1998 was the last time Ohio State played as the away team on Halloween. Joe Germaine (351 yards, 3 TDs), Dee Miller (159) and David Boston (110, 2 TDs) had a day as the Buckeyes treated Indiana to a 38-7 loss.
Five Things
- This is the 16th time (12–3) Ohio State has played on 10-31.
- Ohio State is 5–2 when playing on the road on this date.
- The Buckeyes are 2–1 when ranked and playing as the away team.
- Ohio State has an three-game winning streak on the 31st of October.
- 1942 was the last time Ohio State lost when playing away from Columbus on Halloween.
This is the 36th meeting between Ohio State and Penn State in football.
The last time the Buckeyes played on the road on October 31st was 1998. On that 63 degree and partly cloudy day, No. 1 Ohio State defeated Cam Cameron's unranked Indiana Hoosiers, 38-7, in Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes went on for a share of the Big Ten and defeated No. 8 Texas A&M in the 1999 Sugar Bowl.
Ohio State's largest margin of victory on October 31st was the 45-0 annihilation of New Mexico State in 2009. The Buckeyes finished the season 11–2 and defeated No. 7 Oregon, 26-17, in the 2010 Rose Bowl.
| YEAR | OHIO STATE'S RANK | OPPONENT | LOCATION | SCORE | B1G FINISH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | No. 17 | New Mexico State | H | 45-0 | 1st |
| 1998 | No. 1 | Indiana | A | 38-7 | 1st |
| 1992 | Iowa | A | 38-15 | 2nd | |
| 1987 | No. 15 | No. 20 Michigan State | H | 7-13 | 5th |
| 1981 | Purdue | A | 45-33 | T 1st | |
| 1970 | No. 2 | No. 20 Northwestern | H | 24-10 | 1st / NC |
| 1964 | No. 1 | Iowa | A | 21-19 | 2nd |
| 1959 | Michigan State | H | 30-24 | T 8th | |
| 1953 | Northwestern | H | 27-13 | 4th | |
| 1942 | No. 1 | No. 6 Wisconsin | A | 7-17 | 1st / NC |
| 1936 | Notre Dame | A | 2-7 | T 2nd | |
| 1931 | Indiana | A | 13-0 | 4th | |
| 1925 | Wooster | H | 17-0 | 8th | |
| 1908 | Ohio Wesleyan | H | 20-9 | Not In B1G | |
| 1903 | West Virginia | H | 34-6 | Not In B1G |
| RECORD | WIN & | POINTS | AVG. SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL | 12–3 | .800 | 368-173 | 25-12 |
| HOME | 7–1 | .875 | 204-75 | 26-9 |
| AWAY | 5–2 | .714 | 164-98 | 23-14 |
| RECORD | WIN & | POINTS | AVG. SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL | 4–2 | .667 | 142-66 | 24-11 |
| HOME | 2–1 | .667 | 76-23 | 25-8 |
| AWAY | 2–1 | .667 | 66-43 | 22-14 |
| RECORD | WIN & | POINTS | AVG. SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL | 1–2 | .333 | 38-40 | 13-13 |
| HOME | 1–1 | .500 | 31-23 | 16-12 |
| AWAY | 0–1 | .000 | 7-17 | 7-17 |
Wisconsin, October 31, 1942
Ohio State started the 1942 season with a 5–0 record. The Buckeyes opened the season with a 59-0 dismantling of Fort Knox. After dispatching Indiana, USC, Purdue and Northwestern by a combined score of 106-39, Paul Brown's second Ohio State squad headed to Madison.
The epicenter of the sports world on Halloween of 1942 was Camp Randall Stadium. Over 200 radio stations were there to broadcast the game across the nation and the world. The BBC used short wave radio to get the contest to service men in Europe.
45,000 fans packed into the concrete stadium to set a Badgers' record for attendance. They would not leave disappointed.
Head coach Harry Stuhldreher, a native of Massillon, had prepared for this game for a year after Ohio State defeated his Badgers in 1941.
Wisconsin's Pat Harder put the first points on the board when he ran in from eight-yards out. Before the end of the first quarter, he kicked a 37-yard field goal to put the Badgers up 10-0.
In the fourth quarter, Sarringhaus ended a 96-yard drive with a touchdown and cut the score to 10-7. However, Wisconsin immediately answered with another score and went on to defeat Ohio State, 17-7.
A True Horror Story, The Trip To Madison
Brown's Buckeyes did not play well. Why did the No. 1 team and a group of young men who were in excellent physical condition get outplayed in this game? Dysentery.
Ohio State was forced to take a dilapidated rail car to Wisconsin due to the war, as all first-class rails were not available. The team had to ride in cars that had not been used in many years. Unknown to the team was that the water in the lines had not been replaced. Ohio State's players drank the stale water and it caused a massive case of dysentery within the team.
The trip from hell continued when the Buckeyes arrived in Wisconsin. The team stayed in downtown Madison due to the travel restrictions. The hotel did not have operating elevators and that forced the players to walk six stories to their rooms. Typically, it would be an inconvenience, but with the majority of players struggling with stomach ailments it was a disaster.
Staying in Madison was another mistake. The Badger fans held various pep rallies throughout the night. The noise and ruckus kept the weary Buckeyes from getting a proper night's sleep.
Not to take away from Wisconsin's win, but they did not play Ohio State at full strength. I'm not saying the Buckeyes lost because of dysentery, but the Buckeyes lost because of dysentery.
Not to take away from Wisconsin's win, but they did not play Ohio State at full strength. I'm not saying the Buckeyes lost because of dysentery, but the Buckeyes lost because of dysentery.
Fortunately the story of the 1942 season ended on the most positive of notes. Brown and the Buckeyes ran the rest of the table and the program won its first national championship.
You Might Like
Stat Superlatives
The Series History
The Rundown
Snap Counts
Freshman Tracker
