1942 College Football National Championship

Ohio State 1942

The Players

Ohio State had lost most of the players from their 6-1-1 1941 squad, and this season they featured 24 sophomores, 16 juniors, and just 3 seniors, so expectations were not high. However, this Ohio State team was loaded with notable players, starting with Hall of Fame halfback Les Horvath (pictured above at left), who went on to win the Heisman Trophy at quarterback in 1944. He was a reserve halfback this season, but got in a good amount of playing time. Joining him in the Hall of Fame is tackle Bill Willis (pictured above at right). At this time, black students were not allowed to live on campus, so Willis was a commuter. He would be a nonconsensus AA in 1944, and then one of the first 4 black players in the NFL since 1933, playing for Paul Brown's Browns 1946-1953 and being named an all-pro all 8 years. He is also in the pro Hall of Fame.

Ohio State did not have any consensus All Americans this season, but they had 3 nonconsensus AA: guard Lindell Houston, end Bob Shaw, and tackle Chuck Csuri. Houston played for Paul Brown at Massillon High School, then at OSU, and finally with the Browns 1946-1953 (matching Bill Willis' years there). Shaw also played pro ball for 8 seasons, and led the NFL in touchdown catches in 1950 with 12. Csuri was the team MVP. He was later awarded a Bronze Star for heroism at the Battle of the Bulge, and became a pioneer in the field of computer graphics and animation.

Guard Bill Hackett would be a consensus AA in 1944, and end Jack Dugger would be a nonconsensus AA in 1944. End Dante Lavelli only started one game, against Southern Cal, and he was injured and knocked out for the season in that game, so it was his whole OSU career, but he went on to an 11 year pro career with-- who else?-- the Browns 1946-1956. He is in the pro Hall of Fame.

Fullback Gene Fekete led the Big 10 in rushing with 550 yards and in scoring with 52 points (he was also the kicker), and he finished 8th in the Heisman voting this season.

Ohio State's Season

Ohio State outscored their opponents 337-114 this season. Only Georgia scored more points, but they played one more game in the regular season, and their 33.4 per game average fell just below OSU's 33.7. Ohio State's 337 points was a school record that stood until 1969. OSU opened with a 59-0 beatdown of military team Fort Knox, outgaining them 507 yards to negative 5, and with that they served notice that they were a powerhouse this season. All of their wins would come by more than a touchdown

The Bad Water Game

Michigan

Ohio State recovered from the big game much better than Wisconsin did, running wild over Pittsburgh (3-6) 59-19, Fekete rushing for 139 yards on just 3 carries. Then they whipped Illinois (6-4, #20) 44-20 before a crowd of 68,000 in Cleveland. That brought Ohio State to their own homecoming game, against archrival Michigan. Michigan was coming off a huge 32-20 win at Notre Dame (7-2-2), their first game against the Irish since 1909.

71,000 showed up to watch their Buckeyes despite rain falling throughout the game. Michigan stuffed Ohio State's running game, but the Buckeyes just went to the air to win this one. Chuck Csuri blocked a punt at the Michigan 35 to set up a 10 yard touchdown pass from Les Horvath to Paul Sarringhaus (pictured above) in the 2nd quarter. Michigan drove to the OSU 1, but the half ran out on them there, leaving OSU up 7-0. Paul Sarringhaus hit end Bob Shaw for a 60 yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 in the 3rd, but Michigan answered on their next drive, marching 64 yards to make it a 1-score game again, 14-7. In the 4th quarter, Michigan fumbled the ball away at their own 32, and Sarringhaus hit Horvath for a touchdown pass on the next play. Gene Fekete kicked his 3rd extra point to make the final score 21-7.

Michigan outgained Ohio State 268 yards to 257, but they turned the ball over 5 times to none for OSU, and OSU's 6 of 8 passing for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns was huge. Michigan finished 7-3 and ranked #9 in the final AP poll.

That would normally have been the end of the season, but it being World War 2 and all, Ohio State closed out this season with a game against a strong military team, the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks. The Seahawks came into the game 7-1, their only loss to Notre Dame (7-2-2). They were coached by Bernie Bierman, who had won the last 2 national championships and 5 of the last 8 as coach of Minnesota. Iowa Pre-Flight featured former college all-stars who had played for Michigan, Texas, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio State, and they were favored, but Ohio State jumped out to a 27-6 halftime lead and pummeled them 41-12. Iowa Pre-Flight finished 7-3, and I would say that they were comparable to a #21 ranked team on the season.

When #1 Boston College and #2 Georgia Tech finally took losses in rivalry games the same week, the way was cleared for Ohio State to return to #1 in the final poll.

Georgia 1942

Georgia's first finish in a top 25, had there been an AP top 25, would have been 1920, when they went 8-0-1. That team tied 5-2-2 Virginia, who was not at all a top 25 team, but Georgia's straight record would likely have gotten them ranked about #21-25 (I have them #21). The next year they got ambitious and took on Harvard and Dartmouth, losing both games, but they tied 7-0-1 Vanderbilt to finish 7-2-1, and would have been ranked #21-25 again (I have them #23). The coach during this time was Herman Stegeman, who went 20-6-1 in a brief 3-year career.

