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1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

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1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football
National champion (UP, FWAA, INS, Litkenhous)
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 10–7 vs. Oregon
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record9–1 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive schemeHeavy run
Base defenseMultiple
MVPBill Jobko
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1956
1958 →
1957 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 7 0 0 9 1 0
No. 3 Michigan State 5 1 0 8 1 0
No. 6 Iowa 4 1 1 7 1 1
No. 19 Wisconsin 4 3 0 6 3 0
Purdue 4 3 0 5 4 0
Michigan 3 3 1 5 3 1
Illinois 3 4 0 4 5 0
Minnesota 3 5 0 4 5 0
Indiana 0 6 0 1 8 0
Northwestern 0 7 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. The team was led by captains Galen Cisco and Leo Brown. They were the third national title team in Ohio State football history. They were coached by Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes. The Buckeyes were awarded the title by the UPI Coaches Poll and represented the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes finished the 1956 season with a two shut-out losses to Iowa and Michigan. Going into the 1957 season fans had a feeling of rebuilding. The feeling was made stronger with an opening loss to unranked TCU. To make matters worse, Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa were all ranked in the Top 6 of the AP Poll Rankings while Ohio State would not be ranked until late October. Coach Hayes rallied the team every week and made them better following this loss.

The Buckeyes came back with a big win at Washington and victories over Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue, along with crushing victories over Indiana and Northwestern. A shocking Purdue upset over #2 Michigan State, a tie between Michigan and Iowa, and Minnesota’s unraveling season after a loss to Illinois continued to help the Buckeyes.

It was a late star performance by sophomore fullback Bob White against unbeaten Iowa that pushed the team even further. Trailing 13–10 and on their own 32-yard line, White ran on six of the eight plays for 66 out of the 68 yards, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run.

A victory over Michigan moved Ohio State up to #2 in the AP, behind undefeated Auburn. However, the UPI Coaches' poll voted OSU #1 and Auburn #2 as the Tigers were on probation.[1]

In a hard fought Rose Bowl game, a late field goal by Don Sutherin in the fourth quarter sealed the victory over the Oregon Webfoots.

Following the season's bowls, the Buckeyes were voted No. 1 by the Football Writers Association of America and awarded the Grantland Rice Award representative of the national championship.[2]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 28TCU*L 14–1881,784
October 5at Washington*W 35–736,328
October 12Illinois
NBCW 21–782,239
October 19Indiana
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 56–078,348
October 26at WisconsinNo. 12W 16–1351,051
November 2NorthwesternNo. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 47–679,635
November 9PurdueNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 20–779,177
November 16No. 5 IowaNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 17–1382,935
November 23at No. 19 MichiganNo. 3W 31–14101,001[3]
January 1, 1958vs. Oregon*No. 2NBCW 10–798,202
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

[edit]
1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 22 Frank Kremblas Jr
QB 23 Thomas Crawford Sr
FB 34 Len Fontes So
HB 44 Dick LeBeau Jr
FB Bob White So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Don Sutherin Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Don Sutherin Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

[edit]

TCU

[edit]
1 234Total
TCU 6 660 18
Ohio State 7 700 14
  • Date: September 28
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 81,784
  • Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)
Team Statistics
Stat Ohio State TCU
Pass Atts. 3 3
Pass Comps. 2 0
Pass Yards 20 0
Yds./Pass 10 0
Rush Atts. 62 54
Rush Yards 242 184
Yds./Rush 3.9 3.4
Total Yards 262 184
Fumbles Lost 2 1
INTs Lost 0 1
Total Turnovers 2 2

[4]

At Washington

[edit]
1 234Total
Ohio State 0 71414 35
Washington 0 700 7

[5]

Illinois

[edit]
1 234Total
Illinois 0 070 7
Ohio State 7 077 21
  • Date: October 12
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 82,239
  • Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

Indiana

[edit]
1 234Total
Indiana 0 000 0
Ohio State 14 23127 56
  • Date: October 19
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 78,348
  • Game weather: Clear, 50 °F (10 °C)


[6]

At Wisconsin

[edit]
1 234Total
Ohio State 13 030 16
Wisconsin 13 000 13

[7]

Northwestern

[edit]
1 234Total
Northwestern 0 006 6
Ohio State 6 141314 47
  • Date: November 2
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 79,635
  • Game weather: Clear, 65 °F (18 °C)


[8]

Purdue

[edit]
1 234Total
Purdue 6 070 13
Ohio State 3 707 17
  • Date: November 16
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 82,935
  • Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

[9]

Iowa

[edit]
1 234Total
Iowa 6 070 13
Ohio State 3 707 17
  • Date: November 16
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 82,935
  • Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

[10]

At Michigan

[edit]
1 234Total
Ohio State 7 3147 31
Michigan 7 700 14

Ohio State played without halfback Don Clark, who was sidelined with a groin injury.[11] [12]

Vs. Oregon (Rose Bowl)

[edit]
1 234Total
Ohio State 7 003 10
Oregon 0 700 7

All-Americans

[edit]

Aurealius Thomas, G

All-Big Ten

[edit]

Aurealius Thomas, G
Leo Brown, E

MVP

[edit]

Bill Jobko, G

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Bill Jobko 7 80 Linebacker Los Angeles Rams
Don Sutherin 8 94 Defensive Back New York Giants
Russ Bowermaster 11 132 End Cleveland Browns

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Auburn Barred From Bowl Games, Placed on Probation by S.E.C.," Charleston Gazette, February 14, 1956, p13
  2. ^ Written at New York City. "Ohio State Is Winner Of Grantland Rice Award". The Buffalo News. Buffalo. International News Service. January 4, 1958. Retrieved June 10, 2024. The Buckeyes received two of the five first-place votes in the balloting conducted by Look Magazine. In the voting by a five-man panel, Ohio State got eight points to five apiece for Auburn, Navy, and Michigan State.
  3. ^ Tommy Devine (November 24, 1957). "M at Its Best, But Bucks Better, 31-14". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Washington Buried by Ohio State, 35-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1957 Oct 6. Retrieved 2015-Jan-05.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "100,101 See Ohio State Overpower Wolverines; 31-14." Palm Beach Post. 1957 Nov 24.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
General
  • Lindy's (2002), A Championship Season...and the Battle for #1, p. 76