1945 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1945 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Carroll Widdoes, the Buckeyes compiled a 7–2 record (5–2 against Big Ten opponents), finished in third place in the Big Ten, outscored opponents by a total of 194 to 71, and was ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll.[1]

1945 Ohio State Buckeyes football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 12
Record7–2 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPOllie Cline
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 72,754)
1945 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Indiana $ 5 –0 –19 –0 –1
No. 6 Michigan 5 –1 –07 –3 –0
No. 12 Ohio State 5 –2 –07 –2 –0
Northwestern 3 –3 –14 –4 –1
Purdue 3 –3 –07 –3 –0
Wisconsin 2 –3 –13 –4 –2
Illinois 1 –4 –12 –6 –1
Minnesota 1 –5 –04 –5 –0
Iowa 1 –5 –02 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Buckeyes ranked ninth nationally in rushing offense with an average of 237 yards per game.[2] The ground attack was led by fullback Ollie Cline who ranked third in the nation with 931 rushing yards, an average of 5.44 yards per carry.[3]

Three Ohio State players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1945 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Ollie Cline at fullback (AP-1, UP-1); Russ Thomas at tackle (AP-1, UP-1); and Warren Amling at guard (AP-1, UP-1).[4][5]

The 1944 Ohio State team had compiled an undefeated 9–0 record and won the Big Ten championship. Between the 1944 and 1945 seasons, the Buckeyes had a winning streak of 12 games that ended with a loss to Purdue on October 20, 1945.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 29Missouri*
W 47–641,299
October 6Iowa
W 42–049,342
October 13WisconsinNo. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 12–069,235
October 20No. 9 PurdueNo. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
L 13–3573,585
October 27at MinnesotaNo. 12
W 20–756,040
November 3No. 20 NorthwesternNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 16–1474,079
November 10at Pittsburgh*No. 8
W 14–018,000–20,000[6]
November 17IllinoisNo. 9
W 27–270,287
November 24at No. 8 MichiganNo. 7
L 3–785,200
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Pittsburgh

Statistics

  • Rushing: Oliver Cline 229 yards [7]

Coaching staff

1946 NFL draftees
PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL club
Russ Thomas322TackleDetroit Lions
Joe Whisler870BackLos Angeles Rams
Thornton Dixon1087TackleDetroit Lions
Warren Amling1195GuardNew York Giants
Tom Phillips11100BackLos Angeles Rams
George Slusser30288BackPhiladelphia Eagles

References
  1. "1945 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  2. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 30.
  3. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 34.
  4. "All-Big Ten Grid Team Selected". The Decatur Herald. Associated Press. November 27, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved April 26, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Walter Byers (November 26, 1945). "Indiana and Ohio State Each Get Three Men on United Press All Star Big Ten Team". The Daily Register (Harrisburg,Illinois). p. 5.
  6. Smith, Chester L. (November 11, 1945). "Panthers Hold Staters Scoreless for Three Periods". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 32. Retrieved September 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 2012 Ohio State football record book.
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