1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Howard "Hopalong" Cassady
Big Ten champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
Record	7–2 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (5th season)
MVP	Howard Cassady
Captains	Fran Machinsky Ken Vargo
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

1955 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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 (20-13), and No. 6 Michigan (17–0). They were ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.^[1]

Halfback Howard "Hopalong" Cassady led the team with 958 rushing yards (6.0 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns.^[2] He won the Heisman Trophy,^[3] the Maxwell Award,^[4] and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football.^[5] Cassady was also a consensus All-American.^[6] 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.^[2]

Four Ohio State playes 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).^[7][8][9]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Nebraska*	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 28–20	80,171
October 1	at Stanford*	No. 8	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 0–6	28,000
October 8	Illinois		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	W 27–12	82,407
October 15	No. 11 Duke*	No. 14	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 14–20	82,254	[10]
October 22	at No. 15 Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 26–16	53,529
October 29	Northwestern	No. 15	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 49–0	82,214
November 5	Indiana	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 20–13	80,730
November 12	No. 20 Iowa	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 20–10	82,701
November 19	at No. 6 Michigan	No. 9	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 17–0	97,369
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Nebraska

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Nebraska Pass Atts. 3 26 Pass Comps. 1 11 Pass Yards 17 189 Yds./Pass 17.0 17.2 Rush Atts. 61 36 Rush Yards 321 138 Yds./Rush 5.3 3.8 Total Yards 338 327 Fumbles Lost 1 3 Interceptions 0 1 Total Turnovers 1 4 [11]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Nebraska 6 7 7 0 20 • Ohio State 7 7 14 0 28 Date: September 24 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 80,171 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) Scoring summary Q1 OSU Cassady 14 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 7–0 Q1 NEB Erway 9 yard rush (Erway kick failed) OSU 7–6 Q2 OSU Cassady 10 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 14–6 Q2 NEB Edwards 87 yard int. return (Erway kick) OSU 14–13 Q3 OSU Cassady 1 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 21–13 Q3 NEB Williams 11 yard pass from Erway (Plum kick) OSU 21–20 Q3 OSU Ellwood 1 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 28–20

Stanford

Team Statistics Statistic Stanford Ohio State Pass Atts. 13 12 Pass Comps. 6 5 Pass Yards 66 41 Yds./Pass 11.0 8.2 Rush Atts. 41 57 Rush Yards 152 187 Yds./Rush 3.7 3.3 Total Yards 218 228 Fumbles Lost 1 1 Interceptions 0 1 Total Turnovers 1 2 [12]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 0 0 0 0 0 • Stanford 6 0 0 0 6 Date: October 1 Location: Stanford Stadium Game attendance: 28,000 Game weather: Fair Scoring summary Q4 STAN Cameka 1 yard pass from Gustafson (Raftery kick failed) STAN 6–0

Illinois

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Illinois Pass Atts. 9 15 Pass Comps. 4 7 Pass Yards 17 175 Yds./Pass 4.3 25.0 Rush Atts. 55 51 Rush Yards 334 196 Yds./Rush 6.1 3.8 Total Yards 351 371 Fumbles Lost 0 2 Interceptions 0 1 Total Turnovers 0 3 [13]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 6 0 0 6 12 • Ohio State 13 0 7 7 27 Date: October 8 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,407 Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) Scoring summary Q1 ILL Lindbeck 1 yard rush (kick failed) ILL 0–6 Q1 OSU Cassady 18 yard rush (Kriss kick failed) tie 6–6 Q1 OSU Michael 15 yard pass from Ellwood (Kriss kick) OSU 13–6 Q3 OSU Ellwood 3 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 20–6 Q4 OSU Cassady 4 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 27–6 Q4 ILL Stout 1 yard run (kick failed) OSU 27–12

Duke

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Duke Pass Atts. 10 13 Pass Comps. 2 9 Pass Yards 27 125 Yds./Pass 13.5 13.9 Rush Atts. 34 65 Rush Yards 138 218 Yds./Rush 4.1 3.4 Total Yards 165 343 Fumbles Lost 4 3 Interceptions 2 1 Total Turnovers 6 4 [14]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Duke 0 7 7 6 20 Ohio State 7 7 0 0 14 Location: Ohio Stadium Elapsed time: October 15 Game attendance: 82,254 Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) Scoring summary Q1 OSU Roseboro 45 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 7–0 Q2 DUKE Blaney 5 yard pass from Pascal (Nelson kick) tie 7–7 Q2 OSU Cassady 38 yard punt return (Kriss kick) OSU 14–7 Q3 DUKE Pascal 1 yard rush (Nelson kick) tie 14–14 Q4 DUKE Jurgenson 1 yard run (kick failed) DUKE 14–20

Wisconsin

Team Statistics Statistic Wisconsin Ohio State Pass Atts. 18 4 Pass Comps. 7 2 Pass Yards 94 32 Yds./Pass 13.4 16.0 Rush Atts. 50 59 Rush Yards 284 272 Yds./Rush 5.7 4.6 Total Yards 378 304 Fumbles Lost 2 1 Interceptions 1 0 Total Turnovers 3 1 [15] [16]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 0 12 0 14 26 Wisconsin 0 14 0 2 16 Date: October 22 Location: Camp Randall Stadium Game attendance: 53,529 Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), Partly Cloudy Scoring summary Q2 WISC Levenhagen 4 yard rush (Peters kick) WISC 0–7 Q2 WISC Thomas 2 yard rush (Shwaiko kick) WISC 0–14 Q2 OSU Ellwood 1 yard rush (Kriss kick failed) WISC 6–14 Q2 OSU Ellwood 3 yard rush (Kriss kick failed) WISC 12–14 Q4 OSU Ellwood 1 yard rush (Cannavino kick) OSU 19–14 Q4 OSU Cassady 13 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 26–14 Q4 WISC Safety OSU 26–16

