Only three starters returned to Ohio State's offense in 1963, led by Paul Warfield and Matt Snell. The lack of experience posed a problem for Woody Hayes' team.
Warfield and Snell gave it all they had, but the offense only produced 110 points over the course of the entire season. The lack of scoring played large in Ohio State's three losses.
| The 1963 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 5–3–1 |
| B1G Record | 4–1–1, 2nd |
| Coach | Woody Hayes (13th year, 83–29–7) |
| CaptainS | Ormonde Ricketts and Matt Snell |
Games of Note
September 28th • Texas A&M • Ohio Stadium
A cloudy afternoon and temperatures that reached the low 80s greeted Texas A&M in Columbus as the Aggies took on Ohio State for the first time.
Hank Foldberg's team opened the season the week prior with a 14-6 loss at LSU. The A&M offense couldn't manage much against the Buckeyes — it had one first down through the first three quarters.
Snell put the Buckeyes up 7-0 when he plowed from one yard out to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive midway through the third quarter.
Later, Ohio State bled 7:16 off the clock on a 14-play, 51-yard drive that again finished with a one-yard touchdown by Snell. Dick Van Raaphorst split the uprights with just over a minute remaining to give Ohio State a 17-0 victory.
For Hayes, it was his 11th victory in a season opener as head coach of the Buckeyes.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEP. 28 | TEXAS A&M | OHIO STADIUM | W, 17–0 |
| OCT. 5 | INDIANA | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 21–0 |
| OCT. 12 | ILLINOIS | OHIO STADIUM | T, 20–20 |
| OCT. 19 | USC | MEMORIAL COLISEUM | L, 3–32 |
| OCT. 26 | NO. 2 WISCONSIN | CAMP RANDALL | W, 13–10 |
| NOV. 2 | IOWA | OHIO STADIUM | W, 7–3 |
| NOV. 9 | PENN STATE | OHIO STADIUM | L, 7–10 |
| NOV. 16 | NORTHWESTERN | OHIO STADIUM | L, 8–17 |
| NOV. 30 | MICHIGAN | MICHIGAN STADIUM | W, 14–10 |
| 5–3–1, 110–102 |
October 12th • Illinois • Ohio Stadium
Ohio State picked up its second shutout in as many games with a 20-0 defeat of Indiana in Bloomington. The game took place in front of a then-record crowd of 42,296 on a clear and sunny day in Memorial Stadium.
Warfield and Greg Lashutka caught touchdown passes for the Buckeyes in the first and fourth quarters.
In Week 3, Illinois (2–0) brought a big and powerful team to Columbus. Junior Dick Butkus, who played both center and linebacker, led the Fighting Illini. At the end of the season, the Chicago Tribune awarded Butkus its Silver Football as the Big Ten's best player.
Ten minutes into the game, Ohio State's defense allowed its first points of the season when Illinois drove 28 yards for a touchdown. The Buckeyes responded with a field goal late in the half and trailed 7-3 at the break. However, the home crowd spent the intermission questioning Hayes' decision-making.
On the Illini 17, No. 8 Ohio State faced a 4th-and-3 with 22 seconds left before halftime. Instead of attempting a short field goal, Hayes elected to throw to the end zone. The pass fell incomplete and three possible points were left on the field.
However, the Buckeyes came out swinging in the third quarter and scored twice. Snell and Willard Sander each recorded one-yard touchdown runs to put Ohio State up 17-7 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth, Illinois pulled to within 17-13 on Eddie Russell's 2-yard touchdown reception. Instead of kicking the extra point, coach Pete Elliott chose to go for two. The attempt failed and Illinois remained four points behind.
Four minutes later, however, the Illini crossed the goal line again to take a 20-17 lead.
The back and forth game continued and the Buckeyes drove down the field one final time. The possible game-winning drive stalled and forced Van Raaphorst to attempt a Big Ten record 48-yard field goal. His kick was true and the game ended in a 20-20 tie.
After the game fans of both teams questioned their coach's decisions not to use their kickers more. The second-guessing of the Illini resonated later in the season too, as it went on to win the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl.
TBDBITL's Illinois pregame performance:
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| TEXAS A&M | W1 | 1–0 |
| INDIANA | W4 | 31–10–4 |
| ILLINOIS | T1 | 31–17–4 |
| USC | L1 | 6–5–1 |
| WISCONSIN | W4 | 22–6–4 |
| IOWA | W1 | 14–10–2 |
| PENN STATE | L3 | 0–3 |
| NORTHWESTERN | L2 | 26–12–1 |
| MICHIGAN | W4 | 21–35–4 |
October 19th • USC • LA Memorial Coliseum
After the tie with Illinois, the Buckeyes climbed up to No. 4 in the AP Poll. Next up was a trip to Los Angeles to face 2–2 USC.
Ohio State entered the game trying to improve on its 2–1–1 record against the Trojans in the Memorial Coliseum.
The contest began with the Buckeyes taking a 3-0 lead on Van Raaphorst's 44-yard field goal. However, the wheels then fell off for Ohio State. USC scored 32 straight points to win 32-3, giving John McKay his first victory against Hayes and Ohio State.
