Jack Park, a leading Ohio State football historian, checks in each week during the college football season with a retrospective about the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s national champions of 1961 celebrated their 55th anniversary on campus last weekend and helped cheer the current Buckeyes to a 24-20 victory over Northwestern. The 1961 group, one of OSU’s all-time finest teams, was dealt an enormous disappointment at the end of its season.
Ohio State posted an overall record of 8-0-1, captured the outright Big Ten title and was awarded the Football Writers’ Association National Title. The Buckeyes finished second to Alabama in the final polls of both the Associated Press and United Press International.