In their 116-year history, the Buckeyes have been Division I-A national champions four times (1942, 1954, 1968, and 2002) and officially recognize titles in three other years (1957, 1961, and 1970). Jim Tressel has been the Buckeyes head coach since 2001.

George Cole an undergraduate persuaded Alexander S. Liley to coach a football team at the Ohio State University in the spring of 1890. The first game played by the Buckeyes, was on May 3, 1890, at Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan University and it was a victory.

The 1969 loss to Michigan initiated what came to be known as The Ten Year War, in which the rivalry began, among which were pitted some of Ohio State University and University of Michigan’s strongest teams ever, rose to the uppermost level of all sports and the competition between Schembechler and Hayes became legendary. Four times between 1970 and 1975, Ohio State and Michigan were both ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their match up. Hayes had the upper hand during the first part of the war, in which Ohio State won the conference championship and went to the Rose Bowl four straight years, wherein Michigan won the final three.

The Heisman Trophy has been awarded to several players, including Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), and Troy Smith (2006). Over the years, Ohio State has either won outright or shared 31 Big Ten titles. With an 8-0 league record as of November 2006, Ohio State owns an all-time Big Ten record of 436-187-28 in 94 seasons of league competition.

Head Coach John Wilce initiated a procedure in the year 1913, wherein, seniors on the team are recognized at the last practice of the season, either before the Michigan game or before departing Columbus to play in a bowl game, and hit the blocking sled (a heavy piece of practice equipment, usually a padded frame on metal skids) a final time. Buckeye leaves- since 1968 Ohio State players have their helmets adorned with white decals approximately the size of a quarter depicting a buckeye leaf, awarded for making significant plays for consistency of performance.