2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Tressel led the Buckeyes to their fourth Big Ten Conference championship and third BCS National Championship Game in six years. The team finished the season with overall record of 11–2, with losses to conference-rival Illinois and LSU in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.

2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
2007 record11–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Bollman (7th season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorJim Heacock (3rd; 12th overall season)
Co-defensive coordinatorLuke Fickell (3rd; 7th overall season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 102,329)
2007 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Ohio State $  7 –1     11 –2  
No. 18 Michigan  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 20 Illinois %  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 24 Wisconsin  5 –3     9 –4  
Penn State  4 –4     9 –4  
Iowa  4 –4     6 –6  
Purdue  3 –5     8 –5  
Indiana  3 –5     7 –6  
Michigan State  3 –5     7 –6  
Northwestern  3 –5     6 –6  
Minnesota  0 –8     1 –11  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 112:00 p.m.Youngstown State*No. 10
BTNW 38–6105,038
September 812:00 p.m.Akron*No. 11
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 20–2104,317
September 153:30 p.m.at Washington*No. 10
ESPNW 33–1474,927
September 223:30 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 9
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABC/ESPNW 58–7105,178
September 298:00 p.m.at MinnesotaNo. 8
ESPN2W 30–751,611
October 68:00 p.m.at No. 20 PurdueNo. 4
ABCW 23–765,497
October 1312:00 p.m.Kent State*No. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 48–3105,051
October 203:30 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 1
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH (rivalry)
ABCW 24–17105,287
October 278:00 p.m.at No. 25 Penn StateNo. 1
ABCW 37–17110,134
November 312:00 p.m.No. 19 WisconsinNo. 1
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 38–17105,449
November 103:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 1
ABC/ESPNL 21–28105,453
November 1712:00 p.m.at No. 23 MichiganNo. 7
ABCW 14–3111,941
January 7, 20087:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 LSU*No. 1
FOXL 24–3879,651
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
Panoramic view of the Buckeye vs. Wildcats game

Previous season

The 2006 Buckeyes squad finished the season as Big Ten Conference champions and ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches' polls. They finished the regular season undefeated and advanced to the 2007 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to the Florida Gators, ending the season with a record of 12–1.

The Buckeyes kick off.

Preseason

On March 6, Coach Jim Tressel announced the hiring of Assistant Coach Taver Johnson. Johnson is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of Wittenberg University. He had spent most of his coaching career at Miami University and had a very brief stint with the Oakland Raiders. Coach Johnson will replace Tim Beckman, who left Ohio State to become Defensive Coordinator at Oklahoma State University. Coach Johnson will coach the Cornerbacks.

Watch lists

Linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman along with defensive end Vernon Gholston were among the list of 65 players under consideration for the Bednarik Award while Chris "Beanie" Wells was on the 65-player list for the Maxwell Award.

Coaching staff
  • Jim Tressel – Head Coach (7th year)
  • Jim Bollman – Offensive Line/OC (7th year)
  • Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks (7th year)
  • Luke Fickell – Co-Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach (6th year)
  • Jim Heacock – Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line (12th year)
  • Paul Haynes – Defensive Safeties (3rd year)
  • Darrell Hazell – Assistant Head Coach / Wide Receivers (4th year)
  • Taver Johnson – Defensive Cornerbacks (1st year)
  • John Peterson – Tight Ends Coach / Recruiting Coordinator (4th year)
  • Dick Tressel – Running Backs (7th year)
  • Bob Tucker – Director of Football Operations (13th year)
  • Stan Jefferson – Director of Player Development (4th year)
  • Eric Lichter – Director of Football Performance (2nd year)
  • Butch Reynolds – Speed Coordinator (3rd year)
  • Jeff Uhlenhake – Strength Coordinator (1st year)

Results

Youngstown State
Youngstown State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Youngstown State 0 330 6
• No. 20 Ohio State 7 14314 38

[1]

Akron
Akron at Ohio State
1 234Total
Akron 2 000 2
• No. 11 Ohio State 0 3107 20

[2]

Washington
Ohio State at Washington
1 234Total
• No. 10 Ohio State 0 31416 33
Washington 0 707 14

[3]

Northwestern
Northwestern at Ohio State
1 234Total
Northwestern 0 070 7
• No. 9 Ohio State 28 17130 58

[4]

Minnesota
Ohio State at Minnesota
1 234Total
• No. 8 Ohio State 14 637 30
Minnesota 0 700 7

[5]

Purdue
See also: 2007 Purdue Boilermakers football team
#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–0) at #23 Purdue Boilermakers (5–0)
1 2 34Total
Ohio St 14 3 3323
Purdue 0 0 077

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

[6]

