As we count down the rich and storied history of Ohio State football, we look back at the 1923 Buckeyes, a team that tried to prevent back-to-back losing seasons.
It's 1923. The Buckeyes are coming off the school's first losing season since 1898. Unfortunately, a turnaround wasn't in order for John Wilce and his Buckeyes. His team played in five shutouts during the season, but only managed to come out on top in two of them.
| The 1923 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 3–4–1 |
| B1G Record | 1–4, 8th |
| Coach | John Wilce (11th Year, 56–20–4) |
| Captain | Boni Petcoff |
Games of Note
October 13th • Colgate • Ohio Stadium
After dispatching Ohio Wesleyan 24-7 in the opener, the Buckeyes welcomed Colgate to Ohio Stadium for the first meeting between the two programs.
The independent Raiders jumped out to a hot start, taking a 17-3 lead over Ohio State to the locker room for halftime. The teams would trade scores in the third, with Colgate holding a 23-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
At this point, not many of the 40,000 in attendance held out any hope.
A comeback was in the cards, however, as quarterback Harry “Hoge” Workman scored two final stanza touchdowns to even the score. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes missed an extra point and would have to settle for a 23-23 tie with Colgate.
Ohio State would have to wait until 1934 for another crack at the Raiders.
| Date | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCT. 6 | OHIO WESLEYAN | OHIO STADIUM | W, 24–7 |
| OCT. 13 | COLGATE | OHIO STADIUM | T, 23–23 |
| OCT. 20 | MICHIGAN | FERRY FIELD | L, 0–23 |
| OCT. 27 | IOWA | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–20 |
| NOV. 3 | DENISON | OHIO STADIUM | W, 42–0 |
| NOV. 10 | PURDUE | STUART FIELD | W, 32–0 |
| NOV. 17 | CHICAGO | STAGG FIELD | L, 3–17 |
| NOV. 24 | ILLINOIS | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–9 |
| 3–4–1, 124–99 |
October 20th • Michigan • Ferry Field
The following week, the Buckeyes traveled to Ann Arbor's Ferry Field to take on the unbeaten Wolverines.
The game was a hot ticket with close to 50,000 spectators in the stands to set a new attendance record for Ferry Field. Some accounts even had tickets going for $50 – the equivalent of nearly $700 in today's dollars.
Two days prior to the game, legendary Michigan coach Fielding Yost announced his retirement as coach to focus on his job as the school's athletic director.
Though his team came out inspired, they led by just a score of 3-0 at the half.
The second half was all Michigan, however.
The Wolverines scored 20 second-half points behind an aerial attack that seemed to baffle Ohio State's defense, taking the game by a final score of 23-0. Michigan's 19-point win over Ohio State was its largest in the series since 1909.
After securing their first three wins against Michigan – in a row, no less – the Wolverines had bounced back to defeat Ohio State in back-to-back seasons. Ohio State's record in what would become the biggest rivalry in sports now stood at 3–15–2.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| OHIO WESLEYAN | W20 | 22–2–1 |
| COLGATE | T1 | 0–0–1 |
| MICHIGAN | L2 | 3–15–2 |
| IOWA | L2 | 0–2 |
| DENISON | W4 | 13–1–2 |
| PURDUE | W4 | 4–0 |
| CHICAGO | L2 | 2–2 |
| ILLINOIS | L1 | 4–6–2 |
November 10th • Purdue • Stuart Field
Following the loss to Michigan, Ohio State was blanked again by Iowa, 20-0, at home the following week. Wilce's boys bounced back for a 42-0 win over Denison before facing a road game struggling Purdue.
The game would be Ohio State's first in West Lafayette, though the Buckeyes did own a 3-0 edge, outscoring the Boilermakers 55-0 in the series.
A change in location didn't help Purdue as Ohio State rolled, 32-0, at Stuart Field. The Buckeyes were now 2–2–1, but would go on to lose their final two games.
Ohio Stadium Woes
Two seasons were in the books at Ohio State's new shrine to football, and the Buckeyes were a middling 4–5–1 in Ohio Stadium.
Not only was the team losing on the field, but the program was also losing the attendance game. 14,000 fewer fans were showing up per game in the second season and many in Columbus started to question the colossal Horseshoe.
1923 Roster / Ohio State University Archives
1923 Recap
- Ohio State won its opener for the 29th-straight season. Akron (1894) was the last team to defeat the Buckeyes in the first game of the season.
- The Buckeyes were now winless (0–5) against league opponents at home in Ohio Stadium since it opened in 1922.
- Iowa became the first team to defeat Ohio State twice in Ohio Stadium.
- The Buckeyes played their first-ever game in West Lafayette, winning by a final score of 32-0.
- Ohio State and the Colgate Raiders met on the football field for the first time, with the game ending in a 23-23 tie.
- The Buckeyes endured back-to-back losing seasons for only the second time in program history (1897-98).
- Quarterback Harry “Hoge” Workman was named All-American.
After a string of successful seasons, including three-straight wins over Michigan, John Wilce's seat was now officially hot after back-to-back losing campaigns.
Fans were disgruntled, many thought building the gigantic Ohio Stadium was a mistake.
Wilce had to do something and do it quickly.
