 An 88-yard interception return by Cassady against second-ranked Wisconsin and a 4th quarter goal-line stand inside its own one-yard line against Michigan propelled Ohio State to a perfect season that included a 20–7 victory over USC in the Rose Bowl.Woody Hayes won his first and the team's second national championship.In 1955 Hopalong Cassady won the Heisman Trophy, and the team again took the Big Ten championship with a 7–2 record, set an attendance record of 490,477, and won in Ann Arbor for the first time in 18 years with a 17–0 shutout in which Michigan crossed the 50-yard line only once, on a penalty.