Buckeye Facts and Trivia

[Jagdaddy]

Virginia Tech the year we win Meyer’s National title?

I just checked. 6-6 and went to the Military Bowl.

 

[BB73]

With Penn State losing to UCLA who likely won't go to a bowl game, I wondered when the last time tOSU lost to a team that didn't go bowling?

I think it's 2011 Cryami who finished 6-6 during the "Fickell year"

It is 2011 Cryami, although they didn’t go to a bowl at 6-6 due to a self-imposed probation for an NCAA investigation.

The most recent loss to a team that was not bowl-eligible was 2009 Purdue, who finished 5-7.

 

[gmen6981]

Virginia Tech the year we win Meyer’s National title?

Just checked. They wound up beating Cincinnati in the Military Bowl that season.

 

[ScriptOhio]

First question:

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has an uncanny resemblance to a Mike Judge cartoon character who hit the airwaves in March of 1993. Who is the animated character pictured above?

• Bevis
• Butt-Head
• Jughead
• Mavis

 

[Gothmog8]

I 1) was surprised at how many.. and 2) Wasn't sure where to post this. Thank you, Brian Hartline.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Ten Trivia Questions That You'd Think Would Be Easy But Are Not

1. Buckeyes Single-Season Rushing Record

Spoiler: ANSWER

When he won the Heisman Trophy in 1995, Eddie George rushed for 1,927 yards and for over two decades that number set the standard at Ohio State. However, in 2019 J.K. Dobbins rather quietly rushed for 2,003 yards on a team that featured a dominant defense and starred a young Justin Fields at quarterback. Because Dobbins needed an extra game to best George's mark, George still holds the single-season record for most yards per game with 148.2 (Dobbins is fourth with 143.1 ypg, behind Keith Byars's 147.0 ypg in 1984 and Archie Griffin's 143.4 ypg in 1973).

2. Buckeyes Single-Game Rushing Record

Spoiler: ANSWER

Once again, Eddie George held this record for a very long time, based on his epic 314-yard performance against Illinois on November 11, 1995. But 25 years later, a running back who had a largely forgettable career broke George's record during a largely forgettable season. On December 19, 2020, Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon rushed for 331 yards against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game. Sermon rushed for 271 yards in the second half alone, which not surprisingly is also an Ohio State record for most rushing yards in one half, and would place fifth on the list of best Buckeye single-game rushing performances of all time. Sermon played in only eight games for the Buckeyes, all during the shortened 2020 Covid season, and his record-setting performance represents 38% of his 870 total rushing yards for Ohio State.

3. Buckeyes Longest Run

Spoiler: ANSWER

Eddie George keeps getting the silver medal, and this time it's for his 87-yard touchdown run against Minnesota on November 4, 1995. The gold medalist in this instance is the long-forgotten Morris Bradshaw who busted off an 88-yard touchdown against Wisconsin on October 23, 1971. While at Ohio State, Bradshaw ran the ball 82 times for 421 yards – his 88-yard run represents 19.5% of career rushing total and it raised his yards per carry from 4.15 to 5.14.

Although Bradshaw's record-setting run occurred in 1971, he's only officially held the record since 2014. Let me explain. For years the Ohio State media guide showed that the record was Gene Fekete's 89-yard run against Pittsburgh on November 7, 1942; an asterisk is attached to the entry to indicate that Fekete did not score on the play. Then in 2009 Ohio State released an interview with Fekete which included archive footage of that Pittsburgh game including the alleged 89-yard alleged non-touchdown run. The footage clearly showed that Fekete's run started on the Ohio State 16-yard line and that he actually scored on the play for a memorable but not record-setting 84-yard touchdown run. So Bradshaw then became the record holder, right? Not so fast, my friends. Although Ohio State released the Fekete footage in 2009, the official record book wasn't properly updated and it continued to mistakenly list Fekete's run as the longest for several more years (Wikipedia still does so, at least under Fekete's individual bio).

To make matters even more complicated, on November 27, 2010, Daniel "Boom" Herron ripped off an 89-run against Michigan that did not result in a touchdown. The 2011 official record book lists both Fekete and Herron as co-holders of the longest run at 89 yards each. In 2012, Herron's real 89-yard run was stricken from the official record books due to the fact that he was an ineligible player during the 2010 season, but Fekete's fake 89-yard run remained. The situation wasn't fully resolved until 2014 when Fekete was demoted to third place (he's currently in sixth place) but rightfully given credit for a touchdown and Bradshaw was elevated to the top spot.