He was followed by George Woodruff 1923-1927, who was mediocre until his final season, going 30-16-1. In 1923 Georgia started playing Yale in New Haven every year, losing their first 4 games up there, but in 1927 they got a breakthrough 14-10 win

The Players

Georgia's star player was Hall of Fame halfback Frank Sinkwich (pictured above at left), a consensus All American in 1941 and 1942. He finished 4th in the Heisman vote in 1941, and this year he won it, the SEC's first Heisman recipient. Moreover, he was the AP athlete of the year for all sports. Sinkwich was born in Croatia and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, but somehow Georgia got him out from under Ohio State's nose. In 1941 he led the nation in rushing with 1103 yards, then capped that with a spectacular performance in Georgia's Orange Bowl win over Texas Christian. He was 9 of 13 passing for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he rushed for 139 yards and another touchdown. He came into this season as the Heisman favorite, and he did not disappoint.

Georgia leaned heavily on its passing game this season, and Sinkwich was the main triggerman, throwing for 1392 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for 795 yards and 17 touchdowns, giving him a total offense of 2187 yards, then an NCAA record. For his career, he totaled 2271 rushing with 30 touchdowns and 2331 passing with another 30 touchdowns. After college, he was all-pro in 1944 and 1945, and the NFL MVP in 1945, but a knee injury that season ended his career early.

And Georgia had another Hall of Fame halfback in Charlie Trippi (pictured above at right). Trippi was a back-up for much of this season, but he saw heavy play and racked up 1239 yards of total offense. He started two games, against Auburn and in the Rose Bowl (in place of an injured Frank Sinkwich), where he was the leading rusher with 115 yards and was the game's MVP. After returning to Georgia from service in the military, Trippi would be a consensus AA in 1946 and winner of the Maxwell Award. He played for the Chicago Cardinals 1947-1955, was a 3-time All-Pro, and he is in the Pro Hall of Fame.

End George Poschner was a nonconsensus AA this season. He went to high school with Frank Sinkwich, and Sinkwich had accepted a scholarship to attend Georgia under the condition that Poschner be given one as well. Poschner was injured by machine gun fire at the Battle of the Bulge in 1945 and lost both legs and several fingers. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and Purple Heart.

11 players from this team were drafted by the NFL over the next 2 seasons. Frank Sinkwich was the #1 player taken in the next NFL draft, and back Lamar Davis was the 12th player taken.

Georgia's Season

Georgia led the nation in total offense this season with 429.5 yards per game, but it took them a while to get rolling. Georgia's weakest performance of the season was their opener, a 7-6 win over Kentucky (3-6-1) in Louisville. Sinkwich missed a field goal attempt, and Georgia had 4 turnovers. One of those, a Sinkwich fumble, set up Kentucky's touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky scored in 4 plays, but their extra point try was blocked, the ultimate difference in this game. In the latter half of the final quarter, Georgia put together a 63 yard drive to a 3 yard Sinkwich touchdown run, and Leo Kosta's extra point provided the victory. Georgia outgained Kentucky 266 yards to 115, the big advantage coming in the passing game (120 to 9), but turnovers almost did Georgia in. Sinkwich rushed for 79 yards and passed for 111, most of his team's total.

Georgia was much better holding onto the football the next week against strong military team Jacksonville NAS (9-3) in Macon, Georgia. Typical of the better military training camp teams during World War 2, Jacksonville NAS was composed of former college and even NFL players. Georgia dominated Jacksonville NAS statistically much as they had Kentucky, 274 yards (200 passing) to 115, but this time they won much more easily, 14-0. Two Sinkwich passes were dropped in the end zone. Jacksonville NAS was comparable to a #30-40 type team.

Georgia hit its stride over the next 4 games, routing Furman (3-6) 40-7, Mississippi (2-7) 48-13, Tulane (4-5) 40-0, and Cincinnati (8-2) 35-13. Despite their poor straight record, 4-5 Tulane is ranked #14 in the fixed AP poll for 1942, as all of their losses came to top 25 caliber teams, and they defeated 5-5-1 Southern Cal (#25), 7-2-1 Rice (#15), 5-2-2 North Carolina, and 6-4 Vanderbilt. 8-2 Cincinnati's only other loss came to #7 Tennessee, so they may have been a top 25 team power-wise, though their 8 wins came over minor teams.

Alabama

Ambushed by Auburn

Georgia had been playing Auburn in Columbus since 1916, and the two teams had been playing each other since the first-ever season of football for each, 1891. Through 1941, Auburn barely led the all-time series 21-20-5, and Georgia was 13-10-1 in the series in Columbus. These teams would continue to meet each other in Columbus through 1958.

