2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Outback Bowl, L 28–31 vs. South Carolina
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Tressel (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Bollman (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Mark Dantonio (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
MVP	Jonathon Wells
Captains	Steve Bellisari Mike Collins Joe Cooper Jamar Martin
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 101,568)
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Illinois $		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 20 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	4
Ohio State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Purdue		4	–	4					6	–	6
Penn State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Indiana		4	–	4					5	–	6
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	5
Wisconsin		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					4	–	7
Northwestern		2	–	6					4	–	7
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 28–14	102,602[3]
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at No. 14 UCLA*	No. 21	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	ABC	L 6–13	73,723[3]
September 29	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN+	W 27–14	48,577[3]
October 6	7:45 p.m.	No. 14 Northwestern		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN	W 38–20	104,042[3]
October 13	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	No. 21	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 17–20	103,520[3]
October 20	12:00 p.m.	San Diego State*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 27–12	102,432[3]
October 27	12:00 p.m.	at Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 27–29	108,327[3]
November 3	7:45 p.m.	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN	W 31–28	45,407[3]
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Purdue		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN2	W 35–9	104,189[3]
November 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 12 Illinois	No. 25	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	ESPN	L 22–34	104,407[3]
November 24	1:00 p.m.	at No. 11 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	ABC	W 26–20	111,571[3]
January 1, 2002	11:00 a.m.	vs. No. 14 South Carolina*	No. 22	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 28–31	66,249[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 Pos. # Name Class FL 3 Bam Childress  Fr QB 8 Steve Bellisari Sr SE 12 Michael Jenkins So QB 15 Scott McMullen So QB 16 Craig Krenzel So QB 17 Rick McFadden So RB 28 Jonathan Wells Sr C 68 LeCharles Bentley Sr G 76 Alex Stepanovich So OT 77 Tyson Walter Sr TE 88 Ben Hartsock  So TE 89 Darnell Sanders Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 2 Mike Doss Jr LB 6 Cie Grant Jr DB 7 Derek Ross Jr S 25 Donnie Nickey  Jr LB 35 Matt Wilhelm Jr LB 36 Pat O'Neill  So LB 46 Fred Pagac Jr.  So LB 58 Courtland Bullard Sr DE 93 Will Smith So DE 97 Kenny Peterson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 23 Josh Huston Fr PK 85 Mike Nugent Fr	Head coach Jim Tressel 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

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 8 Location: 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]

UCLA

Indiana

Northwestern

Wisconsin

San Diego State

Penn State

Minnesota

Purdue

Illinois

Michigan

2002 Outback Bowl

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	23	23	24	21	—	—	21	—	—	—	—	25	—	23	22	22	—
Coaches Poll	21	21	22	21	—	—	25	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	23	23	—
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

2002 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
LeCharles Bentley	2	44	Guard	New Orleans Saints
Derek Ross	3	75	Defensive Back	Dallas Cowboys
Jonathan Wells	4	99	Running Back	Houston Texans
Darnell Sanders	4	122	Tight End	Cleveland Browns
Jamar Martin	4	129	Fullback	Dallas Cowboys
Courtland Bullard	5	167	Linebacker	St. Louis Rams
Tyson Walter	6	179	Center	Dallas Cowboys
Steve Bellisari	6	205	Quarterback	St. Louis Rams

References