1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Sugar Bowl Champions Big Ten Co-Champions
Sugar Bowl, W 24–14 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#2
AP	#2
1998 record	11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper
Offensive coordinator	Mike Jacobs
Defensive coordinator	Fred Pagac
MVP	Joe Germaine
Captain	Joe Germaine
Captain	Jerry Rudzinski
Captain	Antoine Winfield
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 89,841)

1998 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State %+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#6 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#12 Michigan +		7	–	1					10	–	3
#24 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
#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

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.

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 Bucks 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.

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.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	8:00 PM	at #11 West Virginia*	#1	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	CBS	W 34–17	68,409
September 12	12:30 PM	Toledo*	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN	W 49–0	93,149
September 19	3:30 PM	#21 Missouri*	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ABC	W 35–14	93,269
October 3	12:00 PM	#7 Penn State	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ABC	W 28–9	93,479
October 10	12:00 PM	at Illinois	#1	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN+	W 41–0	46,390
October 17	12:00 PM	Minnesota	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ESPN+	W 45–15	93,138
October 24	12:00 PM	at Northwestern	#1	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 36–10	47,130
October 31	3:30 PM	at Indiana	#1	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ABC	W 38–7	52,049
November 7	3:30 PM	Michigan State	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	L 24–28	93,595
November 14	3:30 PM	at Iowa	#7	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 45–14	69,473
November 21	12:00 PM	#11 Michigan	#7	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (The Game)	ABC	W 31–16	94,339
January 1	8:30 PM	vs. #8 Texas A&M*	#3	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 24–14	76,503
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Game notes

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)

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

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 10 3 3 16 • Ohio State 14 7 10 0 31 Date: November 21 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Game attendance: 94,339 Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 1 12:20 OSU Michael Wiley 53-yard run (Dan Stultz kick) OSU 7–0 1 9:44 OSU Dee Miller 16-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) OSU 14–0 2 14:33 MICH Jay Feely 27-yard field goal OSU 14–3 2 4:03 OSU David Boston 30-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) OSU 21–3 2 0:25 MICH Tai Streets 3-yard pass from Tom Brady (Jay Feely kick) OSU 21–10 3 OSU David Boston 43-yard pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick) OSU 28–10 3 MICH Jay Feely 34-yard field goal OSU 28–13 3 OSU Dan Stultz 39-yard field goal OSU 31–13 4 14:47 MICH Jay Feely 30-yard field goal OSU 31–16

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 pass Cris Carter on the school's all-time yardage list.

Texas A&M

See also: 1999 Sugar Bowl

	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 - Recruiting Coordinator (11th year)
• Jim Heacock - Defensive Line (4th year)
• Mike Jacobs - Offensive Coordinator (4th year)
• Fred Pagac - Defensive Coordinator (17th year)
• Tim Salem - (2nd year)
• Shawn Simms - Defensive Ends (2nd year)
• Tim Spencer - Running Backs (5th year)
• Chuck Strobart - Offensive Coordinator (4th year)
• Jon Tenuta - Defensive Backs (3rd year)

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