With that being said, the Buckeyes’ 1960-61 schedule was brutal, facing 12 teams ranked in the top 20 at some point during the season. While there may be more talented players across the college basketball landscape today, the talent is spread out much thinner than back in the 60s, with the Division I field more than tripling in size since then. Had Ohio State held on to defeat the Bearcats and won back-to-back titles with a perfect season in 1961, then it would have surpassed the prior team as the most accomplished in school history. Joseph’s, 95-69, in the Final Four, before falling to Cincinnati, 70-65, in overtime of the national championship game. In the 1961 NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes beat Louisville, 56-55, in the first round and Kentucky, 87-74, in the second round. And then they were outplayed in overtime – lost by five points in overtime, lost the national championship that a lot of us thought they’d won already.” 1 in the nation from start to finish, every single week until the last game of the season, when they were tied at the other regulation. And they were clearly the best regular-season team in Ohio State history, because they were undefeated,” Caryer said. “No matter how you look at it, they were a very good team. That group represents the only Ohio State team to go undefeated in either the Big Ten or the entire regular season, and it was the first team to remain unbeaten in the conference since 1943 Illinois. The 1960-61 Buckeyes earned the bittersweet title as the best regular-season team in program history. When discussing the best teams ever, we emphasized an importance on consistency, tournament success, future NBA players and the competition they faced.ġ960-61: 27-1, 14-0 Big Ten. 400.There have been 121 teams in Ohio State men’s basketball history, including one national champion squad in 1960.īuckeye Sports Bulletin evaluated some of the best teams in program history with Ohio State basketball expert Lee Caryer and Dick Furry, who was a captain of the lone championship team in school history. Ferguson rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns and Warfield added 122 yards and a score as OSU totaled 512 yards offense in chalking up all-time win No. OSU led 21-12 entering the fourth quarter before the Buckeye offense exploded for 29 fourth-quarter points and a 50-20 win. Hayes’ squad posted wins over Indiana and Oregon for wins six and seven before traveling to Ann Arbor for the annual battle with arch-rival Michigan. Ferguson rushed for 144 yards and a score and Joe Sparma passed for 88 yards and two scores, both to Charles Bryant, who caught four passes for 94 yards. Holding a slim 12-7 lead at the end of the third period, the Buckeyes scored on each of their first three possessions in the final stanza to tally a 29-13 win and keep their undefeated season intact. The Buckeyes beat Northwestern and Wisconsin before hosting a Homecoming thriller against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Ferguson totaled only 45 yards on the ground, but had four scores. Eight Buckeyes rushed for 10 or more yards in the game, including quarterback John Mummey (63) and Warfield (62). One week later, the Buckeyes destroyed Illinois 44-0, outgaining the Illini 424-180 and forcing four turnovers. While the offense took its time getting warmed up, the defense was smoking, holding the high-powered Bruin offense to 166 yards and a field goal. OSU scored all 13 points in the fourth quarter on rushing touchdowns by Snell and Warfield. 2 in both the UPI and AP polls, one slot behind Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide.Īfter the TCU tie, the Buckeyes defeated the eventual Pac-8 Champions, UCLA, 13-3 in Columbus. Still, the Buckeyes did not play in the Rose Bowl when the OSU Faculty Council voted to reject the bid. Ferguson finished his career ranked second on the OSU all-time rushing list with 2,162 yards and was runnerup to Ernie Davis for the Heisman Trophy that year. Ferguson led the Big Ten in rushing with 671 yards in conference games, while Warfield was fourth with 307 in Big Ten contests. The offense was led by three outstanding running backs (Matt Snell, Bob Ferguson and Paul Warfield). Just as they had in 1957 with an 18-14 win in Columbus, Texas Christian’s Horned Frogs denied the Buckeyes a perfect season with a 7-7 tie, but it was the only time all season that an opponent was within one touchdown of the mighty Scarlet and Gray. The Buckeyes scored 40 or more points two times and passed the 30-point plateau one other time. Led by an explosive offense that averaged nearly 30 points per Big Ten game, the Buckeyes won their 10th undisputed Big Ten Championship and were awarded the Football Writers’ Association National Championship. 1961 National Championship (Football Writers )
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