October 26th • #2 Wisconsin • Camp Randall
A sunny and 77-degree day welcomed the Buckeyes when they arrived in Madison to take on No. 2 Wisconsin (4–0). However, the warm day started rather chilly for Hayes and the Buckeyes.
From The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia:
While taking a walk near Lake Mendota on the Wisconsin campus around 6:00 a.m. the morning of the game, Woody Hayes spotted a morning newspaper that predicted, "This is the year we finally get Woody!" The Badgers had been able to defeat OSU only once during Hayes' first dozen seasons, and the local publication was obviously forecasting better results this afternoon for the Badgers.
Hayes immediately purchased a huge stack of the papers. Back at the hotel he quickly awakened the entire team, showed them the story, and prodded them with, "Are you going to let them do this to us?"
Ohio State came out fired up, and on the opening drive of the game put three points on the board. The heavily-favored Badgers tied the game later in the quarter with a 25-yard field goal.
With six seconds left in the first half Van Raaphorst's strong leg came through again. His 45-yard field goal gave the Buckeyes a 6-3 lead at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Wisconsin's high-powered offense scored the contest's first touchdown and the 65,319 at Camp Randall Stadium enjoyed a 10-6 advantage. But inspired by the printed words in the morning rag, Ohio State fought back and Snell powered into the end zone from two yards with only 2:13 remaining. The Buckeyes held on for a 13-10 win.
The following week, the Buckeyes edged Iowa 7-3 on a cloudy and windy November day. Tom Barringer rushed for 111 yards to help Ohio State's record to 4–1–1 and No. 10 in the AP Poll.
November 9th • Penn State • Ohio Stadium
The Nittany Lions (5–2) entered Ohio Stadium unbeaten against the Buckeyes. Ohio State fans were uneasy ahead of the game because Hayes' teams typically struggled against out of conference opponents.
Warfield put some of the worries at ease with a 5-yard touchdown rush late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the offense did not get past midfield in the second half and Penn State upset the Buckeyes 10-7.
The loss was Hayes' 10th to a non-conference opponent in 34 tries. For perspective, the Buckeyes only had 18 losses to Big Ten teams in 81 games.
Ohio State's lack of offense also served as a concern for the fans. The Buckeyes only scored three touchdowns over the span of four games.
The concerns didn't let up after Northwestern defeated the Buckeyes 17-8 in the home finale. The Wildcats never trailed and held Ohio State to 92 yards rushing. Warfield kept the Buckeyes from getting shutout when he caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining.
After consecutive losses, the promising season was spiraling out of control.
November 30th • Michigan • Michigan Stadium
Ohio State's recent on-field troubles became afterthoughts following the events of Nov. 22, 1963. A day before The Game, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The Buckeyes learned their battle with Michigan was postponed while in the locker room getting dressed. The NFL didn't follow suit.
In front of 36,424 – the smallest crowd since the inaugural season of Michigan Stadium – Ohio State battled the Wolverines for the 60th time.
On a cold day with flurries, Michigan (3–3–2) jumped out to a 10-0 lead when Dick Rindfuss ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Buckeyes took momentum into halftime when Don Unverferth threw a 35-yard strike to Warfield with 41 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Ohio State secured a 14-10 comeback win when Unverferth scored on a 5-yard rush. Hayes and the Buckeyes won their fourth straight against their rival.
Fifty years after the victory, tight end Greg Lashutka reflected on the game with The Lantern:
Greg Lashutka, a tight end on the 1963 team who later became the mayor of Columbus from 1992 to 2000, said he thought postponing the game — as well as most of the other college football games scheduled around the nation that Nov. 23 — was the “smartest thing that collegiate football did.”
“I think that was the right thing to do so people could put themselves around their own reflection, get with their loved ones,” Lashutka said. “I don’t think we could have really played the game very well that next day if we had to. It was hard enough a week later, let alone the day after.”
[...]
“You wanted to play the game, you wanted to win, but it clearly (took) a lot of the enthusiasm out of the classic Ohio State-Michigan rivalry,” Lashutka said. “We all played for the sake of the game and for self-respect, but I don’t believe anybody’s heart was 100 percent in it.”
1963 Recap
- Ohio State defeated Texas A&M in the first game between the schools.
- The Buckeyes and Illini tied for the first time since 1951. The two teams have no tied since.
- USC embarrassed Ohio State 32-3 in Los Angeles. The Buckeyes still held a 6–5–1 series lead.
- A Wisconsin newspaper headline inspired the Buckeyes to an upset victory over the No. 2 Badgers.
- Penn State remained undefeated against Ohio State.
- Northwestern beat the Buckeyes for a second straight season.
- John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22 and The Game was postponed.
- Ohio State defeated Michigan for a fourth straight time with 14-10 comeback win. The Buckeyes improved to 21–35–4 against their rival.
- The AP Poll ranked the team as high as No. 4 but it finished the season unranked.
- Nobody was named All-American.
- Paul Warfield, Matt Snell, Dick VanRaaphorst and Tom Jenkins were selected in the NFL Draft.
The 1963 Buckeyes were in the Big Ten race until a late season loss dashed the title aspirations. Fans wanted answers to Ohio State's struggles against non-conference opponents but remained enthused with yet another win against Michigan.
The following year marked Ohio State's 75th season of football.
