CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Ohio State

11–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by John Cooper, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1996, game by game: won vs. Rice 70–7; won vs. Pittsburgh 72–0; won at No. 5 Notre Dame 29–16; won vs. No. 4 Penn State 38–7; won vs. Wisconsin 17–14; won at Purdue 42–14; won at No. 20 Iowa 38–26; won vs. Minnesota 45–0; won at Illinois 48–0; won at Indiana 27–17; lost vs. No. 21 Michigan 9–13; won vs. No. 2 Arizona State 20–17+72−4Won 70–7 vs. Rice+63RiceWon 72–0 vs. Pittsburgh+72PittsburghWon 29–16 at No. 5 Notre Dame+13No. 5 Notre DameWon 38–7 vs. No. 4 Penn State+31No. 4 Penn StateWon 17–14 vs. Wisconsin+3WisconsinWon 42–14 at Purdue+28PurdueWon 38–26 at No. 20 Iowa+12No. 20 IowaWon 45–0 vs. Minnesota+45MinnesotaWon 48–0 at Illinois+48IllinoisWon 27–17 at Indiana+10IndianaLost 9–13 vs. No. 21 Michigan-4No. 21 MichiganWon 20–17 vs. No. 2 Arizona State+3No. 2 Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsRiceW 70–⁠784%
Sep 21vsPittsburghW 72–⁠089%
Sep 28at5Notre DameW 29–⁠1643%
Oct 5vs4Penn StateW 38–⁠756%
Oct 12vsWisconsinW 17–⁠1479%
Oct 19atPurdueW 42–⁠1479%
Oct 26at20IowaW 38–⁠2665%
Nov 2vsMinnesotaW 45–⁠092%
Nov 9atIllinoisW 48–⁠084%
Nov 16atIndianaW 27–⁠1788%
Nov 23vs21MichiganL 9–⁠1376%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2Arizona StateRose BowlW 20–⁠1755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 20–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Wk 15: 6
  16. Wk 16: 5
  17. Wk 17: 4
  18. Final: 2

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 1996.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Northwestern

Heisman voteOrlando Pace, fourth

Outland TrophyOrlando Pace, OT; also the Lombardi

3 consensus All-AmericansOrlando Pace, OT; Mike Vrabel, DL; Shawn Springs, DB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
455–⁠131
Coach
John Cooper
Elo
1787 +122 this season
SP+ rating
31.1 No. 3 of 111; offense No. 6, defense No. 2
SRS
27.6 No. 3 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Joe Hollis
Defensive coordinator
Fred Pagac
Captains
Juan Porter and Greg Bellisari
Most valuable player
Orlando Pace
Offense
Singleback
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Orlando Pace OTSt. Louis Rams
Rd 1Shawn Springs DBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 2Rob Kelly DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 3Ty Howard DBArizona Cardinals
Rd 3Mike Vrabel DEPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Nicky Sualua RBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Matt Finkes DECarolina Panthers

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Juan PorterCCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Luke FickellDLCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Greg BellisariLBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Damon MooreDBMedia-2

From Wikipedia’s 1996 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1996 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠12
Northwestern7–⁠19–⁠315
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠27
Iowa6–⁠29–⁠318
Michigan5–⁠38–⁠420
Michigan State5–⁠36–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠74–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠9

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