For only the second time since Ohio Stadium's inception, Ohio State hosted seven opponents in the 1964 season. The first time it happened, the Buckeyes won a national championship in 1942.
For Woody Hayes and the 1964 team to win another title, they needed to get past troublesome USC, Penn State, Northwestern and Michigan. The schedule was tough, but playing seven home games made a title run possible.
| The 1964 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 7–2 |
| B1G Record | 5–1, 2nd |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (14th year, 90–31–7) |
| CaptainS | Jim Davidson, Tom Kiehfuss, Bill Spahr |
Games of Note
September 26th • SMU • Ohio Stadium
The 1964 season began on a sunny 80-degree Saturday afternoon against Hayden Fry's SMU Mustangs. No. 5 Ohio State lost the first game in this series but sat in the midst of a three-game winning streak against SMU.
The Buckeyes' first points in the new campaign came from Bob Funk's foot on a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter. Tom Barrington scored the first touchdown when he ran it in from 37 yards out with seconds remaining in the opening period. Arnie Chonko's interception set up the drive.
Ohio State grew its 13-0 halftime lead when Bill Spahr returned a fumble 31 yards to the end zone in the opening moments of the third quarter. Will Sander ensured the Buckeyes scored in every quarter with a 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
SMU's Jim Taylor snatched the shutout away when he caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with only 25 seconds remaining.
Ohio State hosted Indiana in Week 2 and the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Buckeyes responded with 17 straight points, but the 17-3 advantage didn't last long. Indiana scored to cut it 17-9 and had several chances to put more points on the board, but Chonko's record-setting three fourth quarter interceptions sealed the victory.
Chonko's interceptions came on the 6-yard line, the goal line and on Ohio State's 3-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 26 | SMU | OHIO STADIUM | W, 27–8 |
| OCT. 3 | INDIANA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 17–9 |
| OCT. 10 | NO. 2 ILLINOIS | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 26–0 |
| OCT. 17 | USC | OHIO STADIUM | W, 17–0 |
| OCT. 24 | WISCONSIN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 28–3 |
| OCT. 31 | IOWA | IOWA STADIUM | W, 21–19 |
| NOV. 7 | PENN STATE | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–27 |
| NOV. 14 | NORTHWESTERN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 10–0 |
| NOV. 21 | MICHIGAN | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–10 |
| 7–2, 146–76 |
October 10th • #2 Illinois • Memorial Stadium
Champaign became the focus of the college football world as No. 2 Illinois hosted the fourth-ranked Buckeyes in Week 3.
What on paper looked like a battle of the titans turned into a laugher. Ohio State – a six-point underdog – scored in every frame and blanked the Illini 26-0.
Sander scored twice with short runs and Don Unverferth had a 24-yard scamper for Ohio State's three touchdowns. Bob Funk made 2-of-3 PATs and hit two field goals.
Ohio State's defense held Illinois to 61 rushing yards on 42 attempts.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| SMU | W4 | 4–1 |
| INDIANA | W5 | 32–10–4 |
| ILLINOIS | W1 | 32–17–4 |
| USC | W1 | 7–5–1 |
| WISCONSIN | W5 | 23–7–4 |
| IOWA | W2 | 15–10–2 |
| PENN STATE | L4 | 0–4 |
| NORTHWESTERN | W1 | 27–12–1 |
| MICHIGAN | L1 | 21–36–4 |
October 17th • USC • Ohio Stadium
USC won its previous matchup with Ohio State in convincing fashion, embarrassing the Buckeyes 32-3. That result seemed forever away by the time this game ended.
A Sander score from the 2-yard line put No. 2 Ohio State up 7-0. As halftime neared, Tom Kiehfuss forced a fumble by USC's Mike Garrett at the Trojans' 10-yard line. Unverferth then found Greg Lashutka for a 14-0 halftime lead.
The Trojans finished with 64 rushing yards and five turnovers in the 17-0 defeat, the first time in 29 games USC failed to score.
October 31st • Wisconsin • Ohio Stadium
Its defense stingy again, Ohio State held the Badgers to just three points. That marked the third straight game an OSU opponent failed to score a touchdown.
The offense did a decent job as well. Leon Lindsey, Robert Rein and Sander scored as the Buckeyes won 28-3 and outgained Wisconsin 408-188 in total yards.
Hayes grabbed his fifth straight victory against the Badgers and improved to 11–1–2 against the school overall.
October 31st • Iowa • Iowa Stadium
Now ranked No. 1, Ohio State entered Iowa Stadium with a two-game losing streak in Iowa City. The Buckeyes wasted little time to take the lead against the Hawkeyes, though, as Steve Dreffer stepped in front of a Gary Snook pass and returned it to the end zone a mere 41 seconds into the game.
Fast forward to 3:42 left in the fourth quarter and Iowa had the ball on its own 33. Down 21-13, the Hawkeyes marched to the Ohio State 1-yard line. Craig Nourse finished off the drive and scored with 2 seconds remaining.
