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2002 Ohio State

14–⁠0 (8–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Jim Tressel, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2002, game by game: won vs. Texas Tech 45–21; won vs. Kent State 51–17; won vs. No. 10 Washington State 25–7; won at Cincinnati 23–19; won vs. Indiana 45–17; won at Northwestern 27–16; won vs. San José State 50–7; won at Wisconsin 19–14; won vs. No. 18 Penn State 13–7; won vs. No. 23 Minnesota 34–3; won at Purdue 10–6; won at Illinois 23–16; won vs. No. 12 Michigan 14–9; won vs. No. 1 Miami 31–24+43Won 45–21 vs. Texas Tech+24Texas TechWon 51–17 vs. Kent State+34Kent StateWon 25–7 vs. No. 10 Washington State+18No. 10 Washington StateWon 23–19 at Cincinnati+4CincinnatiWon 45–17 vs. Indiana+28IndianaWon 27–16 at Northwestern+11NorthwesternWon 50–7 vs. San José State+43San José StateWon 19–14 at Wisconsin+5WisconsinWon 13–7 vs. No. 18 Penn State+6No. 18 Penn StateWon 34–3 vs. No. 23 Minnesota+31No. 23 MinnesotaWon 10–6 at Purdue+4PurdueWon 23–16 at Illinois+7IllinoisWon 14–9 vs. No. 12 Michigan+5No. 12 MichiganWon 31–24 vs. No. 1 Miami+7No. 1 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 24vsTexas TechW 45–⁠2161%
Sep 7vsKent StateW 51–⁠1775%
Sep 14vs10Washington StateW 25–⁠758%
Sep 21atCincinnatiW 23–⁠1962%
Sep 28vsIndianaW 45–⁠1778%
Oct 5atNorthwesternW 27–⁠1676%
Oct 12vsSan José StateW 50–⁠782%
Oct 19atWisconsinW 19–⁠1460%
Oct 26vs18Penn StateW 13–⁠772%
Nov 2vs23MinnesotaW 34–⁠373%
Nov 9atPurdueW 10–⁠670%
Nov 16atIllinoisW 23–⁠1667%
Nov 23vs12MichiganW 14–⁠967%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvs1MiamiFiesta BowlW 31–⁠2435%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 31–⁠24 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 2002.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Big Ten champions8–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Iowa

3 consensus All-AmericansMatt Wilhelm, LB; Mike Doss, S; Mike Nugent, K

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearJim Tressel, coach; also the Bear Bryant Award and Bobby Dodd Award

Record
14–⁠0
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
410–⁠183
Coach
Jim Tressel
Elo
1791 +216 this season
SP+ rating
24.7 No. 6 of 117; offense No. 33, defense No. 1
SRS
18.9 No. 7 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 4
Offensive coordinator
Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinator
Mark Dantonio
Most valuable player
Chris Gamble and Craig Krenzel
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 33— allowed
Defense0.0own 27— 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 2002 class

Mike D’Andrea ILB★★★★★No. 15
Derek Morris OT★★★★★No. 21
Justin Zwick PRO★★★★★No. 34
Maurice Clarett RB★★★★★No. 35
Doug Datish OT★★★★No. 62
Quinn Pitcock DT★★★★No. 71
Mike Kudla SDE★★★★No. 106

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.984
Running backs15.00.984
Offensive line34.00.922
Defensive line33.70.901
Linebackers15.00.993
Defensive backs13.00.800
Whole class104.10.923

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 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 2Mike Doss DBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Kenny Peterson DEGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Cie Grant LBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 4Matt Wilhelm LBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Donnie Nickey DBTennessee Titans

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2002 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2002 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠014–⁠01
Iowa8–⁠011–⁠28
Michigan6–⁠210–⁠39
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠416
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠58–⁠5
Wisconsin2–⁠68–⁠6
Michigan State2–⁠64–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠9

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