1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football
National champion (UP, FWAA, INS, Litkenhous) Zuppke Award Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 10–7 vs. Oregon
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	9–1 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Heavy run
Base defense	Multiple
MVP	Bill Jobko
Captains	Leo Brown Galen Cisco
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ←  1956 1958  →

1957 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Michigan State	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Iowa	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
No. 19 Wisconsin	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Purdue	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Illinois	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. The team was led by captains Galen Cisco and Leo Brown. They were the third 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 UPI Coaches Poll and represented the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes finished the 1956 season with a two shut-out losses to Iowa and Michigan. Going into the 1957 season fans had a feeling of rebuilding. The feeling was made stronger with an opening loss to unranked TCU. To make matters worse, Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa were all ranked in the Top 6 of the AP Poll Rankings while Ohio State would not be ranked until late October. Coach Hayes rallied the team every week and made them better following this loss.

The Buckeyes came back with a big win at Washington and victories over Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue, along with crushing victories over Indiana and Northwestern. A shocking Purdue upset over #2 Michigan State, a tie between Michigan and Iowa, and Minnesota’s unraveling season after a loss to Illinois continued to help the Buckeyes.

It was a late star performance by sophomore fullback Bob White against unbeaten Iowa that pushed the team even further. Trailing 13–10 and on their own 32-yard line, White ran on six of the eight plays for 66 out of the 68 yards, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run.

A victory over Michigan moved Ohio State up to #2 in the AP, behind undefeated Auburn. However, the UPI Coaches' poll voted OSU #1 and Auburn #2 as the Tigers were on probation. ^[1]

In a hard fought Rose Bowl game, a late field goal by Don Sutherin in the fourth quarter sealed the victory over the Oregon Webfoots.

Following the season's bowls, the Buckeyes were voted No. 1 by the Football Writers Association of America and awarded the Grantland Rice Award representative of the national championship. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	TCU *		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 14–18	81,784
October 5	at Washington *		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		W 35–7	36,328
October 12	Illinois		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	NBC	W 21–7	82,239
October 19	Indiana		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 56–0	78,348
October 26	at Wisconsin	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 16–13	51,051
November 2	Northwestern	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 47–6	79,635
November 9	Purdue	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 20–7	79,177
November 16	No. 5 Iowa	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 17–13	82,935
November 23	at No. 19 Michigan	No. 3	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)		W 31–14	101,001	[3]
January 1, 1958	vs. Oregon *	No. 2	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 10–7	98,202
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 22 Frank Kremblas Jr QB 23 Thomas Crawford Sr FB 34 Len Fontes So HB 44 Dick LeBeau Jr FB Bob White So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Don Sutherin Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Don Sutherin Sr	Head coach Woody Hayes Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

TCU

See also: 1957 TCU Horned Frogs football team

1 2 3 4 Total •TCU 6 6 6 0 18 Ohio State 7 7 0 0 14 Date: September 28 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 81,784 Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)

Scoring summary Q1 TCU Lasater 7 yard run (kick failed) TCU 0–6 Q1 OSU LeBeau 1 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 7–6 Q2 TCU Shofner 90 yard punt return (kick failed) TCU 7–12 Q2 OSU Clark 2 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 14–12 Q3 TCU Spikes 16 yard run (kick failed) TCU 14–18

Team Statistics

Stat		Ohio State		TCU
Pass Atts.		3		3
Pass Comps.		2		0
Pass Yards		20		0
Yds./Pass		10		0
Rush Atts.		62		54
Rush Yards		242		184
Yds./Rush		3.9		3.4
Total Yards		262		184
Fumbles Lost		2		1
INTs Lost		0		1
Total Turnovers		2		2

^[4]

At Washington

1 2 3 4 Total •Ohio State 0 7 14 14 35 Washington 0 7 0 0 7 Date: October 5 Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA Game attendance: 37,500

Scoring summary Q2 WASH Dunn 1 yard run (Dunn kick) WASH 7–0 Q2 OHST Kremblas 1 yard run (Sutherin kick) Tie 7–7 Q3 OHST Sutherin 81 yard punt return (Sutherin kick) OHST 14–7 Q3 OHST Cisco 7 yard run (Sutherin kick) OHST 21–7 Q4 OHST LeBeau 9 yard pass from Clark (Sutherin kick) OHST 28–7 Q4 OHST Connazino 1 yard run (Spychalski kick) OHST 35–7

See also: 1957 Washington Huskies football team

^[5]

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 0 0 7 0 7 •Ohio State 7 0 7 7 21 Date: October 12 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,239 Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

Scoring summary Q1 OSU Clark 9 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 7–0 Q3 ILL Haller 58 yard pass to Kreitling (Haller kick) TIED 7–7 Q3 OSU Kremblas 1 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 14–7 Q4 OSU Kremblas 6 yard pass to Sutherin (Sutherin kick) OSU 21–7

