2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
Record11–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Bollman (7th season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorJim Heacock (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorLuke Fickell (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 102,329)
Seasons
← 2006
2008 →
2007 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Ohio State $   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 18 Michigan   6 – 2     9 – 4  
No. 20 Illinois %   6 – 2     9 – 4  
No. 24 Wisconsin   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Penn State   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Iowa   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Purdue   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Indiana   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Michigan State   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Northwestern   3 – 5     6 – 6  
Minnesota   0 – 8     1 – 11  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Tressel led the Buckeyes to their fourth Big Ten Conference championship and third BCS National Championship Game in six years. The team finished the season with overall record of 11–2, with losses to conference-rival Illinois and LSU in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 112:00 p.m.Youngstown State*No. 10
BTNW 38–6105,038
September 812:00 p.m.Akron*No. 11
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 20–2104,317
September 153:30 p.m.at Washington*No. 10
ESPNW 33–1474,927
September 223:30 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 9
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABC/ESPNW 58–7105,178
September 298:00 p.m.at MinnesotaNo. 8
ESPN2W 30–751,611
October 68:00 p.m.at No. 20 PurdueNo. 4
ABCW 23–765,497
October 1312:00 p.m.Kent State*No. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 48–3105,051
October 203:30 p.m.Michigan StatedaggerNo. 1
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCW 24–17105,287
October 278:00 p.m.at No. 25 Penn StateNo. 1
ABCW 37–17110,134
November 312:00 p.m.No. 19 WisconsinNo. 1
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
BTNW 38–17105,449
November 103:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 1
ABC/ESPNL 21–28105,453
November 1712:00 p.m.at No. 23 MichiganNo. 7
ABCW 14–3111,941
January 7, 20087:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 LSU*No. 1
FOXL 24–3879,651
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
Panoramic view of the Buckeye vs. Wildcats game

Previous season

The 2006 Buckeyes squad finished the season as Big Ten Conference champions and ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches' polls. They finished the regular season undefeated and advanced to the 2007 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to the Florida Gators, ending the season with a record of 12–1.

The Buckeyes kick off.

Preseason

On March 6, Coach Jim Tressel announced the hiring of Assistant Coach Taver Johnson. Johnson is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of Wittenberg University. He had spent most of his coaching career at Miami University and had a very brief stint with the Oakland Raiders. Coach Johnson will replace Tim Beckman, who left Ohio State to become Defensive Coordinator at Oklahoma State University. Coach Johnson will coach the Cornerbacks.

Watch lists

Linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman along with defensive end Vernon Gholston were among the list of 65 players under consideration for the Bednarik Award while Chris "Beanie" Wells was on the 65-player list for the Maxwell Award.

Coaching staff

Results

Youngstown State

Youngstown State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Youngstown State 0 330 6
• No. 20 Ohio State 7 14314 38

[1]

Akron

Akron at Ohio State
1 234Total
Akron 2 000 2
• No. 11 Ohio State 0 3107 20

[2]

Washington

Ohio State at Washington
1 234Total
• No. 10 Ohio State 0 31416 33
Washington 0 707 14
Scoring summary
213:48OSURyan Pretorius 28-yard field goalOSU 3–0
20:03WASHAnthony Russo 23-yard pass from Jake Locker (Ryan Perkins kick)WASH 7–3
39:36OSUBrian Robiskie 68-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 10–7
38:57OSUChris Wells 14-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 17–7
414:05OSURyan Pretorius 23-yard field goalOSU 20–7
43:30OSUBrian Hartline 36-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 27–7
400:58WASHLouis Rankin 2-yard run (Ryan Perkins kick)OSU 27–14
40:00OSUBrandon Saine 37-yard run (no kick)OSU 33–14

[3]

Northwestern

Northwestern at Ohio State
1 234Total
Northwestern 0 070 7
• No. 9 Ohio State 28 17130 58

[4]

Minnesota

Ohio State at Minnesota
1 234Total
• No. 8 Ohio State 14 637 30
Minnesota 0 700 7

[5]

Purdue

See also: 2007 Purdue Boilermakers football team
#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–0) at #23 Purdue Boilermakers (5–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 14 3 3323
Purdue 0 0 077

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

Game information

[6]

Kent State

Kent State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Kent State 0 003 3
• No. 3 Ohio State 7 28103 48

[7]

Michigan State

Michigan State at Ohio State
1 234Total
Michigan State 0 0143 17
• No. 1 Ohio State 10 770 24

[8]

Penn State

Ohio State at Penn State
1 234Total
• No. 1 Ohio State 10 7713 37
No. 25 Penn State 7 037 17
Scoring summary
Q112:16OSURyan Pretorius 50 yard field goalOSU 3–0
Q18:25PSURodney Kinlaw 2 yard run (Kevin Kelly kick)PSU 7–3
Q14:59OSUBrian Robiskie 9 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 10–7
Q29:53OSUBrian Hartline 16 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 17–7
Q36:10OSUJake Ballard 15 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 24–7
Q31:27PSUKevin Kelly 27 yard field goalOSU 24–10
Q49:52OSURyan Pretorius 37 yard field goalOSU 27–10
Q49:36OSUMalcolm Jenkins 24 yard interception return (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 34–10
Q43:30OSURyan Pretorius 35 yard field goalOHST 37–10
Q43:16PSUA.J. Wallace 97 yard kickoff return (Kevin Kelly kick)OSU 37–17

