Coach:
John Cooper
103-39-4, 12 years
185-79-6, 23 years overall |
1999 Record: 6-6
Aug
29 |
Miami
(FL) |
Lost
12-23 |
Sep
11 |
UCLA |
Won
42-20 |
Sep
18 |
Ohio |
Won
40-16 |
Sep
25 |
Cincinnati |
Won
34-20 |
Oct
02 |
Wisconsin |
Lost
17-42 |
Oct
09 |
Purdue |
Won
25-22 |
Oct
16 |
@Penn
State |
Lost
10-23 |
Oct
23 |
@Minnesota |
Won
20-17 |
Oct
30 |
Iowa |
Won
41-11 |
Nov
06 |
@Michigan
State |
Lost
7-23 |
Nov
13 |
Illinois |
Lost
20-46 |
Nov
20 |
@Michigan |
Lost
17-24 |
|
|
1999
Final Rankings
|
AP-NR, BCS-NR,
Coaches-NR
|
2000 Outlook
|
Any debate about how Ohio State's 1999
season should be viewed was settled by coach John Cooper
minutes after the Buckeyes' season-ending 24-17 loss
at Michigan which dropped them to 6-6. "Hopefully, none
of us at Ohio State will ever have to go through another
year like this one,'' Cooper said. Having gone to 10
consecutive postseason bowls, OSU sat out because it
didn't finish with an above-.500 record. Coach John
Cooper is talking about big plans for the future. Prior
to spring ball, he practically guaranteed a winning
season when he said OSU would be back in the national
championship picture. Cooper has new offensive and defensive
coordinators and a new assistant head coach. The Buckeyes
will go as far as QB Steve Bellisari takes them. It's
hard to put that kind of responsibility on one player,
but with those two wideouts and the possibilities at
tailback, it's up to Bellisari. The second need will
be to develope some team chemistry and forget about
last season. The schedule is tough with all of the Big
Ten power hitters dotting the schedule. Ohio State will
overcome their bowl disappearing act, but how good of
a bowl awaits.
Projected record: 8-4
Ohio
State 2000 Schedule
|
OHIO STATE
*POWER RATINGS
|
Offense
|
Defense
|
QB - 2 |
DL - 4.5 |
RB - 2.5 |
LB - 3.5 |
WR - 5 |
DB - 1.5 |
OL - 3 |
|
|
|
|
OHIO
STATE BUCKEYES
2000 FOOTBALL PREVIEW
|
|
|
2000
OFFENSE
|
The Big Ten is loaded with outstanding
receivers, and two of the best are in Columbus with Reggie Germany
and Ken-Yon Rambo. Both are big time game breakers. Other than
Rambo, OSU's best offensive player could be lineman Tyson Walter,
a four-year starter at left tackle. This year, OSU will possess
one of the better lines in the Big Ten. LeCharles Bentley moves
to center after being the 1999 OSU Lineman of the Year playing
both guard and tackle. How quickly will quarterback Steve Bellisari
develop? He put up decent numbers last year after taking the
job away early in the year, but his play was often erratic.
Bellisari took over as the starter in the season's third week
and embarked on a wild ride that saw him complete more than
50 percent of his passes only twice in 10 starts while finishing
as the league's lowest-ranked passer and the worst at OSU in
more than 20 years. Michael Wiley was a very productive running
back for the Buckeyes in '99 but they should be able to replace
him with little trouble. Look for OSU to go with alternating
ball carriers playing the back with the hottest hand, or feet.
Seniors Derek Combs and Jerry Westbrooks team with junior Jonathan
Wells to provide different styles and looks for the defenses.
