1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Encyclopedia
The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University
in the college football
season of 1996-1997.
The team's
head football coach was John Cooper. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium
. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11 and 1, and a Big Ten Conference
record of 7-1. They finished co-champions in the Big Ten Conference with the Northwestern Wildcats
and played in the 1997 Rose Bowl
against Pac-10 Champion the Arizona State Sun Devils
. Ohio State did not play Northwestern during the regular season and were selected to play in the Rose Bowl due to their better overall record of 10-1 (the Wildcats were 9-2). Northwestern had played in the previous Rose Bowl
.
The Buckeyes used two quarterbacks throughout the year, junior Stanley Jackson
, and sophomore Joe Germaine
, the Buckeyes were dominant throughout the majority of the season, outscoring their opponents by a score of 455-131. The Buckeyes only loss came late in the season to their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines
, by a score of 13-9.
Because of the late loss, Ohio State fell from second to fourth in the polls. Due to the Big Ten and Pac-10 not being involved in the Bowl Alliance
agreement as the two champions were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was set to play #2 Arizona State, while #1 and #3 Florida
played for the National Championship in the 1997 Sugar Bowl
.
Ohio State went into the 1997 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 would later avenge 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.
1997 NFL draftees
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in the college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season of 1996-1997.
1996 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators crowned National Champions, but not as unanimously as the Bowl Alliance would have hoped....
The team's
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
head football coach was John Cooper. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11 and 1, and a Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
record of 7-1. They finished co-champions in the Big Ten Conference with the Northwestern Wildcats
1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team
The 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season.-Season:...
and played in the 1997 Rose Bowl
1997 Rose Bowl
The 1997 Rose Bowl Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific-10 Conference and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, held on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game resulted in a dramatic 20–17...
against Pac-10 Champion the Arizona State Sun Devils
1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented the Arizona State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season.-Regular season:...
. Ohio State did not play Northwestern during the regular season and were selected to play in the Rose Bowl due to their better overall record of 10-1 (the Wildcats were 9-2). Northwestern had played in the previous Rose Bowl
1996 Rose Bowl
The 1996 Rose Bowl was the 82nd Rose Bowl Game. It was the 50th game in the series featuring the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The USC Trojans defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 41-32 on the strength of two touchdown passes from USC QB Brad Otton to WR Keyshawn Johnson...
.
The Buckeyes used two quarterbacks throughout the year, junior Stanley Jackson
Stanley Jackson (American football)
Stanley Jackson is a retired American football quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League and Continental Indoor Football League. He was also the Co-Owner of the CIFL's Marion Mayhem-College career:...
, and sophomore Joe Germaine
Joe Germaine
-St. Louis Rams:Germaine was selected in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He won a Super Bowl ring as a backup to Kurt Warner as a rookie. Germaine appeared in only three games, completing nine passes, and was cut at the end of the 2000 season.-Kansas City...
, the Buckeyes were dominant throughout the majority of the season, outscoring their opponents by a score of 455-131. The Buckeyes only loss came late in the season to their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines
1996 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1996 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1996 college football season. The team's head coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium. That year Michigan Wolverines football competed in the Big Ten Conference in...
, by a score of 13-9.
Because of the late loss, Ohio State fell from second to fourth in the polls. Due to the Big Ten and Pac-10 not being involved in the Bowl Alliance
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship bowl game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences...
agreement as the two champions were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was set to play #2 Arizona State, while #1 and #3 Florida
1996 Florida Gators football team
The 1996 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the team's seventh season under head coach Steve Spurrier...
played for the National Championship in the 1997 Sugar Bowl
1997 Sugar Bowl
The 1997 Sugar Bowl was the 63rd edition to the annual game. It featured the top ranked , and their heated rivals, the third ranked Florida Gators. It was the designated National Championship Game for the 1996-97 season by the Bowl Alliance. The match up was supposed to feature the top two teams...
.
Ohio State went into the 1997 Rose Bowl
1997 Rose Bowl
The 1997 Rose Bowl Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific-10 Conference and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, held on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game resulted in a dramatic 20–17...
with high hopes and Germaine came off the bench and threw a late touchdown pass to David Boston
David Boston
David Byron Boston is a professional football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals eighth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...
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 would later avenge 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
1985 Rose Bowl
The 1985 Rose Bowl Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the University of Southern California Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference and The Ohio State University Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, held on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California...
. The Rose Bowl victory was the sixth in school history, the first since 1974
1974 Rose Bowl
The 1974 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1974. It was the 60th Rose Bowl Game. The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the USC Trojans 42–21.-Ohio State Buckeyes:...
. Germaine was named Rose Bowl MVP.
Schedule
Rice
Pittsburgh
Notre Dame
Penn State
Wisconsin
Purdue
Iowa
Minnesota
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Arizona State
1997 NFL draftees1997 NFL DraftThe 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL Club |
| Orlando Pace Orlando Pace Orlando Lamar Pace is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State. Pace has started all 16 games eight times and blocked for three straight NFL MVPs... |
1 | 1 | Tackle | St. Louis Rams 1997 St. Louis Rams season The 1997 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 60th year with the National Football League and the third season in St. Louis.-Schedule:-References:... |
| Shawn Springs Shawn Springs Shawn Springs is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks third overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State.... |
1 | 3 | Defensive Back | Seattle Seahawks 1997 Seattle Seahawks season The 1997 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League. The team traded quarterback Rick Mirer and signed Minnesota Vikings/Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon to be John Frieze's backup... |
| Rob Kelly Rob Kelly (American football) Robert James Kelly III is a former professional American football player who played safety for four seasons for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League.... |
2 | 33 | Defensive Back | New Orleans Saints 1997 New Orleans Saints season The 1997 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 31st season.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:**... |
| Ty Howard Ty Howard Ty L. Howard is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League. He played four seasons for the Arizona Cardinals , the Cincinnati Bengals , and Tennessee Titans .... |
3 | 84 | Defensive Back | Arizona Cardinals 1997 Arizona Cardinals season The 1997 Arizona Cardinals season was the 78th season the franchise was in the National Football League and 10th in Arizona. The team was unable to match their previous output of 7-9, instead winning only four games. The Cardinals failed to qualify to the playoffs for the fifteenth consecutive... |
| Mike Vrabel Mike Vrabel Michael George "Mike" Vrabel is an assistant coach at Ohio State. He is a retired American football linebacker in the National Football League. Vrabel spent 14 seasons in the NFL, having played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and most recently, the Kansas City Chiefs... |
3 | 91 | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season The 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers was considered a transitional year heading into the season due to many key free agent losses in the offseason, as well as the first season of Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback.... |
| Nicky Sualua Nicky Sualua Nicky Sualua is a former American football fullback in the National Football League. He played two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.-College years:... |
4 | 129 | Running Back | Dallas Cowboys 1997 Dallas Cowboys season The 1997 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 38th in the NFL and for the first time since 1990, the team would suffer a losing season and miss the playoffs.-Regular season:... |
| Matt Finkes | 6 | 189 | Defensive End | Carolina Panthers 1997 Carolina Panthers season -Schedule:-References:... |