No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 22 Wisconsin – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2000
Depth Chart
Top 25 Polls Weekly Release in .PDF format CoachCooper’s Press Conference Football Quotes
This Week
Ohio State puts its unblemished 4-0 mark on the line this week at Wisconsin. The defending Big Ten champion Badgers are 3-2 on the year. Saturday’s game in soldout Camp Randall Stadium (76,127) will kick off at 3:36 p.m. (EDT) and will be televised nationally by ABC Sports. WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the Ohio State radio network, will broadcast the game, with programming beginning four hours before kickoff.
Big Game for Both Teams
The Buckeyes ran their record to 4-0 with a convincing 45-6 win over visiting Penn State, Sept. 23, and are now 1-0 in the Big Ten. Idle last week, the Buckeyes have cracked the Top 10 in both major polls. Wisconsin, which jumped off to a 3-0 start and was considered a preseason contender for a third consecutive Big Ten crown, has dropped its first two league games in heartbreaking fashion, falling in double overtime to Northwestern (47-44) two weeks ago and losing a hard-fought 13-10 decision at Michigan this past Saturday. It is a huge game for both the Buckeyes and the Badgers in a tremendous setting for college football.
The Polls
Ohio State has jumped from 10th to 7th in the latest ESPN/USA Today Poll and from 12th to 8th in this week’s Associated Press voting. It is the Buckeyes’ highest slot of the year in either poll. Wisconsin is ranked 22nd and 24th, respectively, this week. The Badgers began the season in fourth place in the Associated Press poll and were ranked 5th prior to the Northwestern game.
The Series
Saturday’s game will be the 68th meeting between the two schools in a rivalry that dates back to 1913. Ohio State leads the series, 48-14-5, and has a 22-9-3 edge in games played in Madison. The Buckeyes won 21 in a row between 1960 and 1980, but the Badgers won five of seven between 1981 and 1987. Since 1988, the Buckeyes have a 7-2-1 edge, including a 27-16 win in Madison in 1995, the last time the two teams met on the Badgers’ home turf. In last year’s contest, Ohio State led 17-6 at the half, but Wisconsin erupted for 36 second-half points en route to a 42-17 win in Ohio Stadium. Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Badgers.
Ohio State’s John Cooper
Now in his 24th season as a head coach on the collegiate level, John Cooper is in his 13th year at the helm of the Buckeyes. Cooper has a lifetime mark of 189-79-6 and ranks sixth among active Division I coaches in terms of victories. Cooper’s record at Ohio State is 107-39-4 and includes two Big Ten championships and 10 bowl appearances. His 1996 and 1998 teams came within an eyelash of winning national championships, each notching 11-1 records and finishing second in the polls. Cooper is the second winningest coach in Ohio State history, trailing only the legendary Woody Hayes (205 victories in 28 years). Only Hayes (1951-78) and John W. Wilce (1913-28) have enjoyed longer coaching tenures at OSU. While at Ohio State, Cooper has compiled a Big Ten record of 66-27-4, including a 7-2-1 mark against Wisconsin. Prior to coming to Ohio State, Cooper spent three years at Arizona State, where he was National Coach of the Year in 1986. His three-year record of 25-9-2 with the Sun Devils included a 10-1-1 mark and the school’s first ever Rose Bowl appearance in 1986. The 63-year-old Cooper also spent eight seasons as head coach at Tulsa, compiling a 57-31 record between 1977 and 1984. Cooper is a 1962 graduate of Tulsa, where he was team captain and MVP as a senior.
Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez
This is Barry Alvarez’ 11th year at Wisconsin as a head coach. He has a career mark of 73-46-4 and is 2-5-1 against Ohio State. Alvarez is a 1969 graduate of Nebraska. He coached at Iowa and Notre Dame before taking over at Wisconsin for Don Morton in 1990.
Buckeyes Making a Move
Slowly, but surely, Ohio State appears to be gaining a measure of respect in the collective eyes of the national pollsters. Ranked 15th (coaches) and 16th (writers) in the pre-season balloting, the Buckeyes have jumped to 7th and 8th, respectively, in the voting this week. The win over Penn State was an eye-opener. Coach John Cooper’s team turned in its best overall performance of the young season, thoroughly dominating the Nittany Lions on both sides of the ball. Junior quarterback Steve Bellisari had his best game, quickly taking control and guiding OSU to an early 14-0 lead that took the bite out of the Lions’ attack. While the offense was rolling up 397 yards, the defense was limiting the Nittany Lions to 213, including just 93 on the ground — the third time in four games this year an opponent failed to top the century mark rushing. Additionally, Mike Collins’ 11-yard fumble return for a touchdown provided the OSU defense with its fifth TD of the year. To further augment a strong showing, freshman punter B.J. Sander averaged 45.3 yard on four punts and kicker Dan Stultz split the uprights from 31 yards out on his only field goal attempt. The Buckeyes do appear to be improving with each outing, a fact being reflected in the polls.
Taking the Offense
Through four games, the Ohio State offense is averaging 398.5 yards and 35.5 points per game. The Buckeyes are also averaging 71.3 plays per game and 5.6 yards per play. OSU has turned the ball over just five times — losing three fumbles and suffering a pair of interceptions. The offense has converted 22 of 59 third-down opportunities and 3 of 6 fourth down tries. The Buckeyes, who have scored in every quarter in all four games to date, are averaging 209.8 yards per game passing and 188.8 rushing. In its last two games, the OSU offense is averaging 432 yards per outing.
