Two new rules impacted college football in 1959.
The first involved substitutions. Coaches could substitute one player at a time with the clock stopped. Along with more substitutions, players could come in and out of the lineup without limitation. Before, a player could not return to the field in the same quarter he left. The new rule benefited punters and kickers.
The second rule also helped kickers, as the goal posts now stood at 24 feet apart. Previously the distance was just 19 feet and 2 inches, but the NCAA wanted to see an increase in scoring, particularly field goals.
Finishing its 1958 season with victories against then-No. 2 Iowa and rival Michigan, Ohio State hoped the momentum carried over into the new season.
| The 1959 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 3–5–1 |
| B1G Record | 2–4–1, 8th |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (9th year, 57–21–5) |
| Captain | Jim Houston |
Games of Note
September 26th • Duke • Ohio Stadium
Duke entered the season opener against the Buckeyes with more swagger than most teams. The Blue Devils defeated Ohio State in the inaugural matchup between the schools in 1955.
Ohio State knocked Duke's confidence down a touch when it took the opening drive 58 yards for a score. Bob Ferguson ran it in from the 15 for the season's first touchdown and put the Buckeyes ahead 7-0.
Things changed, however, when an arm injury knocked Buckeye quarterback Jerry Fields out for the rest of the game. Woody Hayes inserted Jack Wallace as his replacement, but the offense turned ineffective.
Instead of addressing his team at halftime, Hayes took halfback Tom Matte, center Jene Watkins and some running backs to the practice field south of the stadium. There they worked on snaps, handoffs and passing plays.
In the second half, Ohio State's offense continued to struggle with Wallace under center. Duke took advantage and scored twice. Trailing 13-7 with around four minutes left in the game, Hayes put Matte in at quarterback.
Matte took the Buckeyes to the Blue Devils' 22, where they faced a critical fourth down. Hayes surprised everyone in the stadium and for a pass play. Matte rolled out and threw a strike to Chuck Bryant in the end zone. Dave Kilgore calmly kicked the point after and Ohio State won a thriller 14-13.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 26 | DUKE | OHIO STADIUM | W, 14–13 |
| OCT. 2 | NO. 11 USC | MEMORIAL COLISEUM | L, 0–17 |
| OCT. 10 | NO. 20 ILLINOIS | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–9 |
| OCT. 17 | NO. 6 PURDUE | OHIO STADIUM | W, 15–0 |
| OCT. 24 | NO. 12 WISCONSIN | CAMP RANDALL | L, 3–12 |
| OCT. 31 | MICHIGAN STATE | OHIO STADIUM | W, 30–24 |
| NOV. 7 | INDIANA | OHIO STADIUM | T, 0–0 |
| NOV. 14 | NO. 16 IOWA | OHIO STADIUM | L, 7–16 |
| NOV. 21 | MICHIGAN | MICHIGAN STADIUM | L, 14–23 |
| 3–5–1, 83–114 |
October 2nd • #11 USC • LA Memorial Coliseum
In the second game of the season, the 14th-ranked Buckeyes headed to Los Angeles to take on No. 11 USC.
The contest served as the first matchup between the two teams since the 1955 Rose Bowl, a game Ohio State won USC 20-7 to win its second national championship. This rare Friday night tilt did not end a similar way for the Buckeyes.
The Trojans did whatever they wanted against Ohio State, halting Hayes' ground and pound offense to 84 yards rushing and 143 total yards in a 17-0 decision.
Not only did the Buckeyes get shut out, but 17 players left the game with an injury. Many of the ailments sidelined those players for the rest of the season.
Supposedly, the beatings happened were not limited to the playing field. Two Los Angeles writers, Al Bine and Dick Shafer, went to the Ohio State locker room after the game and did not leave quickly. Both claimed Hayes hit them.
According to Hayes, he wanted to address his team in private and gave one of the reporters a shove to speed him out of the locker room. Either way, the California press had a field day with the incident.
October 10th • #20 Illinois • Ohio Stadium
Returning to the friendly confines of Ohio Stadium did not help the Buckeyes. No. 20 Illinois had a little extra motivation as its coach, Ray Eliot, was ending his 18-year career at the end of the season.
In the first quarter, Mel Meyers connected with halfback Johnny Counts for a 73-yard touchdown pass to give the Illini an early 6-0 lead. Don Yeazel put the game away with a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The 9-0 win pushed Eliot's record against Ohio State to 5–12–1. He ended his Illinois career with a record of 83–73–11.
