American college football season
2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football Conference Big Ten Conference 2001 record 7–5 (5–3 Big Ten) Head coach Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman (1st season)Offensive scheme Multiple Defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio (1st season)Base defense 4–3 MVP Jonathon Wells Captains
Home stadium Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 101,568)Seasons
The 2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season . It marked their first season under new head coach Jim Tressel . The Buckeyes compiled a 7–5 record, capped by a 26–20 victory over their rival the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor in the regular season finale. The Buckeyes went on to play in the 2002 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida , where they lost, 31–28, to the South Carolina Gamecocks .
Preseason [ ]
The 2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football season marked a transition from former head coach John Cooper to new head coach Jim Tressel . Tressel was beginning his first season as head coach at the Division I-A level as the 22nd head coach of the Buckeyes. He came from Youngstown State University where he led the Penguins to four national championships at the Division I-AA level. The Buckeyes finished the 2000 season with an 8–4 record and Coach Cooper was later fired on January 2, 2001.[1]
Prior to Cooper's firing, the Buckeyes were ranked 23rd in the AP Poll , losing in the 2001 Outback Bowl to the South Carolina Gamecocks by a score of 24–7.[2]
Schedule [ ]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 8 12:00 p.m. Akron * No. 24 W 28–14102,602[3]
September 22 3:30 p.m. at No. 14 UCLA * No. 21 ABC L 6–1373,723[3]
September 29 12:00 p.m. at Indiana Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN ESPN+ W 27–1448,577[3]
October 6 7:45 p.m. No. 14 Northwestern ESPN W 38–20104,042[3]
October 13 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin No. 21 ABC L 17–20103,520[3]
October 20 12:00 p.m. San Diego State * ESPN+ W 27–12102,432[3]
October 27 12:00 p.m. at Penn State Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry )ESPN L 27–29108,327[3]
November 3 7:45 p.m. at Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN ESPN W 31–2845,407[3]
November 10 12:00 p.m. Purdue ESPN2 W 35–9104,189[3]
November 17 12:00 p.m. No. 12 Illinois No. 25 Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck ) ESPN L 22–34104,407[3]
November 24 1:00 p.m. at No. 11 Michigan Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game )ABC W 26–20111,571[3]
January 1, 2002 11:00 a.m. vs. No. 14 South Carolina * No. 22 ESPN L 28–3166,249[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern time
Roster [ ]
2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK
23
Josh Huston
Fr
PK
85
Mike Nugent
Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster Last update: 2001-12-16
Coaching staff [ ]
Jim Tressel - Head Coach (1st year)
Jim Bollman - Offensive Line/OC (1st year)
Ken Conaster - Special Teams (1st year)
Bill Conley - Tight Ends / Recruiting Coordinator (15th year)
Joe Daniels - Quarterbacks (1st year)
Mark Dantonio - Defensive Coordinator (1st year)
Jim Heacock - Defensive Line (6th year)
Mark Snyder - Defensive Linebackers (1st year)
Tim Spencer - Running Backs (8th year)
Mel Tucker - Defensive Backs (1st year)
Bob Tucker - Director of Football Operations (7th year)
Dick Tressel - Associate Director of Football Operations (1st year)
Depth chart [ ]
Defense
WLB
Middle LB
SLB
58 Courtland Bullard
35 Matt Wilhelm
10 Joe Cooper
6 Cie Grant
46 Fred Pagac Jr
44 Robert Reynolds
SS
2 Mike Doss
41 Thomas Matthews
CB
24 Maurice Lee
11 Richard McNutt
Offense
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
77 Tyson Walter
63 Adrien Clarke
68 LeCharles Bentley
78 Bryce Bishop
71 Shane Olivea
53 Ivan Douglas
70 Scott Kuhnhein
66 Mike Jacobs
76 Alex Stepanovic
50 Michael Stafford
WR
4 Chris Vance
9 Ricky Bryant
FB
39 Jamar Martin
5 Sam Maldonado
Source: Athletic Department official site, 2001 football archive 12-01 depth chart
Game summaries [ ]
Akron [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Akron
0
7 0 7
14
• Ohio St
14
7 7 0
28
Date: September 8Location: Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio Game attendance: 102,602
Scoring summary 1 7:36 OHST Jonathan Wells 14 yard run (Josh Huston kick)Ohio St 7–0
1 3:30 OHST Jamar Martin 10 yard pass from Steve Bellisari (Josh Huston kick)Ohio St 14–0
2 9:14 OHST Jonathan Wells 1 yard run (Josh Huston kick) Ohio St 21–0
2 2:09 AKRN Jake Schifino 15 yard pass from Charlie Frye (Zac Derr kick) Ohio St 21–7
3 3:37 OHST Chris Vance 61 yard pass from Steve Bellisari (Josh Huston kick) Ohio St 28–7
4 7:48 AKRN Rickie Coble 87 yard interception return (Zac Derr kick) Ohio St 28–14
[4]
Rankings [ ]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Final
AP
23
23
24
21
NR
NR
21
NR
NR
NR
NR
25
NR
23
22
22
NR
Coaches Poll
21
21
22
21
NR
NR
25
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
25
23
23
NR
BCS
Not released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Not released
2002 NFL draftees [ ]
References [ ]
^ Rovnak, Paul (January 3, 2001). "Cooper Fired, Geiger Cites "Deteriorating Climate" ". The Lantern . Ohio State.
^ "Ohio State Historical Scores" . Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia . Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7 .
^ USA Today
Draft data
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