Welcome to “That Happened” where we dig deep into the who, why, and how of outliers in Ohio State athletics history.
For much of its pre-World War One history, Ohio State's football program was not the titan we know them as today. Since 1890, the Buckeyes were winning roughly 65% of their games, affirming their status as a middling program, but could never claim a championship.
Before the 1916 season, though, things were looking up. Ohio State had joined the Western Conference, now known as the Big Ten, three years prior and was coming off of a 5-1-1 season, their best in the newly formed conference.