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1956 Ohio State

6–⁠3 (4–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Woody Hayes, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1956, game by game: won vs. Nebraska 34–7; won vs. Stanford 32–20; won at Illinois 26–6; lost vs. Penn State 6–7; won vs. Wisconsin 21–0; won at Northwestern 6–2; won vs. Indiana 35–14; lost at No. 7 Iowa 0–6; lost vs. No. 9 Michigan 0–19+27−19Won 34–7 vs. Nebraska+27NebraskaWon 32–20 vs. Stanford+12StanfordWon 26–6 at Illinois+20IllinoisLost 6–7 vs. Penn State-1Penn StateWon 21–0 vs. Wisconsin+21WisconsinWon 6–2 at Northwestern+4NorthwesternWon 35–14 vs. Indiana+21IndianaLost 0–6 at No. 7 Iowa-6No. 7 IowaLost 0–19 vs. No. 9 Michigan-19No. 9 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29vsNebraskaW 34–⁠776%
Oct 6vsStanfordW 32–⁠2072%
Oct 13atIllinoisW 26–⁠665%
Oct 20vsPenn StateL 6–⁠774%
Oct 27vsWisconsinW 21–⁠078%
Nov 3atNorthwesternW 6–⁠284%
Nov 10vsIndianaW 35–⁠1485%
Nov 17at7IowaL 0–⁠657%
Nov 24vs9MichiganL 0–⁠1965%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 19–⁠0; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 67th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 12
  11. Wk 11: 20
  12. Final: 15

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 1956.

Outland TrophyJim Parker, OG

Consensus All-AmericanJim Parker, OG

Record
6–⁠3
Conference
4–⁠2 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 4
Points
160–⁠81
Coach
Woody Hayes
Elo
1643 −1 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.0 No. 12 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Frank Ellwood and Paul Michael
Most valuable player
Jim Parker

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 1Jim Parker OGBaltimore Colts
Rd 2Bill Michael OTPittsburgh Steelers

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa5–⁠19–⁠13
Michigan5–⁠27–⁠27
Minnesota4–⁠1–⁠26–⁠1–⁠212
Michigan State4–⁠27–⁠29
Ohio State4–⁠26–⁠315
Northwestern3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue1–⁠4–⁠23–⁠4–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠4–⁠22–⁠5–⁠2
Wisconsin0–⁠4–⁠31–⁠5–⁠3
Indiana1–⁠53–⁠6

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