1944 Ohio State Buckeyes football
National champion (NCF, SR)
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 2
Record9–0 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPLes Horvath
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1943
1945 →
1944 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
No. 8 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Indiana 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. 15 Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Wisconsin 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Iowa 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 1944 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–0 record. The Buckeyes also outscored opponents 287–79 during the season. The team was named a national champion by the National Championship Foundation and the Sagarin Ratings, but this championship is not claimed by Ohio State.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30Missouri*
W 54–029,908
October 7Iowa
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 34–035,358
October 14at No. 19 WisconsinNo. 8
W 20–740,000
October 21No. 6 Great Lakes Navy*No. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 26–673,477
October 28MinnesotaNo. 4
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 34–1443,563
November 4IndianaNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 21–756,380
November 11Pittsburgh*No. 2
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 54–1926,158–26,566[1][2][3]
November 18vs. IllinoisNo. 4
W 26–1283,627
November 25No. 6 MichiganNo. 3
W 18–1471,958
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP8 (2)4 (4)4 (14)3 (17)2 (18)4 (3)3 (5)3т (18)2 (5)

Coaching staff

Awards and honors

First-Team All Americans

1945 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Jack Dugger 2 12 Tackle Pittsburgh Steelers
Gordon Appleby 3 26 Center New York Giants
Gene Fekete 6 49 Fullback Detroit Lions
Bill Hackett 13 131 Guard Green Bay Packers
Bob Jabbusch 17 174 Guard New York Giants
Cecil Souders 25 259 End Washington Redskins
John Priday 31 324 Back Green Bay Packers

References

  1. ^ Keck, Harry (November 12, 1944). "Panthers Rally in Last Half". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. Section 2-2. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Young, Clarence (November 12, 1944). "Buck Reserves Get a Workout Against Pitt". Dayton Daily News. p. Section 3-1. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Young, Clarence (November 12, 1944). "State Takes Pitt". Dayton Daily News. p. Section 3-2. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2007.


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