[9]

Wisconsin

Wisconsin at Ohio State
1 234Total
No. 19 Wisconsin 3 0140 17
• No. 1 Ohio State 7 3721 38
Scoring summary
112:15OSUBrian Robiskie 30-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 7–0
14:49WISTyler Mehlhaff 21-yard field goalOSU 7–3
20:06OSURyan Pretorius 27-yard field goalOSU 10–3
312:37WisconsinTravis Beckum 28-yard pass from Tyler Donovan (Tyler Mehlhaff kick)Tie 10–10
36:53WISChris Pressley 2-yard pass from Tyler Donovan (Tyler Mehlhaff kick)WIS 17–10
32:41OSUChris Wells 31-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)Tie 17–17
414:18OSUChris Wells 30-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 24–17
410:05OSUBrian Robiskie 8-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 31–17
43:16OSUChris Wells 23-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 38–17

Ohio State sets record with 20th straight Big Ten win.[10]

Illinois

Illinois at Ohio State
1 234Total
• Illinois 14 770 28
No. 1 Ohio State 14 070 21

[11]

Michigan

Ohio State at Michigan
1 234Total
• No. 7 Ohio State 0 770 14
No. 23 Michigan 3 000 3
Scoring summary
11:37MICHK.C. Lopata 33-yard field goalMICH 3–0
210:08OSUChris Wells 1-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 7–3
213:40OSUChris Wells 62-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick)OSU 14–3

[12]

National Championship Game

LSU vs. Ohio State
1 234Total
• No. 2 LSU 3 2177 38
No. 1 Ohio State 10 077 24

On January 7, 2008 the Buckeyes played at the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans, Louisiana in the Louisiana Superdome. This was the first time in the school's history that the football team had played back to back National Championship games. The Buckeyes ended up losing the game to the Louisiana State University Tigers, 38–24. After a strong initial start (a 10–0 run in the first quarter in favor of the Buckeyes), the LSU Tigers went on one of their own, 31–0, from the first to third quarters. Two key pivotal special teams plays contributed to the LSU run, one being a blocked 38 yard Ryan Pretorius (Ohio State) field goal in the first quarter, and a roughing the kicker penalty committed by Austin Spitler (Ohio State) on a punt that extended an LSU touchdown drive in the third. Both teams scored 14 points in the second half which lead to a Tigers' victory due to the 2nd quarter LSU scoring deficit.

Rankings

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP11121088431 (50)1 (57)1 (59)1 (60)7531 (50)5
Coaches101110984 (1)3 (2)1 (56)1 (58)1 (56)1 (55)753 (6)1 (46)4
HarrisNot released7431 (110)1 (111)1 (114)1 (112)753 (11)1 (98)Not released
BCSNot released11117531Not released

Players

Roster

Wide receivers
  • 5 Dukes, Albert – Junior
  • 9 Hartline, Brian – Sophomore
  • 89 Hummel, Garrett – Freshman
  • Jordan, Devin – Senior
  • 18 Sharp, Luke – Junior
  • 18 Lyons, Devon – Junior
  • 86 Potokar, Dan – Sophomore
  • 80 Robiskie, Brian – Junior
  • 15 Ruhl, Kyle – Junior
  • 12 Sanzenbacher, Dane – Freshman
  • 4 Small, Ray – Sophomore
  • 81 Ullery, Brent – Senior
  • 19 Washington, Taurian – Freshman
Offensive tackles
  • 74 Barton, Kirk – Senior
  • 75 Boone, Alex – Junior
  • 65 Ebner, Doug – Junior
  • 66 Moses, Andrew – Sophomore
  • 77 Smith, Connor – Freshman
  • 76 Sika, Scott – Sophomore
  • 69 Slagle, Zach – Freshman
Offensive guards
  • 68 Blankenship, Evan – Freshman
  • 70 Browning, Bryant – Freshman
  • 78 Dye, Daniel – Senior
  • 67 Mitchum, Kyle – Junior
  • 63 Person, Ben – Junior
  • 71 Rehring, Steve – Sophomore
  • 79 Skinner, Jon – Junior
Centers
  • 64 Cordle, Jim – Sophomore
  • 57 Malone, Chris – Sophomore
Tight end
  • 86 Ballard, Jake – Sophomore
  • 46 Larson, J.D – Sophomore
  • 82 Miller, Andy – Freshman
  • 88 Nicol, Rory – Junior
  • 87 Smith, Brandon – Junior
Quarterback
  • 17 Boeckman, Todd – Junior
  • 14 Bauserman, Joe – Freshman
  • 7 Henton, Antonio – Freshman
  • 13 Kacsandi, Ben – Junior
  • 11 Schoenhoft, Rob – Sophomore
  
