The Ohio State Buckeyes football team represents the Ohio State University in American football. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The 102,780 person capacity Ohio Stadium, located on campus in Columbus, has been the Buckeyes' home field since 1922.
The Buckeyes claim nine national championships including seven from the major wire-service selectors: AP Poll or Coaches' Poll. The program has also captured 41 conference championships (2 OAC and 39 Big Ten), 10 division championships, and has compiled 10 undefeated seasons, including six perfect seasons (no losses or ties). Seven players have received the Heisman Trophy (second all-time), with the program holding the distinction of having the only two-time winner (Archie Griffin) of the award.
As of 2025, the Ohio State football program was valued at $2–2.5 billion, the highest valuation of any such program in the country. Notable team symbols include the Brutus Buckeye mascot and two fight songs: "Across the Field" and "Buckeye Battle Cry". Ohio State's most important rivalry is with the Michigan Wolverines.
History Early history (1890–1950)
After early attempts at forming a team in 1886 (led by future Nebraska governor Chester Hardy Aldrich) and 1887, football was ultimately established at the university in 1890. On the site of the first OSU game, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, on May 3, 1890, the Delaware County Historical Society has set a historical marker. Some histories of Ohio State football credit George Cole, an undergraduate, and Alexander S. Lilley with introducing the sport to the campus. More recent research has challenged that claim, stating that George Cole did not persuade Lilley to coach the football team until after its first full season began that fall. OSU's first home game took place at 2:30 p.m. on November 1, 1890. They played the University of Wooster on the site that was then called Recreation Park. Just east of historic German Village, the park occupied the north side of Schiller (now Whittier), between Ebner and Jaeger, in what is now Schumacher Place. OSU lost the game, 64–0. Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the team played to a cumulative record of 31 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties. The first game against the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34–0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1–7–1 record. Jack Ryder was Ohio State's first paid coach, earning $150 per season, and lost his first game, against Oberlin College and John Heisman, on October 15, 1892.Walsh, Christopher (2009). Ohio State Football Football Huddleup, Triumph Books (Random House, Inc.), , p. 69. In 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm to bring professional coaching skills to the program and immediately went undefeated.Ohio State Spring Football 2008 – Part 2 , OSU Athletics, Spring 2008. In 1901, however, center John Sigrist was fatally injured in a game against Western Reserve University and the continuation of football at Ohio State was in serious question. Although the school's athletic board let the team decide its future, Eckstorm resigned.Park, p.28 In 1912, football underwent a number of developments that included joining the Western Conference, making football as part of a new Department of Athletics, and hiring Lynn W. St. John to be athletic director.
Chic Harley attended East High in Columbus and was regarded as one of the greatest players to attend an Ohio high school. A well-rounded player, Harley came to Ohio State in 1916 and instantly became a fan favorite. Harley and the Buckeyes won the first Big Ten championship in school history in 1916, finishing 7–0. The team would repeat in 1917, finishing 8–0–1. In 1918, Harley left to be a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I. With Harley's return in 1919, the Buckeyes would only lose one game, to Illinois. Harley left OSU with a career record of 22–1–1. At the time, OSU played at the small Ohio Field and Harley brought such record crowds it became necessary to open Ohio Stadium in 1922. The stadium was built entirely on fan donations and several stadium drives around the city where Harley would often appear. In 1951, when the College Football Hall of Fame opened, Harley was inducted as an inaugural member. Ohio State's first rival was Kenyon College, a small liberal arts college in Gambier, roughly 50 miles to the northeast. The Buckeyes first played them in their first season in 1890 on Nov 27, Kenyon won the first two meetings; however, Ohio State won 15 in a row and the rivalry diminished. Kenyon made it their season goal to defeat OSU. After the Bucks joined the Big Ten they stopped playing Kenyon. The all-time record stands at 17–6, OSU. In hiring Francis Schmidt in March 1934 to coach its football team, Ohio State moved its program to a "big-time" level of competition. Schmidt was a well-established coach and an acknowledged offensive innovator. His offensive schemes were a "wide-open" style called "razzle-dazzle" and led him to be the first Buckeye football coach granted a multi-year contract. Schmidt's first four seasons saw victories over archrival Michigan, all by shutout. The 1935 squad went 7–1, its sole loss was to Notre Dame, 18–13, in the first contest between the programs. However, Schmidt's remaining seasons were less successful, except in 1939 when the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship, and his popularity faded for a number of reasons.Park, p.166. On December 17, 1940, he resigned.