Red Zone Numbers
The OSU offense was a perfect six-for-six inside the Red Zone against Penn State and is now 14 of 16 inside the 20-yard line, scoring nine touchdowns and five field goals.
Bullets with a Bang
The Ohio State defense, a.k.a. the Silver Bullets, has played superbly in its first four outings, allowing opponents an average of 12.5 points and 286.5 yards per game. Opponents have scored a scant 22 points in the second half, just seven in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes are allowing 92.3 yards per game rushing (only one opponent has topped the 100 yard mark) and 194.5 passing, with much of the latter coming when teams are attempting to play catch up. Additionally, opponents have converted just 20 of 71 third and fourth-down attempts.
Knows What to do With the Ball
The Buckeyes have forced 13 turnovers and have scored on five of those — three times on fumble recoveries and twice on interceptions — and have amassed 55 points off turnovers. OSU’s opponents have scored seven points off five Buckeye turnovers.
Big Plays for the Offense
The OSU offense has totaled 16 plays of 20 or more yards so far this year. Senior flanker Chad Cacchio is the pace setter with six, including three that have gone for touchdowns. Ken-Yon Rambo has two to his credit and four other players have one each.
Defense Not So Generous
The OSU defense, on the other hand, has given up 12 plays of 20 or more yards — two runs and 10 pass plays.
Cooper on Penn State
“As well as we played, and I thought we played very well, especially on the offensive line, the injury to Adam Taliaferro put things in perspective in a hurry. Our prayers are with Adam and his family.” Taliaferro suffered a spinal cord injury in the fourth quarter of the game and underwent surgery in Columbus Sept. 25. He was transported to Philadelphia Sept. 27.
Cooper on Wisconsin
“They are the defending Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions and have been rated as high as fourth nationally, so you know they are a very good football team. Their losses the past two weeks just emphasize the balance and depth in this league. We are probably coming off our best game of the year, but we are facing the best team we have faced, so we had better be ready.”
Penn State Honorees
Following the Penn State game, the Ohio State coaching staff selected the entire offensive and defensive units as the offensive and defensive players of the game.
Big Ten Stats
Following the Penn State game, Ohio State led the Big Ten in scoring defense with an average of 12.2 points allowed per game. The Buckeyes also were first in turnover margin with a +8 and an average of 2.00 per game, as well as pass defense efficiency with a rating of 94.2
Injury Report
Linebackers Jason Ott and Jack Tucker and offensive tackle Tyson Walter are not expected to play again this week. Ott, who started all 12 games a year ago and was in on 79 tackles, tore a muscle in his right shoulder Aug. 15 and underwent surgery the next day. Tucker suffered a fractured left clavicle Aug. 22. Both are being evaluated on a weekly basis. Walter, who started 37-consecutive games the past three years, has not seen any action this year because of an infection in his lower back.
Stultz Inches Closer
Senior Dan Stultz is zeroing in on the school record for made field goals. Stultz, added another trey against Penn State and now has six on the year and 46 during his OSU career. The OSU career record of 49 belongs to Tim Williams (1990-93).
Janowicz’ No. 31 Retired
Vic Janowicz’ No. 31 was retired at halftime of the Penn State game and is now permanently on display in Ohio Stadium. Janowicz, who lettered for the Buckeyes from 1949 to 1951, won the Heisman Trophy in 1950 as a junior. A native of Elyria, Ohio, Janowicz is considered by many historians to be the finest all-around athlete ever to play for Ohio State. Janowicz, who died in February of 1996, is just the second football player and third Ohio State athlete to have a number retired. Two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin had his number (45) retired last fall (the Iowa game), and three-time basketball All-America and two time National Player of the Year Jerry Lucas had his number (11) retired this past winter.
Another Record Crowd
Ohio Stadium is three-for-three this year in terms of record attendance. Coming into this year, the single-game attendance record was 95,537, set in 1995 against Notre Dame. With this year’s seating capacity expanded to 95,346 as part of a three-year renovation project, the Notre Dame mark fell in the season opener against Fresno State (96,583). That record has since been broken twice — against Miami (96,721) and then against Penn State (98,144). After three home games, the Buckeyes are averaging 97,149. The school single-season record for six home games is 94,028, set in 1996.
OSU in the Big Ten
The Buckeyes now have an all-time Big Ten record of 393-172-28 since beginning Big Ten play in 1913. Over the years, Ohio State has won 28 Big Ten championships, and is tied for the league lead with 15 outright titles. Between 1992 and 1998 the Buckeyes finished either first or second every year, winning titles in 1993, ’96 and ’98. The Buckeyes are 72-18-1 since Penn State entered the league in 1993. That represents the best mark in the conference in that time period.
Ohio State All-Time
This is the 111th season of football for the Buckeyes, who began play in 1890. The victory over Penn State improves OSU’s all-time record to 721-283-53. Over the years the Buckeyes have experienced just 11 losing seasons, with six of those coming prior to 1925.
Up Next
The Buckeyes return home next week to face Minnesota in the annual Homecoming Game. Kickoff is slated for 12:10 p.m. in Ohio Stadium.
