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1989 Ohio State

8–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by John Cooper, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1989, game by game: won vs. Oklahoma State 37–13; lost at No. 12 USC 3–42; won vs. Boston College 34–29; lost at No. 18 Illinois 14–34; won vs. Indiana 35–31; won vs. Purdue 21–3; won at Minnesota 41–37; won at Northwestern 52–27; won vs. Iowa 28–0; won vs. Wisconsin 42–22; lost at No. 3 Michigan 18–28; lost vs. No. 9 Auburn 14–31+28−39Won 37–13 vs. Oklahoma State+24Oklahoma StateLost 3–42 at No. 12 USC-39No. 12 USCWon 34–29 vs. Boston College+5Boston CollegeLost 14–34 at No. 18 Illinois-20No. 18 IllinoisWon 35–31 vs. Indiana+4IndianaWon 21–3 vs. Purdue+18PurdueWon 41–37 at Minnesota+4MinnesotaWon 52–27 at Northwestern+25NorthwesternWon 28–0 vs. Iowa+28IowaWon 42–22 vs. Wisconsin+20WisconsinLost 18–28 at No. 3 Michigan-10No. 3 MichiganLost 14–31 vs. No. 9 Auburn-17No. 9 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsOklahoma StateW 37–⁠1342%
Sep 23at12USCL 3–⁠4228%
Sep 30vsBoston CollegeW 34–⁠2972%
Oct 7at18IllinoisL 14–⁠3447%
Oct 14vsIndianaW 35–⁠3143%
Oct 21vsPurdueW 21–⁠378%
Oct 28atMinnesotaW 41–⁠3751%
Nov 4atNorthwesternW 52–⁠2775%
Nov 11vsIowaW 28–⁠065%
Nov 18vsWisconsinW 42–⁠2286%
Nov 25at3MichiganL 18–⁠2822%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs9AuburnHall of Fame BowlL 14–⁠3128%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 31–⁠14 in the Hall of Fame Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 92nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 4: 25
  3. Wk 12: 22
  4. Wk 13: 20
  5. Wk 14: 21
  6. Wk 15: 21
  7. Wk 16: 21
  8. Final: 24

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1989.

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 20
Points
339–⁠297
Coach
John Cooper
Elo
1571 +68 this season
SP+ rating
7.3 No. 39 of 103; offense No. 30, defense No. 60
SRS
5.2 No. 36 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jim Colletto
Defensive coordinator
Bill Young
Captains
David Brown, Jeff Davidson, Zack Dumas, Derek Isaman and Joe Staysniak
Most valuable player
Derek Isaman
Offense
Singleback
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 5Jeff Davidson OGDenver Broncos
Rd 7Joe Staysniak OTSan Diego Chargers

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Greg FreyQBUPI-2
  • Dan BeattyCUPI-2
  • Alonzo SpellmanLinemen/outside linebackersUPI-2
  • Zack DumasDBUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠010–⁠27
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠210
Ohio State6–⁠28–⁠424
Michigan State6–⁠28–⁠416
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠6
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Wisconsin1–⁠72–⁠9
Northwestern0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.