A large portion of Ohio State's 1961 undefeated team returned the following year. The AP took notice and ranked the Buckeyes No. 1 in its preseason poll.
The high ranking ended up as fool's gold, however, because the Buckeyes were too inconsistent in 1962.
| The 1962 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 6–3 |
| B1G Record | 4–2, 3rd |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (12th year, 78–26–6) |
| CaptainS | Gary Moeller and Robert Vogel |
Games of Note
September 29th • North Carolina • Ohio Stadium
The season opener was the first ever matchup between North Carolina and the Buckeyes.
Ohio State dominated the game both statistically and on the scoreboard. John Mummey ran for a game-high 109 yards and the Buckeyes ground game totaled 314 yards. Paul Warfield added a beautiful 42-yard touchdown grab and a rushing touchdown to cap the 41-7 blowout.
The 84,009 in attendance – a stadium record at the time – saw Ohio State's defense hold the Tar Heels to 58 rushing yards and also intercepted four passes.
Ohio State's 41 points were the most it tallied in a season opener in 17 years. For those wondering, the 75-0 win over Virginia in 1933 is the largest margin of victory — and the most points scored — for the Buckeyes in Week 1.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 29 | NORTH CAROLINA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 41–7 |
| OCT. 6 | UCLA | MEMORIAL COLISEUM | L, 7–9 |
| OCT. 13 | ILLINOIS | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 51–15 |
| OCT. 20 | NO. 8 NORTHWESTERN | OHIO STADIUM | L, 14–18 |
| OCT. 27 | NO. 5 WISCONSIN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 14–7 |
| NOV. 3 | IOWA | IOWA STADIUM | L, 14–28 |
| NOV. 10 | INDIANA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 10–7 |
| NOV. 17 | OREGON | OHIO STADIUM | W, 26–7 |
| NOV. 24 | MICHIGAN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 28–0 |
| 6–3, 205–98 |
October 6th • UCLA • LA Memorial Coliseum
The offensive explosion allowed Ohio State to tighten its grip on the No. 1 ranking before it traveled to Los Angeles to take on UCLA.
The Bruins struck first when Kermit Alexander took a handoff 45 yards for a touchdown on UCLA's first play from scrimmage. UCLA missed the extra point but led 6-0 with 13:45 remaining in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes responded early in the second quarter when Joe Sparma found Matt Snell for a 6-yard touchdown pass. Dick Van Raaphorst made his point after attempt and Ohio State owned a 7-6 lead at halftime.
The second half remained scoreless until 1:35 remained in the game. Larry Zeno nailed a 24-yard field goal to give UCLA a 9-7 upset victory over top-ranked Ohio State. Bill Barnes' Bruins tied the series 1–1.
October 13th • Illinois • Memorial Stadium
The UCLA loss dropped the Buckeyes to No. 10 in the AP Poll. Ohio State took its frustrations out on Illinois by pounding out a then-Big Ten record 517 rushing yards. Eleven different Buckeyes recorded carries as the team ran the ball 56 times.
With the game tied at seven early in the second quarter, Ohio State began an offensive onslaught and scored 44 unanswered points to eventually win 51-15. Fifty years passed for the Buckeyes to top that scoring output against the Illini.
Ohio State now led the series 32–17–3 and outscored Illinois 95-15 in the last two meetings.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| NORTH CAROLINA | W1 | 1–0 |
| UCLA | L1 | 1–1 |
| ILLINOIS | W3 | 31–17–3 |
| NORTHWESTERN | L1 | 26–11–1 |
| WISCONSIN | W3 | 21–6–4 |
| IOWA | L1 | 13–10–2 |
| INDIANA | W3 | 30–10–4 |
| OREGON | W2 | 2–0 |
| MICHIGAN | W3 | 20–35–4 |
October 20th • #8 Northwestern • Ohio Stadium
The annihilation of Illinois again made the pollsters believe in the Buckeyes. Back at No. 6, Ohio State hosted No. 8 Northwestern in Ohio Stadium.
Bob Klein put the Buckeyes up 7-0 before most of the 84,376 fans settled into their seats. His 90-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff gave Ohio State an early advantage.
Later in the first, Dave Frances capped a 14-play 70-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from nine yards out. Ohio State led 14-0 and appeared primed for another rout.
Ara Parseghian's Wildcats had other plans and scored twice in the second quarter. Northwestern went for two after both touchdowns but failed each time. Ohio State led at the half 14-12.
The Buckeyes tried to build their lead in the third, but two penalties took touchdowns off of the board. Bo Scott returned an interception 62 yards for a pick-six, but a pass interference call nullified the touchdown. A motion penalty later negated a Bob Butts touchdown run.
