Independent databases have Ohio worse than what Ohio shows. They show Ohio at 537-541-48
http://tinyurl.com/nwc8y23
http://tinyurl.com/nwc8y23

or 537-547-47
http://tinyurl.com/nce4bls

The reason is that there are a number of disputed games in the distant past. In some cases it is not clear whether a game was actually played, as one team claims the game exists, while the other does not. In other cases both sides claim wins.

One game that is still not recorded correctly in some old databases is the 1897 12-0 win over WVU in Athens. I actually found this game in microfilmed newspaper reports as a student. Ohio did not have it recorded at all, and WVU had it recorded as a victory for them in Morgantown, as I recall. I sent copies of all the old clippings to Bill Rohr, the AD, and he had it added to the OHIO record book and sent the documentation to WVU and they corrected their records. But, I still see some online databases every now and then that have copied old paper records on this game that were in error. That's just one example of what L.C. is talking about. Another mystery game is one that was supposedly played in Cambridge that shows up in some places but that doesn't appear in any old papers that managed to make it to microfilm. There are several other such "problem games" in the first two decades or so of OHIO football.

I'm not sure if the official OHIO all-time records include the games against non-collegiate competition. I suspect they do, since virtually every college at that point played these kinds of games. If other schools report them, the fair thing to do would be to report them so that you have an apples-to-apples comparison. In fact, if you read the newspaper reports at the time, some of the YMCA games and those against certain high schools were considered among the tougher games on a collegiate schedule.

Here's a link where you can read more details on some early OHIO football history:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Bobcats_football

Independent = Wikipedia. Perhaps the SID could edit the site.

Here is hoping Coach Solich stays till the wins overwhelm the disputes. Though, at a "double-time."

One is the official Ohio record, which is also reflected in the official MAC Record Book so until someone makes the SID change it I will say 539-541-48. Fight a duel over it, no, congratulate the team that goes from here to an overall winning record, yes.

Well, I hate to say this, but if you add up the year by year records in the Media guide, you will find that you actually get 538-541-48. Similarly, if you add up the coaches from the media guide, you will also get 538-541-48.

Now, Wikipedia is quite confused. The page I linked to shows 537-542-48, a difference of one game from the Ohio Media guide. However, if you click on Ohio on that page, you get this page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Bobcats_football
At the top it says that Ohio is 532-534-48, which doesn't include last year, so it would be 538-540-48, a slightly different number. Then, as if that weren't enough, if you page down to the coach-by-coach results, it says at the bottom that Ohio is 530-535-48, but adding in last year, you are 536-541-48, a different number yet. For even more fun, add up their numbers for coaches, and you get 532-535-47, which, including last year gives you 538-541-47. That last one nearly matches the Ohio Media Guide, save for the record of Karl Cove in 1900, where Wiki is missing a tie.

So, thus far we have:
539-541-48 your number from the Media guide
538-541-48 what you get if you add up the records in the media guide
537-542-48 The number on the first wiki page I linked to
538-540-48 the (adjusted) number at the top of the second wiki page
536-541-48 the (adjusetd) number at the bottom of the second wiki page
538-541-47 the (adjusted) sum of the records of the coaches in the wiki

Not confused yet? OK, now let's try to find actual games that are in dispute, rather than addition errors. Let's compare year by year the Ohio Media Guide with the CFB Data Warehouse to find them. cfbdatawarehouse shows the following games that the Ohio Media guide does not show:
1896 - a second game with Marietta on 11-13-1896, a 22-6 loss
1901 - a loss to the Deaf-Mute Institute 34-0
1902 - a second game with Marietta, a 22-0 loss
1903 - a loss to West Virginia Wesleyan on 11-23-03 by the score of 15-7 (but this game may have been the Ohio JV)

They also show different results in two games:
1898 - Ohio Media Guide claims a 12-12 tie versus UC. UC claims a 12-0 win in their media guide. cfbdatawarehouse accepts the UC version
1915 - Ohio media guide claims a 5-0 win over Transylvania in a game played 9-25-1915 in Lexington, while cfbdatawarehouse shows a Transylvania win 16-0.

So, if you take the 538-541-48 record that the Media guide really adds up to, change one win to a loss, and a tie to a loss, and then add 4 more losses, you get 537-547-47, which is what cfbdatawarehouse shows.

Personally I'd just ignore all the goofy numbers on wikipedia, and start with 538-541-48, and then try to resolve these 6 disputed games to get the real record. Best case Ohio is 538-541-48, and worst case they are 537-547-47, but probably they are somewhere in between.

Hate to be like Monroe, but, "One is the official Ohio record, which is also reflected in the official MAC Record Book so until someone makes the SID change it I will say 539-541-48. Fight a duel over it, no, congratulate the team that goes from here to an overall winning record, yes." & "Here is hoping Coach Solich stays till the wins overwhelm the disputes. Though, at a "double-time."

Why are you guys re-hashing history. Not permitted. If we hadn't blown chunks for the last 2 1/2 years, we'd be over .500.

Ah, Mo....the voice of reason?? C'mon man!

No we wouldn't have.

14-0. Winning record for everybody.

L.C. You have invested a great deal in this. I suggest you share your research with the SID. As I have said, this is not an issue I will battle over, for or against. I will make a note about it being meaningless and will not bother the board about it again.

Thanks.

I'm looking forward to this season more than any for a few years. I think they are going to surprise a lot of people. Sometimes in the fall you wonder if it's a bad offense going against a bad defense, or a good offense going against a good defense. This year I'm pretty sure I know; it's a good offense going against a good defense.

I especially like the attitude that is reflected in the creation of the offensive line twitter account: https://twitter.com/OhioU_OLine
plus the #LinemanLunch clips they repost. I don't know whether to credit Coach Johnson, or the Seniors, or both, but there is definitely some pride in the line that has been missing the last couple years, and that bodes well for a very good season.