See also: 1957 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 0 0 0 0 0 •Ohio State 14 23 12 7 56 Date: October 19 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 78,348 Game weather: Clear, 50 °F (10 °C)

See also: 1957 Indiana Hoosiers football team

^[6]

At Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total •Ohio State 13 0 3 0 16 Wisconsin 13 0 0 0 13 Date: October 26 Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI Game attendance: 50,051 Game weather: Cloudy, wind 10-15 mph, 35 °F (2 °C)

See also: 1957 Wisconsin Badgers football team

^[7]

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 0 0 6 6 •Ohio State 6 14 13 14 47 Date: November 2 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 79,635 Game weather: Clear, 65 °F (18 °C)

See also: 1957 Northwestern Wildcats football team

^[8]

Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 6 0 7 0 13 •Ohio State 3 7 0 7 17 Date: November 16 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,935 Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

Scoring summary Q1 OSU Sutherin 18 y ard field goal OSU 3–0 Q1 IOWA Duncan 8 yard pass to Prescott (kick failed) IOWA 3–6 Q2 OSU Kremblas 1 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 10–6 Q3 IOWA Duncan 1 yard run (Prescott kick) IOWA 10–13 Q4 OSU White 5 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 17–13

See also: 1957 Purdue Boilermakers football team

^[9]

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 6 0 7 0 13 •Ohio State 3 7 0 7 17 Date: November 16 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,935 Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)

Scoring summary Q1 OSU Sutherin 18 yard field goal OSU 3–0 Q1 IOWA Duncan 8 yard pass to Prescott (kick failed) IOWA 6–3 Q2 OSU Kremblas 1 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 10–6 Q3 IOWA Duncan 1 yard run (Prescott kick) IOWA 13–10 Q4 OSU White 5 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 17–13

See also: 1957 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

^[10]

At Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total •Ohio State 7 3 14 7 31 Michigan 7 7 0 0 14 Date: November 23 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI Game attendance: 100,101 Game weather: Cloudy

Scoring summary 1 MICH Jim Pace 16-yard run (Jim Van Pelt kick) MICH 7-0 1 OSU Dick LeBeau 5-yard run (Don Sutherin kick) Tied 7-7 2 OSU Don Sutherin 32-yard field goal OSU 10-7 2 MICH Brad Myers 25-yard pass from Jim Van Pelt (Jim Van Pelt kick) MICH 14-10 3 OSU Dick LeBeau 8-yard run (Frank Kremblas kick) OSU 17-14 3 OSU Frank Kremblas 16-yard run (Frank Kremblas kick) OSU 24-14 4 OSU Joe Cannavino 13 yard lateral from Frank Kremblas (Frank Kremblas kick) OSU 31-14

See also: 1957 Michigan Wolverines football team

Ohio State played without halfback Don Clark, who was sidelined with a groin injury. ^{[11] [12]}

Vs. Oregon (Rose Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total •Ohio State 7 0 0 3 10 Oregon 0 7 0 0 7 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 98,202 TV announcers (NBC): Chick Hearn and Mel Allen

Scoring summary 1 OSU Frank Kremblas 1-yard run (Don Sutherin kick) OSU 7-0 2 OREG Jim Shanley 5-yard run (Jack Morris kick) Tied 7-7 4 OSU Don Sutherin 34-yard field goal OSU 10-7

Main article: 1958 Rose Bowl

See also: 1957 Oregon Webfoots football team

All-Americans

Aurealius Thomas, G

All-Big Ten

Aurealius Thomas, G
Leo Brown, E

MVP

Bill Jobko, G

1958 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Bill Jobko	7	80	Linebacker	Los Angeles Rams
Don Sutherin	8	94	Defensive Back	New York Giants
Russ Bowermaster	11	132	End	Cleveland Browns

References

1. "Auburn Barred From Bowl Games, Placed on Probation by S.E.C.," Charleston Gazette, February 14, 1956, p13
2. Written at New York City. "Ohio State Is Winner Of Grantland Rice Award". The Buffalo News . Buffalo. International News Service. January 4, 1958. Retrieved June 10, 2024. The Buckeyes received two of the five first-place votes in the balloting conducted by Look Magazine. In the voting by a five-man panel, Ohio State got eight points to five apiece for Auburn, Navy, and Michigan State.
3. Tommy Devine (November 24, 1957). "M at Its Best, But Bucks Better, 31-14". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
5. "Washington Buried by Ohio State, 35-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1957 Oct 6. Retrieved 2015-Jan-05.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
11. "100,101 See Ohio State Overpower Wolverines; 31-14." Palm Beach Post. 1957 Nov 24.
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.

General

• Lindy's (2002), A Championship Season...and the Battle for #1, p. 76