2015 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Buckeyes' 126th season overall, the 103rd as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and second as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was led by Urban Meyer, in his fourth year as head coach, and played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished the season 12–1, 7–1 in Big Ten play, to finish in a tie for the East Division championship with Michigan State. Due to their head-to-head loss to Michigan State, they did not represent the East Division in the Big Ten Championship Game. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl where they defeated Notre Dame.

2015 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten East Division co-champion Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 44–28 vs. Notre Dame
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	12–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Urban Meyer (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ed Warinner (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Tim Beck (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Luke Fickell (10th; 15th overall season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Chris Ash (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Captain	J. T. Barrett Jacoby Boren Joshua Perry Tyvis Powell
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 4 Ohio State x		7	–	1					12	–	1
No. 12 Michigan		6	–	2					10	–	3
Penn State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					6	–	7
Rutgers		1	–	7					4	–	8
Maryland		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 23 Northwestern		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 21 Wisconsin		6	–	2					10	–	3
Nebraska		3	–	5					6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

The Big Ten Conference released the schedule for the 2015 season on June 3, 2013.^[1] Ohio State will face all six Eastern Division opponents Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Rutgers.^[1] Ohio State will also face two Western Division opponents: rival Illinois and Minnesota.^[1] Ohio State will play four non-conference games: Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Hawaii of the Mountain West Conference, and Northern Illinois and Western Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. Ohio State has one bye week during the season between their games against Rutgers and Minnesota.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	8:00 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*	No. 1	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 42–24	65,632
September 12	3:30 p.m.	Hawaii*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 38–0	107,145
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Northern Illinois*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN2	W 20–13	104,095
September 26	3:30 p.m.	Western Michigan*	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN2	W 38–12	106,123
October 3	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ABC/ESPN2	W 34–27	52,929
October 10	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 49–28	107,869
October 17	8:00 p.m.	Penn State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 38–10	108,423
October 24	8:00 p.m.	at Rutgers	No. 1	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ABC	W 49–7	53,111
November 7	8:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 28–14	108,075
November 14	12:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	ABC	W 28–3	51,515
November 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 9 Michigan State	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (College GameDay)	ABC	L 14–17	108,975‡
November 28	12:00 p.m.	at No. 10 Michigan	No. 8	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	ABC	W 42–13	111,829
January 1, 2016	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Notre Dame*	No. 7	University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	ESPN	W 44–28	71,123
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 3) released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

• ‡ New Ohio Stadium attendance record

Personnel

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was his fourth year as the Buckeye's head coach during the 2015 season. In his previous three seasons with Ohio State, he led the Buckeyes to an overall record of 38 wins and 3 losses (38–3) and the 2014 national championship. On December 16, 2014, offensive coordinator Tom Herman accepted the head coaching position at Houston.^[3] On January 11, 2015, Ohio State announced the hiring of former Nebraska coach Tim Beck to replace Herman as co-offensive coordinator.^[4] On February 2, 2015, Stan Drayton accepted the running backs coach position with the Chicago Bears, and was replaced by former Notre Dame coach Tony Alford.^[5]

Head coach Urban Meyer

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Ohio State	Alma mater
Urban Meyer	Head coach	4th	Cincinnati (1986)
Luke Fickell	Co-Defensive coordinator/linebackers	14th	Ohio State (1997)
Chris Ash	Co-defensive coordinator/safeties	2nd	Drake (1995)
Larry Johnson	Assistant head coach/defensive line	2nd	Elizabeth City State (1973)
Kerry Coombs	Special teams coordinator/cornerbacks	4th	Dayton (1983)
Tim Beck	Co-Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	1st	Central Florida (1988)
Ed Warinner	Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line	4th	Mount Union (1984)
Tony Alford	Assistant head coach/running backs	1st	Colorado State (1992)
Zach Smith	Wide receivers	4th	Florida (2007)
Tim Hinton	Tight ends, fullbacks	4th	Wilmington (1982)
Quinn Tempel	Offensive graduate assistant	1st	Ohio State (2013)
Mickey Marotti	Assistant athletic director for football sports performance	4th	West Liberty (1987)
Reference:[6]

