On this date in Ohio State football: Nov. 1, 1913

Taking a look back at a game Ohio State played on this date:

Indiana 7, Ohio State 6

Setup: Ohio State in 1913 was arriving at middle age — the school was founded in 1870, so the gray hairs were likely just starting to appear despite continued rapid growth. Athletically, however, the Buckeyes were in their infancy. Football began at the school in 1890, but it was 1912 before OSU joined the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives — also known as the Western Conference, which also was called the Big Nine, which later became the Big Ten. OSU didn't play its first conference game until 1913 against Indiana.

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Stars: Campbell "Honus" Graf was, by most accounts, the best player on the field on a day when the Buckeyes enjoyed the better of the play. As noted in The Dispatch, Graf "did heroic work in secondary defense and at puncturing the ponderous Indiana line." Maurice Briggs had OSU's touchdown in the first quarter on a sneak after Graf had executed a perfect fake of a line-buck. However, the point-after kick by Irving Geissman was nullified because the holder, Louis Pickerel, had kept his hand under the ball through Geissman's kick.

Turning point: The Buckeyes had chances to increase their advantage, but Edward Morrissey missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt and Briggs fumbled through the Indiana end zone after a long gain. But the game was lost in the final two minutes when a punt snap sailed through Graf's hands and Indiana's Arthur Krause fell on the ball at the 1-yard line and rolled over into the end zone. The extra point gave the Hoosiers the win and stunned the packed crowd at Ohio Field.

Impact: Ohio State won its first conference game three weeks later against Northwestern by a 58-0 score, and by 1916 had earned the first of its 34 league championships. As far as the rivalry with Indiana, the past 100 years haven't been kind to the Hoosiers — since losing in 1913, the Buckeyes' record against Indiana is 69-7-4.

Quotable: Headline writers had such fun a century ago: "As a Mere Spectacle the Contest Was One of the Most Thrilling Ever Witnessed at Ohio Field With Splendid Plays Bristling Throughout the Four Periods." They don't write that about OSU-Indiana games now.

rstein@dispatch.com