Opportunists of the gridiron, Illinois football players face Ohio State's powerhouse tomorrow in Cleveland. Members of the team are, front row (left to right): Elmer Engel, Mike Kasap, Alex Agasee, Max Wenskunas, Joe Pawlowski, John Genis, Ray Grierson. Back row: Walter Corell, Ray Florek, Catp. Jimmy Smith and Don Griffin.

2017 is the 75th anniversary of Ohio State's first national championship season. To honor the achievement, this series will post articles from the Columbus Citizen Journal on the day they ran in 1942.

In Today's paper:

• Don Hawk gives the latest roster update, state of the team's health and a report on Illinois. 
• Lew Byrer speculates on attendance numbers and gives Buckeye fans reasons to be concerned that the game is being played in Cleveland.
• Bond & Lillard is selling its bourbon. 

The Ohio State football team took a sharp workout last night in final preparation for the trip to Cleveland for the game with Illinois tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 which may decide the 1942 Western Conference lead with three victories and on defeat. A win for the Illinois team in this, its last conference game of the year, will virtually clinch the conference crown for Ray Eliot in his first year as a Big Ten coach. That would leave only Iowa in a position to challenge the Illini and that team would have to meet both Michigan and Minnesota successfully in order to win the crown.

The Buck drill last night was the usual Thursday drill for Coach Paul Brown's team. The first thing on the schedule for a final check and recheck of the defense to be used against the Illinois team, then a short, concentrated session on pass defense, and finally a thorough rehearsal of the running attack from A to Z.

The Bucks are in the best mental condition of the season for this game and have worked this week with as much snap and precision as they have shown.

In Perfect Shape

Physically, the Bucks are in almost as good shape as they are mentally, especially since George Slusser has moved quickly into his new post at right halfback behind Les Horvath. Bill Durtschl, the best punter on the squad, was back with the squad again today and his injured knee is now responding rapidly to treatment.

Rangy Bill Sedor, junior left end, is still on the shelf with an injured knee, but his place on the varsity team is being well filled by Don Steinberg, the original holder of the position early in the season prior to his shoulder injury. Steinberg has take up where he left off when injured and played one of the really fine individual games of the day last week.

The same starting lineup that took the field last week against Pitt will be facing the opening gun again this week. Bill Willis had originally been posted at the left tackle, but a look at the pictures of the game last week changed Brown's mind and Don McCafferty will be in the opening lineup again.

The last time Hawk described Ohio State as being in top physical condition, the Buckeyes lost to Wisconsin.

McCafferty Gets Chance

"On the basis of his play last week," Brown said yesterday after practice, "he earned this continued chance at the position and we're giving it to him." McCafferty has been pushing Willis for the starting berth all season and his winning it climaxes a long, hard, four-year grind with hard work paying its final dividend.

The team left Columbus this morning at 8:10 o'clock, arriving in Cleveland in time to check in at the Hollendenen Hotel before lunch. The team has a 3 o'clock workout scheduled this afternoon in order to loosen the kinks that result from a long train ride and in order to get acquainted with the hard turf in the Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The team will attend a shown en masse tonight then retire to the hotel to stay until game time tomorrow afternoon. 

In Illinois, the Bucks will meet a team that is the fastest opponent they have met all season. Illinois will come nearer matching the all-round team speed of the Bucks than any other foes so far. The Illini depend upon this speed and upon their habit of tackling the ball for scoring purposes and usually come through. In fact, Guard Alex Agase, rated among the leading Big Ten scorers for several weeks early in the season.

Interesting that Buckeye great Bill Willis was replaced by Don McCafferty for this game based on merit of play.

Four championship contenders risk their top-ranked positions in the tight Big Ten football race tomorrow in games that headline the Midwest's grid program.

Ohio State and Illinois, currently tied with Iowa for the lead with three triumphs and a defeat, play at Cleveland in the feature contest. 

[...]

Bucks Given Edge

Ohio State's greater backfield strength rates it as the favorite over Illinois. However, the Illini gridders have scorned the odds all season and pushed themselves into the title picture by their alertness, rugged defensive play and opportunism.

Illinois' victory chances are dimmed somewhat by the loss of Halfback Dick Good, their outstanding passer. He is out for the season with a knee injury.

Ohio State repeatedly padded its conference record in recent years at the expense of Illinois. Since 1930 the Bucks have beaten Illinois 11 times while dropping only one decision. That setback was in 1934 and cost the Bucks a share of the championship.

Lew Byrer is all about speculating in the crowd size for the game in Cleveland.

Friday, the 13th, was proving an unlucky day for late seekers of good seats for tomorrow's Ohio State-Illinois game here and and also for scalpers trying sell such seats at a profit.

There were no good seats left except in the hands of scalpers. And police were clamping down on the scalpers whenever they tried to make a sale. 

An estimate of the size of the crowd is hard to arrive at.

Enthusiastic Clevelanders are talking anything from 80,000 to 90,000 or even 100,000 if an ideal day is on tap.

Hen Taylor, Ohio State ticket director, who isn't one to go overboard after handling the big football crowds at Ohio Stadium for the past 20 years, figures it may go (to) 65,000 with a perfect day and a big last-minute rush.

All the $2.50 seats have been sold. The others, which correspondents to Ohio Stadium's general admission sections though they are reserved, sell at $1.10. There are plenty of those available. 

Cleveland's big municipally owned lake-front stadium has 78,000 permanent seats, 68,000 of them of the turn-down variety and all of those 68,000 are under cover theoretically. In addition 4,000 temporary seats have been added and 10,000 more can be added if necessary. By roping off space on the embankments and filling the cinder track a crowd of more than 100,000 could be handled.

Being neither an optimist nor a pessimist I'll settle for 75,000 which would still be one whale of a crowd for a football game in a city which isn't the home town of either competing university.

If it goes 75,000 there are liable to be some Ohio State-Illinois games of the future played here.

Things to Worry About

Most of the folks I've contacted up here are Ohio State fans, which may explain why most of them are expecting an Ohio State victory.

I'm expecting one, too. But I don't expect an easy one or by any lop-sided score. In the first place, it's the best Illinois team in years. In the second Roy Eliot, while he's serving his first year as head coach, was Bob Zuppke's chief assistant for years, which means he knows coaching.

I'm remembering last year, too. Illinois wasn't supposed to have much last year. But the Illini went all out for Bob Zuppke that day in Ohio Stadium and the superior Bucks were hard pressed to win 12-7.

If you want something else to worry about this is the third time in my recollection that Ohio State has played a football game anywhere except on the home gridiron of the rival team or the Buckeye home pasture. In 1917 Ohio State's second championship team played Auburn at Montgomery, Ala., and was held to a tie. The third Buckeye championship team in 1920 played California in the old Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 1921, and lost 28-to-0. So the precedent is none too good. 

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