1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 20–17 vs. Arizona State
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJoe Hollis (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorFred Pagac (1st season)
MVPOrlando Pace
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
1996 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 +   7 – 1     11 – 1  
No. 15 Northwestern +   7 – 1     9 – 3  
No. 7 Penn State   6 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 18 Iowa   6 – 2     9 – 3  
No. 20 Michigan   5 – 3     8 – 4  
Michigan State   5 – 3     6 – 6  
Wisconsin   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Purdue   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Minnesota   1 – 7     4 – 7  
Indiana   1 – 7     3 – 8  
Illinois   1 – 7     2 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth year under head coach John Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled an 11–1 record (7–1 in conference games), tied with Northwestern for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 455 to 131. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes defeated No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 20 Iowa, but lost to No. 21 Michigan in the final game of the regular season. The Buckeyes concluded the season with a 20–17 victory over No. 2 Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll.[1]

The Buckeyes gained an average of 217.2 rushing yards and 196.3 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 89.5 rushing yards and 133.5 passing yards per game.[2] Quarterback duties were split between junior Stanley Jackson (1,239 passing yards) and sophomore Joe Germaine (1,062 passing yards). The team's other statistical leaders included running back Pepe Pearson (1,373 rushing yards) and wide receiver Dimitrious Stanley (38 receptions for 705 yards).[2] Offensive tackle Orlando Pace, defensive end Mike Vrabel, and defensive back Shawn Springs were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans.[3] Four Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 1996 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Pace (Coaches/Media); Vrabel (Coaches/Media); Springs (Coaches/Media); and defensive end Matt Finkes (Coaches/Media).[4]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 712:00 p.m.Rice*No. 10
ESPN PlusW 70–793,479
September 2112:30 p.m.Pittsburgh*No. 7
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPNW 72–093,959
September 282:30 p.m.at No. 5 Notre Dame*No. 4
NBCW 29–1659,075
October 53:30 p.m.No. 4 Penn StateNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH (rivalry, College GameDay)
ABCW 38–794,241
October 123:30 p.m.WisconsinNo. 2
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCW 17–1494,215
October 193:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 2
ABCW 42–1460,172
October 263:30 p.m.at No. 20 IowaNo. 2
ABCW 38–2670,397
November 212:30 p.m.MinnesotaNo. 2
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPN2W 45–093,588
November 912:30 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 2
ESPNW 48–054,412
November 163:30 p.m.at IndianaNo. 2
ABCW 27–1749,271
November 2312:00 p.m.No. 21 MichiganNo. 2
ABCL 9–1394,676
January 1, 19974:30 p.m.vs. No. 2 Arizona State*No. 4
ABCW 20–17100,635
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[5]

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP99108743 (1)2 (24)2 (7)2 (4)2 (4)2 (5)2 (17)2 (7)6542 (1½)
Coaches Poll10109764 (2)3 (5)2 (20)3 (2)3 (1)3 (4)3 (4)2 (16)2 (9)6542 (4)

Game summaries

Rice

Team 1 234Total
Rice 0 700 7
• Ohio St 21 21217 70
  • Date: September 7
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 93,479
  • Television network: ESPN+
Scoring summary
1OHSTLumpkin 2 yard pass from S Jackson (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 7–0
1OHSTPearson 8 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 14–0
1OHSTPearson 22 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 21–0
2OHSTStanley 15 yard pass from Germaine (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 28–0
2RICEPerry 5 yard run (Ruff kick)Ohio St 28–7
2OHSTBoston 58 yard pass from S Jackson (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 35–7
2OHSTWiley 49 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 42–7
3OHSTPearson 25 yard run (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 49–7
3OHSTWiley 51 yard pass from Germaine (Jo Jackson kick)Ohio St 56–7
3OHSTWiley 60 yard pass from Germaine (Stamp kick)Ohio St 63–7
4OHSTJe Jackson 3 yard run (Stamp kick)Ohio St 70–7

[6]

Pittsburgh

Team 1 234Total
Pittsburgh 0 000 0
• Ohio St 21 31137 72

Notre Dame

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 12 1070 29
Notre Dame 7 036 16

Penn State

Team 1 234Total
Penn St 0 007 7
• Ohio St 10 1477 38

Wisconsin

Team 1 234Total
Wisconsin 0 707 14
• Ohio St 0 377 17

Purdue

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 71414 42
Purdue 14 000 14

Iowa

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 17 1470 38
Iowa 3 3614 26

Minnesota

Team 1 234Total
Minnesota 0 000 0
• Ohio St 0 102114 45

Illinois

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 0 28200 48
Illinois 0 000 0

Indiana

Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 0 7020 27
Indiana 0 377 17

Michigan

Team 1 234Total
• Michigan 0 0103 13
Ohio St 3 600 9

Rose Bowl

See also: 1997 Rose Bowl
Team 1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 076 20
Arizona St 0 737 17

Ohio State went into the Rose Bowl with high hopes, and Germaine came off the bench and threw a late touchdown pass to David Boston to steal a come-from-behind victory. With the Buckeyes dramatic upset victory over the Sun Devils, Buckeye fans hoped for a share of the national title. However, Florida later avenged a late season loss to their rivals, and beat the Seminoles by a score of 52–20. Florida finished first and Ohio State second in both polls, followed by Florida State and Arizona State. The Rose Bowl appearance was the Buckeyes first since 1985. The Rose Bowl victory was the sixth in school history, the first since 1974. Germaine was named Rose Bowl MVP.

Personnel

Roster

1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 9 David Boston So
G 57 LeShun Daniels Sr
WR 82 Mike Furrey Fr
QB 7 Joe Germaine So
WR 15 Dee Miller So
RB 33 Joe Montgomery So
G 56 Rob Murphy Fr
OT 75 Orlando Pace Jr
WR 6 Jimmy Redmond Fr
WR 3 Dimitrious Stanley Sr
C 77 Tyson Walter Fr
RB 5 Michael Wiley Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 30 Greg Bellisari Sr
S 1 Gary Berry Fr
DT 73 Joe Brown Fr
LB 32 Na'il Diggs Fr
DT 99 Luke Fickell Sr
DT 68 Winfield Garrett Jr
CB 2 Ty Howard Sr
LB 45 Andy Katzenmoyer Fr
S 34 Rob Kelly Sr
CB 20 Central McClellion So
LB 43 Ryan Miller Sr
SS 13 Damon Moore So
CB 19 Ahmed Plummer Fr
CB 24 Shawn Springs Jr
LB 94 Mike Vrabel Sr
CB 11 Antoine Winfield So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 41 Brent Bartholomew So
LS 87 Kevin Houser Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Coaching staff

Depth chart

[7]

Awards and honors

1997 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Orlando Pace 1 1 Tackle St. Louis Rams
Shawn Springs 1 3 Defensive back Seattle Seahawks
Rob Kelly 2 33 Defensive back New Orleans Saints
Ty Howard 3 84 Defensive back Arizona Cardinals
Mike Vrabel 3 91 Defensive end Pittsburgh Steelers
Nicky Sualua 4 129 Running back Dallas Cowboys
Matt Finkes 6 189 Defensive end Carolina Panthers

[8]

References

  1. ^ "1996 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "1996 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  3. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 15. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  4. ^ "1996 All-Big Ten Team". Purdue University. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  5. ^ Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
  6. ^ USA Today
  7. ^ 1986 Ohio State Football Media Guide
  8. ^ "1997 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
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