower than Ohio State's floor in the years since Ohio State's floor ended (1940). The next highest floor is Texas, which is, oddly, during the same range of years as Ohio State's. Their most recent range which is lower than Ohio State's floor was 1984-2003 (64.54%).

What most surprised me was that all but one of these teams had a winning record for every span of 20 years going back to 1901, and that 4 of them were over 60% for every span.

As for the Buckeyes. There is a difference of 80 years between their floor in the pre-WWII era and their ceiling, which is current and certain to rise. No one else is close, though kudos to Oklahoma for their 64 year difference and LSU for their 62 year difference.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Surprised Oklahoma's ceiling didn't include the years it went 49-0

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Surprised Oklahoma's ceiling didn't include the years it went 49-0

Going by decade, that was one of the best runs in CFB history. But as these were 20 year periods, their 1948 to 1958 run had to include the War Years or The 60s, neither of which were kind to the Sooners.

Speaking of great runs:

Going back to the factoid that started this excursion down the rabbit hole: The Buckeyes have 9 straight years better than 8-4 for the first time in their history. They've never done it before...

The Huskers went 1969 to 2001 (33 seasons) with their worst season (1998) being 9-4 and every other year being better than that.

Truly an amazing run.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Heh

Just noticed that Notre Dame’s floor is 90 years more recent than their ceiling

 

[Steve19]

Think of the people who have competed in that stadium. The football teams and stars. The track and field athletes. Think of how some of them, like Jesse Owens, impacted on the world. The people that have sat in that stadium. The generations of people who have been there to witness that spectacle. The history. The tradition.

https://www.life.com/history/ohio-state-1948-when-football-was-a-more-formal-affair/

 

[BB73]

Think of the people who have competed in that stadium. The football teams and stars. The track and field athletes. Think of how some of them, like Jesse Owens, impacted on the world. The people that have sat in that stadium. The generations of people who have been there to witness that spectacle. The history. The tradition.

https://www.life.com/history/ohio-state-1948-when-football-was-a-more-formal-affair/

I know what you’re all thinking. Yes, I knocked the hat off that woman before the end of the first quarter.

 

[Steve19]

I always thought that was a myth when I heard the story told in the 1970s. The reach from below the stands remains some kind of record, I think.

 

[gmen6981]

I know what you’re all thinking. Yes, I knocked the hat off that woman before the end of the first quarter.

I was just going to compliment you on your game day attire.

 

[ScriptOhio]

1995 - 1998: Four Losses That Defined the Cooper Era

The 9-13 loss to scUM in 1996 undoubtedly cost us a National Championship; however, there was a very big win that season too....

Over 2 dozen members of the 1997 Rose Bowl winning team (we beat Arizona State with a pass from Joe Germaine to David Boston with 19 seconds left in the game) were at the Homecoming Game (vs. Maryland) celebrating a 25 year reunion. A local TV station (i.e. ABC-6) had a couple TV segments that included interviews with some of the players:

The Football Fever: Remembering the 'Silver Bullets'

“We had these great silver helmets at Ohio State and when silver helmets are pointing down at an offense and flying down the hill, in the stand it may look like silver bullets coming at you,” said former Buckeye Ryan Miller.

“We literally wanted to be 11 football players going as hard as you can against that offense and the fact that we had awesome-looking silver helmets you could envision yourself as a silver bullet going to attack the offense.” Said Miller.

See article and local TV segment: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/loc...=cc7db4136561437ca82bb13f6d98cf57&jwsource=cl

The Football Fever: Rose Bowl memories 25 years later

"Head Coach John Cooper still regards the win as one of his best. He was asked if he ever thinks about the game-winning drive capped by Joe Germaine's pass to David Boston with time running out. "All the time," Cooper told ABC-6. "Are you kidding me, all the time. I remember being on the sideline thinking we're going to win this game."

See article and local TV segment: https://abc6onyourside.com/sports/t...tball-fever-rose-bowl-memories-25-years-later

 

[Hetuck]

Everyone owns Jack Park’s Ohio State Football Encyclopedia, right?

And has this site bookmarked?:

http://football.stassen.com/records/

 

[Herb Kirkstreit]

The 1992 season was another clunker, and the Buckeyes finished 8-3-1. The season lowlight was an 18-16 loss to Illinois in which a freshman running back named Eddie George single-handedly lost the game with a pair of costly fumbles. The "highlight" was a 13-13 tie against Michigan, which Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee mockingly called the result "one of our greatest wins ever." Of course, the Buckeyes subsequently dropped their bowl game, their fourth loss in a row in post-season competition. Linebacker Steve Tovar was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and an All American, an honor which he also received after the 1991 season.

Hi Lord Jeffrey. I thought the above post was like wikipedia, but I can't figure out how to edit and improve this entry. It would be beneficial to the entire community to remove the negative editorial portions, and to add some objective facts, like who the team captains were and who the team MVP was. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

 

[ScriptOhio]

1890 - 1915: The Early Days

Ohio State played its first football game on May 5, 1890, a 20-14 win over Ohio Wesleyan. For the next twenty-six years, Ohio State was a middle of the road football program, with an overall record of 140-77-19 (.634 winning percentage). The only real highlights during the early days were the Buckeyes' first undefeated season in 1899 when the team went 9-0-1 (a 5-5 tie with Case Institute of Technology ruined the perfect season); Ohio State's admission into the Big Ten Conference in 1913; and the Buckeyes' first All American, end Boyd Cherry in 1914.