Wells will be the #1 back providing a punishing style while
Combs gives the Bukeyes a speedier dimension. The only positive
in losing fullback Matt Keller to injury last season is it gave
Jamar Martin a chance to showcase himself as an outstanding
blocker. |
OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
|
QB |
Steve
Bellisari |
6-3 |
220 |
Jr. |
|
Craig
Krenzel |
6-4 |
215 |
Fr. |
FB |
Jamar
Martin |
6-1 |
245 |
Jr. |
|
Jesse
Kline |
6-2 |
210 |
Fr. |
RB |
Derek
Combs |
6-2 |
197 |
Sr. |
|
Jonathan
Wells |
6-1 |
230 |
Jr. |
WR |
Reggie
Germany |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
|
Vanness
Provitt |
6-3 |
200 |
Sr. |
WR |
Ken-Yon
Rambo |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
|
Chad
Cacchio |
6-0 |
190 |
Jr. |
T |
Tyson
Walter |
6-5 |
295 |
Sr. |
|
Ivan
Douglas |
6-6 |
310 |
Jr. |
G |
Mike
Gurr |
6-7 |
290 |
Sr. |
|
Jim
Massey |
6-5 |
290 |
Jr. |
C |
LeCharles
Bentley |
6-3 |
290 |
Jr. |
|
Mike
Jacobs |
6-1 |
285 |
Jr. |
G |
Tam
Hopkins |
6-5 |
305 |
Jr. |
|
Scott
Kuhnhein |
6-6 |
285 |
So. |
T |
Henry
Fleming |
6-7 |
305 |
Sr. |
|
Adrien
Clarke |
6-4 |
342 |
Fr. |
TE |
Darnell
Sanders |
6-6 |
265 |
So. |
|
Ben
Hartsock |
6-4 |
250 |
Fr. |
K |
Dan
Stultz |
6-0 |
205 |
Sr. |
|
B.J.
Sander |
6-3 |
195 |
Fr. |
Returning
starters in bold. |
Key
Losses: Michael Wiley-TB, Ben Gilbert-OL, Kurt Murphy-C,
Steve Wisniewski-TE,
Matt Keller-FB
|
|
2000
DEFENSE
|
The most solid unit will continue
to be the defensive line, where all four starters return for
the Buckeyes and had solid springs. They're extremely deep with
experience up front. The strength is up the middle where the
tackles, Mike Collins and Ryan Pickett return while Joe Brown
is back after being hindered by shoulder troubles last season.
Linebacker Na'il Diggs has left early for the NFL after leading
the Buckeyes with 94 tackles, including team-highs of 15 stops
for a loss and six quarterback sacks. This season, the Buckeyes
will be looking for the whole corps to be playmakers and not
rely on a Diggs or a Katzenmoyer. The coaches are high on junior
college transfer Jack Tucker, who will be up for one of the
starting linebacker spots. The losses on defense will include
cornerback Ahmed Plummer and safety Gary Berry and so half of
the secondary will need to be rebuilt. The better the linemen
rush the quarterback, the better the weakened secondary will
be. |
DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
|
DE |
Rodney
Bailey |
6-3 |
270 |
Sr. |
|
Kenny
Peterson |
6-4 |
265 |
So. |
DT |
Ryan
Pickett |
6-3 |
290 |
Jr. |
|
Tim
Anderson |
6-4 |
280 |
Fr. |
DT |
Mike
Collins |
6-3 |
290 |
Jr. |
|
Heath
Queen |
6-5 |
275 |
Jr. |
DE |
Brent
Johnson |
6-4 |
265 |
Sr. |
|
Joe
Brown |
6-6 |
285 |
Sr. |
OLB |
Joe
Cooper |
6-2 |
225 |
Sr. |
|
Pat
O'Neill |
6-3 |
215 |
Fr. |
MLB |
Jason
Ott |
6-4 |
240 |
Jr. |
|
Fred
Pagac |
6-1 |
218 |
So. |
OLB |
Courtland
Bullard |
6-3 |
220 |
Jr. |
|
Matt
Wilhelm |
6-4 |
240 |
So. |
CB |
Nate
Clements |
6-0 |
190 |
Jr. |
|
Richard
McNutt |
5-10 |
160 |
Fr. |
CB |
David
Mitchell |
6-1 |
195 |
Sr. |
|
Derek
Ross |
6-1 |
200 |
Jr. |
SS |
Mike
Doss |
6-0 |
185 |
So. |
|
Duane
Crooks |
5-10 |
185 |
So. |
FS |
Donnie
Nickey |
6-3 |
203 |
So. |
|
David
Mitchell |
6-1 |
195 |
Sr. |
P |
Dan
Stultz |
6-0 |
205 |
Sr. |
|
B.J.
Sander |
6-3 |
195 |
Fr. |
Returning
starters in bold. |
Key
Losses: Na'il Diggs-LB, James Cotton-DE, Ahmed Plummer-DB,
Gary Berry-DB, Percy King-DB
|
|
|