1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football

Big Ten co-champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 20–17 vs. Arizona State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
1996 record	11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (9th year)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Hollis (5th year)
Defensive coordinator	Fred Pagac (1st year)
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 89,841)

1996 Big Ten football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#2 Ohio State +		7	–	1		11	–	1
#15 Northwestern +		7	–	1		9	–	3
#7 Penn State		6	–	2		11	–	2
#18 Iowa		6	–	2		9	–	3
#20 Michigan		5	–	3		8	–	4
Michigan State		5	–	3		6	–	6
Wisconsin		3	–	5		8	–	5
Purdue		2	–	6		3	–	8
Minnesota		1	–	7		4	–	7
Indiana		1	–	7		3	–	8
Illinois		1	–	7		2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was John Cooper. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11–1, and a Big Ten Conference record of 7–1. They were co-champions of Big Ten Conference with the Northwestern Wildcats and played in the 1997 Rose Bowl against Pacific-10 Confernece champion the Arizona State Sun Devils. Ohio State did not play Northwestern during the regular season and were selected to play in the Rose Bowl due to their better overall record of 10–1 (the Wildcats were 9–2). Northwestern had played in the previous Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes used two quarterbacks throughout the year, junior Stanley Jackson, and sophomore Joe Germaine, the Buckeyes were dominant throughout the majority of the season, outscoring their opponents by a score of 455–131. The Buckeyes only loss came late in the season to their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, by a score of 13–9.

Because of the late loss, Ohio State fell from second to fourth in the polls. Due to the Big Ten and Pac-10 not being involved in the Bowl Alliance agreement as the two champions were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was set to play #2 Arizona State, while #1 Florida State and #3 Florida played for the National Championship in the 1997 Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State went into the 1997 Rose Bowl with high hopes and Germaine came off the bench and threw a late touchdown pass to David Boston to steal a come-from-behind victory. With the Buckeyes dramatic upset victory over the Sun Devils, Buckeye fans hoped for a share of the national title. However, Florida would later avenge a late season loss to their rivals, and beat the Seminoles by a score of 52–20. Florida finished first and Ohio State second in both polls, followed by Florida State and Arizona State.

The Rose Bowl appearance was the Buckeyes first since 1985. The Rose Bowl victory was the sixth in school history, the first since 1974. Germaine was named Rose Bowl MVP.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	12:00 p.m.	Rice*	No. 10	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 70–7	93,479^[1]
September 21	12:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh*	No. 7	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN	W 72–0	93,959^[1]
September 28	2:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Notre Dame*	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	NBC	W 29–16	59,075^[1]
October 5	3:30 p.m.	No. 4 Penn State	No. 3	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (Rivalry)	ABC	W 38–7	94,241^[1]
October 12	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 2	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN	W 17-14	94,215^[1]
October 19	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 2	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ABC	W 42–14	60,172^[1]
October 26	3:30 p.m.	at No. 20 Iowa	No. 2	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 38–26	70,397^[1]
November 2	12:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 2	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN2	W 45–0	93,588^[1]
November 9	12:30 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 2	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN	W 48–0	54,412^[1]
November 16	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 2	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ABC	W 27–17	49,271^[1]
November 23	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 Michigan	No. 2	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (The Game)	ABC	L 9–13	94,676^[1]
January 1, 1997	4:30 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Arizona State*	No. 4	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 20–17	100,635^[1]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[2]

Game notes

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice	0	7	0	0	7
• Ohio St	21	21	21	7	70

Date: September 7
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game attendance: 93,479
Television network: ESPN+

Scoring summary

1	OHST	Lumpkin 2 yard pass from S Jackson (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 7–0

1	OHST	Pearson 8 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 14–0

1	OHST	Pearson 22 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 21–0

2	OHST	Stanley 15 yard pass from Germaine (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 28–0

2	RICE	Perry 5 yard run (Ruff kick)	Ohio St 28–7

2	OHST	Boston 58 yard pass from S Jackson (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 35–7

2	OHST	Wiley 49 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 42–7

3	OHST	Pearson 25 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 49–7

3	OHST	Wiley 51 yard pass from Germaine (Jo Jackson kick)	Ohio St 56–7

3	OHST	Wiley 60 yard pass from Germaine (Stamp kick)	Ohio St 63–7

4	OHST	Je Jackson 3 yard run (Stamp kick)	Ohio St 70–7

^[3]

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	21	31	13	7	72

Date: September 21
Location: Ohio Stadium

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	12	10	7	0	29
Notre Dame	7	0	3	6	16

Date: September 28
Location: Notre Dame Stadium

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn St	0	0	0	7	7
• Ohio St	10	14	7	7	38

Date: October 5
Location: Ohio Stadium

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	0	7	0	7	14
• Ohio St	0	3	7	7	17

Date: October 12
Location: Ohio Stadium

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	7	7	14	14	42
Purdue	14	0	0	0	14

Date: October 19
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	17	14	7	0	38
Iowa	3	3	6	14	26

Date: October 26
Location: Kinnick Stadium

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	0	10	21	14	45

Date: November 2
Location: Ohio Stadium

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	28	20	0	48
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 9
Location: Memorial Stadium

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	7	0	20	27
Indiana	0	3	7	7	17

Date: November 16
Location: Memorial Stadium

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	0	0	10	3	13
Ohio St	3	6	0	0	9

Date: November 23
Location: Ohio Stadium

Rose Bowl

Coaching staff

John Cooper - Head Coach - 9th year
Bill Conley - Recruiting Coordinator (9th year)
Walt Harris - Quarterbacks (2nd year)
Jim Heacock - Defensive Line (1st year)
Joe Hollis - Offensive Coordinator (6th year)
Mike Jacobs - Offensive Line (2nd year)
Fred Pagac - Defensive Coordinator (15th year)
Tim Spencer - Running Backs (3rd year)
Chuck Strobart - Offensive Coordinator (2nd year)
Jon Tenuta - Defensive Backs (1st year)

Awards and honors

Andy Katzenmoyer, Big Ten Freshman of the Year

1997 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Club
Orlando Pace	1	1	Tackle	St. Louis Rams
Shawn Springs	1	3	Defensive Back	Seattle Seahawks
Rob Kelly	2	33	Defensive Back	New Orleans Saints
Ty Howard	3	84	Defensive Back	Arizona Cardinals
Mike Vrabel	3	91	Defensive End	Pittsburgh Steelers
Nicky Sualua	4	129	Running Back	Dallas Cowboys
Matt Finkes	6	189	Defensive End	Carolina Panthers

^[4]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
↑ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=227&season=1996
↑ USA Today
↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1997.htm

Buckeye Sports Bulletin (1997), Rose Bowl Championship Yearbook

Draft data

Ohio State Drafted Players

Big Ten Conference football champions

Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916) Ohio State (1917)

Big Ten	Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939)

Big Nine	Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945) Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948)

Big Ten	Michigan & Ohio State (1949) Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016)

National championships in bold

Ohio State Buckeyes football

Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois (Illibuck) Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State

Culture & lore	History Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" Neutron Man Marching band Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick "Holy Buckeye" 2006 "Game of the Century" Block O "Hang On Sloopy" The Ten Year War WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State IMG Sports Network

People	Head coaches All-Century Team Yearly statistical leaders NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

National championship seasons in bold

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