1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1942 season. In their second season under head coach Paul Brown, the Buckeyes compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 337 to 114, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll, thus earning Ohio State their first ever national championship in program history.

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	Paul Brown (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Heavy run
Base defense	Multiple
MVP	Jack Graf
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1941 1943 →

1942 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by wingback Les Horvath, quarterback and team captain George Lynn, and halfback Gene Fekete. Fekete led the Big 10 with 910 rushing yards.

The Buckeyes' only loss was to No. 3 Wisconsin. Half of the Buckeye players contracted an intestinal disorder after drinking from an unsanitary drinking fountain on the train to Madison.^[1] Horvath then led the Buckeyes to three scores through the air to upset Michigan.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Fort Knox*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 59–0	22,555
October 3	Indiana		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 32–21	48,227
October 10	USC*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 28–12	56,436
October 17	Purdue	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 26–0	45,943
October 24	at Northwestern	No. 1	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 20–6	40,000
October 31	at No. 6 Wisconsin	No. 1	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–17	45,000
November 7	Pittsburgh*	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 59–19	34,893	[2]
November 14	vs. No. 13 Illinois	No. 10	Cleveland Stadium Cleveland, OH (Illibuck)	W 44–20	68,586
November 21	No. 4 Michigan	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	W 21–7	71,691
November 28	Iowa Pre-Flight*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 41–12	27,259	[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1942 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
AP	2 (12)	1 (58)	1 (80)	6	10 (1)	5 (1)	3 (16)	1 (84)

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