Still Think the 1975 team was the best I ever saw.
That was before my time (I was born in May of 1975 so I was in diapers when those games were played) but I think I read somewhere that Woody thought that was his best team. Woody's nine-year run from 1968-1975 was phenomenal and the only thing detracting from that is that despite being "NC Caliber" for nine straight years (or at least eight of the nine with 1971 possibly excluded) they somehow only won one NC.
1968:
The 1967 team finished unranked but 1967 was the last year of the 10-team poll era so that is perhaps a bit misleading as they were decent at 6-3. Ohio State started #11, beat #1 Purdue in early October to climb to #2, obliterated #4 Michigan 50-14 to move to #1, then beat defending NC USC in the Rose Bowl. FWIW, USC had a running back named OJ Simpson who won the Heisman that year and found later fame in other pursuits.
1969:
The 1968 team was made up largely of Sophomores (Freshman were not eligible to play at the time) so with nearly the entire team retuning the Buckeyes were preseason #1 and stayed there through eight straight wins to open the season. The closest of those eight wins was a 27 point win on the West Coast over Washington. Then they went to Ann Arbor where they hadn't lost since 1959 to play a team that they had mauled the previous year under a first year coach who had been an assistant under Woody, some guy named Bo:
- 24-12
- 8-1
- No bowl due to league's RB only rule
- No NC
1970:
With virtually the entire team returning yet again they started #1 again. They did drop to #3 then further to #5 after an unimpressive FG win over a sub-.500 Purdue squad. That PU game was the week before Michigan and apparently the Buckeyes were looking ahead because the next week they beat #4 Michigan 20-9. Heading into the bowls and what happened:
- 10-0 Texas, lost to #6 ND in the Cotton Bowl
- 9-0 Ohio State, lost to #12 Stanford in the Rose Bowl
- 10-0-1 Nebraska, beat #5 LSU in the Orange Bowl
- 10-1 Tennessee, beat #11 Air Force in the Sugar Bowl
- 9-2 LSU, lost to #3 UNL in the Orange Bowl
- 9-1 Notre Dame, beat #1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl
- 9-1 Michigan, no bowl due to league rule
That was one of those exciting Bowl seasons where the Cotton, Rose, and Orange Bowls were all relevant to the NC. #1 Texas' loss to #6 in the Cotton Bowl opened the door for #2, #3, #4, and #5. #2 Ohio State's loss in the Rose Bowl opened the door for #3, #4, and #5. #3 Nebraska's win in the Orange Bowl eliminated #5 LSU and shut the door on #4 Tennessee. In the final poll it was UNL, ND, TX, TN, tOSU.
1971:
This was by far the worst record of this group. The Buckeyes lost all those Super Sophomores from 1968 and started #11. They annihilated Iowa in their opener and moved up to #5 but that proved to be a bit of a mirage as basically everybody annihilated Iowa that year. The Buckeyes finished 6-4 and unranked but the four losses were:
- By 3 to a Michigan team that finished 11-1 and #6
- By 4 to a Northwestern team that finished 7-4 receiving votes
- By 6 to a Colorado team that finished 10-2 and #3 (Big8 went 1-2-3 with 13-0 UNL #1, 11-1 OU #2)
- By 7 to a Michigan State team that finished 6-5 unranked
That is far from great but all four losses were by one score and two of them were to teams that finished in the top-6.
1972:
After the rebuilding year of 1971 the Buckeyes started 1972 at #3 and bounced around the top-5 until an inexplicable loss at MSU dropped them to #9. They were still #3 heading into The Game where they beat previously undefeated and #3 Michigan. They headed into the Rose Bowl at #3 but lost to undefeated and #1 USC who won the NC.
A win in the Rose Bowl *MIGHT* have won the NC for the Buckeyes. It would have been an interesting vote. Heading into the Bowls and what happened:
- 11-0 USC, beat #3 tOSU in the Rose Bowl
- 10-1 OU, beat #5 PSU in the Sugar Bowl
- 9-1 tOSU, lost to #1 USC in the Rose Bowl
- 10-1 Bama, lost to #7 Texas in the Cotton Bowl
- 10-1 PSU, lost to #2 OU in the Sugar Bowl
- 9-1 Auburn, beat #13 Colorado in the Gator Bowl
- 9-1 Texas, beat #4 Bama in the Cotton Bowl
- 10-1 Michigan, no bowl due to league rule
- 8-2-1 Nebraska, beat #12 ND in the Orange Bowl
If Ohio State had defeated USC then the NC would have come down to OU vs tOSU. OU's loss to Colorado was better than tOSU's loss to MSU but tOSU's hypothetical win over USC would have been arguably better than OU's best win (Texas).
1973:
The Buckeyes started #3 and climbed to #1 on October 1. Heading into The Game the undefeated Buckeyes were #1 while the undefeated Wolverines were #4. Anything but a tie would have pushed one of the two to #1 but:
- 10-10
- Alabama moved up to #1
- Notre Dame beat Bama in the Sugar Bowl and won the NC
The 1973 Buckeyes outscored their opponents 38-6. They only allowed 64 points all year and 31 of those came against Michigan and USC.
1974:
The Buckeyes started #2 and held #1 for a big chunk of the year before another inexplicable loss at MSU dropped them to #4. Heading into The Game the Buckeyes were #4 while the undefeated Wolverines were #3. The Buckeyes won but lost the Rose Bowl by a single point to USC.
1975:
The Buckeyes started #4 and a 41-20 beat-down of #13 UCLA in Los Angeles on October 4 catapulted them to #1 in the October 6 poll. They stayed at #1 until the Rose Bowl. On the way there they beat #4 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Then came the Rose Bowl. Remember that #13 UCLA team that Ohio State mauled in October . . .
Over those nine years the Buckeyes:
- Had one undefeated NC (1968).
- Finished 10-0-1 missing the NC by a tie once (1973).
- Lost their last game three times where a win would have given them an NC (1969, 1970, 1975).
- Lost only to MSU and the Rose Bowl twice (1972, 1974).
- Had one 4-loss rebuilding year (1971) but even there all four losses were by one score and two were to teams that finished in the top-6.
