1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head football coach was John Cooper. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11–1, and a Big Ten Conference record of 7–1. They were co-champions of the Big Ten Conference with the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan Wolverines and played in one of the premiere Bowl Championship Series bowl games, the 1999 Sugar Bowl.

1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten co-champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 24–14 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
1998 record	11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (11th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Jacobs (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Fred Pagac (3rd season)
MVP	Joe Germaine
Captains	Joe Germaine Jerry Rudzinski Antoine Winfield
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 89,841)

1998 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Ohio State %+		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 6 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 12 Michigan +		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 24 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 17 Penn State		5	–	3					9	–	3
Michigan State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					5	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					3	–	8
Iowa		2	–	6					3	–	8
Northwestern		0	–	8					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Led by senior quarterback Joe Germaine, the Buckeyes were the preseason number one team and remained top-ranked throughout the majority of the season. The Buckeyes only loss came late in the season to the Michigan State Spartans. The team blew a 15-point lead late in the game to fall 28–24.

Because of the late loss, Ohio State was kept out of the National Championship Game, the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. Their regular season "miss" of not playing fellow tri-champion Wisconsin also cost the Buckeyes a trip to the 1999 Rose Bowl because Ohio State was the last to play in the Rose Bowl in 1997, Wisconsin last played in 1994.[1]

The Buckeyes beat Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl to finish second in both polls behind the Tennessee Volunteers after their victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	8:00 p.m.	at No. 11 West Virginia*	No. 1	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	CBS	W 34–17	68,409[3]
September 12	12:30 p.m.	Toledo*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN	W 49–0	93,149[3]
September 19	3:30 p.m.	No. 21 Missouri*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 35–14	93,269[3]
October 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 7 Penn State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ABC	W 28–9	93,479[3]
October 10	12:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN+	W 41–0	46,390[3]
October 17	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 45–15	93,138[3]
October 24	12:00 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 1	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 36–10	47,130[3]
October 31	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ABC	W 38–7	52,049[3]
November 7	3:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 24–28	93,595[3]
November 14	3:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 7	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 45–14	69,473[3]
November 21	12:00 p.m.	No. 11 Michigan	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (The Game)	ABC	W 31–16	94,339[3]
January 1, 1999	8:30 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Texas A&M*	No. 3	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 24–14	76,503[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

West Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	10	10	7	7	34
Mountaineers	3	7	0	7	17

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	0	0	0	0
Buckeyes	21	21	7	0	49

Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	14	0	0	14
Buckeyes	7	6	8	14	35

Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total Penn St 0 3 6 0 9 • Ohio St 0 14 14 0 28 Date: October 3 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Source: USA Today

Scoring summary 2 PSU Forney 42-yard field goal Penn St 3-0 2 OHST Rudzinski recovered fumble in end zone (Stultz kick) Ohio St 7-3 2 OHST Wiley 20-yard pass from Germaine (Stultz kick) Ohio St 14-3 3 OHST Cooper recovered blocked punt in end zone (Stultz kick) Ohio St 21-3 3 PSU Cerimele 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed) Ohio St 21-9 3 OHST Montgomery 1-yard run (Stultz kick) Ohio St 28-9

Illinois

#1 Ohio St at Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 10 14 0 17 41 Illinois 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 10 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 46,390 Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary Q1 11:32 OHST Stultz 40 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q1 2:52 OHST Lumpkin 1 yard pass from Germaine (Stultz kick) OHST 10–0 Q2 11:17 OHST Boston 30 yard pass from Germaine (Stultz kick) OHST 17–0 Q2 6:19 OHST Germany 37 yard pass from Germaine (Stultz kick) OHST 24–0 Q4 12:51 OHST Stultz 46 yard field goal OHST 27–0 Q4 10:57 OHST Diggs 47 yard fumble return (Stultz kick) OHST 34–0 Q4 3:45 OHST Wells 2 yard run (Stultz kick) OHST 41–0

• Joe Germaine 17/28, 307 Yds (third straight 300+ yard passing game – school record)

[4]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	3	10	0	2	15
Buckeyes	14	17	7	7	45

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	17	6	6	7	36
Wildcats	7	3	0	0	10

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	14	7	7	10	38
Hooisers	0	7	0	0	7

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	3	6	9	10	28
Buckeyes	17	0	7	0	24

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	14	14	7	10	45
Hawkeyes	7	7	0	0	14

Michigan

Michigan Wolverines (8–2) at Ohio State Buckeyes (9–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	0	10	3	3	16
Ohio St	14	7	10	0	31