If you want to contradict the Ohio State record book and say that Herron's 89-yard is still the longest because it actually happened, then be my guest. But Bradshaw's 88-yard run is the official record, and in any event it's the longest rushing touchdown in Buckeye
football history.

4. Buckeyes Longest Pass

Spoiler: HINT

Ohio State has had several outstanding wide receivers in recent years but a name that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is Devin Smith, who was arguably the Buckeyes best deep threat of all time (his 20.7 yards per catch is fourth-best at Ohio State, while his fifteen touchdown receptions of 40+ yards is a Buckeye record). On September 14, 2013, Smith hauled in a 90-yard touchdown reception against the California Golden Bears. But who threw that record-breaking pass?

Spoiler: ANSWER

Another unlikely candidate holds a major record at Ohio State, this time being Kenny Guiton for longest touchdown pass, 90 yards to Devin Smith against California on September 14, 2013.

5. Most Career Touchdowns By a Buckeye Tight End

Spoiler: ANSWER

When the trivia topic is Buckeye tight ends, the safe answer is always John Frank. Although he played during the early 1980s, Frank still holds the following Ohio State records for tight ends: career receptions (121); career yardage (1,481); single season receptions (45 in both 1981 and 1983); and single season yardage (641 in 1983). Despite his otherwise prolific career, Frank scored only nine touchdowns for the Buckeyes which is tied for fifth-place. The record holder is Jake Stoneburner who had 13 touchdowns from 2009 to 2012.

6. Buckeyes Career Total Tackles

Spoiler: ANSWER

Although Ohio State is not known as "Linebacker U", the Buckeyes could legitimately claim that title with a litany of outstanding players such as Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Pepper Johnson, Chris Spielman, Andy Katzenmoyer, AJ Hawk, and Jame Laurinaitis. While each of those legends is currently in the top twelve, the record holder is Marcus Marek who had 572 total tackles from 1979 to 1982, narrowly edging out his predecessor Tom Cousineau who had 569 total tackles from 1975 to 1978.

Here's a related bit of trivia: Chris Spielman, who's third on the total tackles list with 546, holds the Buckeye record for most career solo tackles with 283; Cousineau is in second place with 259 solo tackles and Marek comes in third with 256 solo tackles.

7. Buckeyes Career Field Goal Percentage

Spoiler: ANSWER

Ohio State has had only one legendary place kicker, namely Mike Nugent who holds Buckeye records for most career field goals (72), most field goals in a single season (25 in 2002; also second with 24 in 2004), and most career points scored (356). In 2004, Nugent won the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college football, and the following spring he was selected by the New York Jets in the second round (47th overall) of the 2005 NFL draft. Although Nugent was undoubtedly a legend, he was not the most accurate place kicker in Buckeye history. That honor goes to Noah Ruggles who connected on 37 of 41 attempts for a success rate of .902; Nugent is second on the list with a .818 success rate (72 field goals in 88 attempts). Unfortunately, one of Ruggles's four career misses was a potential game-winning 50-yard attempt against Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals, and that season-ending shank is how he will probably be remembered by most Buckeye fans.

8. Buckeyes Career Punt Return Yardage

Spoiler: ANSWER

This is an easy one, right? The answer has just got to be Ted Ginn Jr, who was one of the best return men in the history of college football and holds the Ohio State record with six punt return touchdowns. Wrong! The correct answer is another All American first round draft pick, the man who arguably started the WRU tradition at Ohio State, namely David Boston who had 959 yards on 98 punt returns. Ginn is second on the list with 900 yards on 64 returns, but Ginn's average per return (14.1 yards) far exceeds Boston's (9.8 yards).

Here's an ancillary bit of trivia: While Ginn's 14.1 yards per punt return is phenomenal, it's not the Ohio State record. Neal Colzie had 855 yards on 60 returns for an average of 14.3 yards per return.

9. Buckeyes Longest Punt Return

Spoiler: ANSWER

Ted Ginn's 82-yard touchdown against Michigan in 2004 is probably the most memorable punt return in Buckeye football history but it ranks only 4th-longest in the official record books. The record actually belongs to current Buckeye offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who despite his middling 4.6-forty time took a punt 90 yards to the house against Kent State on October 13, 2007.

