Fans and Alumni finally get their wish with Sam Willaman's ouster. The team's new hire, Francis Schmidt, is a charmer with a plan.
The era of Sam Willaman and his stalling offense and surly attitude was over.
Ohio State's 14th head coach, Francis Schmidt, a Kansas native and Nebraska alum, brought fresh air to Columbus. Where Willaman largely kept his thoughts to himself, Schmidt was outspoken and a man about campus, turning up at events and never shy to speak his mind.
As you'd imagine, the media fell in love with the new coach right away. He brought his high-powered offense with him from TCU, where he'd gone 45–6–5 in five seasons and ushered in two lasting Ohio State traditions.
| The 1934 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 7–1 |
| B1G Record | 5–1, 2nd |
| COACH | Francis Schmidt (1st year, 7–1) |
| Captain | J. Regis Monahan |
Games of Note
October 6th • Indiana • Ohio Stadium
It had been 10 years since Ohio State opened the season against a Big Ten opponent. In 1924 the Buckeyes defeated Purdue, 7-0, to kick off the year. This time around it was the Hoosiers the Buckeyes would begin the campaign with.
Ohio State fans did not know what to expect from Schmidt, but they knew they wanted a more productive offense than what they'd seen under Willaman. The 47,736 who attended the game witnessed Ohio State line up in a multitude of offensive formations and the points – they came in bunches.
In the first quarter, Frank Boucher ran 78 yards for the first touchdown of the 1934 season. The Buckeyes were up 7-0 and never looked back as the Buckeyes gave Schmidt a 33-0 laugher in his first game piloting Ohio State.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCT. 6 | INDIANA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 33–0 |
| OCT. 13 | ILLINOIS | MEMORIAL STADIUM, IL | L, 13–14 |
| OCT. 20 | COLGATE | OHIO STADIUM | W, 10–7 |
| OCT. 27 | NORTHWESTERN | DYCHE STADIUM | W, 28–6 |
| NOV. 3 | WESTERN RESERVE | LEAGUE PARK, CLE, OH | W, 76–0 |
| NOV. 10 | CHICAGO | OHIO STADIUM | W, 33–0 |
| NOV. 17 | MICHIGAN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 34–0 |
| NOV. 24 | IOWA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 40–7 |
| 7–1, 267–34 |
October 20th • Colgate • Ohio Stadium
A week after losing a single-point heart-breaker to Illinois, Ohio State hosted Colgate.
This was the second, and last game between the Buckeyes and the Raiders, as the two schools had played to a 23-23 tie 11 years earlier in Columbus.
Colgate had high hopes for the 1934 season, expecting to compete for a national championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl.
However, a one-yard touchdown by Jack Smith and a Regis Monahan field goal gave Ohio State the 10-7 victory and crushed Colgate's Rose Bowl dreams.
The Buckeyes were the first team to score 10 or more points against Colgate in three years.
November 3rd • Western Reserve • League Park (Cleveland, Ohio)
Ohio State roughed up Northwestern, 28-6, in Evanston in week four, before meeting an old friend at Cleveland's League Park.
Western Reserve coach Sam Willaman, who only a year prior had been the head coach at Ohio State saw his Redcats get pummeled by Schmidt and his Buckeyes this fall Saturday.
Ohio State scored on all but three possessions and gained 706 yards on the way to a 76-0 throttling of Western Reserve. Schmidt did not take mercy on Willaman and left little doubt as to who Ohio State's new coach was.
This would be the final game played between Ohio State and Western Reserve. The Buckeyes finished the series 5–6–1 against the Redcats as Western Reserve holds the distinction of being the only school in the state of Ohio with a winning record against Ohio State.
In fact, it would be 58 years before the Buckeyes would face another in-state program on the gridiron.