Paul Brown era (1941–1943)
Ohio State hired the coach of Massillon Washington High School football team, Paul Brown, to succeed Schmidt. Brown's Tigers had just won their sixth straight state championship. Brown immediately changed Ohio State's style of offense, planned and organized his program in great detail, and delegated to his assistant coaches using highly structured practices.
In 1942, Ohio State lost 22 veteran players to military service as the United States joined World War II, and with a team of mostly sophomores, went on to lose only once in winning its first national championship. Brown accepted a commission in the United States Navy in 1944, ending his coaching run prior to the season.
Team in flux (1944–1950)
When Brown went into the Navy, he directed his assistant Carroll Widdoes to head the team in his absence. The 1944 team fielded 31 freshmen but went undefeated and untied, including a victory over Paul Brown's Great Lakes Navy team. Ohio State finished second in the national rankings behind Army and Les Horvath became the first Buckeye to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. Also prominent on the 1942–44 teams was the first Buckeye African American star, Bill Willis. Brown chose not to return to Ohio State after the war, going into professional football instead.
Widdoes, despite having the highest two-year winning percentage of any Buckeye coach, asked to return to an assistant's position. Offensive coordinator Paul Bixler and Widdoes switched positions, and Bixler endured a mediocre 4–3–2 season. Bixler resigned and talk of Ohio State being a "graveyard of coaches" became commonplace, a reputation that lingered for decades.
Wes Fesler became head coach in 1947 but finished last in the Big Ten for the only time in team history. Ohio State improved greatly in 1948, winning 6 and losing 3, then in 1949 enjoyed a successful season due to the play of sophomore Vic Janowicz. Ohio State received the Rose Bowl invitation, where they came from behind to defeat California.
In 1950, Fesler, rumored to be resigning because of pressures associated with the position and abuse of his family by anonymous critics, returned to coach the Buckeyes, who won six games in a row to move into the top ranking in the AP poll. However, the season fell apart as the Buckeyes lost to Michigan during a blizzard, a game that came to be known as the "Snow Bowl". Two weeks later, citing concerns about his health and family, Fesler resigned.
Woody Hayes era (1951–1978)
Early days Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes beat out Paul Brown,Park, p. 275 among others, to be named head coach on February 18, 1951. He instituted a demanding practice regimen and was both aggressive and vocal in enforcing it, alienating many players accustomed to Fesler's laid-back style. The 1951 Buckeyes won 4, lost 3, and tied 2, leaving many to question the ability of the new coach. In 1952, the team improved to 6–3 and recorded their first victory over Michigan in eight years, but after a 1953 loss to Michigan, critics called for the replacement of Hayes. In 1954, the Buckeyes were picked to finish no higher than 10th in the Big Ten. Hayes, however, had the talents of Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, and a historic goal-line stand against Michigan propelled Ohio State to a perfect season. Hayes led the powerhouse Buckeyes to a shared national championship (his first and the team's second). In 1955 the team again won the Big Ten, set an attendance record, and won in Ann Arbor for the first time in 18 years, while Hopalong Cassady was securing the Heisman Trophy. Ohio State passed only three times against Michigan (the sole reception was the only completion in the final three games of the year), leading to the characterization of Hayes' style of offensive play as "three yards and a cloud of dust". In a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated, Hayes admitted to making small personal loans to financially needy players. The article resulted in a furor over possible violations of NCAA rules, and the faculty council, followed by the Big Ten and NCAA, conducted lengthy investigations. Big Ten Commissioner Kenneth "Tug" Wilson found Hayes and the program guilty of violations and placed it on a year's probation in 1956.
Championship glory In 1957, Ohio State won all of its remaining games after an opening loss to claim the Big Ten championship, then won the Rose Bowl over Oregon, and shared a national title with Auburn, for which Hayes was named Coach of the Year.