2017 is the 75th anniversary of Ohio State's first national championship season. To honor the achievement, this series will post articles from the Columbus Citizen Journal on the day they ran in 1942.

The Buckeyes dropped the bad taste from the Wisconsin loss with this 59-19 pasting of Pittsburgh. Lew Byrer gives his opines of the game and Ohio State's path to a Big Ten title.

Look at that blocking: That's the answer to Ohio's crushing defeat of Pitt. Paul Sarringhaus makes eight yards on the above play.

 

While romping to a 59-to-19 victory over Pitt's panting Panthers yesterday afternoon Ohio State's Battling Buckeyes got a free ride back into the hot seat in the Big Ten title race.

Folks who gave up on Buckeye hopes for the title a week ago when Paul Brown's lads suffered a 17-to-7 defeat at the hands of Wisconsin were a bit premature.

For the Bucks can cinch a tie for the Western Conference title by simply winning their remaining conference games---against Illinois next Saturday at Cleveland and against Michigan the following Saturday in the home-coming game in Ohio Stadium.

Here's why:

Wisconsin---the only undefeated team in the conference prior to yesterday---lost a 6-to-0 decision to Iowa.

Illinois won from Northwestern 14-to-7.

Indiana obligingly licked Minnesota 7-to-0 in the only other game between two Western Conference teams.

Conference Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	Pts.	O.P
Ohio State	3	1	.750	85	44
Illinois	3	1	.750	60	57
Iowa	3	1	.750	41	32
Michigan	2	1	.667	76	46
Wisconsin	2	1	.667	30	14
Indiana	1	2	.333	41	46
Purdue	1	3	.250	14	58
Northwestern	0	5	.000	42	94

That leaves Ohio State, Illinois, and Iowa tied for the conference lead at the moment with three victories and one defeat each. Illinois plays only one more conference game---against Ohio State at Cleveland next Saturday. If Ohio wins that the Illini will finish the season with three wins and two losses for a  .600 percentage.

Iowa plays two more conference games---against Minnesota next Saturday and against Michigan Nov. 28. If the Hawkeyes win both those games they'll cinch a tie for the title.

But no other team has a chance to even tie for the title providing either Ohio State or Iowa wins both remaining conference games.

Wisconsin, with two wins and one defeat in conference play, still plays Northwestern and Minnesota. But victories in both those games would give the Badgers only four wins and one defeat on the season.

Either Ohio State or Iowa can have a season record of five wins and one defeat in season play by winning both remaining conference games.

Minnesota, in fifth place with two wins and two defeats, still must play Iowa and Wisconsin. Winning both games would give the Gophers four wins and two defeats for a .667 percentage.

Indiana, which has won one and lost two, has only Purdue to play. A victory over Purdue would give the Hoosiers a .500 percentage.

Purdue and Northwestern are hopelessly out of the title race.

To summarize, Ohio State will be conference champs if the the team wins out.

Superb Against Panthers

If Ohio State could play against Illinois and Michigan as Ohio State played against Pitt while the first stringers were in there yesterday the Bucks should win both games.

For that matter had Ohio State played against Wisconsin yesterday the Bucks probably would have won that game, too.

For Ohio State was nearly perfect in that first half yesterday. 

Reacting from the sting of that Wisconsin defeat the Bucks took it out on poor Pitt. I'm still wondering what the score might have been had Paul Brown elected to leave his first and second stringers in there instead of playing the entire last half with his third and fourth-string men.

Of course some folks will say it was a poor Pitt team. And it was.

But the Bucks scored 41 points against that poor Pitt team in the first half. That was within nine points of what Minnesota scored against the Panthers in the opening game of the season and the only other real walloping Pitt has taken all season.

[...]

Yet the way the Bucks were going they might have rolled up 100 points had they stayed in there and kept going.

It was another of those days when everything seemed to work right.

Is Ohio State that good, or was Pitt that bad? That will be the question going forward. William S. Cunningham provides his take on the game and Big Ten race going forward.

"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition," blared the Buckeye band between halves. That catch-phrase of the moment seemed particularly appropriate for yesterday's events at the Stadium.

Paul Brown's ammunition had riddled the pore, pure Pittsburgh Panthers to the shreds of a 59-to-19 defeat. And then, after the game, the Buckeyes were still in the showers when they heard that Iowa had defeated Wisconsin, their bitter enemy after last week's loss; that Indiana had tripped Minnesota and thus left them a percentage-possibility for the Western Conference championship.

A mighty roar came from the Ohio dressing room as the results of those games were announced. And one weary but happy Buckeye slapped a neighbor on the back and shouted: "Praise the Lord."

It is obvious that the Ohio State players are relieved and happy that their title shot has been given a new life.

Cheered By News

It was apparent that both Coach Brown and his Buckeyes were more interested in the outcome of the other conference games than in talking about the Pittsburgh pushover.

Immediately after the game, the boys were quietly and calmly going about changing from uniforms to street clothes. There was no singing in the showers; only automatic congratulations. After all, it hadn't been a contest even if they had won.

But then a portable radio picked up the closing minutes of the Iowa-Wisconsin game. There were cheers as Iowa held its slim lead and the time ticked off. And, then it was over, a thundering roar to joy cascaded through the stadium's southeast tower. An uninformed spectator might have though(t) it was Ohio who had just won a game; and it didn't take a soothsayer to divine that the Buckeyes still feel bitter about last week's defeat by Wisconsin.

Attention then switched to the Minnesota game. And when that result came in, there was another cheer. One more contender for the championship had go the pitch.

Field Is Narrowed

So the field has now narrowed. Only Iowa can tie with Ohio State for the title if the Buckeyes win from Illinois and Michigan. Iowa must still play---and defeat---Minnesota and Michigan to provide that "if" tie. All in all, it was a very satisfactory afternoon for the Bucks.

Frye Out For Season

The only tough break of yesterday's game was the injury to Bob Frye who will be out for the season. Frye's fibula---a small bone just above the ankle---was cracked when he was tackled during the third quarter.

"He's broken-hearted about it," said Brown. "Not because of the pain, which is plenty, but because he's out for the year. I don't know how we'll replace him. We're short on wingbacks anyway. That's one problem I'll have to work out next week."

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