1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
| 1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football | |
|---|---|
Big Ten champion | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 7–2 (6–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Howard Cassady |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Ohio Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Ohio State $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Michigan State | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Michigan | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1955 Big Ten season. In their fifth year under head coach Woody Hayes, the Buckeyes compiled a 7–2 record (6–0 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 201 to 97. In games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 11 Duke (14-20) and defeated No. 15 Wisconsin (26-16), No 20 Iowa (20-10), and No. 6 Michigan (17–0). They were ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.
Halfback Howard "Hopalong" Cassady led the team with 958 rushing yards (6.0 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns. He won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football. Cassady was also a consensus All-American. Guard Jim Parker also received first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Central Press (CP), and Jet magazine. Cassady and Parker were both later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Quarterback Frank Ellwood led the team in passing with only nine completed passes for 60 passing yards.
Four Ohio State players received first team honors on the 1955 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Cassady (AP-1, UP-1, INS-1); Parker (AP-1, UP-1); center Ken Vargo (AP-1, UP-1, INS-1); and lineman Francis Machinsky (AP-2, UP-1).
The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio