The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, playing at the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The team nickname is derived from the state tree of Ohio. The Buckeyes have played their home games in Ohio Stadium since 1922.
In their 118-year-history, the Buckeyes have been consensus Division IA National Champions five times, and claim a total of 7 national championships. During the 2008 season it is more than likely that the team will achieve their 800th win, becoming the fifth team to reach the mark.[1] Jim Tressel has been the Buckeyes head coach since 2001.
Home Venues
Ohio Field (1890-1921)
Ohio Stadium (1922-present)
Ohio State vs. Northwestern, September 22, 2007
History
Main article: History of Ohio State Buckeyes football
1890-1933: Beginnings
In the spring of 1890 George Cole, an undergraduate, persuaded Alexander S. Lilley to coach a football team at the Ohio State University. The Buckeyes first game, played on May 3, 1890, at Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan University, was a victory.[2]
"In the fall, life for many in Columbus revolves around Ohio State University football, from the first kickoff in September to the last play in November. OSU's first home game took place at 2:30 p.m. on November 1, 1890. The Ohio State University played the University of Wooster on this site, which was then called Recreation Park. Just east of historic German Village, the park occupied the north side of Schiller (now Whittier) between Ebner and Jaeger in what is now Schumacher Place. The weather was perfect, and the crowd reportedly including a number of women, who cheered loudly. Nonetheless, OSU lost to Wooster, 64-0. Wooster, physically fit for the game, showed OSU that training is critical to winning. The tradition of training continues. Today, on football Saturdays in Ohio Stadium on Woody Hayes Drive, the sound of an O.S.U. game can be heard around the world.”
Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the team played to a cumulative record of 31 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties. The first game against Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34-0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1-7-1 record.
In 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm to bring professional coaching skills to the program and immediately went undefeated.[3] In 1901, however, center John Segrist was fatally injured in a game and the continuation of football at Ohio State was in serious question. Although the school's athletic board let the team decide its future, Eckstorm resigned.[4] In 1912 football underwent a number of developments that included joining the Western Conference, making football as part of a new Department of Athletics, and hiring Lynn W. St. John to be athletic director.
Ohio State's team came into national prominence in 1916 with the play of Charles W. "Chic" Harley, its first "triple threat" (runner, passer, and kicker). 1909 saw the tenth Buckeye loss to Michigan. Harley's popularity at Ohio State resulted in the construction of Ohio Stadium, a new, larger facility that opened in 1922.[5] Prior to this construction, games were played at Ohio Field. Criticism of Wilce, particularly from "downtown coaches", led him to resign after the 1928 season, and was the first major negative influence of boosters and fans on the football program[6]
The game of 1916
The Game of 1916
Oberlin Yeomen
Ohio State Buckeyes
Head coach: John Wilce
October 14, 1916
Stadium
Ohio Field
Location
Columbus, Ohio
On October 14, 1916, Ohio State faced off against Ohio foe Oberlin College at Ohio Field. Ohio State crushed Oberlin with a final score of 128-0. The star of the game was Chic Harley who scored 5 touchdowns. The crowd of 3,300 saw the Buckeyes post 1,140 total yards and force Oberlin to punt 16 times. This record for the most points in an Ohio State game still stands, and it remains the only time the Scarlet and Grey scored over 100.
1934-1978 Big-time football
In hiring Francis Schmidt in March 1934 to coach its football team, Ohio State moved its program to a "big-time" level of competition. Schmidt was a well-established coach and an acknowledged offensive innovator. His offensive schemes were a "wide-open" style called "razzle-dazzle" and led him to be the first Buckeye football coach granted a multi-year contract. Schmidt's first four seasons saw victories over archrival Michigan, all by shut-out. The 1935 squad went 7-1, its sole loss was to Notre Dame, 18-13, in the first contest between the programs. However Schmidt's remaining seasons were less successful, except in 1939 when the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship, and his popularity faded for a number of reasons.[7] On December 17, 1940, he resigned.
Ohio State hired the coach of Massillon Washington High School football team, Paul Brown, to succeed Schmidt. Brown's Tigers had just won their sixth straight state championship. Brown immediately changed Ohio State's style of offense, planned and organized his program in great detail, and delegated to his assistant coaches using highly-structured practices. In 1942, Ohio State lost 22 veteran players to military service at the start of World War II, and with a team of mostly sophomores went on to lose only once in winning its first national championship. Brown accepted a commission in the United States Navy in 1944 and directed his assistant Carroll Widdoes to head the team in his absence. The 1944 team fielded 31 freshmen but went undefeated and untied, including a victory over Paul Brown's Great Lakes Navy team. Ohio State finished second in the national rankings behind Army and Les Horvath became the first Buckeye to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. Also prominent on the 1942-44 teams was the first Buckeye African American star, Bill Willis.
Brown chose not to return to Ohio State after the war, going into professional football instead. Widdoes, despite having the highest two-year winning percentage of any Buckeye coach, asked to return to an assistant's position. Paul Bixler, an assistant, replaced Widdoes and endured a mediocre 4-3-2 season. Bixler resigned and talk of Ohio State being a "graveyard of coaches" became commonplace, a reputation that lingered for decades.[8]
Wes Fesler became head coach in 1947 but finished last in the Big Ten for the only time in team history. Ohio State improved greatly in 1948, winning 6 and losing 3, then in 1949 enjoyed a successful season due to the play of sophomore Vic Janowicz. Ohio State received the Rose Bowl invitation, where they came from behind to defeat California. In 1950 Fesler, rumored to be resigning because of pressures associated with the position and abuse of his family by anonymous critics, returned to coach the Buckeyes, who won six games in a row to move into the top ranking in the AP poll. However the season fell apart as the Buckeyes lost to Michigan during a blizzard, a game that came to be known as the "Snow Bowl". Two weeks later, citing concerns about his health and family, Fesler resigned.
Coach Hayes yelling with a ref in a 1971 game
Wayne Woodrow Hayes beat out Paul Brown,[9] among others, to be named head coach on February 18, 1951. He instituted a demanding practice regimen and was both aggressive and vocal in enforcing it, alienating many players accustomed to Fesler's laid-back style. The 1951 Buckeyes won 4, lost 3, and tied 2, leaving many to question the ability of the new coach. In 1952 the team improved to 6-3, and recorded their first victory over Michigan in eight years, but after a 1953 loss to Michigan, critics called for the replacement of Hayes.
In 1954 the Buckeyes were picked to finish no higher than 10th in the Big Ten. Hayes, however, had the talents of Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, and a historic goal-line stand against Michigan propelled Ohio State to a perfect season. Hayes led the powerhouse Buckeyes to a shared national championship (his first and the team's second). In 1955 the team again won the Big Ten, set an attendance record, and won in Ann Arbor for the first time in 18 years, while Hopalong Cassady was securing the Heisman Trophy. Ohio State passed only three times against Michigan (the sole reception was the only completion in the final three games of the year), leading to characterization of Hayes' style of offensive play as "three yards and a cloud of dust".
In a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated, Hayes admitted making small personal loans to financially-needy players.[10] The article resulted in a furor over possible violations of NCAA rules, and the faculty council, followed by the Big Ten and NCAA, conducted lengthy investigations. Big Ten Commissioner Kenneth "Tug" Wilson found Hayes and the program guilty of violations and placed it on a year's probation in 1956. In 1957 Ohio State won all of its remaining games after an opening loss to claim the Big Ten championship, win the Rose Bowl over Oregon, and share a national championship title with Auburn, for which Hayes was named Coach of the Year.
In 1961 the team went undefeated to be named national champions by the FWAA but a growing conflict between academics and athletics over Ohio State's reputation as a "football school" resulted in a faculty council vote to decline an invitation to the Rose Bowl, resulting in much public protest and debate.[11] Over the next 6 seasons Ohio State finished no higher than 2nd, and had a losing season in 1966, and public speculation that Hayes would be replaced as coach grew to its highest point since 1953.
