The 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1998–1999. 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 11–1, and a Big Ten Conference record of 7–1. They finished tri-champions in the Big Ten Conference with the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan Wolverines and played in one of the premiere Bowl Championship Series bowl games in the 1999 Sugar Bowl.
Led by senior quarterback Joe Germaine, the Buckeyes were the preseason number one throughout the majority of the season. The Buckeyes only loss came late in the season to the Michigan State Spartans. The team blew a late 15 point lead late in the game to fall short 28–24.
Because of the late loss, Ohio State was kept out of the National Championship Game, the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. Their regular season "miss" of not playing fellow tri-champion Wisconsin also cost the Bucks a trip to the 1999 Rose Bowl because Ohio State was the last to play in the Rose Bowl in 1997, Wisconsin last played in 1994.[1]
The Buckeyes beat Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl to finish second in both polls behind the Tennessee Volunteers after their victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.[2]
Schedule [edit]
| Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
| September 5 |
8:00 PM |
at #11 West Virginia* |
#1 |
Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV |
CBS |
W 34–17 |
68,409[3] |
| September 12 |
12:30 PM |
Toledo* |
#1 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
ESPN |
W 49–0 |
93,149[3] |
| September 19 |
3:30 PM |
#21 Missouri* |
#1 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio |
ABC |
W 35–14 |
93,269[3] |
| October 3 |
12:00 PM |
#7 Penn State |
#1 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio |
ABC |
W 28–9 |
93,479[3] |
| October 10 |
12:00 PM |
at Illinois |
#1 |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
ESPN |
W 41–0 |
46,390[3] |
| October 17 |
12:00 PM |
Minnesota |
#1 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
ESPN |
W 45–15 |
93,138[3] |
| October 24 |
12:00 PM |
at Northwestern |
#1 |
Ryan Field • Evanston, IL |
ESPN2 |
W 36–10 |
47,130[3] |
| October 31 |
3:30 PM |
at Indiana |
#1 |
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
ABC |
W 38–7 |
52,049[3] |
| November 7 |
3:30 PM |
Michigan State |
#1 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH |
ABC |
L 24–28 |
93,595[3] |
| November 14 |
3:30 PM |
at Iowa |
#7 |
Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA |
ABC |
W 45–14 |
69,473[3] |
| November 21 |
12:00 PM |
#11 Michigan |
#7 |
Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (The Game) |
ABC |
W 31–16 |
94,339[3] |
| January 1 |
8:30 PM |
vs. #8 Texas A&M* |
#3 |
Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) |
ABC |
W 24–14 |
76,503[3] |
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. |
Game notes [edit]
West Virginia [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Buckeyes |
10 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
34 |
| Mountaineers |
3 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
17 |
Toledo [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Rockets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Buckeyes |
21 |
21 |
7 |
0 |
49 |
Missouri [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Tigers |
0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| Buckeyes |
7 |
6 |
8 |
14 |
35 |
Penn State [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Penn St |
0 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
9 |
| • Ohio St |
0 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
28 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|
| 2 |
|
PSU |
Forney 42 yard field goal |
Penn St 3-0 |
|
| 2 |
|
OHST |
Rudzinski recovered fumble in end zone (Stultz kick) |
Ohio St 7-3 |
|
| 2 |
|
OHST |
Wiley 20 yard pass from Germaine (Stultz kick) |
Ohio St 14-3 |
|
| 3 |
|
OHST |
Cooper recovered blocked punt in end zone (Stultz kick) |
Ohio St 21-3 |
|
| 3 |
|
PSU |
Cerimele 1 yard run (two-point conversion failed) |
Ohio St 21-9 |
|
| 3 |
|
OHST |
Montgomery 1 yard run (Stultz kick) |
Ohio St 28-9 |
|
Illinois [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Buckeyes |
10 |
14 |
0 |
17 |
41 |
| Fighting Illini |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Minnesota [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Golden Gophers |
3 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
15 |
| Buckeyes |
14 |
17 |
7 |
7 |
45 |
Northwestern [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Buckeyes |
17 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
36 |
| Wildcats |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
Indiana [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Buckeyes |
14 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
38 |
| Hooisers |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Michigan State [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Spartans |
3 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
28 |
| Buckeyes |
17 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
24 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Buckeyes |
14 |
14 |
7 |
10 |
45 |
| Hawkeyes |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
Michigan [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Michigan |
0 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
| • Ohio State |
14 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
31 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|
| 1 |
12:20
|
OSU |
Michael Wiley 53 yard run (Dan Stultz kick) |
OSU 7–0 |
|
| 1 |
9:44
|
OSU |
Dee Miller 16 yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) |
OSU 14–0 |
|
| 2 |
14:33
|
MICH |
Jay Feely 27 yard field goal |
OSU 14–3 |
|
| 2 |
4:03
|
OSU |
David Boston 30 yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) |
OSU 21–3 |
|
| 2 |
0:25
|
MICH |
Tai Streets 3 yard pass from Tom Brady (Jay Feely kick) |
OSU 21–10 |
|
| 3 |
|
OSU |
David Boston 43 yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) |
OSU 28–10 |
|
| 3 |
|
MICH |
Jay Feely 34 yard field goal |
OSU 28–13 |
|
| 3 |
|
OSU |
Dan Stultz 39 yard field goal |
OSU 31–13 |
|
| 4 |
14:47
|
MICH |
Jay Feely 30 yard field goal |
OSU 31–16 |
|
Ohio State secured a share of its 28th Big Ten title as the fans stormed the field with less than 30 seconds to play. Joe Germaine completed 19-of-24 passes for 330 yards, his seventh career 300-yard game, and his favorite target was David Boston, who finished with 10 receptions for 217 yards, most ever by a Michigan opponent. Boston also broke his own single-season reception mark and moved pass Cris Carter on the school's all-time yardage list.[4]
Texas A&M [edit]
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Aggies |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
| Buckeyes |
21 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
Coaching staff [edit]
- John Cooper - Head Coach - 11th year
- Bill Conley - Recruiting Coordinator (11th year)
- Jim Heacock - Defensive Line (4th year)
- Mike Jacobs - Offensive Coordinator (4th year)
- Fred Pagac - Defensive Coordinator (17th year)
- Tim Salem - (2nd year)
- Shawn Simms - Defensive Ends (2nd year)
- Tim Spencer - Running Backs (5th year)
- Chuck Strobart - Offensive Coordinator (4th year)
- Jon Tenuta - Defensive Backs (3rd year)
References [edit]
Dee Miller's Official Lost Lettermen Blog
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