Many of Ohio’s best days came from when head coach Don Peden was at the helm.
On Nov. 23, 1935, the Bobcats secured their second perfect season and third undefeated year in history with a 13-0 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The only prior perfect season also came under Peden, finishing just six years and one day earlier on Nov. 22, 1929.
The perfect 1935 season began Sept. 28 when the Bobcats took a visit to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the Fighting Illini. Against Illinois, Ohio had its lowest scoring game of the season, but a 21-yard touchdown pass to Wilbur Rapp from Bill Jurkovic in the first quarter was enough to give the Bobcats a 6-0 victory in the first meeting ever between the two schools.
Following a crushing 49-0 victory over John Carroll in Cleveland, Ohio’s next opponent was Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia. Ohio took a 20-0 lead in the first half, but the lead was almost taken away when Marshall returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Fortunately for the Bobcats, Marshall didn’t score again, and Ohio won 20-13 to go 3-0-0.
Ohio blew out its next two opponents, Dayton and rival Miami (Ohio), both in Athens at Ohio Stadium. Miami was eliminated from the Buckeye Athletic Association championship race after this game.
Ohio’s next game saw it in a bit of a scare when Muskingum came to Athens on Nov. 9. The Bobcats led 7-3 going into the fourth quarter, and thanks to matching Muskingum’s two late touchdowns with two of its own, Ohio came out with a narrow 20-17 victory. The win was Ohio’s closest game of the season.
The next game was a big one. The Bobcats traveled to Cincinnati to play the Bearcats on a cold, rainy day. The weather made offense difficult for both teams that day, but it was Ohio that came out victorious with a 16-6 win. At this point, the Bobcats had practically clinched the Buckeye Conference championship, with just one team the next week standing in the way of a perfect season.
Ohio Wesleyan came to Athens on Nov. 23. The first touchdown of the day came from Ohio tackle Paul Halleck, who ran the ball 28 yards into the end zone after Jack Chernitski fumbled after a lateral from Rapp. The ensuing extra point was missed.
There was no scoring in the second and third quarters, but the fourth quarter saw the Bobcats back in the end zone. Bob Snyder started the drive with a 48-yard run to the Bishops’ 15-yard line, and Rapp scored Ohio’s final touchdown of the perfect season on a run to the left.
The Bobcats were 8-0-0 and had won the Buckeye Conference championship.
Ohio had won convincingly over Ohio Wesleyan, keeping the Bishops’ offense to zero points and allowing them only five first downs compared to the Bobcats’ 12.
“An ever-alert Ohio university football team, capitalizing on every opportunity, defeated Ohio Wesleyan 13 to 0,” Tommy Devine of the Dayton Daily News said.
At the end of the season, Ohio had amassed over 1,700 rushing yards and allowed fewer than 500 from its opponents. Similarly, the Bobcats passed for over 450 yards and allowed fewer than 400.
Ohio’s defense compiled five shutouts on the season, which helped the offense outscore its opponents 170-36 that year.
Another one of the highlights of the 1935 season, besides the perfect record, was tackle Art Lewis being placed on the Associated Press Little All-American first-team. Lewis was drafted by the New York Giants in 1936.
The 1935 season was Ohio’s last perfect year until 1960, when head coach Bill Hess led the Bobcats to a 10-0 record and a National Small College Championship.