10. Buckeyes Most Punts in a Single Game

Spoiler: ANSWER

There's nothing tricky about this question, it's just an amazing record that will never be broken. In 1950, junior all-purpose player Vic Janowicz (halfback, safety, kicker, punter) won the Heisman Trophy with 314 yards rushing and 561 yards passing. However, in just one game during that season Janowicz had an unbelievable 685 yards punting on 21 punts, both of which will be forever engraved in the Buckeye record books. Here's the story: It was the infamous Snow Bowl, when Ohio State played Michigan in Columbus on November 25, 1950. The weather report reads like something from an Arctic expedition: 10 degrees; 30 mile per hour winds; snow falling at two inches per hour, which (allegedly) caused four feet of snow to accumulate on the tarp that covered the field. Besides his record-setting punting performance, Janowicz kicked a 38-yard field goal into swirling winds to give the Buckeyes an early 3-0 lead; his epic kick was dubbed one of the "Greatest Feats in American Sports" by a panel of writers. Unfortunately, four of Janowicz's 21 punts were blocked – one out of the end zone for a safety, another recovered in the end zone for a touchdown – and this was enough to give the Wolverines a 9-3 victory despite the fact that they did not gain a first down for the entire game.

Side note: According to the Toledo Blade, neither Ohio State head coach Wes Fesler nor Michigan head coach Bennie Oosterbaan wanted to play the game, and Michigan athletic director Fritz Crisler offered to forfeit the game (but he would not reschedule it). However, Ohio State AD Dick Larkins would not accept the forfeit, perhaps due to the fact that 50,000 fans had braved the frigid weather and wanted to see some football despite the blizzard conditions. Never look a gift Wolverine in the mouth....

 

[calibuck]

LJB, I bow to the master. Believe I was Oh for the whole test. Guess I'm not as hip as I believed I was.....thanks.

 

[BB73]

At the start of this season, the official site listed the all-time record in football as 978-335-53.

Counting the 12 vacated wins from the 2010 season, and the 8 wins so far, that puts the record of actual gamed played 998-335-53.

So this week at Purdue will be for #999, and if that is successful, the Buckeyes aim for the 1,000 win milestone as they host UCLA on the 15th.

 

[Wadcutter]

What about the 335 games they lost and the 53 they tied ? Ucla should be the 1000th victory.

 

[BB73]

For reference, tCun was at 1012 at the start of this season and at 1019 as of today, since they weren't made to give up any of those games they were cheating in.

 

[charlohiottean]

For reference, tCun was at 1012 at the start of this season and at 1019 as of today, since they weren't made to give up any of those games they were cheating in.

Too soon

 

[LordJeffBuck]

In yesterday's game against UCLA, Lorenzo Styles Jr. became just the ninth Buckeye to score a touchdown of 100+ yards.

Buckeye Player	Date of Play	Opponent	Game Score	W / L / T	Play Type	Play Yards
Dean Sensanbaugher	10/09/1943	Great Lakes Naval	6 - 13	L	KR	103
Lorenzo Styles Jr.	11/15/2025	UCLA	48 - 10	W	KR	100
Ted Ginn, Jr.	10/29/2005	Minnesota	45 - 31	W	KR	100
Will Allen	09/06/2003	San Diego State	16 - 13	W	INT	100
Michael Wiley	09/13/1997	Bowling Green	44 - 13	W	KR	100
Marlon Kerner	10/23/1993	Purdue	45 - 24	W	INT	100
Carlos Snow	09/17/1988	Pittsburgh	10 - 42	L	KR	100
David Brown	10/18/1986	Purdue	39 - 11	W	INT	100
Bill Wentz	10/08/1960	Illinois	34 - 7	W	KR	100

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[BB73]

90%, missed the consecutive completions question.

 

[Bestbuck36]

In yesterday's game against UCLA, Lorenzo Styles Jr. became just the ninth Buckeye to score a touchdown of 100+ yards.

Buckeye Player	Date of Play	Opponent	Game Score	W / L / T	Play Type	Play Yards
Dean Sensanbaugher	10/09/1943	Great Lakes Naval	6 - 13	L	KR	103
Lorenzo Styles Jr.	11/15/2025	UCLA	48 - 10	W	KR	100
Ted Ginn, Jr.	10/29/2005	Minnesota	45 - 31	W	KR	100
Will Allen	09/06/2003	San Diego State	16 - 13	W	INT	100
Michael Wiley	09/13/1997	Bowling Green	44 - 13	W	KR	100
Marlon Kerner	10/23/1993	Purdue	45 - 24	W	INT	100
Carlos Snow	09/17/1988	Pittsburgh	10 - 42	L	KR	100
David Brown	10/18/1986	Purdue	39 - 11	W	INT	100
Bill Wentz	10/08/1960	Illinois	34 - 7	W	KR	100

Did they get Sensabaugh and Sanzenbacher mashed up there?