Roster

2015 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR, QB 1 Braxton Miller  Sr HB 2 Dontre Wilson Jr WR 3 Michael Thomas  Jr RB 4 Curtis Samuel So WR 5 Johnnie Dixon  Fr QB, WR 6 Torrance Gibson Fr WR 7 Jalin Marshall  So QB 10 Joe Burrow Fr QB 11 Justin Cook So QB 12 Cardale Jones  Jr QB 13 Stephen Collier  Fr WR 14 K. J. Hill Fr RB 15 Ezekiel Elliott Jr QB 16 J. T. Barrett  So WR 18 Kato Mitchell Sr WR 19 Joe Ramstetter So RB 20 Mike Weber Fr WR 21 Parris Campbell  Fr WR 23 Devlin McDaniel Jr TE 24 Rashod Berry Fr RB 25 Bri'onte Dunn  Jr RB 26 Patrick Wise So RB 28 Warren Ball  Jr WR 33 Austin Clutter Fr RB 35 Jeffie Johnson Sr TE 44 Guy Ferrelli Jr C 50 Jacoby Boren Sr OL 51 Joel Hale  Sr OL 54 Billy Price  So OL 56 Matthew Burrell Fr OL 57 Chase Farris  Sr OL 59 Isaiah Prince Fr OL 60 Blake Pfenning Fr OL 62 Aaron Parry Jr OL 63 Kevin Woidke Fr OL 65 Pat Elflein  Jr OL 68 Taylor Decker Sr OL 69 Brandon Pahl Fr OL 71 Kyle Trout  Fr OL 74 Jamarco Jones So OL 75 Evan Lisle  So OL 76 Branden Bowen Fr OL 77 Kevin Feder Fr OL 78 Demetrius Knox  Fr OL 79 Brady Taylor  Fr WR 80 Noah Brown So TE 81 Nick Vannett  Sr WR 82 James Clark  So WR 83 Terry McLaurin  Fr WR 84 Corey Smith  Sr TE 85 Marcus Baugh  So WR 87 Alex Stump Fr TE 88 A. J. Alexander Fr WR 89 Jeff Greene  Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 1 Erick Smith So CB 2 Marshon Lattimore  Fr CB 3 Damon Webb So LB 5 Raekwon McMillan So DE 6 Sam Hubbard Fr CB 8 Gareon Conley  So DL 9 Jashon Cornell Fr DL 10 Jalyn Holmes So S 11 Vonn Bell Jr CB 12 Denzel Ward Fr CB 13 Eli Apple  So CB 14 Joshua Norwood Fr DB 15 Cameron Howard Sr S 16 Cam Burrows Jr LB 17 Jerome Baker Fr S 18 Michael Lawless Jr CB 19 Eric Glover-Williams Fr S 20 Khaleed Franklin Jr CB 21 Trevon Forte  So S 23 Tyvis Powell  Jr S 24 Malik Hooker  Fr CB 25 Logan Kelleher So S 26 Jarrod Barnes Jr S 28 Michael Cibene Jr S 29 Mike Maduko So LB 30 Jared Drake Fr CB 32 Elijaah Goins Jr LB 33 Dante Booker So LB 34 Nick Conner Fr LB 35 Chris Worley  So LB 36 Zach Turnure Jr LB 37 Joshua Perry Sr LB 38 Craig Fada Jr LB 39 Kyle Berger  Fr LB 43 Darron Lee So S 46 Cin'Quan Haney Jr LB 47 Justin Hilliard Fr LB 48 Joe Burger  Jr DL 52 Donovan Munger  So DT 53 DaVon Hamilton Fr LB 55 Cam Willams Sr DT 57 Robert Landers Fr DL 59 Tyquan Lewis  So DE 70 Chris Fong  Sr DL 77 Michael Hill  So DL 86 Dre'Mont Jones Fr DL 90 Tommy Schutt Sr DL 92 Adolphus Washington Sr DL 93 Tracy Sprinkle  So DL 94 Dylan Thompson  Fr DL 97 Joey Bosa Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 30 Tyler Durbin Jr LS 41 Bryce Haynes  Sr LS 44 Aaron Mawhirter Jr LS 49 Liam McCullough Fr P 95 Cameron Johnston Jr K 96 Sean Nuernberger So K 98 Jack Willoughby  Sr	Head coach Urban Meyer Coordinators/assistant coaches Ed Warinner (Offensive coordinator / offensive line) Tim Beck (Co-offensive coordinator / quarterbacks) Tony Alford (Assistant head coach / running backs) Tim Hinton (Tight ends / Fullbacks) Zack Smith (Wide receivers) Luke Fickell (Co-defensive coordinator / linebackers) Chris Ash (Co-defensive coordinator / safeties) Larry Johnson (Assistant head coach / defensive line) Kerry Coombs (Special teams coordinator / cornerbacks) Mickey Marotti (Assistant athletic director for football sports performance) Vince Okruch (Quality control coach – kicking game / defense) Matt Thurin (Quality control coach – Defense) Bill Busch (Quality control coach – Defense) Jim Cordle (Graduate assistant – offense) Brian Mason (Graduate assistant – defense) Matt Merritt (Graduate assistant – offense) Vince Oghobaase (Graduate assistant – defense) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: January 5, 2016