Kent State
Kent State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Kent State 0 003 3
• No. 3 Ohio State 7 28103 48

[7]

Michigan State
Michigan State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Michigan State 0 0143 17
• No. 1 Ohio State 10 770 24

[8]

Penn State
Ohio State at Penn State
1 234Total
• No. 1 Ohio State 10 7713 37
No. 25 Penn State 7 037 17

[9]

Wisconsin
Wisconsin at Ohio State
1 234Total
No. 19 Wisconsin 3 0140 17
• No. 1 Ohio State 7 3721 38

Ohio State sets record with 20th straight Big Ten win.[10]

Illinois
Illinois at Ohio State
1 234Total
• Illinois 14 770 28
No. 1 Ohio State 14 070 21

[11]

Michigan
Ohio State at Michigan
1 234Total
• No. 7 Ohio State 0 770 14
No. 23 Michigan 3 000 3

[12]

National Championship Game
LSU vs. Ohio State
1 234Total
• No. 2 LSU 3 2177 38
No. 1 Ohio State 10 077 24

On January 7, 2008 the Buckeyes played at the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans, Louisiana in the Louisiana Superdome. This was the first time in the school's history that the football team had played back to back National Championship games. The Buckeyes ended up losing the game to the Louisiana State University Tigers, 38–24. After a strong initial start (a 10–0 run in the first quarter in favor of the Buckeyes), the LSU Tigers went on one of their own, 31–0, from the first to third quarters. Two key pivotal special teams plays contributed to the LSU run, one being a blocked 38 yard Ryan Pretorius (Ohio State) field goal in the first quarter, and a roughing the kicker penalty committed by Austin Spitler (Ohio State) on a punt that extended an LSU touchdown drive in the third. Both teams scored 14 points in the second half which lead to a Tigers' victory due to the 2nd quarter LSU scoring deficit.

Rankings
See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS 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 Final 
AP 11 12 10 8 8 4 3 1 (50) 1 (57) 1 (59) 1 (60) 7 5 3 1 (50) 5 
Coaches 10 11 10 9 8 4 (1) 3 (2) 1 (56) 1 (58) 1 (56) 1 (55) 7 5 3 (6) 1 (46) 4 
Harris Not released 7 4 3 1 (110) 1 (111) 1 (114) 1 (112) 7 5 3 (11) 1 (98) Not released 
BCS Not released 1 1 1 1 7 5 3 1 Not released

Players

Roster
Wide receivers
  • 5 Dukes, Albert – Junior
  • 9 Hartline, Brian – Sophomore
  • 89 Hummel, Garrett – Freshman
  • Jordan, Devin – Senior
  • 18 Sharp, Luke – Junior
  • 18 Lyons, Devon – Junior
  • 86 Potokar, Dan – Sophomore
  • 80 Robiskie, Brian – Junior
  • 15 Ruhl, Kyle – Junior
  • 12 Sanzenbacher, Dane – Freshman
  • 4 Small, Ray – Sophomore
  • 81 Ullery, Brent – Senior
  • 19 Washington, Taurian – Freshman
Offensive tackles
  • 74 Barton, Kirk – Senior
  • 75 Boone, Alex – Junior
  • 65 Ebner, Doug – Junior
  • 66 Moses, Andrew – Sophomore
  • 77 Smith, Connor – Freshman
  • 76 Sika, Scott – Sophomore
  • 69 Slagle, Zach – Freshman
Offensive guards
  • 68 Blankenship, Evan – Freshman
  • 70 Browning, Bryant – Freshman
  • 78 Dye, Daniel – Senior
  • 67 Mitchum, Kyle – Junior
  • 63 Person, Ben – Junior
  • 71 Rehring, Steve – Sophomore
  • 79 Skinner, Jon – Junior
Centers
  • 64 Cordle, Jim – Sophomore
  • 57 Malone, Chris – Sophomore
Tight end
  • 86 Ballard, Jake – Sophomore
  • 46 Larson, J.D – Sophomore
  • 82 Miller, Andy – Freshman
  • 88 Nicol, Rory – Junior
  • 87 Smith, Brandon – Junior
Quarterback
  • 17 Boeckman, Todd- Junior
  • 14 Bauserman, Joe – Freshman
  • 7 Henton, Antonio – Freshman
  • 13 Kacsandi, Ben – Junior
  • 11 Schoenhoft, Rob – Sophomore
  
Running back
  • 46 Christian, K.C. – Freshman
  • 35 DeLande, Bo – Freshman
  • 33 Gantz, Joe – Sophomore
  • 2 Herron, Daniel – Freshman
  • 16 Robinson, Trever – Senior
  • 3 Saine, Brandon – Freshman
  • 28 Wells, Chris – Sophomore
  • 34 Wells, Maurice – Junior
  • 24 Williams, Marcus – Freshman
Fullback
  • 49 Johnson, Dionte – Senior
  • 43 Olson, Aram – Freshman
  • 48 Smith, Spencer – Freshman
  • 42 Whaley, Tyler – Senior
Defensive lineman
  • 92 Daly, Brett – Senior
  • 92 Denlinger, Todd – Sophomore
  • 50 Gholston, Vernon – Junior
  • 90 Gray, Bryan – Sophomore
  • 95 Rietschlin, Chris – Junior
Defensive tackles
  • 93 Abdallah, Nader – Junior
  • 97 Heyward, Cameron – Freshman
  • 72 Larimore, Dexter – Freshman
Defensive end
  • 78 Barrow, Alex – Junior
  • 57 Ingham, Tom – Sophomore
  • 9 Rose, Robert – Freshman
  • 98 Thomas, Solomon – Freshman
  • 87 Wilson, Lawrence – Junior
  • 84 Worthington, Doug – Sophomore
Cornerbacks
Defensive backs
  • 5 Chekwa, Chimdi – Freshman
  • 32 Clifford, Eugene – Freshman
  • 36 Daniels, Matt – Junior
  • 39 Dougherty, Michael – Junior
  • 30 Evege, Donnie – Freshman
  • 41 Haslam, De'Angelo – Senior
  • 2 Jenkins, Malcolm – Junior
  • 24 Schwartz, Grant – Freshman
  • 11 Scott, James – Freshman
  • 20 Washington, Donald – Sophomore
  • 17 Willis, Zach – Junior
  
Linebackers
  • 1 Freeman, Marcus Jr.
  • 37 Gibson, Thaddeus – Freshman
  • 6 Grant, Larry – Senior
  • 7 Hines, Jermale – Freshman
  • 51 Homan, Ross – Sophomore
  • 44 Johnson, Mark – Freshman
  • 33 Laurinaitis, James – Junior
  • 59 Libby, Kyle – Freshman
  • 49 Lukens, Ryan – Junior
  • 26 Moeller, Tyler – Freshman
  • 36 Rolle, Brian – Freshman
  • 38 Spitler, Austin – Sophomore
  • 55 Terry, Curtis – Senior
Safety
  • 8 Gant, Aaron So.
  • 3 O'Neal, Jamario Jr.
  • 14 Oliver, Nate Fr.
  • 23 Patterson, Nick Jr.
  • 25 Pentello, Rocco Fr.
  • 21 Russell, Anderson So.
  • 10 Torrence, Devon Fr.
Long snappers
  • 52 Curtis, Don – Freshman
  • 61 Haas, Jackson – Senior
  • 53 Howe, Patrick – Freshman
  • 56 Makridis, Dimitrios – Senior
  • 96 McQuaide, Jake – Freshman
Kickers
  • 12 Barclay, Devin – Freshman
  • 39 Good, Andrew Jr.
  • 41 Mattimoe, Matt – Sophomore
  • 20 Pettrey, Aaron – Sophomore
  • 85 Pretorius, Ryan Jr.
Punters
  • 15 Trapasso, A.J. – Junior
  • 48 Thoma, John – Sophomore
  • 94 Bartholomew, Benjamin – Freshman

2008 NFL draftees
PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL Club
Vernon Gholston16Defensive EndNew York Jets
Larry Grant7214LinebackerSan Francisco 49ers
Kirk Barton7247TackleChicago Bears

References
  1. "Steady Buckeyes Use Big Plays to Bash Penguins in Opener". ESPN. September 1, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  2. "No. 12 Buckeyes Force 14 Punts, Allow 71 Yards to Zips". ESPN. September 8, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  3. "Wells Plows Through Washington as Ohio St. Cruises". ESPN. September 15, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  4. "Buckeyes' Offense Explodes in Big Ten Opener vs. Northwestern". ESPN. September 22, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  5. "Wells, No. 8 Buckeyes Breeze Past Gophers". ESPN. September 29, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  6. "Boeckman Throws Two TDs as Buckeyes Stuff Boilermakers". ESPN. October 6, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. "No. 3 Ohio St. Remains Unbeaten with Rout of Kent St". ESPN. October 13, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. "Late Turnovers Keep Spartans Close in Nervy Buckeye Win". ESPN. October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. "Top-Ranked Buckeyes Use Offense to Silence Penn State". ESPN. October 27, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  10. "Ohio St. Gets Big Ten Record 20th Straight Conference Win". ESPN. November 3, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  11. "Illinois Shocks Top-Ranked Ohio State in Columbus". ESPN. November 10, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  12. "Ohio State Takes Down Michigan for Sixth Time in Seven Years". ESPN. November 17, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
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