Coming off his worst season as Ohio State's head coach, Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes benefited from new NCAA rules.
In 1959, the NCAA loosened the rules a little bit on substitutions. In 1960, they voted to reinstate the two-platoon system. This allowed Hayes to get more talent on the field and keep it fresh.
| The 1960 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 7–2 |
| B1G Record | 5–2, 3rd |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (10th year, 64–23–5) |
| CaptainS | Jim Herbstreit and James Tyrer |
Games of Note
September 24th • SMU • Ohio Stadium
In 1950, the SMU defeated Ohio State in the first meeting between the schools. However, the No. 20 Buckeyes won the last two looked for a third straight to kick off the 1960 season.
With the changes in the substitution rule, Buckeye players focused on their true positions. Tom Matte played quarterback, Bob Ferguson played fullback and Tom Perdue and Chuck Bryant played end. It improved not only the offense but the defense as well.
Fullback Roger Detrick scored twice and Matte connected with Bryant to give Ohio State a 21-0 lead at halftime. The Buckeyes added a 25-yard field goal in the third to win 24-0.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 24 | SMU | OHIO STADIUM | W, 24–0 |
| OCT. 1 | USC | OHIO STADIUM | W, 20–0 |
| OCT. 8 | NO. 4 ILLINOIS | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 34–7 |
| OCT. 15 | PURDUE | ROSS-ADE STADIUM | L, 21–24 |
| OCT. 22 | NO. 11 WISCONSIN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 34–7 |
| OCT. 29 | NO. 10 MICHIGAN ST. | SPARTAN STADIUM | W, 21–10 |
| NOV. 5 | INDIANA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 36–7 |
| NOV. 12 | NO. 5 IOWA | IOWA STADIUM | L, 12–35 |
| NOV. 19 | MICHIGAN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 7–0 |
| 7–2, 209–90 |
October 1st • USC • Ohio Stadium
Stuck in a four-game losing skid, the Trojans entered Ohio Stadium for the first time since 1948. Still, Hayes wanted to be sure the No. 9 Buckeyes remained focused on USC. A year earlier in LA, USC pounded the Buckeyes on the field and on the scoreboard. With the Trojans now trending the other direction, Ohio State took advantage.
The Buckeyes' defense intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble in the 24-0 rout. Ferguson had three touchdown runs including a 74-yard scamper that sealed the win.
The victory gave Ohio State a 6–4–1 series lead and marked the second five-game losing streak in USC's history.
October 8th • #4 Illinois • Memorial Stadium
Up to No. 5 in the rankings, the Buckeyes traveled to Champaign with hopes of making up for the previous year's 9-0 loss to the Fighting Illini.
Ohio State took a 13-0 lead into halftime against Illinois and first-year head coach Pete Elliott. Bill Wentz returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards to give Ohio State a 20-0 advantage.
The only "win" for the Illini in the game was a late fourth quarter touchdown to prevent the Buckeyes from starting the season with three shutout victories for the first time since 1924.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| SMU | W3 | 3–1 |
| USC | W1 | 6–4–1 |
| ILLINOIS | W1 | 29–17–3 |
| PURDUE | L1 | 13–6–2 |
| WISCONSIN | W1 | 19–6–4 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | W2 | 2–3 |
| INDIANA | W1 | 28–10–4 |
| IOWA | L2 | 12–9–2 |
| MICHIGAN | W1 | 18–35–4 |
October 15th • Purdue • Ross-Ade Stadium
Riding a three-game winning streak to start the season, Ohio State suffered a major setback at Purdue in Week 4. The Boilermakers upset the No. 3 Buckeyes 24-21.
Hayes, upset about the loss, spent 45 seconds with reporters and said, "Both teams moved the ball well, but Purdue moved it better."
The loss dropped the Buckeyes back to No. 9 in the AP Poll when No. 11 Wisconsin visited The Shoe. Matte did everything in a 34-7 drubbing of the Badgers. The quarterback ran for 108 yards, threw two touchdown passes and averaged 37 yards per punt.
