Football: Ohio State Begins 2008 Against Youngstown State Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Buckeyes enter the season ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 3 in the USA Today/Coaches’ poll
Press Conference Transcript (Coach Tressel)
Press Conference Video (Coach Tressel)
Press Conference Video (Game Day Policies)
First and 10
Ohio State is 0-0 and 0-0 in the Big Ten
Youngstown State is 0-0 and 0-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference
This is the second meeting between the schools in football. OSU won the last year’s season opener against the Penguins, 38-6
Coach Jim Tressel is 73-16 after seven years at Ohio State; 208-73-2 after 22 years overall
Ohio State was picked as the Big Ten preseason favorite while Chris “Beanie” Wells and James Laurinaitis were picked as the preseason offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively
YSU coach Jon Heacock is 50-31 after seven years as a head coach, all at Youngstown State
The game kicks off the 119th season of football for Ohio State
Tressel was 135-57-2 as Youngstown State coach between 1986-2000
Ohio State is the three-time defending Big Ten champion
Crowds of more than 100,000 have seen the last 41 games at Ohio Stadium
The Game
No. 2/3 Ohio State opens the 2008 season against Youngstown State at Ohio Stadium at noon, Saturday, Aug. 30. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Fans can also listen live via the internet home for Ohio State audio broadcasts, Buckeye Vision. Click here to find out more.
The Series
This will be the second meeting between the Buckeyes and the Penguins on the football field. The two schools met in last year’s season opener Sept. 1 at Ohio Stadium, a 38-6 Buckeye victory.
Ohio State is 174-48-15 in its history against opponents from the state of Ohio; that list includes Akron, Bowling Green, Case, Cincinnati, Denison, Heidelberg, Kent State, Kenyon, Marietta, Miami, Mount Union, Muskingum, Oberlin, Ohio Medical, Ohio, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Toledo, Western Reserve, Wilmington, Wittenberg, Wooster and Youngstown State.
The Buckeyes have played at least one team from Ohio each season since 1997. Ohio State has not lost to an Ohio opponent since 1921, falling to Oberlin 7-6; the Buckeyes tied Wooster 7-7 in 1924 in Columbus.
Opening Day Numbers The Buckeyes have an all-time opening day record of 102-12-4 and have won their last 29 home openers. OSU’s last opening day loss at home was to Penn State in 1978. The Buckeyes’ last opening day loss away from Columbus was to Miami in the 1999 Kickoff Classic.
All-time, the Buckeyes are 106-8-4 in home openers since 1890.
Bucks Win 77 Percent of Ohio Stadium Games
The Buckeyes boast an all-time record of 379-105-20 (.772) in Ohio Stadium since that facility opened in 1922.
Ohio State has hosted 41 consecutive crowds of 100,000 or larger at Ohio Stadium; six of last year’s crowds ranked among the top 25 all-time. Ohio State’s all-time record in Columbus is 522-152-35 in 709 games.
Before the 2007 season, the old grass field in place at Ohio Stadium since 1990 was removed for a new synthetic surface called FieldTurf. The old field was rolled up and donated to the Columbus Parks and Recreation Service.
Preseason Big Ten Awards
The Buckeyes were picked as the 2008 preseason favorite among media covering the Big Ten. Linebacker James Laurinaitis was a repeat selection as preseason defensive player of the year, while tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells was tabbed as the preseason standout on offense.
A Glance at the Buckeyes
Ohio State enters the 2008 campaign aiming for a fourth straight Big Ten title and looking to become the first team in conference annals to win three straight outright crowns. The Buckeyes were 11-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play last season under head coach Jim Tressel, who became the first Ohio State coach to win four Big Ten titles in his first seven years on campus. With a conference-best 20 starters returning this year, the Buckeyes look to capture their 33rd conference title.
Tressel Facing Former Team
Prior to becoming Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel spent 15 seasons as the head man at Youngstown State, where he also served for a period of time as athletics director.
In his years at YSU, the Penguins won four national championships and qualified for the Division I-AA playoffs 10 times. Overall, Tressel compiled a record of 135-57-2 at Youngstown State and was a four-time pick as the I-AA National Coach of the Year.