The missed opportunities proved costly.
The Wildcats' Bill Swingle rushed in from a yard out to give his team its first lead of the game with 5:38 remaining. Ohio State never responded and lost 18-14, giving Northwestern its first win in Ohio Stadium since 1943.
October 27th • #5 Wisconsin • Ohio Stadium
Following the loss to Northwestern, the Buckeyes fell out of the rankings. The team didn't have much time to wallow in the defeat as No. 5 Wisconsin visited Columbus.
Ohio State quarterback Joe Sparma did not have the best game statistically and finished 3-of-10 for 33 yards passing, but one of the completions scored the game's first touchdown. Sparma found Warfield for a 21-yard touchdown toss to put Ohio State up 7-0 late in the first.
The Badgers tied the game when Ron Vanderkelen connected with Ron Scott on a 47-yard scoring strike. The two play drive only took 24 seconds and made the 82,540 in attendance a little uneasy as the game went into halftime tied 7-7.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, setting the table for a thrilling final period. The Buckeyes game-winning drive started on Wisconsin's 42-yard line. On the eighth consecutive running play, Mummey punched it in from the 1 to put Ohio State up for good.
The 14-7 loss was the first of the season for Milt Bruhn's Badgers. Wisconsin went on to win the Big Ten and ended the regular season ranked second in the nation. They lost to No. 1 USC 42-37 in the Rose Bowl.
November 17th • Oregon • Ohio Stadium
Following the Wisconsin victory, Ohio State lost to Iowa in Iowa City. The next week the Buckeyes squeaked by Indiana 10-7 on Van Raaphorst's 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left.
Sporting a 4–3 record and dealing with a cold and rainy day, Ohio State only had 72,828 souls show up at The Horseshoe to watch the Buckeyes take on Oregon.
The Ducks (6–1–1) didn't take kindly to the 39-degree temperature and fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter. A pair of Bill Mrukowski touchdown runs and two Chuck Mamula field goals allowed Ohio State to pull away on win 26-7.
This game marked the last time Ohio State faced a non-conference opponent in Week 8 of the regular season.
November 24th • Michigan • Ohio Stadium
The Buckeyes outclassed Michigan (2–6) on the field and on the scoreboard in the 59th rendition of The Game. Ohio State outrushed the Wolverines 330-74. Hayes pounded the men from Michigan with fullbacks Butts, Francis and Katterhenrich and the trio accounted for all of Ohio State's touchdowns.
Michigan coach Bump Elliott said this when asked about the play of the Buckeye fullbacks: "Ohio State just wore us down. It may sound like a broken record, but I felt our boys battled real hard all the way. We looked for Ohio State to use the fullbacks a great deal, but we could not handle them anyway.
"They were just too strong for us. It was the same old bugaboo. We have had no consistency in our offense all season. Ohio State is a powerful team and Francis certainly is a strong runner."
On this sunny and seasonably warm Saturday, Ohio State scored in every quarter except for the second. Ahead 14-0 at the start of the final quarter, the Buckeyes used scoring drives of 53 and 70 yards to defeat the Wolverines 28-0.
Ohio State played a near perfect game and did not get penalized on either side of the ball. Aside from a lost fumble, Hayes had very little to be disappointed with.
The Buckeyes third straight victory over its rival improved Hayes' record to 8–4 in The Game. This was the 10th and final time Ohio State shut out Michigan.
1962 Recap
- Ohio State defeated North Carolina in the first meeting between the schools.
- UCLA stunned No. 1 Ohio State 9-7 in Los Angeles.
- The Buckeyes set a then-Big Ten record 517 rushing yards in a 51-15 thrashing of Illinois.
- No. 8 Northwestern defeated Ohio State 18-14 via a fourth quarter touchdown.
- Ohio State beat No. 5 Wisconsin 14-7 to hand the Badgers their first loss of the season.
- A Van Raaphorst field goal with 8 seconds remaining gave the Buckeyes a 10-7 victory over Indiana.
- Ohio State defeated Michigan for the third straight year with 28-0 win. The shutout was the 10th and last time the Buckeyes blanked the Wolverines.
- The 1962 team was ranked as high as No. 1 but finished the season No. 13 in the AP Poll.
- No one received All-America honors.
- Bob Vogel, Daryl Sanders, Gary Moeller, Dave Francis, Rod Foster and Dave Katterhenrich were selected in the NFL Draft.
The 1962 Buckeyes did not live up to their preseason No. 1 ranking. UCLA's upset victory set off a pattern of losing every other game until Week 7.
Although the team did not live up to expectations, it finished with three straight victories — included a shutout of rival Michigan — to give hope for 1963.
