CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1991 Ohio State

8–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by John Cooper.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1991, game by game: won vs. Arizona 38–14; won vs. Louisville 23–15; won vs. Washington State 33–19; won vs. Wisconsin 31–16; lost at No. 20 Illinois 7–10; won vs. Northwestern 34–3; won vs. Michigan State 27–17; lost vs. No. 11 Iowa 9–16; won at Minnesota 35–6; won vs. Indiana 20–16; lost at No. 4 Michigan 3–31; lost vs. No. 16 Syracuse 17–24+31−28Won 38–14 vs. Arizona+24ArizonaWon 23–15 vs. Louisville+8LouisvilleWon 33–19 vs. Washington State+14Washington StateWon 31–16 vs. Wisconsin+15WisconsinLost 7–10 at No. 20 Illinois-3No. 20 IllinoisWon 34–3 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 27–17 vs. Michigan State+10Michigan StateLost 9–16 vs. No. 11 Iowa-7No. 11 IowaWon 35–6 at Minnesota+29MinnesotaWon 20–16 vs. Indiana+4IndianaLost 3–31 at No. 4 Michigan-28No. 4 MichiganLost 17–24 vs. No. 16 Syracuse-7No. 16 Syracuse
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsArizonaW 38–⁠1460%
Sep 14vsLouisvilleW 23–⁠1558%
Sep 21vsWashington StateW 33–⁠1979%
Oct 5vsWisconsinW 31–⁠1682%
Oct 12at20IllinoisL 7–⁠1042%
Oct 19vsNorthwesternW 34–⁠383%
Oct 26vsMichigan StateW 27–⁠1773%
Nov 2vs11IowaL 9–⁠1657%
Nov 9atMinnesotaW 35–⁠664%
Nov 16vsIndianaW 20–⁠1667%
Nov 23at4MichiganL 3–⁠3124%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16SyracuseHall of Fame BowlL 17–⁠2439%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Syracuse 24–⁠17 in the Hall of Fame Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 81st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 2: 22
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 16
  5. Wk 5: 15
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 13
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 19
  13. Wk 13: 18
  14. Wk 14: 24
  15. Wk 15: 25

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 1991.

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
277–⁠187
Coach
John Cooper
Elo
1602 +52 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 38 of 104; offense No. 57, defense No. 25
SRS
7.7 No. 33 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Elliot Uzelac
Defensive coordinator
Bill Young
Captains
Carlos Snow, Scottie Graham and John Kacherski
Most valuable player
Carlos Snow
Offense
Singleback
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1992

The 1992 draft
Rd 1Alonzo Spellman DEChicago Bears
Rd 7Scottie Graham RBPittsburgh Steelers

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Carlos SnowRBAP-2
  • Greg SmithDLAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1991 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1991 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠010–⁠26
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠1–⁠110
Ohio State5–⁠38–⁠4
Indiana5–⁠37–⁠4–⁠1
Illinois4–⁠46–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠7
Michigan State3–⁠53–⁠8
Wisconsin2–⁠65–⁠6
Northwestern2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠72–⁠9

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