October 29th • Michigan State • Spartan Stadium
Michigan State (3–1–1) looked to defeat Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State in the same season for only the second time in program history. The Spartans already dispatched the Wolverines and Fighting Irish before they hosted the Buckeyes and the 76,520 on hand wanted blood.
Ohio State's Bob Klein broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter when he burst through the Spartans' line and bolted 45 yards for a touchdown.
Tom Perdue set up his team's second touchdown when he blocked a Michigan State punt and recovered it on the Spartans' 21-yard line. From there, the Buckeyes marched down the field and Ferguson scored from three yards out. The two-point conversion gave Ohio State a 14-3 halftime lead.
Matte finished off the Spartans when and Bob Middleton connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Michigan State scored late, but the Buckeyes prevailed 21-10.
November 12th • Iowa • Iowa Stadium
A week removed from the victory against Michigan State, the Buckeyes hosted Indiana. On probation and out-manned, the Hoosiers had no answer for the No. 5 Buckeyes. Hayes used 58 players in the 36-7 victory.
Now ranked third in the country, Ohio State (6–1) traveled to Iowa City to take on the No. 5 Hawkeyes (6–1). Previously ranked No. 1 in the country, Iowa fell to Minnesota 27-10 a week earlier.
A chance at the Big Ten title was on the line as the teams took the field. However, shades of the Wisconsin trip of 1942 came back to haunt the Buckeyes — 30 Ohio State players fell victim to dysentery Friday night.
Iowa pummeled the Buckeyes 35-12 in front of 57,900. Larry Ferguson's 91-yard touchdown run set a record for the longest rushing touchdown ever given up by Ohio State.
Forest Evashevski retired as Iowa's coach at the end of the season. With the win, he became the first Big Ten coach to defeat Hayes and the Buckeyes in consecutive years. The Hawkeyes shared the 1960 Big Ten title with Minnesota.
November 19th • Michigan • Ohio Stadium
Now ranked 10th, the Buckeyes hosted Michigan (5–3) in the season finale. The 57th game in the series turned into a defensive battle.
Neither team came close to scoring in the first three. In fact, the only score came with only 2:05 left in the game.
The winning touchdown as described by The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Fullback Bob Ferguson, the 220-pound Ohio State battering ram, ripped 17 yards for the only touchdown as the Buckeyes defeated Michigan, 7-0, before 83,107 here yesterday.
The score came at 2:05 of the last period and ended a 42-yard drive in five plays.
It was Ferguson's 13th touchdown in nine games this season. The big junior from Troy already has been picked on a leading All-America team.
Ben Jones, sophomore place-kicking specialist, booted the conversion and Ohio closed with seven victories, two defeats.
The victory was Hayes' sixth in 10 attempts against the Wolverines. No other Ohio State coach had as many wins against Michigan as Woody. The Buckeyes improved to 18–35–4 against their rival.
1960 Recap
- Ohio State defeated SMU for its third straight victory over the Mustangs.
- The Buckeyes pounded USC 20-0 and gave the Trojans their fifth straight loss.
- No. 4 Illinois fell hard to No. 5 Ohio State 34-7 and the Buckeyes improved to 25–10–1 in Illibuck battles.
- OSU beat No. 10 Michigan State in its first game played at Spartan Stadium.
- The Buckeyes defeated Michigan State for the first time in program history.
- Ohio State lost to No. 5 Iowa in Forest Evashevski's last season as the Hawkeyes' head coach.
- Hayes secured his school record sixth victory over Michigan.
- The 1960 club rose as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll but finished the season No. 8.
- Bob Ferguson was named All-American.
- Tom Matte, Jerry Fields, Jim Tyrer, Ernie Wright, George Tolford and Mike Ingram were selected in the NFL Draft.
In 1960, Hayes put the train back on the track after things fell apart during the 1959 season. Victories over USC, three ranked opponents and rival Michigan had the program trending upward.
With 26 lettermen returning for the 1961 season national championship aspirations were again prevalent.