A sad twist to this story is that Willaman passed away due to his chronic stomach illness in August of 1935. He was only 44.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| INDIANA | W2 | 10–6–3 |
| ILLINOIS | L1 | 9–12–2 |
| COLGATE | W1 | 1–0–1 |
| NORTHWESTERN | W3 | 9–4 |
| WESTERN RESERVE | W2 | 5–6–1 |
| CHICAGO | W3 | 5–2–2 |
| MICHIGAN | W1 | 7–22–2 |
| IOWA | W2 | 4–3–1 |
November 17th • Michigan • Ohio Stadium
As good as Michigan was in the first half of the 20th century, Ohio State's previous two coaches, John Wilce and Sam Willaman, started their Buckeye coaching careers with wins over the Wolverines.
In fact, to this point, Wilce and Willaman were the only Buckeye coaches to defeat the Wolverines. Francis Schmidt hoped to become the third-straight Ohio State coach to defeat Michigan the first time he faced them.
Schmidt and the Buckeyes defeated Chicago the week before 33-0 and the team and fans were buying into the open and innovative offense Schmidt was orchestrating.
Touchdown runs by Dick Heekin and Buzz Wetzel gave Ohio State a 13-0 halftime lead. The 68,678 in attendance for homecoming were treated to second half touchdowns by Frank Antenucci, Merle Wendt and Frank Cumiskey.
The final score: 34-0, Buckeyes.
The winning margin was by far Ohio State's largest in the series. The Buckeyes dominated the scoreboard and just about every stat that mattered as they put up 460 total yards to Michigan's 40, and 24 first downs to a mere three from the Wolverines.
It was Gerald Ford's final season as a Wolverine and it was one to forget as Michigan finished 1–7, and a perfectly imperfect 0–6 in league play. Coach Harry Kipke's team was outscored 142-15 that season.
At this point, the Buckeyes were the hottest team in the country, outscoring its last three opponents 143-0. Ohio State improved to 7–22–2 against Michigan and was 3–3 against its rival with Kipke on the opposite sideline.
November 24th • Iowa • Ohio Stadium
This game marked the last time Ohio State would finish the regular season against a Big Ten opponent other than Michigan. Schmidt and company were on a roll having defeated three-straight opponents by shutout.
A game summary from The Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio State's mightiest football team in two decades, if not of all time, carved a secure niche in the Buckeye Hall of Fame Saturday. Taking to the air with a certainty that constituted first degree cruelty, the Buckeyes shot Iowa's hapless Hawkeyes completely out of the sky and the plucked the hapless feathers with a 40 to 7 victory.
The season was over and the Buckeyes had defeated its last six opponents by a combined score of 221-20.
Gold Pants Club and Captain's Breakfast
Not only did Francis Schmidt bring in a new style of offensive football, the innovator started the Gold Pants Club and Captain's Breakfast in 1934.
When Schmidt was introduced as Ohio State's new head coach he was asked about Michigan and famously quipped, “They put their pants on one leg at a time same as everybody else.” That line led to the tradition of players receiving gold pants charms for defeating Michigan – a tradition that continues to this day and is supported by Eleven Warriors' Gold Pants Social.
Schmidt also started the tradition of inviting all former captains back to campus for an annual breakfast with the current team captains.
1934 Recap
- Francis Schmidt becomes Ohio State's 14th coach.
- The Buckeyes opened the season with a Big Ten school for the first time in 10 years.
- Ohio State played Colgate and Western Reserve for the last time.
- The Buckeyes defeated Michigan by the largest margin to that point, 34-0.
- Western Reserve finishes as the only Ohio School with a winning record against Ohio State.
- Five opponents totaled 14 points in Ohio Stadium.
- The 267 points Ohio State scored were the second most to that point (1917).
- The Gold Pants Club was started.
- The inaugural Captains Breakfast began.
- The Buckeyes finished the 1934 season with a six-game winning streak.
- Regis Monohan and Merle Wendt were named All-Americans.
Schmidt's arrival in 1934 rejuvenated the team and the fan base.
His high-powered offense and stifling defense brought over 205,000 into the Shoe in 1934. An emphasis was put on beating Michigan and excellence was stressed. Excitement for the team was back and the future looked bright. Sound familiar?