For Starters
When the Ohio State-Youngstown State game kicks off, the Buckeyes will have a total of 30 players with at least one game of starting experience. Tops among those are: James Laurinaitis (26); Malcolm Jenkins (26); Marcus Freeman (24); Alex Boone (23); Steve Rehring (23); Rory Nicol (22) and Donald Washington (22).
Honor Roll
A league-best 24 Ohio State football players were named to the Big Ten’s 2007 all-academic team, marking the sixth year in a row the Buckeyes led the conference. Additionally, 45 Ohio State football players qualified for the annual OSU Scholar-Athlete Dinner in May, which requires a grade-point average of 3.00 or better for the past academic year.
Ohio State W/L Records
Seasons: 118
All-Time Record: 798-304-53
Big Ten: 443-188-28
Ohio Stadium: 379-105-20
Bowl Games: 18-21
Games in August: 6-1
August home games: 2-0
Against Ohio opponents: 174-48-15
Previous August games
8/27/86 Alabama 16, Ohio State 10*
8/29/94 Ohio State 34, Fresno State 10^
8/27/95 Ohio State 38, Boston College 6*
8/28/97 Ohio State 24, Wyoming 10
8/29/99 Ohio State 23, Miami 12*
8/24/02 Ohio State 45, Texas Tech 21
8/30/03 Ohio State 28, Washington 9
*Kickoff Classic
^Pigskin Classic
Heacock Connection
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is the older brother of Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock.
Jim, the 2007 Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant coach, is in his 13th season at Ohio State, while Jon is in his 15th year overall at YSU and eighth season as head coach, after taking over for Jim Tressel, Ohio State’s current head coach, in 2001.
Both Jim and Jon are Muskingum College graduates; their brother Jeff was the head coach at Muskingum for 26 seasons (1981-2006). Muskingum is a prestigious Division III athletics program located in New Concord, Ohio.
NFF Honorees
A number of past and present Buckeyes have been recently recognized by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. In July, quarterback Rex Kern (1968-70) took part in the College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement festival in South Bend, Ind.
In December, former head coach John Cooper (1988-2000) will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of its newest class, along with former OSU assistant coach Lou Holtz (1968). At that same gala at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, Ohio State director of athletics Gene Smith will receive the John L. Toner Award for superior athletics administration, and Ohio senator John Glenn will receive the Foundation’s highest honor, its Gold Medal.
Cooper will also be recognized in an on-campus salute at the Ohio State-Penn State game October 25.
Coaching Staff Assignments
Here’s a breakdown of the Ohio State coaching staff assignments for the 2008 season.
On the field:
Paul Haynes: Safeties
Darrell Hazell: Wide Receivers, Assistant Head Coach
Jim Heacock: Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Front
John Peterson: Tight Ends, Recruiting Coordinator
Dick Tressel: Running Backs
In the booth:
Jim Bollman: Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line
Joe Daniels: Quarterbacks, Passing Game
Luke Fickell: Co-Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers
Taver Johnson: Cornerbacks
Closing In On 800 Wins
With two wins this season, Ohio State will become the fifth major college football program to reach 800 all-time wins. The Buckeyes have an all-time record of 798-304-53 over 118 seasons entering the 2008 campaign. The top 10 schools in terms of total program victories:
| Wins | School |
| 869 | Michigan |
| 824 | Notre Dame |
| 820 | Texas |
| 817 | Nebraska |
| 798 | Ohio State |
| 790 | Penn State |
| 787 | Alabama |
| 776 | Oklahoma |
| 771 | Tennessee |
| 753 | Southern Cal |
Not Since 1922-24
Ohio State ranks second among all NCAA Div. I programs with 83 consecutive seasons since last posting back-to-back losing records. The Buckeyes have not been under .500 for two or more consecutive seasons since 1922-24, which trails only Tennessee; the Vols have not had back-to-back losing seasons since 1909-11, a span of 96 consecutive seasons.
| School | Years | Last |
| Tennessee | 96 | 1909-11 |
| Ohio State | 83 | 1922-24 |
| Southern Miss | 73 | 1933-34 |
| Arizona State | 60 | 1946-47 |
| Alabama | 50 | 1854-57 |
Where They Go Next
Ohio State hosts Ohio University next Saturday in a noon game at Ohio Stadium that will be televised by ESPN. Youngstown State travels to South Dakota State that evening for the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener.
