Coach Tressel’s Bowl History at Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel is no stranger to the postseason. He has led the Buckeyes to a bowl in each of his seven seasons in Columbus. Including his 15 seasons at Youngstown State, Tressel has guided his teams into postseason play 17 times in 22 years.
Check out Coach Tressel’s bowl history at Ohio State.
2002 Outback Bowl
South Carolina – 31, Ohio State – 28
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | F |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 | – | 28 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 14 | 14 | 3 | – | 31 |
Jan. 1, 2002, Raymond James Stadium (66,249)
TAMPA, Fla. With the score tied and virtually no time left, South Carolina kicker Daniel Weaver kicked a 42-yard field goal as the clock expired to propel No. 14 South Carolina to 31-28 victory over No. 22 Ohio State. The kick, which barely made it over the crossbar, spoiled a valiant comeback effort by the Buckeyes who had rallied from a 28-0 third quarter deficit.
Quarterback Steve Bellisari engineered the OSU comeback, completing 21 of 35 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns.
Phil Petty, the game’s MVP, threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, and Andrew Pinnock scored twice for South Carolina. Bellisari ran for a 2-yard score to close the third quarter, then hit Darrell Sanders with a 16-yard TD pass with 10:18 to go that cut the lead in half. Jonathan Wells’ 1-yard run made it 28-21 with 5:02 to go. Ohio State got the ball back on its 11 with 3:56 to play. He went 6-of-6 for 86 yards, tying the game on Sanders’ 9-yard catch. Cie Grant gave the Buckeyes a chance for victory at the end, intercepting Petty with 1:12 left.
2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
No. 2 Ohio State – 31, No. 1 Miami (Fla.) – 24 (2ot)
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1OT | 2OT | – | F |
| Ohio State | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | – | 31 |
| Miami | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | – | 24 |
Jan. 3, 2003, Sun Devil Stadium (77,502)
TEMPE, Ariz. – Ohio State worked two overtimes to rip the national championship from the Miami Hurricanes in one of the greatest college football games ever. Maurice Clarett ran 5 yards for the winning touchdown, and Ohio State’s defense turned back one final Miami bid to tie the game. With that, the Buckeyes completed an unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 win.
Trailing 24-17 in the first OT, Ohio State converted a 4th-and-14 on a pass by Craig Krenzel. But the Buckeyes then faced a 4th-and-3 at the 5 when Krenzel threw to the right corner of the end zone for Chris Gamble. A flag was thrown from the back of the end zone indicating pass interference and three plays later Krenzel scored from the 1 to send the game to a second OT. In the second OT, the Buckeyes went first and Clarett capped the five-play drive.
The Buckeyes took a 14-7 halftime lead, turning two turnovers into touchdowns in a 78-second span, and extended the margin to 10 points on Mike Nugent’s 44-yard field goal. The Hurricanes closed to 17-14 on Willis McGahee’s 9-yard scoring run in the third quarter to set the stage for Todd Sievers’ 40-yard kick at the end of regulation.
2004 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
No. 7 Ohio State – 35, No. 8 Kansas State – 28
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | F |
| Ohio State | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | – | 35 |
| Kansas State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | – | 28 |
Jan. 2, 2004, Sun Devil Stadium (73,425)
TEMPE, Ariz. Craig Krenzel improved to an amazing 24-3 as a starter at Ohio State as the Buckeyes claimed a 35-28 victory over Kansas State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Krenzel overcame two first quarter interceptions to complete 11-of-24 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns, finding both Michael Jenkins and Santonio Holmes for two scoring strikes each.
The Buckeyes stormed out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, scoring first on special teams before Krenzel hit Holmes and Jenkins to pad the lead, which slipped to 21-7 at the half. After intermission, the Wildcats pulled within seven, but Krenzel and Jenkins teamed up to again to reclaim a two-touchdown lead. Holmes caught his second TD pass from Krenzel and dragged two feet in the back of the end zone to make the score 35-14. Kansas State added two more scores.
Jenkins finished with five receptions for 96 yards, and ended his career with 2,898 career receiving yards. Kansas State out-gained Ohio State 378-337 in total yards, but the Buckeye defense held the Wildcats to 84 yards rushing. Ohio State ran for 148 yards to go with 189 passing yards. Defensively, Robert Reynolds and A.J. Hawk, the Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP, each had 10 tackles to pace the Buckeyes.
2004 Alamo Bowl
No. 24 Ohio State – 33, Oklahoma State – 7
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | F |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | – | 7 |
| Ohio State | 13 | 10 | 7 | 3 | – | 33 |
Dec. 29, 2004, Alamodome (65,265)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Justin Zwick threw for one touchdown, Lydell Ross and Ted Ginn Jr. each ran for another and Mike Nugent kicked four field goals to lead No. 22/24 Ohio State to a 33-7 MasterCard Alamo Bowl victory over Oklahoma State in front of 65,265 fans at the Alamodome.
The Buckeyes finished 8-4 on the year as they won their 40th game under head coach Jim Tressel, who became the fifth coach in school history to reach the mark. He was the second fastest to reach 40 wins, taking 51 games. Tressel’s mentor Earle Bruce reached the plateau in 50 games. Tressel is now 40-11 after four seasons in Columbus and boasts a 19-year career record of 175-68-2. He also has guided the Buckeyes to a 3-1 bowl record.
