Football was certainly different when Ohio State and Nebraska first matched up on the gridiron 69 years ago.
Following a national championship in 1954, the first title for Woody Hayes and a season that star running back and defensive back Howard "Hopalong" Cassady was named an All-American and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting, Ohio State hosted Nebraska in the season opener in front of 80,171 fans in Ohio Stadium, the third-largest turnout for a home opener at the time.
The Buckeyes took an early lead on a 14-yard touchdown by Cassady, but the Cornhuskers answered back on a nine-yard touchdown run of their own by Don Erway. Nebraska linebacker John Edwards then picked off a lateral on an option pitchout and took it 91 yards for a touchdown to take a 13-7 lead.
Ohio State reclaimed the lead with a 59-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a 10-yard score by Cassady, his second of the game, to give the Buckeyes a 14-13 lead into halftime.
The Cornhuskers took the lead back on the opening drive of the second half with Jon McWilliams scoring on a 69-yard touchdown reception to go up 20-14. But Nebraska went scoreless the rest of the game after that. Cassady scored his third touchdown of the day on the ensuing drive following a 39-yard kick return. On OSU's next possession, the Buckeyes scored again to secure the lead for good, winning the game, 28-20.
Hayes was glad his Buckeyes were able to get the win over the upset-minded Cornhuskers even though he considered his team “green and rebuilt” because Ohio State had eight new starters following its national title-winning season.
"Anyway, we won the ballgame," he said after the season-opening win. "We've got a lot of work to do, but we'll be alright. We got behind twice and we didn't panic. We came right back."
| STAT | OHIO STATE | NEBRASKA |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 17 | 16 |
| Rushing Yards | 321 | 138 |
| Passing Yards | 17 | 189 |
| Pass ATtempts | 3 | 26 |
| total offense | 327 (63 plays) | 338 (64 plays) |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 3 |
The Buckeyes relied almost entirely on their rushing attack – the famous three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense – against the Cornhuskers, throwing just three passes with one completion for seven yards and one interception. Cassady led the charge on the ground as he did throughout his career in Columbus with 21 carries for 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns, breaking Chic Harley's Ohio State record for rushing touchdowns in program history at the time. The four-year starter began his senior season the same way he did his freshman debut: Notching three rushing touchdowns.
OSU continued to have Cassady and the running game carry the offense – literally – the rest of the season. In all, Ohio State combined to attempt just 51 passes (17 completions by five different players) compared to 508 carries by 14 different players. Cassady went on to win the 1955 Heisman Trophy, totaling 161 carries for 958 yards and 14 touchdowns that season. He dominated so much that it was the largest margin of victory for the Heisman at the time.
Although the Buckeyes beat Nebraska to open the season, they fell two spots to No. 8 in the rankings. Ohio State then lost two of its next three games, including a dismal 6-0 loss to Stanford that dropped OSU out of the rankings and ended an 11-game winning streak, but finished the season 7-2 overall, including a perfect 6-0 conference record. Ohio State finished the year as the No. 5-ranked team in the final AP Poll.
