OH-IO: one fan or group of fans shouts out, "O-H!" and another fan or group of fans shouts back, "I-O!" to spell out "Ohio." This cheer dates back to the 1930s and can be heard anywhere there is more than one OSU fan. Many schools have call-and-answer cheers like this, such as Michigan State's "Go Green!" "Go White!" and Florida's "Orange!" "Blue!"
The Big Ten: we have been in the Big Ten Conference since 1912, when it was called the Western Conference (because anything west of the Atlantic coast was the "West"). From the 1950s on, the Big Ten has fielded some of the best teams in college football and has been dominated by Ohio State and Michigan. From time to time, other schools like Wisconsin and Michigan State win the conference.
Michigan: The University of Michigan is Ohio State's rival. We hate the University of Michigan and their football team. We have played them every season since 1918 and almost every year since 1897. For many years, Michigan won almost every year, as they were a football powerhouse about a hundred years ago. In the 1940s and '50s, Ohio State became a football powerhouse and we started beating Michigan regularly. One of the greatest victories was in 1968, leading to our 5th National Championship. Michigan came back and beat us in 1969, and we beat them in 1970, leading to our 6th National Championship. These late 1960s games began the "Ten Year War" between our coach Woody Hayes and their coach Bo Schembechler. Ohio State fans have a song called We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan, which dates at least as far back as the 1930s.
Woody Hayes: he was the man who made Ohio State a contender. He coached from 1951 - 1978 and won us five National Championships. He was absolutely obsessed with winning football games and was famous for his short temper and frequent angry outbursts. Fans of and coaches of other schools hated him. In Ohio, he is practically a saint. His strategies and philosophy helped define college football during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. He coached some of our greatest players, including Heisman winners Vic Janowicz, Howard Cassady and Archie Griffin. If you have heard an Alabama fan talk about Bear Bryant, a Penn State fan talk about Joe Paterno, a Florida State fan talk about Bobby Bowden, or a Michigan fan talk about Bo Schembechler, that is Woody Hayes to us. Plus, Woody Hayes was better than all of those coaches.
Heisman Trophy: Ohio State is tied with Notre Dame for the most Heisman Trophies won at 7 each. Ohio State's running back Archie Griffin is the only player to have won the Heisman twice. Our Heisman Trophy winners are:
Quarterback/halfback Les Horvath (1944)
Halfback Vic Janowicz (1950)
Halfback Howard "Hopalong" Cassady (1955)
Halfback/tailback Archie Griffin (1974, 1975), the only player to win the Heisman Trophy more than once. Photo from huffingtonpost.com
Running back Eddie George (1995). Photo from Sports Illustrated.
Quarterback Troy Smith (2006). Photo from theozone.net.
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