Before each game of the 2022 season, we’re taking a look back at the Buckeyes’ history of playing on that date.
Trivia Time
Iowa defeated Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes, 35-12, on this date in 1960. With the win, Iowa head coach Forest Evashevski became the first Big Ten coach to accomplish what feat against Hayes?
Scroll down to item #1 in Five Fun Facts for the answer.
The first game Ohio State played on Nov. 12 was in 1892. The Buckeyes hosted Dayton YMCA at Recreation Park and won, 42-4. No, The Village People did not perform at halftime. Yes, if Michigan can claim wins in its all-time record book against high school teams, Ohio State gets to claim this victory over Dayton YMCA.
In the second-to-last game at Ohio Field for the Buckeyes, Purdue came to town in 1921. The Boilermakers were not as strong an opponent as the team from Columbus expected. Ohio State used a “horde” of substitutes and blanked the Boilermakers, 28-0, on a muddy track. To that point of the season, OSU was the only team to have shutouts in every conference game.
Ohio State and Denison faced off on the gridiron for the 17th and final time on Nov. 12, 1927. The Buckeyes won the series finale in 1927, 61-6. The scarlet and gray won the last five games against Denison and will forever hold a 14–1–2 record against the team from Granville.
| YEAR | MATCHUP | LOCATION | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | #2 Ohio State vs. Indiana | Columbus, Ohio | TBD |
| 2016 | #6 Ohio State at Maryland | College Park, Maryland | 62–3 |
| 2011 | Ohio State at Purdue | West Lafayette, Indiana | 23–26 (OT) |
| 2005 | #10 Ohio State vs. Northwestern | Columbus, Ohio | 48–7 |
| 1994 | Ohio State at Indiana | Bloomington, Indiana | 32–17 |
| 1988 | Ohio State at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | 24–24 |
| 1983 | #10 Ohio State vs. Northwestern | Evanston, Illinois | 55–7 |
| 1977 | #4 Ohio State vs. Indiana | Columbus, Ohio | 35–7 |
| 1966 | Ohio State at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | 14–10 |
| 1960 | #3 Ohio State at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | 12–35 |
| 1955 | #10 Ohio State vs. Iowa | Columbus, Ohio | 20–10 |
| 1949 | #11 Ohio State vs. Illinois | Columbus, Ohio | 30–17 |
| 1938 | Ohio State at Illinois | Champaign, Illinois | 0–12 |
| 1932 | Ohio State vs. Penn | Columbus, Ohio | 19–0 |
| 1927 | Ohio State vs. Denison | Columbus, Ohio | 61–6 |
| 1921 | Ohio State vs. Purdue | Columbus, Ohio | 28–0 |
| 1910 | Ohio State vs. Ohio Wesleyan | Columbus, Ohio | 6–0 |
| 1904 | Ohio State at Oberlin | Oberlin, Ohio | 2–4 |
| 1898 | Ohio State vs. Case | Columbus, Ohio | 5–23 |
| 1892 | Ohio State vs. Dayton YMCA | Columbus, Ohio | 42–4 |
| Overall Record on Nov. 12: 14-4-1 | |||
Games to remember
Cooper goes conservative in the corn
Iowa City in 1988 was the stage for Ohio State’s first tie against a Big Ten opponent in 15 years. John Cooper's first team led 24-21 late in the game. On third down, Greg Frey was stopped inches short of the line to gain and the Buckeyes faced 4th-and-inches on their own 39-yard line.
Cooper had an important decision to make. Should he go for the first down or call for a punt and lean on his defense to win the game?
The coach opted for the conservative option, punted and put the outcome of the game on his defense. The strategy backfired. The Hawkeyes drove to Ohio State's 23-yard line and Jeff Skillet split the uprights with 16 seconds on the clock. The game ended in a 24-24 tie.
An important aspect of this game was the impact it made on Cooper. When he faced a similar fourth-down decision against Michigan in 1990, the coach remembered the blowback he received for not going for the first down against Iowa in this game, and went for it on 4th-and-1 at Ohio State’s own 29 – a decision that ultimately cost the Buckeyes the game after the Wolverines stopped OSU and made a game-winning field goal.
Cassady's record-breaking home finale
Ohio Stadium's third-largest crowd at the time came to cheer on Howard “Hopalong” Cassady as he played in The Shoe for the last time in 1955. The standout running back gave the 82,701 fans plenty to get excited about as the team faced Iowa. Cassady finished the day with 26 carries for 169 yards and three touchdowns in Ohio State’s 20-10 win.
The victory over the Hawkeyes extended Ohio State's Big Ten winning streak to 12 games, leaving the Buckeyes one short of tying the then-program record of 13 consecutive conference wins.
Cassady entered the contest with 198 career points. At the time he was three shy of Chic Harley's Ohio State record of 201 career points. The three-touchdown performance put Hopalong 15 points clear of Harley at the top of the scoring list.
In the locker room, Hayes addressed his All-American running back and said: “Hop, go home and get some rest. Lock your door. Tear the phone off the wall ... We've still got the big one to go.”
In seven days, Ohio State was heading to Ann Arbor to play Michigan for the Big Ten title. The Buckeyes would win 17-0.
Stat Superlatives
| Stat | Number | Game |
|---|---|---|
| Points Scored | 62 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Passing Yards | 328 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Completions | 24 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Rushing Yards | 368 | Indiana, 1977 |
| Total Yards | 581 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Fewest Yards Allowed | 68 | Penn, 1932 |
| Fewest Points Allowed | 0 |
Penn, 1932 Purdue, 1921 Ohio Wesleyan, 1910 |
| Stat | Player | Number | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | J.T. Barrett | 253 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Passing Touchdowns |
J.T. Barrett Braxton Miller Bobby Hoying |
2 |
Maryland, 2016 Purdue, 2011 Indiana, 1994 |
| Rushing Yards | Howard Cassady | 169 | Iowa, 1955 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Howard Cassady | 3 | Iowa, 1955 |
| Receptions | Jeff Ellis | 8 | Iowa, 1988 |
| Receiving Yards | Jeff Ellis | 97 | Iowa, 1988 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Jordan Hall | 2 | Purdue, 2011 |
| Total Touchdowns | J.T. Barrett | 4 | Maryland, 2016 |
| Touchdowns Scored |
Curtis Samuel Howard Cassady |
3 |
Maryland, 2016 Iowa, 1955 |
| Yards from Scrimmage | Howard Cassady | 169 | Iowa, 1955 |
Five Fun Facts
- In 1960, Forest Evashevski became the first Big Ten coach to defeat Woody Hayes in back-to-back seasons.
- Keith Byars rushed for 52 yards against Northwestern on Nov. 12, 1983 and eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time in his Ohio State career.
- Ohio State played Penn for the first time in 1932.
- The last touchdown for the Buckeyes in the 19-0 win over Penn was the result of recovering the football in the endzone as the Quakers never attempted to pick up the ball.
- Indiana’s first-quarter touchdown against Ohio State on Nov. 12, 1977 was the first time the Hoosiers had a first-quarter touchdown against the Buckeyes since 1952.