Depth chart

Defense FS 11 Vonn Bell 1 Erick Smith WLB MLB SLB 37 Joshua Perry 5 Raekwon McMillan 43 Darron Lee 33 Dante Booker 55 Cam Williams 35 Chris Worley SS 23 Tyvis Powell 24 Malik Hooker CB 13 Eli Apple 3 Damon Webb DE DT DT DE 97 Joey Bosa 92 Adolphus Washington 90 Tommy Schutt 59 Tyquan Lewis 6 Sam Hubbard 77 Michael Hill 51 Joel Hale 10 Jalyn Holmes CB 19 Gareon Conley 2 Marshon Lattimore Offense WR 3 Michael Thomas 84 Corey Smith H-Back 1 Braxton Miller 4 Curtis Samuel LT LG C RG RT 68 Taylor Decker 54 Billy Price 50 Jacoby Boren 65 Pat Elflein 57 Chase Farris 74 Jamarco Jones 78 Demetris Knox 79 Brady Taylor 75 Evan Lisle 59 Isaiah Prince TE 81 Nick Vannett 85 Marcus Baugh WR 17 Jalin Marshall 2 Dontre Wilson QB 16 J. T. Barrett 12 Cardale Jones Special teams RB 15 Ezekiel Elliott 4 Bri'onten Dunn

Rankings

Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football 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	1 (61)	1 (61)	1 (61)	1 (59)	1 (42)	1 (45)	1 (38)	1 (27)	1 (28)	1 (39)	2 (26)	3 (23)	8	6	7	4
Coaches	1 (62)	1 (62)	1 (63)	1 (62)	1 (61)	1 (61)	1 (50)	1 (47)	1 (48)	1 (49)	1 (34)	2 (32)	8	6	5	4
CFP	Not released									3	3	3	8	6	7	Not released

Game summaries

Virginia Tech

See also: 2015 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Ohio State	14	0	14	14	42
Virginia Tech	0	17	0	7	24

• Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
• Game start: 8:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:30
• Game attendance: 65,632
• TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	9:44	Ohio State	Curtis Samuel 24 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–0
1	6:39	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 80 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–0
2	13:13	Virginia Tech	Sam Rogers 51 yd pass from Michael Brewer (Joey Slye kick)	Ohio State 14–7
2	7:05	Virginia Tech	Joey Slye 46 yd field goal	Ohio State 14–10
2	0:16	Virginia Tech	Ryan Malleck 1 yd pass from Michael Brewer (Joey Slye kick)	Virginia Tech 17–14
3	13:53	Ohio State	Braxton Miller 54 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 21–17
3	2:05	Ohio State	Braxton Miller 53 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 28–17
4	12:26	Ohio State	Cardale Jones 10 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 35–17
4	8:14	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 26 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 42–17
4	1:55	Virginia Tech	Isaiah Ford 9 yd pass from Brenden Motley (Joey Slye kick)	Ohio State 42–24

Hawaii

See also: 2015 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawaii	0	0	0	0	0
• #1 Ohio State	7	7	3	21	38

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 3:30 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:28
• Game attendance: 107,145
• Game weather: Sunny
• TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen, and Lisa Byington

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	3:25	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 1 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–0
2	4:03	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 3 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–0
3	8:34	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 20 yd field goal	Ohio State 17–0
4	9:07	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 1 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 24–0
4	7:48	Ohio State	Vonn Bell 14 yd fumble return (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 31–0
4	3:51	Ohio State	Bri'onte Dunn 5 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 38–0

Northern Illinois

See also: 2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Northern Illinois	7	3	0	3	13
• #1 Ohio State	3	7	10	0	20

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 3:30 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:28
• Game attendance: 104,095
• Game weather: Cloudy, Light Rain
• TV announcers (ABC/ESPN2): Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	12:43	Northern Illinois	Aregeros Turner 5 yd run (Christian Hagan kick)	Northern Illinois 7–0
1	6:21	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 31 yd field goal	Northern Illinois 7–3
2	12:20	Northern Illinois	Christian Hagan 38 yd field goal	Northern Illinois 10–3
2	8:21	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 23 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	10–10
3	8:27	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 24 yd field goal	Ohio State 13–10
3	1:44	Ohio State	Darren Lee 41 yd interception return (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 20–10
4	7:46	Northern Illinois	Christian Hagan 31 yd field goal	Ohio State 20–13

