Just two years removed from an undefeated season before a respectable 7-2 mark the previous season in 1945, the 1946 Buckeyes struggled for much of the schedule on the way to a disappointing 4-3-2 campaign.
The 1946 Buckeyes got off to a shaky start with head coach Carroll Widdoes, who guided the program to a 16-2 record including a 9-0 mark in 1944 to finish No. 2 in the AP Poll, stepping down to an assistant coaching role at his own request.
With Widdoes simply not cut out for the visibility and demands put on the head coach, his transition back to his former role paved the way for athletic director Lynn W. St. John to install assistant Paul Bixler into the top spot.
Out of Louisville, Ohio (just northeast of Canton), Bixler arrived at Ohio State in 1941 after the legendary Paul Brown, who had previously coached the Massillon Tigers, like what he saw in Bixler's preparation and teachings while at Canton McKinley High School, the Tigers' chief rival.
Ahead of the 1946 season, many former players from the 1942 team were back on campus following Germany's surrender, essentially ending the World War II in 1945. (The 76th anniversary of the German surrender is tomorrow, May 7.)
Unfortunately for Bixler, despite Brown's help in getting him to Columbus in the first place, the new head coach was unable to convince key players to suit up for the Buckeyes as Brown signed key talents like Lou Groza, Gene Fekete, Dante Lavelli and Lin Houston to instead play for his fledgling Cleveland Browns. This reality was a source of much frustration for fans, staff and OSU administration alike.
With so many elite players unavailable for Bixler, the Buckeyes would lean heavily on captain and tackle Warren Amling along with end Cecil "Cy" Souders, among others.
The season started with a thud as the Buckeyes fought to a 13-13 tie against a Missouri squad that lost 42-0 to Texas the previous week.
Ohio State bounced back the following Saturday, beating USC, 21-0, in Los Angeles. Notably, the contest was dubbed the Howard Harding Jones Memorial Game in honor of the Trojans head coach who passed in 1941. Jones also coached Ohio State in 1910.
As told by Ohio State football historian Jack Park, the trip out west was fruitful in providing a much-needed W but it was not without major travel woes. Dealing with delays and plane issues, the team didn't get back to Columbus until late Monday night.
Predictably, the Buckeyes ran out of a gas against Wisconsin on Saturday, losing 20-7 after scoring the game's first points.
The next weekend saw Bixler's squad battle to a 14-14 tie against a mediocre Purdue team after the Buckeyes both fumbled at the goal line and missed a chip shot field goal in the second half. Through four games, the Buckeyes stood a decidedly not great 1-1-2.
To its credit, Ohio State got up off the mat, at least for a little while, peeling off a three-game win streak against the likes of Minnesota, Northwestern and Pittsburgh.
Halfback Bob Brugge got loose for two touchdowns on the ground and threw for another in a methodical 39-9 thrashing of the Gophers.
Next week was a different story in a madcap 39-27 victory over the Wildcats in Evanston. The two teams combined for six interceptions and four lost fumbles leading to a host of ties and lead changes. This one was tied at the half before Ohio State pulled away late.
The winning streak culminated with a 20-13 defeat of Pittsburgh and its head coach, Wes Fesler. The Youngstown, Ohio native starred for the Buckeyes in football, basketball and baseball in the late-20s-early-30s before entering coaching. More on him in a bit. As for the game itself, quarterback George Spencer accounted for all three OSU scores against the underdog Panthers.
Now standing 4-1-2 overall, games against Illinois and Michigan awaited to close out the season. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the season highlights were basically over.
The Illini beat Ohio State, 16-7, with the key play coming as the Buckeyes, trailing 9-7, fell victim to a 98-yard pick-six after driving deep into Illinois territory.
Things would get way worse the next weekend as Michigan built a 55-0 lead in the Shoe and kicked a field goal for a 58-0 lead late in the fourth quarter before Ohio State's lone score came with about a minute left in a 58-6 thrashing.
The Wolverines outgained the Buckeyes by over 350 yards what was Ohio State's most lopsided conference defeat in over three decades. Ohio State wouldn't beat Michigan on the gridiron again until the 1952 squad turned in a 27-7 victory.
Amling earned consensus All-American honors at tackle, a year after being named an All-American guard. Souders was named an All-American end and the team's MVP.
With the lid on a 4-3-2 first season for Bixler, he resigned the following February and headed for Colgate. Like Widdoes before him, Bixler cited the pressure of the gig in Columbus as a key reason for his departure.
With Bixler out, Ohio State brought in Fesler to guide the program. Fesler would go 21-13-3 over four seasons including a conference crown, Rose Bowl win and a No. 6 ranking in 1949.
