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1945 Ohio State

7–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Western Conference), coached by Carroll Widdoes, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1945, game by game: won at Missouri 47–6; won vs. Iowa 42–0; won vs. Wisconsin 12–0; lost vs. No. 9 Purdue 13–35; won at No. 5 Minnesota 20–7; won vs. No. 20 Northwestern 16–14; won at Pittsburgh 14–0; won vs. Illinois 27–2; lost at No. 8 Michigan 3–7+42−22Won 47–6 at Missouri+41MissouriWon 42–0 vs. Iowa+42IowaWon 12–0 vs. Wisconsin+12WisconsinLost 13–35 vs. No. 9 Purdue-22No. 9 PurdueWon 20–7 at No. 5 Minnesota+13No. 5 MinnesotaWon 16–14 vs. No. 20 Northwestern+2No. 20 NorthwesternWon 14–0 at Pittsburgh+14PittsburghWon 27–2 vs. Illinois+25IllinoisLost 3–7 at No. 8 Michigan-4No. 8 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29atMissouriW 47–⁠665%
Oct 6vsIowaW 42–⁠086%
Oct 13vsWisconsinW 12–⁠083%
Oct 20vs9PurdueL 13–⁠3567%
Oct 27at5MinnesotaW 20–⁠745%
Nov 3vs20NorthwesternW 16–⁠1479%
Nov 10atPittsburghW 14–⁠075%
Nov 17vsIllinoisW 27–⁠281%
Nov 24at8MichiganL 3–⁠743%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 7–⁠3; No. 12 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 56th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Final: 12

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1945.

Consensus All-AmericanWarren Amling, OG/OT

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Western Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 4
Points
194–⁠71
Coach
Carroll Widdoes
Elo
1673 +42 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
21.5 No. 10 of 101 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Most valuable player
Ollie Cline

Drafted in 1946

The 1946 draft
Rd 3Russ Thomas OTDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Thornton DisonOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1945 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1945 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠0–⁠14
Michigan5–⁠17–⁠36
Ohio State5–⁠27–⁠212
Purdue3–⁠37–⁠3
Northwestern3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Wisconsin2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠4–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota1–⁠54–⁠5
Iowa1–⁠52–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.