2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Outback Bowl, L 7–24 vs. South Carolina
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chuck Stobart (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jon Tenuta (1st season)
MVP	Derek Combs
Captains	Rodney Bailey Steve Bellisari Joe Cooper Ken-Yon Rambo
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 95,346)

2000 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 Purdue $+		6	–	2					8	–	4
Northwestern +		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 11 Michigan +		6	–	2					9	–	3
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 represented the Ohio State University in 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record, including a 38–26 loss to rival Michigan in Columbus in the regular season finale and a 24–7 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2001 Outback Bowl. The losses dropped head coach John Cooper's record to 2–10–1 in Michigan–Ohio State games and 3–8 in bowl games, contributing to his dismissal from the team on January 2, 2001.

Coaching staff

• John Cooper - Head Coach - 13th year
• George Belu - Offensive Line (1st year)
• Bill Conley - Recruiting Coordinator (14th year)
• Jim Heacock - Defensive Line (5th year)
• Fred Pagac - Assistant Head Coach (19th year)
• Tim Salem - (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)

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Fresno State*	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 43–10	96,583
September 9	10:10 p.m.	at Arizona*	No. 18	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	FSN	W 27–17	57,367
September 16	12:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)*	No. 17	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 27–16	96,721
September 23	12:00 p.m.	Penn State	No. 14	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 45–6	98,144
October 7	3:30 p.m.	at No. 24 Wisconsin	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	W 23–7	79,045
October 14	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN2	L 17–29	98,120
October 21	12:00 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 14	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 38–10	60,495
October 28	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Purdue	No. 12	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	L 27–31	68,666
November 4	12:00 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–13	98,406
November 11	4:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN	W 24–21	61,207
November 18	12:00 p.m.	No. 19 Michigan	No. 12	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (The Game)	ABC	L 26–38	98,681
January 1, 2001	11:00 a.m.	vs. No. 14 South Carolina*	No. 22	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–24	65,229
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Fresno State 0 0 3 7 10 • No. 16 Ohio State 13 7 7 16 43 Date: September 2 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Game attendance: 96,583 TV announcers (ESPN+): Jim Barbar (Play-by-play), Al Harris (Color) & Jim Lachey (Sideline)

Scoring summary Q1 1:52 OHST Doss 1 yard fumble return (kick failed) OHST 6–0 Q1 1:37 OHST Mitchell 34 yard fumble return (Stultz kick) OHST 13–0 Q2 8:59 OHST Cacchio 23 yard pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick) OHST 20–0 Q3 10:54 OHST Mitchell 51 yard interception return (Stultz kick) OHST 27–0 Q3 9:41 FRES Asparuhov 25 yard field goal OHST 27–3 Q4 11:20 OHST Stultz 34 yard field goal OHST 30–3 Q4 4:56 OHST Wilhelm 25 yard interception return (Stultz kick) OHST 37–3 Q4 :05 FRES Davis 9 yard pass from Grady (Asparuhov kick) OHST 37–10 Q4 :00 OHST Bryant 44 yard pass from McMullen OHST 43–10

Arizona

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 18 Ohio State 3 7 14 3 27 Arizona 7 10 0 0 17 Date: September 9 Location: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ Game attendance: 57,367 TV announcers (FSN): Steve Physioc (Play-by-play) & Tom Ramsey (Color)

Scoring summary Q1 6:41 ARIZ Jenkins 10 yard run (Keel kick) ARIZ 7–0 Q1 3:09 OHST Stultz 26 yard field goal ARIZ 7–3 Q2 14:11 OHST Cheatwood 1 yard pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick) OHST 10–7 Q2 7:29 ARIZ Safety OHST 10–9 Q2 6:11 ARIZ Wade 60 yard pass from Jenkins (Jenkins run) ARIZ 17–10 Q3 7:53 OHST Cacchio 60 yard pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick) Tie 17–17 Q3 2:44 OHST Wells 1 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 24–17 Q4 12:52 OHST Stultz 20 yard field goal OHST 27–17

Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total Penn State 0 0 6 0 6 • No. 14 Ohio State 14 3 21 7 45 Date: September 23 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Game attendance: 98,144 TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline)