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: November 21, 1998
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 38 °F (3 °C)
• Game attendance: 94,339
• Referee: Bill LeMonnier
• TV: ABC
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter OSU – Michael Wiley 53-yard run (Dan Stultz kick), 12:20. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 1:18. OSU – Dee Miller 16-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick), 9:44. Ohio St 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 1:33. Second quarter MICH – Jay Feely 27-yard field goal, 14:33. Ohio St 14–3. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 0:59. OSU – David Boston 30-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick), 4:03. Ohio St 21–3. Drive: 2 plays, 35 yards, 0:44. MICH – Tai Streets 3-yard pass from Tom Brady (Jay Feely kick), 0:25. Ohio St 21–10. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 2:38. Third quarter OSU - David Boston 43-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick), 9:51. Ohio St 28–10. Drive: 4 plays, 54 yards, 1:14. MICH – Jay Feely 34-yard field goal, 4:47. Ohio St 28–13. Drive: 9 plays, 27 yards, 4:50. OSU – Dan Stultz 39-yard field goal, 1:36. Ohio St 31–13. Drive: 6 plays, 58 yards, 3:06. Fourth quarter MICH – Jay Feely 30-yard field goal, 14:47. Ohio St 31–16. Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 1:41. Top passers MICH – Tom Brady – 31/56, 375 yards, TD, 2 INT OSU – Joe Germaine – 16/28, 330 yards, 3 TD Top rushers MICH – Clarence Williams – 11 rushes, 13 yards OSU – Michael Wiley – 12 rushes, 120 yards, TD Top receivers MICH – Tai Streets – 9 receptions, 118 yards, TD OSU – David Boston – 10 receptions, 217 yards, 2 TD

Ohio State secured a share of its 28th Big Ten title as the fans stormed the field with less than 30 seconds to play. Joe Germaine completed 19-of-24 passes for 330 yards, his seventh career 300-yard game, and his favorite target was David Boston, who finished with 10 receptions for 217 yards, most ever by a Michigan opponent. Boston also broke his own single-season reception mark and moved past Cris Carter on the school's all-time yardage list.[5]

Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	0	7	0	14
Buckeyes	21	3	0	0	24

Coaching staff

• John Cooper - Head Coach - 11th year
• Bill Conley - Tight Ends, Recruiting Coordinator (12th year)
• Jim Heacock - Defensive Tackles (3rd year)
• Mike Jacobs - Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line (4th year)
• Fred Pagac - Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers (17th year)
• Tim Salem - Quarterbacks (2nd year)
• Shawn Simms - Defensive Ends (2nd year)
• Tim Spencer - Running Backs (5th year)
• Chuck Strobart - Wide Receivers (4th year)
• Jon Tenuta - Defensive Backs (3rd year)

Depth chart

Defense FS 1 Gary Berry 17 Percy King WLB MLB SLB 35 Jerry Rudzinski 45 Andy Katzenmoyer 32 Na'il Diggs 30 Jason Ott 44 Chris Kirk 58 Courtland Bullard SS 13 Damon Moore 20 Central McClellion CB 11 Antoine Winfield 3 David Mitchell DE DT DT DE 60 Brent Johnson 73 Joe Brown 79 Ryan Pickett 94 Rodney Bailey 52 James Cotton 98 Mike Collins 90 Clinton Wayne 48 Matt LaVrar CB 19 Ahmed Plummer 2 Rolland Steele Offense SE 9 David Boston 80 Reggie Germany LT LG C RG RT 77 Tyson Walter 56 Rob Murphy 63 Kurt Murphy 64 Ben Gilbert 67 Brooks Burris 69 Jim Massey 65 Mike Gurr 78 Drew Elford 55 Tam Hopkins 75 Henry Fleming TE 85 John Lumpkin 84 Steve Wisniewski FL 15 Dee Miller 4 Ken-Yon Rambo QB 7 Joe Germaine 16 Mark Garcia Key Reserves 8 Steve Bellisari (Fr) Special Teams/DB/QB FB 23 Matt Keller 36 Sean Penny Special Teams PK 47 Dan Stultz P 41 Brent Bartholomew RB 5 Michael Wiley 33 Joe Montgomery

Q[6]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	1 (30)	1 (39)	1 (57)	1 (64)	1 (58)	1 (66)	1 (64)	1 (64)	1 (64)	1 (63)	7	7	5	5	3	2
Coaches Poll	1 (31)	1 (38)	1 (52)	1 (53)	1 (45)	1 (54)	1 (59)	1 (58)	1 (55)	1 (54)	7	6	5 (1)	5 (1)	3 (1)	2
BCS	Not released								2	1	8	7	6	5	4	Not released

1999 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Club
David Boston	1	8	Wide Receiver	Arizona Cardinals
Antoine Winfield	1	23	Defensive Back	Buffalo Bills
Andy Katzenmoyer	1	28	Linebacker	New England Patriots
Joe Montgomery	2	49	Running Back	New York Giants
Joe Germaine	4	101	Quarterback	St. Louis Rams
Damon Moore	4	128	Defensive Back	Philadelphia Eagles
Brent Bartholomew	6	192	Punter	Miami Dolphins
Dee Miller	6	196	Wide Receiver	Green Bay Packers

References

1. Thomaselli, Rich (1998). "Big Ten". The Sporting News. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
2. "A Case for No. 1". CNN. January 9, 1999. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
3. Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
4. USA Today. Retrieved 2014-Sep-02.
5. "Michigan vs. Ohio State". USA Today. November 21, 1998.
6. 1986 Ohio State Football Media Guide