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2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record8–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChuck Stobart (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJon Tenuta (1st season)
MVPDerek Combs
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
Seasons
← 1999
2001 →
2000 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Michigan +   6 2     9 3  
Northwestern +   6 2     8 4  
No. 13 Purdue $+   6 2     8 4  
Ohio State   5 3     8 4  
No. 23 Wisconsin   4 4     9 4  
Minnesota   4 4     6 6  
Penn State   4 4     5 7  
Iowa   3 5     3 9  
Illinois   2 6     5 6  
Michigan State   2 6     5 6  
Indiana   2 6     3 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 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 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 13th and final year under head coach John Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record (5–3 in conference games), finished in fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 324 to 198. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes defeated No. 24 Wisconsin and lost to No. 16 Purdue and No. 19 Michigan. They concluded the season with a 24–7 loss to unranked South Carolina in the 2001 Outback Bowl.[1] Cooper was fired two days after the Buckeyes' loss in the Outback Bowl; he had compiled a 2-10-1 record against rival Michigan and a 3–8 record in bowl games.[2]

The Buckeyes gained an average of 161.9 rushing yards and 208.4 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 91.6 rushing yards and 227.7 passing yards per game.[3] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Steve Bellisari (2,162 passing yards, 52.3% completion percentage), running back Derek Combs (863 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry), wide receiver Ken-Yon Rambo (51 receptions for 729 yards), and kicker Dan Stultz (91 points scored, 33 of 36 extra points, 19 of 23 field goals).[3] Four Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 2000 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Stultz; linebacker Joe Cooper; and defensive backs Nate Clements and Mike Doss.[4]

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

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 212:00 p.m.Fresno State*No. 16ESPN PlusW 43–1096,583
September 910:10 p.m.at Arizona*No. 18FSNW 27–1757,367
September 1612:00 p.m.Miami (OH)*No. 17
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPN PlusW 27–1696,721
September 2312:00 p.m.Penn StateNo. 14
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCW 45–698,144
October 73:30 p.m.at No. 24 WisconsinNo. 8ABCW 23–779,045
October 1412:00 p.m.MinnesotaNo. 6
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPN2L 17–2998,120
October 2112:00 p.m.at IowaNo. 14ESPN PlusW 38–1060,495
October 283:30 p.m.at No. 16 PurdueNo. 12ABCL 27–3168,666
November 412:00 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 16
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ESPNW 27–1398,406
November 114:00 p.m.at IllinoisNo. 13ESPNW 24–2161,207
November 1812:00 p.m.No. 19 MichiganNo. 12
ABCL 26–3898,681
January 1, 200111:00 a.m.vs. No. 14 South Carolina*No. 22ESPNL 7–2465,229[5]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[6]

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP161618171412861412161112212019
Coaches Poll151616151210751313191412201918
BCSNot released111313Not released

Game summaries

[edit]

Fresno State

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
Fresno State 0 037 10
No. 16 Ohio State 13 7716 43

[7]

Arizona

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
No. 18 Ohio State 3 7143 27
Arizona 7 1000 17

[8]

Miami (OH)

[edit]

Penn State

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
Penn State 0 060 6
No. 14 Ohio State 14 3217 45

[9]

Wisconsin

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
No. 8 Ohio State 13 730 23
No. 24 Wisconsin 0 070 7

[10]

Minnesota

[edit]

Iowa

[edit]

Purdue

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
No. 12 Ohio State 0 3177 27
No. 16 Purdue 0 7321 31

Michigan State

[edit]

Illinois

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
No. 13 Ohio State 3 966 24
Illinois 7 707 21

Michigan

[edit]

Outback Bowl

[edit]

Personnel

[edit]

Coaching staff

[edit]
  • John Cooper - Head Coach - 13th year
  • George Belu – Offensive line (1st year)
  • Bill Conley - Tight ends / recruiting Coordinator (14th year)
  • Jim Heacock – Defensive line (5th year)
  • Fred Pagac – Assistant head coach (19th year)
  • Tim Salem – Quarterbacks / wide receivers (4th year)
  • Shawn Simms – Defensive ends (4th year)
  • Tim Spencer – Running backs (7th year)
  • Chuck Strobart – Offensive coordinator (6th year)
  • Jon Tenuta – Defensive coordinator / Defensive Backs (5th year)
  • Bob Tucker - Director of football operations (6th year)
  • Brian Williams - Defense / Special Teams (1st year)

Roster

[edit]
2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 4 Ken-Yon Rambo Sr
QB 8 Steve Bellisari Jr
WR 9 Ricky Bryant Fr
WR 14 Mike DeMaria Fr
QB 15 Scott McMullen Fr
QB 16 Craig Krenzel Fr
QB 17 Rick McFadden Fr
RB 28 Jonathan Wells Jr
FB 39 Jamar Martin Jr
C 68 LeCharles Bentley Jr
C 77 Tyson Walter Jr
WR 80 Reggie Germany Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 2 Mike Doss So
LB 6 Cie Grant So
DB 7 Derek Ross So
CB 20 Nate Clements Jr
LB 58 Courtland Bullard Jr
DT 73 Joe Brown Sr
DT 79 Ryan Pickett Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2001-02-14

2001 NFL draftees

[edit]
Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Nate Clements 1 21 Defensive back Buffalo Bills
Ryan Pickett 1 29 Defensive tackle St. Louis Rams
Rodney Bailey 6 181 Defensive end Pittsburgh Steelers
Reggie Germany 7 214 Wide receiver Buffalo Bills
Derek Combs 7 228 Defensive back Oakland Raiders
Ken-Yon Rambo 7 229 Wide receiver Oakland Raiders

[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2000 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  2. ^ Bill Livingston (January 3, 2001). "2-10-1 and Done: From folksy to failure: Cooper's faulty legacy". The Plain Dealer. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "2000 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "2000 All-Big Ten Football Teams & Individual Honors Announced". Ohio State Buckeyes. November 28, 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. ^ "Buckeyes bashed; Snubbed Brewer gets the last laugh". The Akron Beacon Journal. January 2, 2001. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
  7. ^ "Fresno State vs. Ohio State". USA Today. September 2, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  8. ^ "Ohio State vs. Arizona". USA Today. September 9, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  9. ^ "Penn State vs. Ohio State". USA Today. September 23, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  10. ^ "Ohio State vs. Wisconsin". USA Today. October 7, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  11. ^ "2001 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.