The 1–2 start is Ohio State's worst start since the 1947 team, which also started 1–2.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| DUKE | W1 | 1–1 |
| USC | L1 | 5–4–1 |
| ILLINOIS | L1 | 29–17–3 |
| PURDUE | W1 | 13–5–2 |
| INDIANA | W7 | 27–10–3 |
| WISCONSIN | T1 | 18–7–4 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | W1 | 1–3 |
| INDIANA | T1 | 27–10–4 |
| IOWA | L1 | 12–8–2 |
| MICHIGAN | L1 | 17–35–4 |
October 17th • #6 Purdue • Ohio Stadium
With key players out, its offense struggling and back-to-back shutout losses, Ohio State's 1959 season desperately needed a reboot.
Even Ohio State's most devoted fans had little faith the team could defeat No. 6 Purdue. However, the 83,391 in attendance received a pleasant surprise.
The Buckeyes' offense recorded its first touchdown in more than two games when Matte crossed the goal line. His 32-yard touchdown run put Ohio State out front 13-0.
Later, Jim Tiller – Purdue's punt returner – was tackled in the end zone after he fielded the ball at his own 16. Tiller retreated and tried to evade Buckeye defenders, but was eventually taken down for the safety.
The victory got the Buckeyes back to .500 and eventually cost Purdue the Big Ten championship. Boilermaker head coach Jack Mollenkopf was now 0–3 against Ohio State.
October 31st • Michigan State • Ohio Stadium
No. 12 Wisconsin defeated the Buckeyes for the first time in 13 years a week after Ohio State downed Purdue. The Badgers eventually won the Big Ten title.
Ohio State (2–3) entered its contest against Michigan State as a heavy underdog. The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes six years earlier and owned a 3–0 series lead. New Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty sought success in his first game against Ohio State.
Hayes started Matte for the first time at quarterback on this Halloween game. The sophomore responded with a stellar performance in Ohio State's 30-24 victory. Matte threw three touchdown passes and led the offense to 420 total yards.
The victory pushed Ohio State's record on Halloween to 6–2. The Buckeyes had not lost on Oct. 31 in Ohio Stadium.
November 21st • Michigan • Michigan Stadium
The Buckeyes (3–4–1) limped to the season finale following a scoreless tie with Indiana and a 16-7 home loss to No. 16 Iowa. Ohio State looked to save some face in a forgetful season with a third straight victory over the Wolverines.
Michigan (4–4) and first-year coach Bump Elliott endured its own growing pains in 1959. The Wolverines started the season with consecutive losses and at one point fell to 2–3. Like Ohio State, Michigan wanted to end its season with a victory over its biggest rival.
The Buckeyes started the game in a hole and never recovered. Excerpts from The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
No game ever started worse for Ohio State. On the kickoff, Fields took the ball back about 20 yards, fumbled when hit by John Halstead, and Tom Jobson recovered on the Buckeyes' 26. Halstead was hurt on this first play and taken off on a stretcher.
In three plays, after only a minute and 10 seconds of play, the Wolverines scored.
[...]
Michigan led, 7-6, for the first quarter and 14-6 at the half. The Buckeyes tied the game briefly at 14-14 in the third period, but Michigan promptly marched 64 yards to go in front again, 20-14.
The clincher for the Wolverines was a 29-yard field goal by Darrell Harper, kicked from the 19-yard line early in the last period.
Michigan, in its first year with Chalmers (Bump) Elliott as head coach, wound up with a Big Ten record of three victories, four defeats and shoved Ohio State down to eighth place.
The Buckeyes gained more yards than the Wolverines, but could not overcome three interceptions and two lost fumbles in the 23-14 defeat. Ohio State fell to 17–35–4 in the all-time series.
1959 Recap
- The season-opening win over Duke tied the series 1–1.
- USC defeated the Buckeyes 17-0 in Los Angeles. Two reporters accused Woody Hayes of hitting them following the game.
- Illinois head coach Ray Eliot beat Ohio State in his final season on the sideline. The Buckeyes started 1–2 for the first time since 1947.
- Ohio State shocked No. 6 Purdue with a 15-0 victory in Ohio Stadium.
- The Buckeyes defeated Michigan State for the first time in program history.
- The 0-0 final score against Indiana ended up as the last time Ohio State ended a game in a scoreless tie.
- Bump Elliott defeated the Buckeyes in his first try as Michigan head coach.
- The '59 team started the season ranked No. 12 but finished unranked in the AP Poll.
- Jim Houston was named All-American.
- Jim Houston, Jim Marshall and Bob White were selected in the NFL Draft.
The 1959 team started the season as the No. 12 team in the nation, but a devastating defeat to USC injured many players for the rest of the season. The four losses were the most for an Ohio State team since 1947.
Woody Hayes had won enough games and championships for a pass, but back-to-back losing seasons would be too much for the fans to handle.