Zwick, completed 17-of-27 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown without an interception. The Buckeyes added 214 rushing yards to finish with 403 yards of total offense. It was the fifth time this season for Ohio State to surpass 400 yards in total offense.
Ross carried the ball 12 times for 99 yards and a score, while Branden Joe carried 13 times for 57 yards. Ginn added 40 yards on eight carries and scored.
Ginn, normally a flanker for the Buckeyes, made his first appearance at quarterback. His 5-yard run up the middle that gave Ohio State a 30-0 lead with 8:13 to play in the third quarter. The OSU freshman was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the game.
Ohio State did not put any more points on the board until Nugent delivered his fourth field goal of the night to lift the Buckeyes to a 33-0 cushion with 10:44 to play in the game. Nugent, the 2004 Lou Groza Award winner, connected from 37, 35, 41 and 36 yards to set the school’s bowl record with four field goals, his 20th school record.
Ohio State limited Oklahoma State to 286 total yards. The Cowboys had entered the game averaging 245.0 rushing yards per game, but the Buckeyes held them to 149 yards rushing on 30 carries. Oklahoma State added 137 yards passing. Donte Whitner led the Buckeyes with eight tackles, including seven solo stops. Anthony Schlegel, A.J. Hawk and Quinn Pitcock added five tackles each. Simon Fraser was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Alamo Bowl.
2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
No. 4 Ohio State – 34, No. 6 Notre Dame – 20
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | F |
| Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 3 | 10 | – | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | – | 20 |
Jan. 2, 2006, Sun Devil Stadium (76,196)
TEMPE, Ariz. Led by Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. on offense and All-America A.J. Hawk on defense, Ohio State ran roughshod over Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, downing the Irish 34-20 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The Buckeyes were making their third appearance in four years in the Fiesta Bowl, and Sun Devil Stadium seemed to fit them like an old pair of well broken in sneakers.
After Notre Dame opened the game with a crisp six-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard run by Darius Walker, it was pretty much all Ohio State the rest of the way.
Smith and Ginn saw to that. First they hooked up on a beautifully thrown 56-yard scoring pass on which Ginn was five yards beyond his defender when the ball settled into his outstretched hands. Then Ginn gave the Buckeyes the lead for good on a dazzling 68-yard reverse in which he cut this way and that and left frustrated Notre Dame defenders strewn helplessly in his wake. Smith dialed pay dirt again just before halftime, connecting with Santonio Holmes on an 85-yard pass that gave the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead at intermission. Had it not been for two fumbles, one in the ND red zone, and a blocked field goal, the margin might have been greater.
The Buckeyes had 391 yards in total offense at halftime. Notre Dame had 154. Ohio State was a perfect five-for-five on third-down conversions.
Smith had thrown for 248 yards by intermission and both Ginn and Holmes were over the 100-yard mark in receiving yards.
Walker scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to eight at 21-13, but a 40-yard field goal by Josh Huston made it 24-13 at the end of three quarters.
Huston converted again, this time from 26-yards out at the start of the fourth quarter, to give OSU a 27-13 lead.
Notre Dame’s final score came on a three-yard run by Walker with 5:27 to play, cutting the Ohio State lead to 27-20. Their scoring drive covered 80 yards in 13 plays.
But the Buckeyes quickly responded with an 85-yard drive of their own that included two clutch third-down completions by Smith and a 60-yard TD gallop by Antonio Pittman that eliminated any and all doubts.
Smith was the MVP of the game, rolling up 408 yards in total offense and accounting for three touchdowns. The Buckeyes finished the evening with a season-high 617 yards in total offense 342 passing and 293 on the ground. The Buckeyes had three drives of 80 or more yards and a fourth of 68.
All-America linebacker A.J. Hawk was the defensive MVP. He had a game-high 12 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.
2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
No. 2 Florida – 41, No. 1 Ohio State – 14
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | F |
| Florida | 14 | 20 | 0 | 7 | – | 41 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 |
Jan. 8, 2007, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium (74,628)
GLENDALE, Ariz. Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but it was all Florida from there as the No. 2 Gators upset the No. 1 Buckeyes, 41-14, in the BSC National Championship Game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
Big Ten champion Ohio State (12-1) had defeated the nation’s second-ranked team twice earlier in the season at Texas and vs. Michigan but saw its four-game bowl winning streak and the nation’s best 19-game winning streak overall come to an end. The 2006 Buckeyes are the only team to face a No. 2-ranked opponent three times in the same season.
Ginn was injured in the celebration of his opening kickoff return for a touchdown and the Buckeyes could not recover offensively. Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Troy Smith completed 4-of-14 passes for 35 yards and an interception and was sacked five times by the Gators (13-1).
Junior tailback Antonio Pittman rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries and his 18-yard touchdown run with 13:32 left in the second quarter brought the score to 21-14 in favor of the Gators, but it would be all the closer the Buckeyes would get.
Florida, champion of the Southeastern Conference, scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, then kicked a pair of field goals before scoring another touchdown with 23 seconds left before halftime. The Gators led 34-14 at intermission, capitalizing on the Buckeyes turning it over on downs on their own 29 yard line and a Smith fumble on his own 20 on back-to-back possessions.
OSU linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman both collected 15 tackles in the game.