Auburn came into this game just 4-4-1, with a loss at 3-7 Florida and a tie at 5-3-1 Georgetown, but they had upset 7-3 Louisiana State (#11) 25-7 the week before, and this week they ambushed Georgia on both sides of the ball to engineer a shocking 27-13 upset of the nation's #1 team. On offense, Auburn had been running the single wing all season (and for decades), but for this game they unveiled a T-formation offense with a highly varied package of intricate misdirection plays that they had been practicing all year just for this game. They ran the ball almost exclusively, but Georgia had a lot of trouble figuring out who had the ball, and just couldn't quite stop it.

On defense, Auburn surprised Georgia by frequently dropping their tackles into pass coverage and blitzing their ends, a precursor to the "zone blitz" that became popular in the 1990s. They put heavy emphasis on switching up coverages and rushing the passer, correctly diagnosing Georgia's offense as dependent on the passing game to score. Georgia's scouting of Auburn and preparation for the game were rendered completely useless.

Still, Georgia scored early in the opening quarter to take a 6-0 lead, and all seemed normal at that point. Frank Sinkwich and Charlie Trippi did most of the work on that drive, and Sinkwich scored the touchdown. But Auburn responded with a 13 play, 80 yard touchdown drive to take the lead 7-6, and they drove 71 yards for another touchdown in the 2nd quarter for a 14-6 halftime lead. In the 4th quarter, Auburn returned a punt 35 yards to the Georgia 18 and drove to a touchdown from there, making it a daunting 20-6 lead.

Georgia was soon set up by a bad Auburn punt, taking over at the Auburn 27. Sinkwich was sacked for a 9 yard loss, but he rebounded with a 36 yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 20-13. Auburn responded with a drive to the Georgia 16, but they were stopped there, and Georgia had one more shot to salvage a tie. However, Sinkwich was sacked, then sacked again, fumbling the ball in the end zone, and Auburn recovered for the clinching touchdown and 27-13 win.

Auburn racked up a huge 355 yards of offense, all of it on the ground, while Georgia totaled but 227, 190 through the air. Auburn finished the season 6-4-1, and they are ranked #13.

Big Finish

Georgia fell to #5, but they didn't have much time to stew on it, because the next week they were hosting Georgia Tech, 9-0 and ranked #2, in their biggest game of the season. A Rose Bowl bid would go to the winner, and a brass band was on hand to play "California Here I Come" after the game. Heading to California was Georgia, who destroyed Georgia Tech 34-0. More importantly, this win delivered Georgia their first SEC title. Frank Sinkwich ran for 72 yards and threw for 107, and Charlie Trippi got loose for an 87 yard run and threw a 38 yard touchdown pass. Georgia outgained Tech 492 yards to 150 and 20 first downs to 8. It was the best performance by any team this season.

Georgia Tech headed to the Cotton Bowl, where they were upset 14-7 by 9-2 Texas. That finished Tech at a disappointing 9-2, but they are ranked #4 for the season thanks to big wins over #5 Notre Dame and #6 Alabama.



Georgia's Rose Bowl opponent was UCLA, coming in at 7-3 and ranked #13. This was the first Rose Bowl for both teams. 93,000 attended (as shown above). Frank Sinkwich was hobbled with a pair of sprained ankles, but Charlie Trippi started in his place and was the game's MVP with 115 yards rushing. Wally Butts was adamant that his star player, Frank Sinkwich, score a touchdown, so the pattern of this game was that Charlie Trippi would lead his team down the field, and then Frank Sinkwich would limp onto the field to kill the drive.

Trippi led Georgia to the UCLA 27 on the opening drive, then Sinkwich replaced him and lost yards from there. Sinkwich hit some passes to get another good drive going, but then he threw an interception at the UCLA 18 that was returned to the Georgia 30. In the 2nd quarter, Trippi returned and led his team to the UCLA 3, where Sinkwich replaced him again and got stuffed. It remained 0-0 at the half. The 3rd quarter followed the same pattern. Late in the quarter, Trippi moved Georgia to about the 20, where Sinkwich replaced him yet again. Sinkwich hit a couple of short passes to put the ball on the UCLA 4, then tried to run it in and fumbled the ball away.

UCLA attempted a punt-out on the next play, the first play of the final quarter, and Georgia blocked it for a safety and a 2-0 lead. The way Georgia was smothering UCLA's offense, that was pretty much the game. But Sinkwich finally got his touchdown. Georgia intercepted UCLA at about their 25, and Sinkwich was sent in again, except that this time Trippi moved to the other halfback spot instead of coming out. The two worked the ball downfield, and Sinkwich barely pushed the ball over the goal line from 2 yards out to make the final score 9-0. Both players then came out, but UCLA was done in, and the back-ups drove the ball to the UCLA 7 by the time the final gun sounded.

Georgia outgained UCLA 373 yards to 159 and 24 first downs to 5. UCLA finished 7-4 and ranked #18 in the 1942 fixed AP poll.

Ohio State vs. Georgia

• All of OSU's wins came by more than a touchdown, whereas Georgia had the ugly 7-6 win over 3-6-1 Kentucky.
• OSU's loss came to 8-1-1 and #3 Wisconsin on the road, and Georgia's loss came to 6-4-1 and #13 Auburn at a neutral site.

Awards Ceremony

Grading the Selectors