2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten champion
BCS National Championship Game, L 24–38 vs. LSU
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 5
Record	11–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Tressel (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Bollman (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Jim Heacock (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Luke Fickell (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Kirk Barton Dionte Johnson James Laurinaitis
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 102,329)
Seasons ← 2006 2008 →

2007 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	12:00 p.m.	Youngstown State*	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 38–6	105,038
September 8	12:00 p.m.	Akron*	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 20–2	104,317
September 15	3:30 p.m.	at Washington*	No. 10	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	ESPN	W 33–14	74,927
September 22	3:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN	W 58–7	105,178
September 29	8:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 8	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 30–7	51,611
October 6	8:00 p.m.	at No. 20 Purdue	No. 4	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	W 23–7	65,497
October 13	12:00 p.m.	Kent State*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 48–3	105,051
October 20	3:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 24–17	105,287
October 27	8:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Penn State	No. 1	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ABC	W 37–17	110,134
November 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 19 Wisconsin	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 38–17	105,449
November 10	3:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	ABC/ESPN	L 21–28	105,453
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at No. 23 Michigan	No. 7	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game) (College GameDay)	ABC	W 14–3	111,941
January 7, 2008	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 LSU*	No. 1	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (BCS Championship) (College GameDay)	FOX	L 24–38	79,651
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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.

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.

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.

• Jim Tressel – Head coach (7th year)
• Jim Bollman – Offensive line/OC (7th year)
• Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks (7th year)
• Luke Fickell – Co-defensive coordinator / linebackers coach (6th year)
• Jim Heacock – Defensive coordinator / defensive line (12th year)
• Paul Haynes – Defensive safeties (3rd year)
• Darrell Hazell – Assistant head coach / wide receivers (4th year)
• Taver Johnson – Defensive cornerbacks (1st year)
• John Peterson – Tight ends coach / recruiting coordinator (4th year)
• Dick Tressel – Running backs (7th year)
• Bob Tucker – Director of football operations (13th year)
• Stan Jefferson – Director of player development (4th year)
• Eric Lichter – Director of football performance (2nd year)
• Butch Reynolds – Speed coordinator (3rd year)
• Jeff Uhlenhake – Strength coordinator (1st year)

Youngstown State at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Youngstown State 0 3 3 0 6 • No. 20 Ohio State 7 14 3 14 38 Date: September 1 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,038 TV announcers (BTN): Roger Twibell (Play-by-play) & Mike Tomczak (Color)

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Akron at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Akron 2 0 0 0 2 • No. 11 Ohio State 0 3 10 7 20 Date: September 8 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 104,317 TV announcers (BTN): Thom Brennaman (Play-by-play), Charles Davis (Color) & Charissa Thompson (Sideline)

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Ohio State at Washington

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 10 Ohio State 0 3 14 16 33 Washington 0 7 0 7 14 Date: September 15 Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 74,927 TV announcers (ESPN): Ron Franklin (Play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline)

Scoring summary 2 13:48 OSU Ryan Pretorius 28-yard field goal OSU 3–0 2 0:03 WASH Anthony Russo 23-yard pass from Jake Locker (Ryan Perkins kick) WASH 7–3 3 9:36 OSU Brian Robiskie 68-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 10–7 3 8:57 OSU Chris Wells 14-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 17–7 4 14:05 OSU Ryan Pretorius 23-yard field goal OSU 20–7 4 3:30 OSU Brian Hartline 36-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 27–7 4 00:58 WASH Louis Rankin 2-yard run (Ryan Perkins kick) OSU 27–14 4 0:00 OSU Brandon Saine 37-yard run (no kick) OSU 33–14

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Northwestern at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 0 7 0 7 • No. 9 Ohio State 28 17 13 0 58 Date: September 22 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,178 TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Ron Franklin (Play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline)

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Ohio State at Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 8 Ohio State 14 6 3 7 30 Minnesota 0 7 0 0 7 Date: September 29 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 51,611 Game weather: Indoors TV announcers (ESPN2): Mark Jones (Play-by-play), Bob Davie (Color) & Stacey Dales (Sideline)

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Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OSU PUR 1 8:04 9 87 3:23 Ohio St Ray Small 26-yard touchdown reception from Todd Boeckman, Ryan Pretorius kick good 7 0 1 4:48 5 43 2:18 Ohio St Brian Hartline 6-yard touchdown reception from Todd Boeckman, Ryan Pretorius kick good 14 0 2 10:21 8 34 4:25 Ohio St 44-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius 17 0 3 7:43 4 7 0:53 Ohio St 39-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius 20 0 4 14:56 6 56 2:47 Ohio St 23-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius 23 0 4 0:10 13 88 2:46 Purdue Jeff Lindsay 1-yard touchdown reception from Curtis Painter, Chris Summers kick good 23 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 7

