1942 National Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
1942
(AP)
Won 9, Lost 1
It was an amazing squad that grabbed the National Title in 1942 with an overwhelming offense and a smothering defense.
Coached by Hall of Famer Paul Brown, the offense averaged 33.7 points per game while piling up 281.2 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. The defense, on the other hand, allowed only 114 points and held its opponents to seven or fewer points four times in the 10-game season.
End Robert Shaw, tackle Chuck Csuri and guard Lindel Houston earned All-America honors, and seven players earned all-Big Ten honors. It was truly a team of stars. Fullbacks Gene Fekete and Paul Sarringhaus were among the conference’s leaders in rushing with 916 and 672 yards, respectively. Fekete led the Big Ten in scoring with 92 points, while Sarringhaus was second with 72. On defense, George Lynn and Tom James each ranked among the Top 10 in the Big Ten with five interceptions.
The amazingly talented team rolled through the regular season with only a single blemish (a 17-7 loss to Wisconsin) and finished the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.
OSU opened the season with a 59-0 pasting of Fort Knox. Fekete and Dick Palmer scored two touchdowns each as the Buckeyes rolled up 440 yards rushing to -14 for the service squad. The Buckeyes had 19 first downs to only one for Ft. Knox. OSU poured it on in the second half with 20 points in both the third and fourth quarters.
Ohio State battled Big Ten rival Indiana the next week, grabbing a 32-21 victory in front of the home crowd. Fekete rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Buckeyes back from a 21-19 third-period deficit to the victory.
OSU rolled to easy wins over USC, Purdue and Northwestern before making the trip to Madison for the battle with the Badgers. In that game, Wisconsin All-Americans Elroy Hirsch, Marlin Harder and Dave Schreiner dominated the Buckeyes, with Hirsch and Harder combining for 212 yards and 11 points. OSU narrowly avoided a shutout with a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Sarringhaus.
The Buckeyes rebounded from the loss with a 59-19 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Panthers. A week later, they pounded Illinois to set up a showdown with the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines, who had beaten Notre Dame a week earlier, were a heavy favorites, but the Buckeyes dazzled the Maize and Blue with three passing touchdowns and prevailed 21-7. The win gave them the Big Ten title.
One week later, the Buckeyes clinched the National Championship with a 41-12 win over the Iowa Seahawks.