Western Michigan

See also: 2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Michigan	0	6	6	0	12
• #1 Ohio State	7	17	7	7	38

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 3:30 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:25
• Game attendance: 106,123
• Game weather: Cloudy
• TV announcers (ABC/ESPN2): Adam Amin and Kelly Stouffer

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	13:26	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 38 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–0
2	10:35	Ohio State	Jalin Marshall 37 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–0
2	8:19	Western Michigan	Daniel Braverman 55 yd pass from Zach Terrell (PAT missed)	Ohio State 14–6
2	4:09	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 30 yd field goal	Ohio State 17–6
2	4:02	Ohio State	Adolphus Washington 20 yd interception return (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 24–6
3	10:50	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 6 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 31–6
3	4:26	Western Michigan	Jeremiah Mullinax 1 yd pass from Zach Terrell (2 pt conversion failed)	Ohio State 31–12
4	8:24	Ohio State	Curtis Samuel 40 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 38–12

Indiana

See also: 2015 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Ohio State	0	6	14	14	34
Indiana	3	7	7	10	27

• Location: Bloomington, Indiana
• Game start: 3:30 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 4:10
• Game attendance: 52,929
• Game weather: Cloudy, Light Rain
• TV announcers (ABC/ESPN2): Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	7:26	Indiana	Griffin Oakes 34 yd field goal	Indiana 3–0
2	13:38	Indiana	Devine Redding 1 yd run (Griffin Oakes kick)	Indiana 10–0
2	10:21	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 23 yd field goal	Indiana 10–3
2	6:50	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 26 yd field goal	Indiana 10–6
3	8:57	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 55 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 13–10
3	2:23	Indiana	Devine Redding 1 yd run (Griffin Oakes kick)	Indiana 17–13
3	1:02	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 65 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 20–17
4	14:54	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 23 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 27–17
4	10:37	Indiana	Griffin Oakes 34 yd field goal	Ohio State 27–20
4	10:24	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 75 yd run (Jack Wiloughby kick)	Ohio State 34–20
4	10:03	Indiana	Zander Diamont 79 yd run (Griffin Oakes kick)	Ohio State 34–27

Maryland

See also: 2015 Maryland Terrapins football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland	7	7	7	7	28
• #1 Ohio State	7	14	14	14	49

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 12:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:30
• Game attendance: 107,869
• Game weather: Sunny
• TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins, Glen Mason

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	10:52	Maryland	D.J. Moore 52 yd pass from Perry Hills (Brad Craddock kick)	Maryland 7–0
1	4:23	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 3 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	7–7
2	14:32	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 2 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–7
2	6:41	Ohio State	Braxton Miller 19 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 21–7
2	0:43	Maryland	Perry Hills 3 yd run (Brad Craddock kick)	Ohio State 21–14
3	11:17	Maryland	Perry Hills 4 yd run (Brad Craddock kick)	21–21
3	6:58	Ohio State	Jalin Marshall 48 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 28–21
3	0:15	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 1 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 35–21
4	6:38	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 16 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 42–21
4	5:46	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 18 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 49–21
4	0:55	Maryland	Wes Brown 1 yd run (Brad Craddock kick)	Ohio State 49–28

Penn State

See also: 2015 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	3	0	7	0	10
• #1 Ohio State	0	21	0	17	38

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 8:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:45
• Game attendance: 108,423
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	11:32	Penn State	Joey Julius 33 yd field goal	Penn State 3–0
2	13:43	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 5 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–3
2	9:26	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 10 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–3
2	3:17	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 13 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 21–3
3	13:59	Penn State	DaeSean Hamilton 8 yd pass from Christian Hackenberg (Joey Julius kick)	Ohio State 21–10
4	12:54	Ohio State	Jack Willoughby 39 yd field goal	Ohio State 24–10
4	6:25	Ohio State	Braxton Miller 5 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 31–10
4	4:14	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 6 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 38–10

"Dark Night at the Shoe" – Ohio State wears all-black uniforms for the first time in school history.^[7]

Rutgers

See also: 2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Ohio State	7	14	21	7	49
Rutgers	0	0	0	7	7

