CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2001 Ohio State

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Jim Tressel.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2001, game by game: won vs. Akron 28–14; lost at UCLA 6–13; won at Indiana 27–14; won vs. No. 14 Northwestern 38–20; lost vs. Wisconsin 17–20; won vs. San Diego State 27–12; lost at Penn State 27–29; won at Minnesota 31–28; won vs. Purdue 35–9; lost vs. No. 12 Illinois 22–34; won at No. 11 Michigan 26–20; lost vs. No. 14 South Carolina 28–31+26−12Won 28–14 vs. Akron+14AkronLost 6–13 at UCLA-7UCLAWon 27–14 at Indiana+13IndianaWon 38–20 vs. No. 14 Northwestern+18No. 14 NorthwesternLost 17–20 vs. Wisconsin-3WisconsinWon 27–12 vs. San Diego State+15San Diego StateLost 27–29 at Penn State-2Penn StateWon 31–28 at Minnesota+3MinnesotaWon 35–9 vs. Purdue+26PurdueLost 22–34 vs. No. 12 Illinois-12No. 12 IllinoisWon 26–20 at No. 11 Michigan+6No. 11 MichiganLost 28–31 vs. No. 14 South Carolina-3No. 14 South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsAkronW 28–⁠1468%
Sep 22atUCLAL 6–⁠1346%
Sep 29atIndianaW 27–⁠1463%
Oct 6vs14NorthwesternW 38–⁠2059%
Oct 13vsWisconsinL 17–⁠2065%
Oct 20vsSan Diego StateW 27–⁠1280%
Oct 27atPenn StateL 27–⁠2959%
Nov 3atMinnesotaW 31–⁠2853%
Nov 10vsPurdueW 35–⁠958%
Nov 17vs12IllinoisL 22–⁠3452%
Nov 24at11MichiganW 26–⁠2025%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14South CarolinaOutback BowlL 28–⁠3156%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 31–⁠28 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 75th-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: 23
  3. Wk 3: 24
  4. Wk 8: 21
  5. Wk 13: 25
  6. Wk 15: 23
  7. Wk 16: 22

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 2001.

Rimington TrophyLeCharles Bentley, C

Consensus All-AmericanLeCharles Bentley, C

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
312–⁠244
Coach
Jim Tressel
Elo
1613 +47 this season
SP+ rating
11.1 No. 36 of 117; offense No. 60, defense No. 24
SRS
9.5 No. 29 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 6
Offensive coordinator
Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinator
Mark Dantonio
Captains
Steve Bellisari, Mike Collins, Joe Cooper and Jamar Martin
Most valuable player
Jonathon Wells
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 34— allowed
Defense-0.1own 31— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2001 class

Lydell Ross RB★★★★No. 50
Reggie Arden OLB★★★★No. 59
Maurice Hall RB★★★★No. 73
Simon Fraser SDE★★★★No. 94
Angelo Chattams WR★★★★No. 101
Dustin Fox S★★★★No. 104

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2001 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs24.00.978
Receivers14.00.968
Defensive line14.00.970
Linebackers14.00.979
Defensive backs14.00.968
Whole class64.00.974

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 2LeCharles Bentley CNew Orleans Saints
Rd 3Derek Ross DBDallas Cowboys
Rd 4Jonathan Wells RBHouston Texans
Rd 4Darnell Sanders TECleveland Browns
Rd 4Jamar Martin RBDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Courtland Bullard LBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 6Tyson Walter OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Steve Bellisari DBSt. Louis Rams

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jonathan WellsRBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Mike CollinsDLCoaches-2
  • Joe CooperLBCoaches-2
  • Derek RossDBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Andy GroomPCoaches-2; Media-2

From Wikipedia’s 2001 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2001 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠212
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠420
Ohio State5–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠46–⁠6
Penn State4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠5
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7

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