1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Sugar Bowl, L 14–31 vs. Florida State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
Record	10–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mike Jacobs (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Fred Pagac (2nd season)
MVP	Antoine Winfield
Captain	Winfield Garnett; Stanley Jackson
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 10–3 record, including the 1998 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they lost 31–14 to the Florida State Seminoles.

1997 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Michigan $	8	–	0	12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 15 Purdue	6	–	2	9	–	3
Wisconsin	5	–	3	8	–	5
Iowa	4	–	4	7	–	5
Michigan State	4	–	4	7	–	5
Northwestern	3	–	5	5	–	7
Minnesota	1	–	7	3	–	9
Indiana	1	–	7	2	–	9
Illinois	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	8:00 p.m.	Wyoming*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (BCA Classic)	ESPN2	W 24–10	89,122
September 13	1:30 p.m.	Bowling Green*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 44–13	93,151
September 20	3:30 p.m.	Arizona*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 28–20	91,152
September 27	12:00 p.m.	at Missouri*	No. 7	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	ABC	W 31–10	58,882
October 4	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Iowa	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (College GameDay)	ABC	W 23–7	92,536
October 11	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Penn State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 27–31	97,282
October 18	12:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN2	W 31–0	92,368
October 25	3:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 49–6	92,445
November 1	3:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Michigan State	No. 9	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 37–13	74,903
November 8	4:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 31–3	47,706
November 15	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	ESPN Plus	W 41–6	92,008
November 22	12:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Michigan	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–20	106,982
January 1, 1998	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 4 Florida State*	No. 9	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 14–31	67,289	^[1]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

Roster

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`7`	Joe Germaine	Jr
C	`77`	Tyson Walter	Fr
RB	`5`	Michael Wiley	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`1`	Gary Berry	So
DT	`73`	Joe Brown	Fr
LB	`32`	Na'il Diggs	So
LB	`45`	Andy Katzenmoyer	So
SS	`13`	Damon Moore	Jr
CB	`19`	Ahmed Plummer	So
CB	`11`	Antoine Winfield	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

John Cooper

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Coaching staff

John Cooper – Head coach – 10th year
Bill Conley – Tight ends & recruiting coordinator (11th year)
Jim Heacock – Defensive line (2nd year)
Mike Jacobs – Offensive coordinator (3rd year)
Fred Pagac – Defensive coordinator (16th year)
Tim Salem – Quarterbacks (1st year)
Shawn Simms – Defensive ends (1st year)
Tim Spencer – Running backs (4th year)
Chuck Strobart – Offensive coordinator (3rd year)
Jon Tenuta – Defensive backs (2nd year)

Game summaries

Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wyoming	3	0	7	0	10
Ohio State	10	0	14	0	24

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: August 28, 1997
Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 75°, Clear, wind 5-10 N
Game attendance: 89,112
Referee: J. Kemerling

Game information

First quarter

OSU - Stanley Jackson 41-yard run (Dan Stultz kick)
WYO - Cory Wedel 38-yard field goal
OSU - Dan Stultz kick 40-yard field goal

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

OSU - Michael Wiley 32-yard run (Dan Stultz kick)
OSU - Dee Miller 45-yard pass from Stanley Jackson (Dan Stultz kick)
WYO - Mike Jenkins 11-yard run (Cory Wedel kick)

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Bowling Green

Arizona

Missouri

#7 Ohio State Buckeyes at Missouri Tigers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio State	7	7	14	3	31
Missouri	7	3	0	0	10

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: September 27, 1997
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 78°, Partly Cloudy, wind 5-10 S
Game attendance: 58,882
Referee: R. Christal

Game information

First quarter

OSU - Pepe Pearson 3 yd run (Dan Stultz kick)
MIZ - Corby Jones 8 yd run (Scott Knickman kick)

Second quarter

MIZ - Scott Knickman 27 yd field goal
OSU - David Boston 5 yd pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick)

Third quarter

OSU - David Boston 28 yd pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick)
OSU - Michael Wiley 1 yd run (Dan Stultz kick)

Fourth quarter

OSU - Dan Stultz 28 yd field goal

Iowa

Penn State

Indiana

Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats (3–5) at Ohio State Buckeyes (6–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	3	3	0	0	6
Ohio State	0	14	21	14	49

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

Date: October 25
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast • 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind NE 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
Game attendance: 92,445
Referee: D. Witvoet

Game information

Northwestern

Tim Hughes
7/15, 63 Yds
Brian Marshall
7 Rush, 36 Yds
T. Waterman
2 Rec, 20 Yds

Ohio St

Joe Germaine
8/12, 177 Yds, 3 TD
Michael Wiley
15 Rush, 73 Yds
Dee Miller
5 Rec, 96 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NW	OSU
1	11:47	8	33	3:13	Northwestern	27-yard field goal by Brian Gowins	3	0
2	12:02	14	92	5:18	Ohio St	Pepe Pearson 13-yard touchdown run, Dan Stultz kick good	3	7
2	6:14	12	61	5:48	Northwestern	36-yard field goal by Brian Gowins	6	7
2	0:27	2	43	0:14	Ohio St	Dee Miller 27-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	14
3	10:28	7	55	2:54	Ohio St	Pepe Pearson 6-yard touchdown run, Dan Stultz kick good	6	21
3	1:56	13	59	6:01	Ohio St	Dee Miller 11-yard touchdown reception from Stanley Jackson, Dan Stultz kick good	6	28
3	0:03	3	62	0:50	Ohio St	David Boston 35-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	35
4	9:49	7	64	3:02	Ohio St	Tom Hoying 29-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	42
4	5:31	6	80	2:57	Ohio St	Ken-Yon Rambo 38-yard touchdown reception from Mark Garcia, Dan Stultz kick good	6	49
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							6	49

Michigan State

Minnesota

Illinois

Michigan

1998 Sugar Bowl

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	9	9	9	9	9	7	7	7	11	9	9	7	4	4	9	9	9	12
Coaches Poll	9	9	9	9	8	7	7	7	12	9	9	8	4	4	11	10	10	12

NFL draft

For the first time since the NFL draft's inception in 1936, no Ohio State players were selected in the 1998 NFL draft.^[3]

References

^ "Florida State stymies Ohio St. in Sugar Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
^ "Ohio St. Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

[1] "Florida State stymies Ohio St. in Sugar Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[encyclopedia-2] Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.

[3] "Ohio St. Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

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