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1949 Ohio State

7–⁠1–⁠2 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Wesley Fesler, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1949, game by game: won vs. Missouri 35–34; won vs. Indiana 46–7; tied at No. 8 USC 13–13; lost vs. No. 5 Minnesota 0–27; won at Wisconsin 21–0; won vs. Northwestern 24–7; won at Pittsburgh 14–10; won vs. Illinois 30–17; tied vs. No. 5 Michigan 7–7; won vs. No. 2 California 17–14+39−27Won 35–34 vs. Missouri+1MissouriWon 46–7 vs. Indiana+39IndianaTied 13–13 at No. 8 USC0No. 8 USCLost 0–27 vs. No. 5 Minnesota-27No. 5 MinnesotaWon 21–0 at Wisconsin+21WisconsinWon 24–7 vs. Northwestern+17NorthwesternWon 14–10 at Pittsburgh+4PittsburghWon 30–17 vs. Illinois+13IllinoisTied 7–7 vs. No. 5 Michigan0No. 5 MichiganWon 17–14 vs. No. 2 California+3No. 2 California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 24vsMissouriW 35–⁠3453%
Oct 1vsIndianaW 46–⁠771%
Oct 8at8USCT 13–⁠1338%
Oct 15vs5MinnesotaL 0–⁠2749%
Oct 22atWisconsinW 21–⁠050%
Oct 29vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠763%
Nov 5atPittsburghW 14–⁠1048%
Nov 12vsIllinoisW 30–⁠1770%
Nov 19vs5MichiganT 7–⁠730%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs2CaliforniaRose BowlW 17–⁠1432%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat California 17–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 4: 18
  4. Wk 5: 11
  5. Wk 6: 11
  6. Wk 7: 7
  7. Wk 8: 5
  8. Final: 6

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 1949.

Western Conference champions4–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Michigan

Record
7–⁠1–⁠2
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 shared first in Western Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 5
Points
207–⁠136
Coach
Wesley Fesler
Elo
1655 +103 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.8 No. 8 of 119 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
A. Jack Wilson
Most valuable player
Jack Lininger

Drafted in 1950

The 1950 draft
Rd 1Fred Morrison BChicago Bears
Rd 2Jack Jennings OTChicago Cardinals

All-Big Nine

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Dick O’HanlonOTAP-2
  • Pandel SavicQBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1949 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1949 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠26
Michigan4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠17
Minnesota4–⁠27–⁠28
Wisconsin3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Iowa3–⁠34–⁠5
Illinois3–⁠3–⁠13–⁠4–⁠2
Northwestern3–⁠44–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠44–⁠5
Indiana0–⁠61–⁠8

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