Ohio State was held scoreless and trailed 6-0 as time expired against Northwestern on Nov. 8, 1947.
Yet, somehow, the Buckeyes still came away with a victory.
In one of the wildest endings in Ohio State history, the low-scoring affair started slow, with the Buckeyes and Wildcats tied 0-0 at the end of the third quarter. Forty seconds (and two plays) into the fourth quarter, Northwestern's Frank Aschenbrenner scored a touchdown on a two-yard run to finish a 60-yard drive after Ohio State lost a fumble late in the third quarter. But the Wildcats only led 6-0 after a missed extra point by Jim Farrar.
The following possession, Ohio State drove down the field but was stopped at the one-yard line, giving Northwestern the ball with less than two minutes remaining. The Wildcats were expected to run the clock out as fans began leaving Ohio Stadium but after seven (7!) penalties on the drive, the Buckeyes got the ball back and somehow were given one more shot to score.
With 31 seconds remaining, OSU took over at the Wildcats' 35-yard line. That's when it got weird (in a good way for the Buckeyes), via The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia:
On first down, quarterback Pandel Savic passed 24 yards to Demmel at the Wildcat 12 – there were 13 seconds left. Savic's next pass was intercepted by L.A. Day as time expired, and Northwestern had apparently won, 6-0. The Ohio State marching band started onto the field for its postgame show, and fans were now pouring out of the stadium by the thousands. However, Northwestern had 12 men on the field during the last play, and Ohio State would have one more down.
The Buckeyes tried a deep reverse with Rodney Swinehart carrying, but Swinehart was tackled at the two. But wait – Northwestern had two players lined up offisde, and OSU would have yet another play. This time Savic fired a lobbing pass to Jimmy Clark in the back corner of the end zone to tie the score, 6-6.
Emil Moldea's conversion attempt was blocked, but AGAIN two Northwestern players were offside. Moldea's second attempt was good, giving Ohio State the win, 7-6.
Ohio State was happy to get the win, even if it came in such a strange way.
"Naturally, I'm happy," first-year head coach Wes Fesler said. "We needed this one and I'm just tickled to death to get it for the boys' sake. It just proved that what I've been saying all along that these kids have a lot of stuff within themselves. They had a lot of discouraging moments that have made other kids bog down. It takes a lot of courage to come back like they did."
Northwestern, however, was not happy. Athletic director Ted Payseur wasn't disgruntled with the referees, but Wildcats first-year head coach Bob Voigts knew his team had to move on to the next game.
"It's just one of those things that happen in football," he said after the game. "It was a tough one to lose. Our boys really wanted this game. They really tried for it."
Although some of Northwestern's players blamed themselves for the penalties, including the extra player on the field, Voigts took all the blame.
"Forget it," he said in the postgame locker room. "If it was anyone's fault, it was mine."
The strange ending in the Buckeyes' win over the Wildcats garnered the Football 'Oddity' Award from The New York Times.
After beating Missouri in the first game of the season, Ohio State finished the 1947 season 2-6-1 (1-4-1 in the Big Nine) – the second-worst record in program history – under Fesler, who coached OSU from 1947-50.