Northwestern

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Northwestern Pass Atts. 5 19 Pass Comps. 2 8 Pass Yards 24 75 Yds./Pass 12.0 9.4 Rush Atts. 65 46 Rush Yards 395 166 Yds./Rush 6.1 3.6 Total Yards 419 241 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Interceptions 0 5 Total Turnovers 0 6 [17]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 0 0 0 0 • Ohio State 14 14 7 14 49 Date: October 29 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,214 Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), Windy Scoring summary Q1 OSU Cassady 30 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 7–0 Q1 OSU Roseboro 1 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 14–0 Q2 OSU Parker 42 yard fumble return (Kriss kick) OSU 21–0 Q2 OSU Cassady 3 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 28–0 Q3 OSU Brown 2 yard pass from Ellwood (Kriss kick) OSU 35–0 Q4 OSU Cannavino 4 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 42–0 Q4 OSU Williams 5 yard run (Sutherin kick) OSU 49–0

Indiana

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Indiana Pass Atts. 2 18 Pass Comps. 0 11 Pass Yards 0 142 Yds./Pass 0.0 12.9 Rush Atts. 52 47 Rush Yards 251 159 Yds./Rush 4.8 3.4 Total Yards 251 301 Fumbles Lost 2 1 Interceptions 0 0 Total Turnovers 2 1 [18]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 0 6 0 7 13 • Ohio State 0 14 0 6 20 Date: November 5 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 80,730 Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), Clear Scoring summary Q2 OSU Cassady 1 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 7–0 Q2 IU Campbell 1 yard rush (Hall kick failed) OSU 7–6 Q2 OSU Cassady 2 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 14–6 Q4 OSU Harkrader 3 yard rush (Kriss kick failed) OSU 20–7 Q4 IU Bomba 4 yard pass from Cichowski (Hall kick) OSU 20–14

Iowa

Team Statistics Statistic Ohio State Iowa Pass Atts. 3 14 Pass Comps. 0 9 Pass Yards 0 101 Yds./Pass 0.0 11.2 Rush Atts. 53 45 Rush Yards 274 171 Yds./Rush 5.2 3.8 Total Yards 273 272 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Interceptions 0 1 Total Turnovers 0 2 [19]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 3 7 0 0 10 • Ohio State 7 6 0 7 20 Date: November 12 Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 82,701 Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), Cloudy Scoring summary Q1 IOWA Freeman 15 yard field goal IOWA 0–3 Q1 OSU Cassady 45 yard rush (Kriss kick) OSU 7–3 Q2 OSU Cassady 10 yard rush (Kriss kick failed) OSU 13–3 Q2 IOWA Freeman 5 yard pass from Reichow (Freeman kick) OSU 13–10 Q4 OSU Cassady 3 yard run (Kriss kick) OSU 20–10

Michigan

Team Statistics Statistic Michigan Ohio State Pass Atts. 9 3 Pass Comps. 3 1 Pass Yards 14 4 Yds./Pass 4.7 4.0 Rush Atts. 31 72 Rush Yards 95 333 Yds./Rush 3.1 4.6 Total Yards 109 337 Fumbles Lost 0 2 Interceptions 2 0 Total Turnovers 2 2 [20]

Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio State 0 3 0 14 17 Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 19 Location: Michigan Stadium Game attendance: 97,369 Game weather: Fair Scoring summary Q2 OSU Kriss 17 yard field goal OSU 3–0 Q4 OSU Cassady 2 yard rush (Sutherin kick failed) OSU 9–0 Q4 OSU Vicic 1 yard rush (Sutherin kick failed) OSU 15–0 Q4 OSU Safety OSU 17–0

Coaching staff

• Woody Hayes - Head Coach - 5th year

Awards and honors

• Howard Cassady, Heisman Trophy^[21]

In popular culture

The November 12 game against Iowa was mentioned in the movie Back to the Future Part II. A radio announcer telling the scores of the day's games mentions that Ohio State beat Iowa 20–10.

1956 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Howard Cassady	1	3	Halfback	Detroit Lions
Fran Machinsky	4	41	Tackle	Washington Redskins
Ken Vargo	9	106	Center	Chicago Bears
Jerry Harkrader	22	261	Back	New York Giants

References

1. "1955 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
2. "1955 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
3. "Hoppy Gets His Heisman Trophy". Dayton Daily News. December 9, 1955. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Cassady Receives Maxwell Award". The Daily Sentinel-Tribune. December 1, 1955. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cassady Captures Award as Big 10's Most Valuable". The Plain Dealer. December 18, 1955. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
7. "Five Boilermaker Gridders Gain Recognition on AP's All-Big Ten". Journal and Courier. November 22, 1955 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Krupa Named All-Big Ten: Dawson, Lundey, Murley, Murakowski Cited by UP". Journal and Courier. November 23, 1955. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Two Hawks On All-Big 10". The Des Moines Tribune. November 22, 1955. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Ohio State beaten by Duke, 20–14, Bucks blow lead". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 16, 1955. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
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15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
16. "Blast from the Past: No. 15 Wisconsin 10/22/1955". October 22, 2016.
17. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
20. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
21. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2007.