Main Article:1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
In 1968 Ohio State defeated the number one-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and continued to an undefeated season including a 50-14 rout of Michigan and a Rose Bowl victory over the USC Trojans that resulted in the national championship. The Class of 1970 became known as the "super sophomores" in 1968, and might have gone on to three consecutive national championships except for what may have been the bitterest loss in Buckeye history. The winning streak reached 22 games as Ohio State traveled to Michigan. The Buckeyes were 17-point favorites but directed by first-year coach Bo Schembechler, Michigan shocked the Buckeyes in a 24-12 upset.
The 1969 loss to Michigan initiated what came to be known as "The Ten Year War," in which the rivalry, which pitted some of OSU’s and UM’s strongest teams ever, rose to the uppermost level of all sports and the competition between Schembechler and Hayes became legendary.[12] Four times between 1970 and 1975, Ohio State and Michigan were both ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their matchup. Hayes had the upper hand during the first part of the war, in which Ohio State won the conference championship and went to the Rose Bowl four straight years, while Michigan won the final three.
Archie Griffin came to Ohio State in 1972, set a new Buckeye single-game rushing record and led the team in rushing for the season. The following season Hayes installed an I formation attack with Griffin at tailback and the Buckeyes went undefeated with a powerful offense and equally impenetrable defense, the only blemish on their record a 10-10 tie with Michigan. The falloff in success of Hayes' last three years was not great but resulted in growing criticism of Hayes and his methods, particularly his on-the-field fits of temper. His downfall was sudden and shocking when at the 1978 Gator Bowl, Hayes took a swing at a Clemson nose guard in frustration after an interception. Hayes was fired after the game.
Hayes was replaced by a former protegé, Earle Bruce, who inherited a strong team led by sophomore quarterback Art Schlichter and returned to the Rose Bowl with an opportunity once again to be national champions. The Buckeyes lost both by a single point, but Bruce was named Coach of the Year. His success was hailed by those in the media who saw it as a rebuke of Hayes and the start of a "new era".[13]
1980, however, saw the start of a trend that eventually brought criticism to Bruce, when Ohio State finished with a 9-3 record. This was the first of six consecutive years at 9-3. While each of these seasons, and a 10-3 season that followed them, culminated in a bowl game, Ohio State did not appear to be any closer to a national championship than during the end of the Hayes era.
In 1986 Bruce received a 3-year contract, the first for the modern program, but the team opened with two losses for the first time in over 90 years. The Buckeyes then won nine in a row before losing to Michigan in a close game. After the season Bruce was offered the position of head coach at the University of Arizona but was persuaded to stay at his alma mater by Athletic Director Rick Bay. Hopes for a standout season in 1987 suffered a serious setback when All-American wide receiver Cris Carter was dropped from the team for signing with an agent. Heading into the Michigan game at the end of the season Ohio State was in the midst of a three game conference losing streak.
The rotunda at night
On the Monday of Michigan week, after a weekend of rumors and speculation, Ohio State President Edward Jennings fired Bruce but tried to keep the dismissal secret until after the end of the season. Jennings aggravated the situation by refusing to provide a reason for the dismissal,[14] but the Buckeyes enjoyed an emotional come-from-behind victory over Michigan after the entire team wore headbands bearing the word "EARLE".
John Cooper was hired as head coach with a winning record at both Tulsa and Arizona State University that stood out among his credentials, as did a victory over Michigan in the 1987 Rose Bowl. Cooper's thirteen years as the Buckeye's head coach are largely remembered for a litany of negative statistics associated with him: a notorious 2-10-1 record against Michigan, a 3-9 record in bowl games, a five year losing streak to Illinois, a 63-14 loss to Penn State, and a 28-24 loss to unranked Michigan State when the Buckeyes were the top-ranked team in the nation and en route to a national championship. However, his tenure also included many positives: back-to-back victories over Notre Dame, two second-ranked finishes in the polls, and three Big Ten championships (albeit shared). Cooper also recruited fifteen players who were first-round draft picks in the National Football League.[15]
In January 2001, The Ohio State University dismissed Cooper for a "deteriorating climate." A loss in the 2000 Outback Bowl was a factor in his subsequent firing, as was negative publicity regarding player behavior before and during the game. Other contributing factors included his record against Michigan (which was actually considered by most people to be the biggest reason for his firing), his perceived inability to win "big games", the lack of a national championship, the perception of him as an outsider by many alumni, the poor bowl game record, and finally a perceived lack of discipline on the team.[16]
Ohio State quickly sought a replacement for Cooper and after a nationwide search hired Jim Tressel. With four NCAA Division I-AA National Championships at Youngstown State Tressel, formerly an assistant coach for Earle Bruce, was an Ohioan who was considered to be appreciative of Buckeye football traditions. Although there were some doubts as to whether or not Tressel could repeat his earlier success at the Division 1A level, most fans and alumni met the coaching change with enthusiasm. On the day of his hiring, Jim Tressel, speaking to fans and students at a Buckeye basketball game, made a prophetic implication that he would lead the Buckeyes to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor the following November.[17]
Tressel's first season was difficult as the Buckeyes finished 7-5, but he made good on his promise, beating Michigan in Ann Arbor. While its fans were optimistic about the chance for success of the 2002 team, most observers were surprised by Ohio State's National Championship.[18][19]
Ohio State used strong defense, ball-control play-calling, and field position tactics to win numerous close games, a style of play characterized as "Tresselball",[20] and disparaged by detractors as "the Luckeyes".[21] One of the most notable examples occurred against Purdue on November 9, when quarterback Craig Krenzel threw a 4th down touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins late in the game to win, on a play that has gone down in Buckeye lore as "Holy Buckeye". (Buckeye Commentary - Holy Buckeye)
In their 118-year-history, the Buckeyes have been consensus Division IA National Champions five times, and claim a total of 7 national championships. During the 2008 season it is more than likely that the team will achieve their 800th win, becoming the fifth team to reach the mark.[1] Jim Tressel has been the Buckeyes head coach since 2001.
Home Venues
Ohio Field (1890-1921)
Ohio Stadium (1922-present)
Ohio State vs. Northwestern, September 22, 2007
History
Main article: History of Ohio State Buckeyes football
1890-1933: Beginnings
In the spring of 1890 George Cole, an undergraduate, persuaded Alexander S. Lilley to coach a football team at the Ohio State University. The Buckeyes first game, played on May 3, 1890, at Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan University, was a victory.[2]
"In the fall, life for many in Columbus revolves around Ohio State University football, from the first kickoff in September to the last play in November. OSU's first home game took place at 2:30 p.m. on November 1, 1890. The Ohio State University played the University of Wooster on this site, which was then called Recreation Park. Just east of historic German Village, the park occupied the north side of Schiller (now Whittier) between Ebner and Jaeger in what is now Schumacher Place. The weather was perfect, and the crowd reportedly including a number of women, who cheered loudly. Nonetheless, OSU lost to Wooster, 64-0. Wooster, physically fit for the game, showed OSU that training is critical to winning. The tradition of training continues. Today, on football Saturdays in Ohio Stadium on Woody Hayes Drive, the sound of an O.S.U. game can be heard around the world.”
Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the team played to a cumulative record of 31 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties. The first game against Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34-0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1-7-1 record.
In 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm to bring professional coaching skills to the program and immediately went undefeated.[3] In 1901, however, center John Segrist was fatally injured in a game and the continuation of football at Ohio State was in serious question. Although the school's athletic board let the team decide its future, Eckstorm resigned.[4] In 1912 football underwent a number of developments that included joining the Western Conference, making football as part of a new Department of Athletics, and hiring Lynn W. St. John to be athletic director.
Ohio State's team came into national prominence in 1916 with the play of Charles W. "Chic" Harley, its first "triple threat" (runner, passer, and kicker). 1909 saw the tenth Buckeye loss to Michigan. Harley's popularity at Ohio State resulted in the construction of Ohio Stadium, a new, larger facility that opened in 1922.[5] Prior to this construction, games were played at Ohio Field. Criticism of Wilce, particularly from "downtown coaches", led him to resign after the 1928 season, and was the first major negative influence of boosters and fans on the football program[6]
The game of 1916
The Game of 1916
Oberlin Yeomen
Ohio State Buckeyes
Head coach: John Wilce
October 14, 1916
Stadium
Ohio Field
Location
Columbus, Ohio
On October 14, 1916, Ohio State faced off against Ohio foe Oberlin College at Ohio Field. Ohio State crushed Oberlin with a final score of 128-0. The star of the game was Chic Harley who scored 5 touchdowns. The crowd of 3,300 saw the Buckeyes post 1,140 total yards and force Oberlin to punt 16 times. This record for the most points in an Ohio State game still stands, and it remains the only time the Scarlet and Grey scored over 100.
1934-1978 Big-time football
In hiring Francis Schmidt in March 1934 to coach its football team, Ohio State moved its program to a "big-time" level of competition. Schmidt was a well-established coach and an acknowledged offensive innovator. His offensive schemes were a "wide-open" style called "razzle-dazzle" and led him to be the first Buckeye football coach granted a multi-year contract. Schmidt's first four seasons saw victories over archrival Michigan, all by shut-out. The 1935 squad went 7-1, its sole loss was to Notre Dame, 18-13, in the first contest between the programs. However Schmidt's remaining seasons were less successful, except in 1939 when the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship, and his popularity faded for a number of reasons.[7] On December 17, 1940, he resigned.
Ohio State hired the coach of Massillon Washington High School football team, Paul Brown, to succeed Schmidt. Brown's Tigers had just won their sixth straight state championship. Brown immediately changed Ohio State's style of offense, planned and organized his program in great detail, and delegated to his assistant coaches using highly-structured practices. In 1942, Ohio State lost 22 veteran players to military service at the start of World War II, and with a team of mostly sophomores went on to lose only once in winning its first national championship. Brown accepted a commission in the United States Navy in 1944 and directed his assistant Carroll Widdoes to head the team in his absence. The 1944 team fielded 31 freshmen but went undefeated and untied, including a victory over Paul Brown's Great Lakes Navy team. Ohio State finished second in the national rankings behind Army and Les Horvath became the first Buckeye to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. Also prominent on the 1942-44 teams was the first Buckeye African American star, Bill Willis.
Brown chose not to return to Ohio State after the war, going into professional football instead. Widdoes, despite having the highest two-year winning percentage of any Buckeye coach, asked to return to an assistant's position. Paul Bixler, an assistant, replaced Widdoes and endured a mediocre 4-3-2 season. Bixler resigned and talk of Ohio State being a "graveyard of coaches" became commonplace, a reputation that lingered for decades.[8]
Wes Fesler became head coach in 1947 but finished last in the Big Ten for the only time in team history. Ohio State improved greatly in 1948, winning 6 and losing 3, then in 1949 enjoyed a successful season due to the play of sophomore Vic Janowicz. Ohio State received the Rose Bowl invitation, where they came from behind to defeat California. In 1950 Fesler, rumored to be resigning because of pressures associated with the position and abuse of his family by anonymous critics, returned to coach the Buckeyes, who won six games in a row to move into the top ranking in the AP poll. However the season fell apart as the Buckeyes lost to Michigan during a blizzard, a game that came to be known as the "Snow Bowl". Two weeks later, citing concerns about his health and family, Fesler resigned.
Coach Hayes yelling with a ref in a 1971 game
Wayne Woodrow Hayes beat out Paul Brown,[9] among others, to be named head coach on February 18, 1951. He instituted a demanding practice regimen and was both aggressive and vocal in enforcing it, alienating many players accustomed to Fesler's laid-back style. The 1951 Buckeyes won 4, lost 3, and tied 2, leaving many to question the ability of the new coach. In 1952 the team improved to 6-3, and recorded their first victory over Michigan in eight years, but after a 1953 loss to Michigan, critics called for the replacement of Hayes.
In 1954 the Buckeyes were picked to finish no higher than 10th in the Big Ten. Hayes, however, had the talents of Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, and a historic goal-line stand against Michigan propelled Ohio State to a perfect season. Hayes led the powerhouse Buckeyes to a shared national championship (his first and the team's second). In 1955 the team again won the Big Ten, set an attendance record, and won in Ann Arbor for the first time in 18 years, while Hopalong Cassady was securing the Heisman Trophy. Ohio State passed only three times against Michigan (the sole reception was the only completion in the final three games of the year), leading to characterization of Hayes' style of offensive play as "three yards and a cloud of dust".
In a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated, Hayes admitted making small personal loans to financially-needy players.[10] The article resulted in a furor over possible violations of NCAA rules, and the faculty council, followed by the Big Ten and NCAA, conducted lengthy investigations. Big Ten Commissioner Kenneth "Tug" Wilson found Hayes and the program guilty of violations and placed it on a year's probation in 1956. In 1957 Ohio State won all of its remaining games after an opening loss to claim the Big Ten championship, win the Rose Bowl over Oregon, and share a national championship title with Auburn, for which Hayes was named Coach of the Year.
In 1961 the team went undefeated to be named national champions by the FWAA but a growing conflict between academics and athletics over Ohio State's reputation as a "football school" resulted in a faculty council vote to decline an invitation to the Rose Bowl, resulting in much public protest and debate.[11] Over the next 6 seasons Ohio State finished no higher than 2nd, and had a losing season in 1966, and public speculation that Hayes would be replaced as coach grew to its highest point since 1953.
Main Article:1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
In 1968 Ohio State defeated the number one-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and continued to an undefeated season including a 50-14 rout of Michigan and a Rose Bowl victory over the USC Trojans that resulted in the national championship. The Class of 1970 became known as the "super sophomores" in 1968, and might have gone on to three consecutive national championships except for what may have been the bitterest loss in Buckeye history. The winning streak reached 22 games as Ohio State traveled to Michigan. The Buckeyes were 17-point favorites but directed by first-year coach Bo Schembechler, Michigan shocked the Buckeyes in a 24-12 upset.
The 1969 loss to Michigan initiated what came to be known as "The Ten Year War," in which the rivalry, which pitted some of OSU’s and UM’s strongest teams ever, rose to the uppermost level of all sports and the competition between Schembechler and Hayes became legendary.[12] Four times between 1970 and 1975, Ohio State and Michigan were both ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their matchup. Hayes had the upper hand during the first part of the war, in which Ohio State won the conference championship and went to the Rose Bowl four straight years, while Michigan won the final three.
Archie Griffin came to Ohio State in 1972, set a new Buckeye single-game rushing record and led the team in rushing for the season. The following season Hayes installed an I formation attack with Griffin at tailback and the Buckeyes went undefeated with a powerful offense and equally impenetrable defense, the only blemish on their record a 10-10 tie with Michigan. The falloff in success of Hayes' last three years was not great but resulted in growing criticism of Hayes and his methods, particularly his on-the-field fits of temper. His downfall was sudden and shocking when at the 1978 Gator Bowl, Hayes took a swing at a Clemson nose guard in frustration after an interception. Hayes was fired after the game.
Hayes was replaced by a former protegé, Earle Bruce, who inherited a strong team led by sophomore quarterback Art Schlichter and returned to the Rose Bowl with an opportunity once again to be national champions. The Buckeyes lost both by a single point, but Bruce was named Coach of the Year. His success was hailed by those in the media who saw it as a rebuke of Hayes and the start of a "new era".[13]
1980, however, saw the start of a trend that eventually brought criticism to Bruce, when Ohio State finished with a 9-3 record. This was the first of six consecutive years at 9-3. While each of these seasons, and a 10-3 season that followed them, culminated in a bowl game, Ohio State did not appear to be any closer to a national championship than during the end of the Hayes era.
In 1986 Bruce received a 3-year contract, the first for the modern program, but the team opened with two losses for the first time in over 90 years. The Buckeyes then won nine in a row before losing to Michigan in a close game. After the season Bruce was offered the position of head coach at the University of Arizona but was persuaded to stay at his alma mater by Athletic Director Rick Bay. Hopes for a standout season in 1987 suffered a serious setback when All-American wide receiver Cris Carter was dropped from the team for signing with an agent. Heading into the Michigan game at the end of the season Ohio State was in the midst of a three game conference losing streak.
The rotunda at night
On the Monday of Michigan week, after a weekend of rumors and speculation, Ohio State President Edward Jennings fired Bruce but tried to keep the dismissal secret until after the end of the season. Jennings aggravated the situation by refusing to provide a reason for the dismissal,[14] but the Buckeyes enjoyed an emotional come-from-behind victory over Michigan after the entire team wore headbands bearing the word "EARLE".
John Cooper was hired as head coach with a winning record at both Tulsa and Arizona State University that stood out among his credentials, as did a victory over Michigan in the 1987 Rose Bowl. Cooper's thirteen years as the Buckeye's head coach are largely remembered for a litany of negative statistics associated with him: a notorious 2-10-1 record against Michigan, a 3-9 record in bowl games, a five year losing streak to Illinois, a 63-14 loss to Penn State, and a 28-24 loss to unranked Michigan State when the Buckeyes were the top-ranked team in the nation and en route to a national championship. However, his tenure also included many positives: back-to-back victories over Notre Dame, two second-ranked finishes in the polls, and three Big Ten championships (albeit shared). Cooper also recruited fifteen players who were first-round draft picks in the National Football League.[15]
In January 2001, The Ohio State University dismissed Cooper for a "deteriorating climate." A loss in the 2000 Outback Bowl was a factor in his subsequent firing, as was negative publicity regarding player behavior before and during the game. Other contributing factors included his record against Michigan (which was actually considered by most people to be the biggest reason for his firing), his perceived inability to win "big games", the lack of a national championship, the perception of him as an outsider by many alumni, the poor bowl game record, and finally a perceived lack of discipline on the team.[16]
Ohio State quickly sought a replacement for Cooper and after a nationwide search hired Jim Tressel. With four NCAA Division I-AA National Championships at Youngstown State Tressel, formerly an assistant coach for Earle Bruce, was an Ohioan who was considered to be appreciative of Buckeye football traditions. Although there were some doubts as to whether or not Tressel could repeat his earlier success at the Division 1A level, most fans and alumni met the coaching change with enthusiasm. On the day of his hiring, Jim Tressel, speaking to fans and students at a Buckeye basketball game, made a prophetic implication that he would lead the Buckeyes to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor the following November.[17]
Tressel's first season was difficult as the Buckeyes finished 7-5, but he made good on his promise, beating Michigan in Ann Arbor. While its fans were optimistic about the chance for success of the 2002 team, most observers were surprised by Ohio State's National Championship.[18][19]
Ohio State used strong defense, ball-control play-calling, and field position tactics to win numerous close games, a style of play characterized as "Tresselball",[20] and disparaged by detractors as "the Luckeyes".[21] One of the most notable examples occurred against Purdue on November 9, when quarterback Craig Krenzel threw a 4th down touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins late in the game to win, on a play that has gone down in Buckeye lore as "Holy Buckeye". (Buckeye Commentary - Holy Buckeye)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment