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2001 Ohio State Buckeyes football
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
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
WR	`9`	Ricky Bryant	So
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

Defense

FS
25 Donnie Nickey
26 Will Allen

WLB	Middle LB	SLB
58 Courtland Bullard	35 Matt Wilhelm	10 Joe Cooper
6 Cie Grant	46 Fred Pagac Jr	44 Robert Reynolds

SS
2 Mike Doss
41 Thomas Matthews

CB
24 Maurice Lee
11 Richard McNutt

DE	DT	DT	DE
56 Darrion Scott	54 Tim Anderson	98 Mike Collins	93 Will Smith
49 Tim Cheatwood	95 David Thompson	97 Kenny Peterson	75 Simon Fraser

CB
7 Derek Ross
37 Dustin Fox

Offense

WR
12 Michael Jenkins
83 Chris Gamble

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
77 Tyson Walter	63 Adrien Clarke	68 LeCharles Bentley	78 Bryce Bishop	71 Shane Olivea
53 Ivan Douglas	70 Scott Kuhnhein	66 Mike Jacobs	76 Alex Stepanovic	50 Michael Stafford

TE
89 Darnell Sanders
88 Ben Hartsock

WR
4 Chris Vance
9 Ricky Bryant

QB
8 Steve Bellisari
16 Craig Krenzel

Key reserves

FB
39 Jamar Martin
5 Sam Maldonado

Special teams
PK 85 Mike Nugent
PK 23 Josh Huston
P 18 Andy Groom
P 21 B. J. Sander
KR 20 Maurice Hall
PR 4 Chris Vance

RB
28 Jonathan Wells
30 Lydell Ross

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

^[4]

UCLA

Indiana

Northwestern

Wisconsin

San Diego State

Penn State

Minnesota

Purdue

Illinois

Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes at #11 Michigan Wolverines

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio State	7	16	0	3	26
Michigan	0	0	7	13	20

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date: November 24, 2001
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: High 50s, Cloudy, wind 15 mph ESE
Game attendance: 111,571
Referee: S. Newman
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

OSU - Jonathan Wells 1-yd run (Mike Nugent kick)

Second quarter

OSU - Jonathan Wells 46-yd run (Mike Nugent kick)
OSU - Jonathan Wells 11-yd run (Mike Nugent kick)
OSU - Team safety

Third quarter

MICH - M. Walker 21-yd pass from John Navarre (Hayden Epstein kick)

Fourth quarter

MICH - B.J. Askew 2-yd run (pass failed)
OSU - Mike Nugent 33-yd field goal
MICH - M. Walker 11-yd pass from John Navarre (Hayden Epstein kick)

Top Passers

OSU - Craig Krenzel - 11/18, 118 yards, 1 INT
MICH - John Navarre - 21/47, 206 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs

Top Rushers

OSU - Jonathan Wells - 25 rushes, 129 yards, 3 TDs
MICH - Chris Perry - 6 rushes, 53 yards

Top Receivers

MICH - M. Walker - 5 receptions, 160 yards, 2 TDs
OSU - Darnell Sanders - 3 receptions, 38 yards

Top Tacklers

MICH - Victor Hobson - 10 (9 solo, 1 assisted)
MICH - Eric Brackens - 10 (6 solo, 4 assisted)
OSU - Joe Cooper - 8 (all solo)
OSU - Tim Anderson - 8 (7 solo, 1 assisted)

Interceptions

OSU - 4 - Mike Doss (2), Dustin Fox (1), Tim Anderson (1)
MICH - 1 - Todd Howard

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

Source:^[5]

References

^ Rovnak, Paul (January 3, 2001). "Cooper Fired, Geiger Cites "Deteriorating Climate"". The Lantern. Ohio State.
^ "Ohio State Historical Scores". Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
^ USA Today
^ "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.