Iowa lined up for the game-tying 2-point conversion. Snook kept the ball but Ike Kelley stopped him at the 6-inch line. The Buckeyes ended their losing streak at Iowa and remained the best team in the nation.
November 7th • Penn State • Ohio Stadium
Sitting at 6–0 for the first time since championship season of 1954, Ohio State's first six opponents on managed 39 points against its superb defense. However, Rip Engle's Nittany Lions changed that tune quickly and scored in every quarter to the tune of 27 points.
Penn State's defense stymied Ohio State in the first half, holding the Buckeyes to -14 yards on 16 plays. The crowd of 84,279 watched Ohio State failed to earn a first down in the first 30 minutes.
A description of the second half from The New York Times:
It wasn't much better in the second half. Ohio State's initial first down came with 5:11 left in the third quarter, and it was on a penalty. The Bucks had only five first clowns for the entire day, their lowest output in memory. Penn State, with 22 first downs, overwhelmed the home team in total offense, 349 yards to 63.
[...]
So conservatively did the Ohioans play that they were punting on second and third down much of the time.
This was the first time in 45 games – a scoreless tie against Indiana in 1954 – the Buckeyes got shut out. It also destroyed any hope at a national championship.
November 14th • Northwestern • Ohio Stadium
Northwestern rode a two-game winning streak against No. 7 Ohio State on this sunny day of 60 degrees.
Hayes turned to trickery to set up his team's first score. Facing 4th-and-5 at the Northwestern 33, the historically conservative coach called for a fake punt. Up-man Doug Drenik took the snap and plowed just over five yards to get the first down. The drive ended when Sander rushed in from five yards out.
Funk kicked an insurance field goal just before the half and Ohio State won 10-0.
November 21st • Michigan • Ohio Stadium
As it should be, The Game was for the Big Ten title. On a frigid field, the Buckeyes fought for their fifth straight win against their rival. Unfortunately, the title and Rose Bowl died a cold death in the windy 20-degree November air.
A description of the action from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
A fumble -- one of six by Ohio on this icy cold afternoon -- late in the second quarter, opened the way for Michigan's only touchdown after the Buckeyes muffed three opportunities to get on the scoreboard in the first half.
The break came when sophomore Bob "Bo" Rein of Ohio fumbled a punt by Michigan's Stan Kempe which Rein may have lost in the sun on the Ohio 20 with 52 seconds left in the half. Dayton's John Henderson recovered.
After quarterback Bob Timberlake gained three yards to the Ohio 17, the slick Wolverine passer fired a touchdown strike to halfback Jim Detwiler. Ohio's Don Harkins had a shot at Detwiler on the goal line but missed.
Timberlake, a senior from Franklin, Ohio, who plans to enter the Presbyterian ministry after graduation, booted the placement that made it 7-0 Michigan.
Ohio State couldn't get out of its own way and mistakes proved costly.
In the first half, Ohio was inside Michigan's 40-yard line three times, marching to the 38, 29 and 33, but couldn't crack the tough Wolverine defense. They even tried a fake field goal in the second period, with Parma's Arnie Chonko picking the ball up and firing from the port side to Tom Barrington. However, they failed to make the necessary yardage for a first down.
These missed opportunities changed the whole complexion of the game for Ohio State that was the turning point.
"We got the ball into good position, but we couldn't push it over," Hayes said. "That hurt more than the fumble by Rein."
After the game, Hayes said: "This is not a happy day. They outplayed us, but our defense was superb and they took advantage of the breaks and we didn't. Our passing was not up to snuff. Two times, we had players wide open and missed connections and once we had a missed assignment."
Michigan won the Big Ten title for the first time since Hayes became Ohio State's head coach, a span of 14 seasons.
1964 Recap
- Ohio State defeated SMU for the fourth straight time.
- Arnie Chonko intercepted three passes in the fourth quarter to secure a 17-9 victory over Indiana.
- The Buckeyes made up for the 32-3 loss to USC by beating the Trojans 17-0.
- Woody Hayes improved his record to 11–1–2 against Wisconsin.
- Ike Kelley stopped Iowa's 2-point conversion attempt at the 6-inch line to preserve a 21-19 win.
- Penn State embarrassed the Buckeyes 27-0. The Nittany Lions are now 4–0 against OSU.
- A fake punt was the turning point in a 10-0 win over Northwestern.
- A muffed punt return was the game-changer against Michigan. The Wolverines won for the first time in five seasons and took a 36–21–4 series lead.
- The 1964 team rose as high as No. 1 in the rankings but finished the season ninth in the AP Poll.
- Arnie Chonko, Jim Davidson and Ike Kelley were named All-Americans.
- Bo Scott and Ed Orazen were selected in the NFL Draft.
After six games, the 1964 team sat undefeated and on track for a national championship. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes only scored 10 points in its final three games and Michigan won the Big Ten title in Ohio Stadium.
With only 11 seniors graduating, there was plenty for Woody Hayes and his staff to work with to inspire the 1965 team.
