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2020 Ohio State

7–⁠1 (5–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Ryan Day, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2020, game by game: won vs. Nebraska 52–17; won at No. 18 Penn State 38–25; won vs. Rutgers 49–27; won vs. No. 9 Indiana 42–35; won at Michigan State 52–12; won vs. No. 15 Northwestern 22–10; won vs. No. 4 Clemson 49–28; lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 24–52+40−28Won 52–17 vs. Nebraska+35NebraskaWon 38–25 at No. 18 Penn State+13No. 18 Penn StateWon 49–27 vs. Rutgers+22RutgersWon 42–35 vs. No. 9 Indiana+7No. 9 IndianaWon 52–12 at Michigan State+40Michigan StateWon 22–10 vs. No. 15 Northwestern+12No. 15 NorthwesternWon 49–28 vs. No. 4 Clemson+21No. 4 ClemsonLost 24–52 vs. No. 1 Alabama-28No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 24vsNebraskaW 52–⁠1786%
Oct 31at18Penn StateW 38–⁠2555%
Nov 7vsRutgersW 49–⁠2793%
Nov 21vs9IndianaW 42–⁠3578%
Dec 5atMichigan StateW 52–⁠1279%
Dec 19vs15NorthwesternBig Ten Championship GameW 22–⁠1079%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4ClemsonSugar Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 49–⁠2845%
Jan 11Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaCFP National ChampionshipL 24–⁠5244%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 52–⁠24 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Big Ten champions5–⁠0 in the conference, won the Big Ten Championship Game

2 consensus All-AmericansWyatt Davis, OL; Shaun Wade, DB

Record
7–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
328–⁠206
Coach
Ryan Day
Elo
1824 +73 this season
SP+ rating
28.4 No. 1 of 130; offense No. 2, defense No. 7
SRS
21.6 No. 2 of 77 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 69 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 3 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Wilson
Defensive coordinators
Kerry Coombs and Greg Mattison
Captains
Wyatt Davis, Tuf Borland, Shaun Wade, Justin Hilliard, Justin Fields and Jonathon Cooper
Offense
West Coast spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense6th of 127
  • Defense56th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted54th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3151%1.326th of 127
Defense0.1044%1.2556th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.29 off
0.10 def		52% off
43% def		—2nd off
54th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.2own 2916% allowed
Defense3.7own 2418% caused

CORE rating 22.2, 4th of 127 (offense 18.7, defense -3.5).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJustin Fields QB2,100 yds
Passing touchdownsJustin Fields QB22 TD
Rushing yardsTrey Sermon RB870 yds
Rushing touchdownsMaster Teague RB8 TD
Receiving yardsChris Olave WR729 yds
Receiving touchdownsChris Olave WR7 TD
TacklesPete Werner LB54 tkl
SacksJonathon Cooper DE3.5 sacks
InterceptionsShaun Wade CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Julian Fleming WR★★★★★No. 3
Paris Johnson Jr. OT★★★★★No. 9
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR★★★★★No. 29
C.J. Stroud PRO★★★★No. 42
Gee Scott Jr. WR★★★★No. 66
Cody Simon ILB★★★★No. 75
Mookie Cooper WR★★★★No. 93
Luke Wypler OC★★★★No. 108

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.936
Running backs13.00.873
Receivers54.40.960
Offensive line63.50.904
Defensive line33.70.910
Linebackers34.00.931
Defensive backs34.00.914
Athletes and specialists23.50.872
Whole class253.80.919

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Justin Fields QBChicago Bears
Rd 2Pete Werner ILBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Josh Myers CGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Wyatt Davis OGMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Trey Sermon RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Baron Browning OLBDenver Broncos
Rd 4Tommy Togiai DTCleveland Browns
Rd 5Luke Farrell TEJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5Shaun Wade CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 7Jonathon Cooper DEDenver Broncos

Roster 122

The 2020 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State5–⁠07–⁠12
Northwestern6–⁠17–⁠210
Indiana6–⁠16–⁠212
Iowa6–⁠26–⁠216
Wisconsin3–⁠34–⁠3
Penn State4–⁠54–⁠5
Minnesota3–⁠43–⁠4
Maryland2–⁠32–⁠3
Nebraska3–⁠53–⁠5
Rutgers3–⁠63–⁠6
Michigan2–⁠42–⁠4
Purdue2–⁠42–⁠4
Michigan State2–⁠52–⁠5
Illinois2–⁠62–⁠6

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