Running back
  • 46 Christian, K.C. – Freshman
  • 35 DeLande, Bo – Freshman
  • 33 Gantz, Joe – Sophomore
  • 2 Herron, Daniel – Freshman
  • 16 Robinson, Trever – Senior
  • 3 Saine, Brandon – Freshman
  • 28 Wells, Chris – Sophomore
  • 34 Wells, Maurice – Junior
  • 24 Williams, Marcus – Freshman
Fullback
  • 49 Johnson, Dionte – Senior
  • 43 Olson, Aram – Freshman
  • 48 Smith, Spencer – Freshman
  • 42 Whaley, Tyler – Senior
Defensive lineman
  • 92 Daly, Brett – Senior
  • 92 Denlinger, Todd – Sophomore
  • 50 Gholston, Vernon – Junior
  • 90 Gray, Bryan – Sophomore
  • 95 Rietschlin, Chris – Junior
Defensive tackles
  • 93 Abdallah, Nader – Junior
  • 97 Heyward, Cameron – Freshman
  • 72 Larimore, Dexter – Freshman
Defensive end
  • 78 Barrow, Alex – Junior
  • 57 Ingham, Tom – Sophomore
  • 9 Rose, Robert – Freshman
  • 98 Thomas, Solomon – Freshman
  • 87 Wilson, Lawrence – Junior
  • 84 Worthington, Doug – Sophomore
Cornerbacks
Defensive backs
  • 5 Chekwa, Chimdi – Freshman
  • 32 Clifford, Eugene – Freshman
  • 36 Daniels, Matt – Junior
  • 39 Dougherty, Michael – Junior
  • 30 Evege, Donnie – Freshman
  • 41 Haslam, De'Angelo – Senior
  • 2 Jenkins, Malcolm – Junior
  • 24 Schwartz, Grant – Freshman
  • 11 Scott, James – Freshman
  • 20 Washington, Donald – Sophomore
  • 17 Willis, Zach – Junior
  
Linebackers
  • 1 Freeman, Marcus Jr.
  • 37 Gibson, Thaddeus – Freshman
  • 6 Grant, Larry – Senior
  • 7 Hines, Jermale – Freshman
  • 51 Homan, Ross – Sophomore
  • 44 Johnson, Mark – Freshman
  • 33 Laurinaitis, James – Junior
  • 59 Libby, Kyle – Freshman
  • 49 Lukens, Ryan – Junior
  • 26 Moeller, Tyler – Freshman
  • 36 Rolle, Brian – Freshman
  • 38 Spitler, Austin – Sophomore
  • 55 Terry, Curtis – Senior
Safety
  • 8 Gant, Aaron So.
  • 3 O'Neal, Jamario Jr.
  • 14 Oliver, Nate Fr.
  • 23 Patterson, Nick Jr.
  • 25 Pentello, Rocco Fr.
  • 21 Russell, Anderson So.
  • 10 Torrence, Devon Fr.
Long snappers
  • 52 Curtis, Don – Freshman
  • 61 Haas, Jackson – Senior
  • 53 Howe, Patrick – Freshman
  • 56 Makridis, Dimitrios – Senior
  • 96 McQuaide, Jake – Freshman
Kickers
  • 12 Barclay, Devin – Freshman
  • 39 Good, Andrew Jr.
  • 41 Mattimoe, Matt – Sophomore
  • 20 Pettrey, Aaron – Sophomore
  • 85 Pretorius, Ryan Jr.
Punters
  • 15 Trapasso, A.J. – Junior
  • 48 Thoma, John – Sophomore
  • 94 Bartholomew, Benjamin – Freshman

2008 NFL draftees

Player Round Pick Position NFL club
Vernon Gholston 1 6 Defensive end New York Jets
Larry Grant 7 214 Linebacker San Francisco 49ers
Kirk Barton 7 247 Tackle Chicago Bears

References

  1. ^ "Steady Buckeyes Use Big Plays to Bash Penguins in Opener". ESPN. September 1, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  2. ^ "No. 12 Buckeyes Force 14 Punts, Allow 71 Yards to Zips". ESPN. September 8, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  3. ^ "Wells Plows Through Washington as Ohio St. Cruises". ESPN. September 15, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Buckeyes' Offense Explodes in Big Ten Opener vs. Northwestern". ESPN. September 22, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "Wells, No. 8 Buckeyes Breeze Past Gophers". ESPN. September 29, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Boeckman Throws Two TDs as Buckeyes Stuff Boilermakers". ESPN. October 6, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "No. 3 Ohio St. Remains Unbeaten with Rout of Kent St". ESPN. October 13, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "Late Turnovers Keep Spartans Close in Nervy Buckeye Win". ESPN. October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. ^ "Top-Ranked Buckeyes Use Offense to Silence Penn State". ESPN. October 27, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  10. ^ "Ohio St. Gets Big Ten Record 20th Straight Conference Win". ESPN. November 3, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  11. ^ "Illinois Shocks Top-Ranked Ohio State in Columbus". ESPN. November 10, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  12. ^ "Ohio State Takes Down Michigan for Sixth Time in Seven Years". ESPN. November 17, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
Categories