The 1918 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team that represented

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in the

1918 Big Ten Conference football season The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (officially known as the Western Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association and sometimes referred to ...

. In their sixth year under head coach

John Wilce John Woodworth Wilce (May 12, 1888 – May 17, 1963) was an American football player and coach, physician, and university professor. He served as the head football coach at Ohio State University from 1913 to 1928, compiling a record of 78–33–9 ...

, the Buckeyes compiled a 3–3 record (0–3 against conference opponents) and outscored opponents by a combined total of 134 to 41. End Clarence A. MacDonald received first-team honors on the

1918 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1918 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Big Ten Conference teams chosen by various selectors for the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season. All Big-Ten selections Ends * Clarence A. ...

. With the country involved in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, many of the top football players did not play due to military service. Players serving in the military included Chic Harley and

Gaylord Stinchcomb Gaylord Roscoe "Pete" Stinchcomb (June 24, 1895 – August 24, 1973) was an American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at Ohio State University where he was selected as an All-American in 1920. He later played professional f ...

of Ohio State. In response to the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

pandemic, the football schedule was modified. The matchup with Northwestern was canceled while the game against Michigan was moved to the last game in November.

Schedule

Game summaries

On October 5, 1918, Ohio State defeated , 41–0, in Columbus, Ohio. On October 12, 1918, Ohio State defeated , 34–0, in Columbus, Ohio. With Chic Harley serving in the military, halfback Thomas Davies was the star for the Buckeyes. On November 9, 1918, Ohio State defeated Case, 56–0, on a muddy field in Columbus, Ohio. On November 16, 1918,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

defeated Ohio State, 13–0, on a muddy field in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

. Kirkpatrick and Sabo scored touchdowns for Illinois. On November 23, 1918,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

defeated Ohio State, 14-3, in Columbus, Ohio. On November 30, 1918,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

defeated Ohio State, 14–0, in Columbus, Ohio. The game was played on a wet, muddy and slippery field that handicapped the offensive players. The teams played to a scoreless tie in a first half. Michigan's first touchdown was set up by a 73-yard punt from

Frank Steketee Frank Wallder Steketee (April 26, 1900 – December 26, 1951) was an American football player. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Steketee played college football as a fullback and halfback for Fielding H. Yost's 1918, 1920, and 1921 Michigan ...

that "stuck fast in the mud" at Ohio State's two- or three-yard line. Michigan's defense held, and Ohio State was forced to punt from his end zone.

Angus Goetz Angus Gerald "Gus" Goetz (July 6, 1897 – July 24, 1977) was an American football player who played four years with the Michigan Wolverines from 1917 to 1920. He also played professional football for the Buffalo All-Americans (1922) and the ...

blocked the punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. Later in the game, Steketee faked a run around the end and passed to Robert J. Dunne who was "camped near the uprights."

References

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Ohio State Buckeyes football seasons

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium i ...

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