Kent State at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Kent State 0 0 0 3 3 • No. 3 Ohio State 7 28 10 3 48 Date: October 13 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,051 TV announcers (BTN): Mark Neely (Play-by-play), Glen Mason (Color) & Marshall Harris (Sideline)

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Michigan State at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 0 14 3 17 • No. 1 Ohio State 10 7 7 0 24 Date: October 20 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,287 TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler (Play-by-play), Bob Griese (Color), Paul Maguire (Color) & Erin Andrews (Sideline)

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Ohio State at Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Ohio State 10 7 7 13 37 No. 25 Penn State 7 0 3 7 17 Date: October 27 Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 110,134 TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (Color) & Lisa Salters (Sideline)

Scoring summary Q1 12:16 OSU Ryan Pretorius 50 yard field goal OSU 3–0 Q1 8:25 PSU Rodney Kinlaw 2 yard run (Kevin Kelly kick) PSU 7–3 Q1 4:59 OSU Brian Robiskie 9 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 10–7 Q2 9:53 OSU Brian Hartline 16 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 17–7 Q3 6:10 OSU Jake Ballard 15 yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 24–7 Q3 1:27 PSU Kevin Kelly 27 yard field goal OSU 24–10 Q4 9:52 OSU Ryan Pretorius 37 yard field goal OSU 27–10 Q4 9:36 OSU Malcolm Jenkins 24 yard interception return (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 34–10 Q4 3:30 OSU Ryan Pretorius 35 yard field goal OHST 37–10 Q4 3:16 PSU A.J. Wallace 97 yard kickoff return (Kevin Kelly kick) OSU 37–17

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Wisconsin at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 19 Wisconsin 3 0 14 0 17 • No. 1 Ohio State 7 3 7 21 38 Date: November 3 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,449 TV announcers (BTN): Thom Brennaman (Play-by-play), Charles Davis (Color) & Charissa Thompson (Sideline)

Scoring summary 1 12:15 OSU Brian Robiskie 30-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 7–0 1 4:49 WIS Tyler Mehlhaff 21-yard field goal OSU 7–3 2 0:06 OSU Ryan Pretorius 27-yard field goal OSU 10–3 3 12:37 Wisconsin Travis Beckum 28-yard pass from Tyler Donovan (Tyler Mehlhaff kick) Tie 10–10 3 6:53 WIS Chris Pressley 2-yard pass from Tyler Donovan (Tyler Mehlhaff kick) WIS 17–10 3 2:41 OSU Chris Wells 31-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) Tie 17–17 4 14:18 OSU Chris Wells 30-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 24–17 4 10:05 OSU Brian Robiskie 8-yard pass from Todd Boeckman (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 31–17 4 3:16 OSU Chris Wells 23-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 38–17

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

Illinois at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total • Illinois 14 7 7 0 28 No. 1 Ohio State 14 0 7 0 21 Date: November 10 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 105,453 TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Brad Nessler (Play-by-play), Bob Griese (Color), Paul Maguire (Color) & Bonnie Bernstein (Sideline)

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Ohio State at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 7 Ohio State 0 7 7 0 14 No. 23 Michigan 3 0 0 0 3 Date: November 17 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 111,941 Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (Color) & Lisa Salters (Sideline)

Scoring summary 1 1:37 MICH K.C. Lopata 33-yard field goal MICH 3–0 2 10:08 OSU Chris Wells 1-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 7–3 2 13:40 OSU Chris Wells 62-yard run (Ryan Pretorius kick) OSU 14–3

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LSU vs. Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 LSU 3 21 7 7 38 No. 1 Ohio State 10 0 7 7 24 Date: January 7 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 79,651 Game weather: indoors (dome) TV announcers (FOX): Thom Brennaman (Play-by-play), Charles Davis (Color) & Chris Myers (Sideline)

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.

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	11	12	10	8	8	4	3	1 (50)	1 (57)	1 (59)	1 (60)	7	5	3	1 (50)	5
Coaches	10	11	10	9	8	4 (1)	3 (2)	1 (56)	1 (58)	1 (56)	1 (55)	7	5	3 (6)	1 (46)	4
Harris	Not released				7	4	3	1 (110)	1 (111)	1 (114)	1 (112)	7	5	3 (11)	1 (98)	Not released
BCS	Not released							1	1	1	1	7	5	3	1	Not released

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 13 Amos, Andre – Sophomore 4 Coleman, Kurt – Sophomore 2 Jenkins, Malcolm – Junior 29 Lane, Shaun – Junior 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 – Senior 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 24 Wuokko, Kyle - Sophomore 94 Bartholomew, Benjamin – Freshman

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

Source:^[13]