# 2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2000 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record, including a 38–26 loss to rival Michigan in Columbus in the regular season finale and a 24–7 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2001 Outback Bowl. The losses dropped head coach John Cooper's record to 2–10–1 in Michigan–Ohio State games and 3–8 in bowl games, contributing to his dismissal from the team on January 2, 2001.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Fresno State* | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN Plus | W 43–10 | 96,583 |
| September 9 | 10:10 p.m. | at Arizona* | No. 18 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | FSN | W 27–17 | 57,367 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Miami (OH)* | No. 17 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN Plus | W 27–16 | 96,721 |
| September 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Penn State | No. 14 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 45–6 | 98,144 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 24 Wisconsin | No. 8 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ABC | W 23–7 | 79,045 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 6 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN2 | L 17–29 | 98,120 |
| October 21 | 12:00 p.m. | at Iowa | No. 14 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | ESPN Plus | W 38–10 | 60,495 |
| October 28 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 16 Purdue | No. 12 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | L 27–31 | 68,666 |
| November 4 | 12:00 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 16 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN | W 27–13 | 98,406 |
| November 11 | 4:00 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 13 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPN | W 24–21 | 61,207 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 19 Michigan | No. 12 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | ABC | L 26–38 | 98,681 |
| January 1, 2001 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. No. 14 South Carolina* | No. 22 | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL (Outback Bowl) | ESPN | L 7–24 | 65,229 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 20 | 19 | — |
| Coaches Poll | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 18 | — |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 11 | — | 13 | 13 | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Fresno State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fresno State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • No. 16 Ohio State | 13 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 43 |

### Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 18 Ohio State | 3 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
| Arizona | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 14 Ohio State | 14 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 45 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 8 Ohio State | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| No. 24 Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Ohio State | 0 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 27 |
| • No. 16 Purdue | 0 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 31 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 13 Ohio State | 3 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| Illinois | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Outback Bowl
## Personnel
### Coaching staff

* John Cooper - Head Coach - 13th year
* George Belu – Offensive line (1st year)
* Bill Conley - Tight ends / recruiting Coordinator (14th year)
* Jim Heacock – Defensive line (5th year)
* Fred Pagac – Assistant head coach (19th year)
* Tim Salem – Quarterbacks / wide receivers (4th year)
* Shawn Simms – Defensive ends (4th year)
* Tim Spencer – Running backs (7th year)
* Chuck Strobart – Offensive coordinator (6th year)
* Jon Tenuta – Defensive coordinator / Defensive Backs (5th year)
* Bob Tucker - Director of football operations (6th year)
* Brian Williams - Defense / Special Teams (1st year)

### Roster
## 2001 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Nate Clements | 1 | 21 | Defensive Back | Buffalo Bills |
| Ryan Pickett | 1 | 29 | Defensive tackle | St. Louis Rams |
| Rodney Bailey | 6 | 181 | Defensive End | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Reggie Germany | 7 | 214 | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills |
| Derek Combs | 7 | 228 | Defensive Back | Oakland Raiders |
| Ken-Yon Rambo | 7 | 229 | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders |
Source: