2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

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.

2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
2001 record7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Bollman (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorMark Dantonio (1st season)
Base defense4–3
MVPJonathon Wells
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 101,568)
2001 Big Ten Conference football standings
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

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
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 812:00 p.m.Akron*No. 24
W 28–14102,602[3]
September 223:30 p.m.at No. 14 UCLA*No. 21
ABCL 6–1373,723[3]
September 2912:00 p.m.at Indiana
ESPN+W 27–1448,577[3]
October 67:45 p.m.No. 14 Northwestern
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPNW 38–20104,042[3]
October 133:30 p.m.WisconsinNo. 21
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCL 17–20103,520[3]
October 2012:00 p.m.San Diego State*
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPN+W 27–12102,432[3]
October 2712:00 p.m.at Penn State
ESPNL 27–29108,327[3]
November 37:45 p.m.at Minnesota
ESPNW 31–2845,407[3]
November 1012:00 p.m.Purdue
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPN2W 35–9104,189[3]
November 1712:00 p.m.No. 12 IllinoisNo. 25
ESPNL 22–34104,407[3]
November 241:00 p.m.at No. 11 Michigan
ABCW 26–20111,571[3]
January 1, 200211:00 a.m.vs. No. 14 South Carolina*No. 22
ESPNL 28–3166,249[3]

Roster
2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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
T 77 Tyson Walter Sr
TE 88 Ben Hartsock  So
TE 89 Darnell Sanders Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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

Source: Athletic Department official site, 2001 football archive 12-01 depth chart

Game summaries

Akron
1 234Total
Akron 0 707 14
• Ohio St 14 770 28

[4]

Rankings
See also: 2001 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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
PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL Club
LeCharles Bentley244GuardNew Orleans Saints
Derek Ross375Defensive BackDallas Cowboys
Jonathan Wells499Running BackHouston Texans
Darnell Sanders4122Tight EndCleveland Browns
Jamar Martin4129FullbackDallas Cowboys
Courtland Bullard5167LinebackerSt. Louis Rams
Tyson Walter6179CenterDallas Cowboys
Steve Bellisari6205QuarterbackSt. Louis Rams

References
  1. Rovnak, Paul (January 3, 2001). "Cooper Fired, Geiger Cites "Deteriorating Climate"". The Lantern. Ohio State.
  2. "Ohio State Historical Scores". Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  3. Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
  4. USA Today
Draft data
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