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 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 11–1 (7–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Joe Hollis (5th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Fred Pagac (1st season) |
| MVP | Orlando Pace |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Ohio Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Ohio State + | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by ninth-year head coach John Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled an overall record of 11–1 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the Big Ten title with Northwestern Ohio State earned a berth in the Rose Bowl, where the Buckeyes defeated the Pacific-10 Conference champion, Arizona State. 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 to the Wildcats' 9–2. Northwestern had played in the previous Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes played home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
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 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 champions of the two conferences were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was set to play No. 2 Arizona State, while No. 1 Florida State and No. 3 Florida played for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl.
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.