Scoring summary Q1 OHST Martin 1 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 7–0 Q1 OHST Sanders 18 yard pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick) OHST 14–0 Q2 OHST Stultz 31 yard field goal OHST 17–0 Q3 PSU McCoo 2 yard run (kick failed) OHST 17–6 Q3 OHST Combs 1 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 24–6 Q3 OHST Westbrooks 3 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 31–6 Q3 OHST Collins 11 yard fumble return (Stultz kick) OHST 38–6 Q4 OHST Maldonado 7 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 45–6

Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 8 Ohio State 13 7 3 0 23 No. 24 Wisconsin 0 0 7 0 7 Date: October 7 Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI Game attendance: 79,045 TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler (Play-by-play), Bob Griese (Color) & Lynn Swann (Sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:51 OHST Derek Combs 80 yard run (Dan Stultz kick) Ohio St 7–0 1 6:08 OHST Derek Combs 21 yard run (kick failed) Ohio St 13–0 2 1:12 OHST Darnell Sanders 20 yard pass from Steve Bellisari (Dan Stultz kick) Ohio St 20–0 3 5:25 WIS Michael Bennett 35 yard run (Vitaly Pisetsky kick) Ohio St 20–7 3 2:32 OHST Dan Stultz 24 yard field goal Ohio St 23–7

Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total No. 12 Ohio State 0 3 17 7 27 • No. 16 Purdue 0 7 3 21 31 Date: October 28 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game start: 2:34 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:34 Game attendance: 68,666 Game weather: Fair / Mostly sunny, 57 F, wind 15 E Referee: Steve Newman TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline)

Scoring summary 2 9:02 OSU Dan Stultz 35-yard field goal OSU 3–0 2 3:41 PUR Steve Ennis 2-yard run (Travis Dorsch kick) PUR 7–3 3 12:40 PUR Travis Dorsch 34-yard field goal PUR 10–3 3 8:52 OSU Dan Stultz 45-yard field goal PUR 10–6 3 3:41 OSU Jamar Martin 1-yard run (Stultz kick) OSU 13–10 3 1:53 OSU Nate Clements 83-yard punt return (Stultz kick) OSU 20–10 4 12:46 PUR John Standeford 5-yard pass from Drew Brees (Dorsch kick) OSU 20–17 4 5:59 PUR Vinny Sutherland 19-yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) PUR 24–20 4 2:16 OSU Westbrooks 2-yard run (Stultz kick) OSU 27–24 4 1:55 PUR Seth Morales 64-yard pass from Brees (Dorsch kick) PUR 31–27

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 13 Ohio State 3 9 6 6 24 Illinois 7 7 0 7 21 Date: November 11 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL Game attendance: 61,207 Television network: ESPN Source: USA Today

Scoring summary 1 13:25 Illinois Rocky Harvey 29-yard run (JJ Tubbs kick) Illinois 7-0 1 8:33 Ohio St Dan Stultz 19-yard field goal Illinois 7-3 2 14:42 Ohio St Dan Stultz 41-yard field goal Illinois 7-6 2 12:44 Illinois Antoineo Harris 25-yard run (JJ Tubbs kick) Illinois 14-6 2 :23 Ohio St Darnell Sanders 1-yard pass from Steve Bellisari (kick failed) Illinois 14-12 3 8:21 Ohio St Darnell Sanders 7-yard pass from Steve Bellisari (two-point conversion failed) Ohio St 18-14 4 14:17 Illinois Jameel Cook 1-yard pass from Dustin Ward (JJ Tubbs kick) Illinois 21-18 4 6:05 Ohio St Dan Stultz 17-yard field goal Tie 21-21 4 :00 Ohio St Dan Stultz 34-yard field goal Ohio St 24-21

Roster

2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 8 Steve Bellisari Jr 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 C 68 LeCharles Bentley Jr C 77 Tyson Walter Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 2 Mike Doss So LB 6 Cie Grant So DB 7 Derek Ross So CB 20 Nate Clements Jr DT 79 Ryan Pickett Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2001-02-14

Rankings

See also: 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	16	16	18	17	14	12	8	6	14	12	16	11	12	21	20	19	—
Coaches Poll	15	16	16	15	12	10	7	5	13	13	19	14	12	20	19	18	—
BCS	Not released									11	—	13	13	—	—	—	Not released

2001 NFL draftees

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

References

Win/Loss statistics

• Ohio State Historical Scores

Draft data

• Ohio State Drafted Players