2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their seventh year under head coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes compiled an 11–2 record (7–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 408 to 166. The Buckeyes did not play any opponents ranked in the top ten during the regular season, and its sole regular-season loss was to unranked Illinois. They concluded the season with a 38–24 loss to No. 2 LSU in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.

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
Seasons ← 2006 2008 →

2007 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
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 team's statistical leaders included quarterback Todd Boeckman (2,379 passing yards, 63.9% completion percentage), running back Beanie Wells (1,609 rushing yards, 5.9 yards per carry), wide receiver Brian Robiskie (55 receptions for 935 yards), linebacker James Laurinaitis (70 solo tackles, 121 total tackles), and kicker Ryan Pretorius (102 points). For the second year in a row, Laurinaitis was selected as a consensus first-team All-American. Six Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 2007 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Laurinaitis; Boeckman; Wells; offensive tackle Kirk Barton; defensive end Vernon Gholston; and defensive back Malcolm Jenkins.

The team played its home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

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. 21 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)	ABC/ESPN	L 21–28	105,453
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Michigan	No. 7	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry, College GameDay)	ABC	W 14–3	111,941
January 7, 2008	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 LSU*	No. 1	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (BCS National Championship Game, College GameDay)	FOX	L 24–38	79,651
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and BCS standings, after October 14) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

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

Preseason

On March 6, Coach Jim Tressel announced the hiring of Taver Johnson as an assistant coach in charge of cornerbacks. A native of Cincinnati, Johnson replaced Tim Beckman, who left Ohio State to become defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University.

Game summaries

Youngstown State

Youngstown State at Ohio State

Team	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)

Akron

Akron at Ohio State

Team	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)

Washington

Ohio State at Washington

Team	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)

Northwestern

Northwestern at Ohio State

Team	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)

Minnesota

Ohio State at Minnesota

Team	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)

Purdue

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–0) at #23 Purdue Boilermakers (5–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	14	3	3	3	23
Purdue	0	0	0	7	7

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: October 6
Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Clear • 84 °F (29 °C) • Wind S/SW 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
Game attendance: 65,497
Referee: Steve Pamon
TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lisa Salters
Ohio State Football Archives

Game information

Ohio St

Todd Boeckman
17/29, 200 Yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Chris Wells
18 Rush, 85 Yds
Ray Small
6 Rec, 70 Yds, TD

Purdue

Curtis Painter
31/60, 268 Yds, TD
Kory Sheets
7 Rush, 20 Yds
Dustin Keller
7 Rec, 101 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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

Kent State at Ohio State

Team	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)

Michigan State

Michigan State at Ohio State

Team	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)

Penn State

Ohio State at Penn State

Team	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)

Wisconsin

Wisconsin at Ohio State

Team	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)

Ohio State sets record with 20th straight Big Ten win.

Illinois

Illinois at Ohio State

Team	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)

Michigan

Ohio State at Michigan

Team	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)

National Championship Game

LSU vs. Ohio State

Team	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.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Jim Tressel – head coach (7th year)
Jim Bollman – offensive line/offensive coordinator (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 – safeties (3rd year)
Darrell Hazell – assistant head coach / wide receivers (4th year)
Taver Johnson – cornerbacks (1st year)
John Peterson – tight ends / 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)

Roster

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

2008 NFL draftees

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


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


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


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


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