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1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football
AP Poll national champion; Big Ten champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 20–7 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 1
Record	10–0 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (4th season);
Offensive scheme	Heavy run
Base defense	Multiple
MVP	Howard Cassady
Captain	John Borton, Dick Brubaker
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
	Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

1954 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Ohio State $	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Wisconsin	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
No. 15 Michigan	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Iowa	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Purdue	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Indiana	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Illinois	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1954 Big Ten Conference football season. The team was led by quarterback Dave Leggett and captains John Borton and Dick Brubaker. They were the second 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 AP Poll and represented the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes finished the 1953 season with a record of 6–3. They were ranked #20 in the preseason AP Poll, but dropped out of the first in-season poll, which was issued before their season opener.^[1] However, six weeks later, the Buckeyes had risen to the top of the AP Poll. Their rise from unranked to #1 in six weeks stood as an AP Poll record for 60 years until being broken by Mississippi State in 2014.^[2] The Buckeyes defeated six ranked teams to capture their first league title under fourth year Coach Hayes.

Led by their powerful defense, the Bucks beat the #2 Wisconsin Badgers and their eventual Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche on an 88-yard interception return by Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, who won the award the following year. The Buckeye defense forced 35 turnovers during the season and allowed only two teams to score more than one touchdown

In their game against the Michigan Wolverines, the Bucks held a goal-line stand and then drove 99 yards for a touchdown. The AP Poll declared the Bucks to be number one while the UPI Coaches Poll opted for the 9–0, Pacific Coast Conference champion the UCLA Bruins. However, because of the "no repeat rule" the Bruins were locked out of the Rose Bowl leaving the Buckeyes to play second place USC.

The 1955 Rose Bowl was played during a rainstorm in poor field conditions. However, Ohio State managed to gain 304 yards and hold the Trojans to only six first downs. USC's only score came on an 86-yard punt return. The team finished 10–0 for the first time in school history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 25	Indiana		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 28–0	72,703
October 2	No. 18 California*	No. 14	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 21–13	79,524
October 9	at Illinois	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		W 40–7	69,567
October 16	No. 13 Iowa	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 20–14	82,141
October 23	No. 2 Wisconsin	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 31–14	82,636
October 30	at Northwestern	No. 1	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 14–7	41,650
November 6	No. 20 Pittsburgh*	No. 2	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 26–0	80,886
November 13	at Purdue	No. 2	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 28–6	51,000
November 20	No. 12 Michigan	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)		W 21–7	78,447
January 1, 1955	vs. No. 17 USC*	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 20–7	89,191
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Indiana

California

Illinois

Iowa

Wisconsin

Northwestern

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Michigan

Team Statistics
Statistic	Ohio State	Michigan
Pass Atts.	9	14
Pass Comps.	4	6
Pass Yards	58	74
Yds./Pass	14.5	12.3

Rush Atts.	45	50
Rush Yards	196	229
Yds./Rush	4.4	4.6

Total Yards	254	303

Fumbles Lost	1	2
Interceptions	1	3
Total Turnovers	2	5

^[3]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	7	0	0	0	7
• Ohio State	0	7	0	14	21

Date: November 20
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game attendance: 82,438
Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C)

Southern California

Team Statistics
Statistic	Ohio State	USC
Pass Atts.	11	8
Pass Comps.	6	3
Pass Yards	65	29
Yds./Pass	10.8	9.7

Rush Atts.	69	28
Rush Yards	305	177
Yds./Rush	4.4	6.3

Total Yards	370	206

Fumbles Lost	0	3
Interceptions	1	0
Total Turnovers	1	3

^[4]

	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	7	0	0	7
• Ohio State	0	14	0	6	20

Date: January 1
Location: Rose Bowl
Game attendance: 89,191

Coaching staff

Woody Hayes – Head coach – 4th year

All-Americans

All-Big Ten

Dean Dugger, E
Howard Cassady, HB
Francis Machinsky, T
Dick Hilinski

1955 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Bobby Watkins	2	23	Halfback	Chicago Bears
Dean Dugger	4	46	End	Philadelphia Eagles
Dave Leggett	7	74	Quarterback	Chicago Cardinals
Jerry Krisher	13	153	Center	Philadelphia Eagles
John Borton	13	157	Quarterback	Cleveland Browns
Dick Brubaker	15	170	End	Chicago Cardinals
Bob Myers	28	328	Defensive tackle	Baltimore Colts
Dave Williams	28	330	Guard	Pittsburgh Steelers

References

^ "September 20, 1954 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
^ "Mississippi State No. 1 in AP poll". ESPN. Associated Press. October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)