• Location: Piscataway, New Jersey
• Game start: 8:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:30
• Game attendance: 53,111
• Game weather: Clear
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	0:10	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 2 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–0
2	6:48	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 50 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–0
2	3:02	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 2 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 21–0
3	13:13	Ohio State	Curtis Samuel 30 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 28–0
3	8:24	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 10 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 35–0
3	4:34	Ohio State	Jalin Marshall 1 yd pass from J.T. Barrett	Ohio State 42–0
4	13:42	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 55 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 49–0
4	0:13	Rutgers	Andre Patton 4 yd pass from Hayden Rettig (Kyle Federico kick)	Ohio State 49–7

Minnesota

See also: 2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	0	14	14
• #1 Ohio State	0	14	7	7	28

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 8:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:35
• Game weather: Clear
• TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe

• Sources:

Scoring summary

2	4:53	Ohio State	Vonn Bell 16 yd interception return (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 7–0
2	0:54	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 15 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 14–0
3	6:43	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 6 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 21–0
4	10:25	Minnesota	KJ Maye 4 yd pass from Mitch Leidner (Ryan Santoso kick)	Ohio State 21–7
4	2:10	Minnesota	Rashad Still 10 yd pass from Mitch Leidner (Ryan Santoso kick)	Ohio State 21–14
4	1:53	Ohio State	Cardale Jones 38 yd run (Jack Willoughby kick)	Ohio State 28–14

Illinois

See also: 2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Ohio State football rivalry

Illibuck

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Ohio State	7	7	7	7	28
Illinois	0	3	0	0	3

• Location: Champaign, Illinois
• Game start: 12:00 p.m.
• Elapsed time: 3:35
• Game attendance: 51,515
• Game weather: Sunny
• TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Todd McShay

• Sources:

Scoring summary

1	3:43	Ohio State	Michael Thomas 24 yd pass from J.T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick)	Ohio State 7–0
2	10:12	Illinois	Taylor Zalewski 46 yd field goal	Ohio State 7–3
2	0:50	Ohio State	J.T. Barrett 6 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick)	Ohio State 14–3
3	6:57	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 1 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick)	Ohio State 21–3
4	9:47	Ohio State	Ezekiel Elliott 10 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick)	Ohio State 28–3

Michigan State

See also: 2015 Michigan State Spartans football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #9 Michigan State	0	7	0	10	17
#2 Ohio State	0	7	7	0	14

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 3:30 p.m.
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Heather Cox

• Sources:

Michigan

See also: 2015 Michigan Wolverines football team and Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry

The Game

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #8 Ohio State	7	7	14	14	42
#12 Michigan	0	10	0	3	13

• Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Game start: 12:00 p.m.
• Game attendance: 111,829
• Game weather: Mostly cloudy
• Referee: Jerry McGinn
• TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe

• Sources:

Notre Dame–Fiesta Bowl

See also: 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and 2016 Fiesta Bowl (January)

BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Notre Dame	0	14	7	7	28
• #7 Ohio State	14	14	7	9	44

• Location: Glendale, AZ
• Game start: 1:07 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 3:31
• Game attendance: 71,123
• Game weather: None (Indoor Stadium)
• Referee: Hubert Owens (SEC)^[8]
• TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, & Todd McShay (ESPN) Adam Amin, Kelly Stouffer, & Olivia Harlan (ESPN Radio)

• Sources:

2016 NFL Draft

The Buckeyes had 12 players (5 in the first round) in the 2016 NFL draft.^[9]

Round	Pick Number	NFL Team	Player	Position
1	3	San Diego Chargers	Joey Bosa	DE
1	4	Dallas Cowboys	Ezekiel Elliott	RB
1	10	New York Giants	Eli Apple	CB
1	16	Detroit Lions	Taylor Decker	OT
1	20	New York Jets	Darron Lee	OLB
2	47	New Orleans Saints	Michael Thomas	WR
2	61	New Orleans Saints	Vonn Bell	S
3	80	Buffalo Bills	Adolphus Washington	DT
3	85	Houston Texans	Braxton Miller	WR
3	94	Seattle Seahawks	Nick Vannett	TE
4	102	San Diego Chargers	Joshua Perry	OLB
4	139	Buffalo Bills	Cardale Jones	QB

In addition, 3 players were signed as undrafted free agents

Position	Player	NFL Team
OL	Chase Farris	Detroit Lions
WR	Jalin Marshall	New York Jets
S	Tyvis Powell	Seattle Seahawks

• Sources:^[10]