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1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1996
teamOhio State Buckeyes
sportfootball
imageBuckeyes logo.svg
image_size125
conferenceBig Ten Conference
short_confBig Ten
CoachRank2
APRank2
record11–1
conf_record7–1
head_coachJohn Cooper
hc_year9th
off_coachJoe Hollis
oc_year5th
def_coachFred Pagac
dc_year1st
mvpOrlando Pace
captainJuan Porter
captain2Greg Bellisari
stadiumOhio Stadium
championBig Ten co-champion
Rose Bowl champion
bowl[Rose Bowl](1997-rose-bowl)
bowl_resultW 20–17 vs. [Arizona State](1996-arizona-state-sun-devils-football-team)

Rose Bowl champion The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth year under head coach John Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record (7–1 in conference games), tied with Northwestern for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 455 to 131. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes defeated No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 20 Iowa, but lost to No. 21 Michigan in the final game of the regular season. The Buckeyes concluded the season with a 20–17 victory over No. 2 Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll.

The Buckeyes gained an average of 217.2 rushing yards and 196.3 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 89.5 rushing yards and 133.5 passing yards per game. Quarterback duties were split between junior Stanley Jackson (1,239 passing yards) and sophomore Joe Germaine (1,062 passing yards). The team's other statistical leaders included running back Pepe Pearson (1,373 rushing yards) and wide receiver Dimitrious Stanley (38 receptions for 705 yards). Four Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 1996 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Pace (Coaches/Media); Vrabel (Coaches/Media); Springs (Coaches/Media); and defensive end Matt Finkes (Coaches/Media).

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

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Rankings

Game summaries

Rice

Pittsburgh

Notre Dame

Penn State

Wisconsin

Purdue

Iowa

Minnesota

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

Rose Bowl

Ohio State went into the 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 later avenged 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.

Personnel

Roster

Coaching staff

  • John Cooper, head coach (9th year)
  • Bill Conley, defensive ends, recruiting coordinator (10th 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, linebackers (15th year)
  • Tim Spencer, running backs (3rd year)
  • Chuck Stobart, wide receivers (2nd year)
  • Jon Tenuta, defensive backs (1st year)

Depth chart

Awards and honors

  • Andy Katzenmoyer, Big Ten Freshman of the Year

1997 NFL draftees

Matt Finkes6189Defensive end[Carolina Panthers](1997-carolina-panthers-season)

References

References

  1. "1996 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
  2. "1996 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
  3. (2016). "Football Award Winners". National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
  4. "1996 All-Big Ten Team". Purdue University.
  5. Park, Jack. (2003). "The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia". Sports Publishing LLC.
  6. [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/scores96/96251/96251362.htm USA Today]
  7. 1986 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  8. "1997 NFL Draft Listing".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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