There are 45 days that separate us from Ohio State's march to Blacksburg. To help pass the time until the Buckeyes put the Sandman to sleep I will countdown Ohio State's top 100 players according to the rubric* listed at the bottom of this article.
Had Ohio State defeated MSU in 1998 Germaine would have been in NY with a legit chance at winning the Heisman.
NO. 45 JOE GERMAINE, QB (1995-1998)
Born: 1975 (Denver, CO)
High School: Mountain View (Mesa, AZ)
OHIO STATE CAREER
- The Buckeyes were 43-7 with Germaine on the team.
- 1996 Big Ten Title.
- 1998 Big Ten Title.
- 1997 Defeated No. 4 Arizona State 20-17 to win the Rose Bowl.
- 1999 Defeated No. 8 Texas A&M 24-14 to win the Sugar Bowl.
- 1998 Defeated That Team 31-16.
HONORS
- 1998 Captain.
- 1998 Big Ten MVP.
- 1998 Team MVP.
- 1998 All-Big Ten.
NFL DRAFT
Round 4 to the Saint Louis Rams with the 101st pick of the 1999 draft.
Joe Germaine's path to Ohio State per Wikipedia:
Germaine was recruited by Northern Arizona University (NAU) out of high school, but NAU was wary of his intention to serve a two-year Mormon mission, and thus did not offer him a scholarship.
After concluding his service as a missionary for his church, Germaine played one season (1995) at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona before transferring to Ohio State.
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Joe Germaine's Ohio State career per The Ohio State Media Guide:
Joe Germaine proved in two seasons as a backup that he was a fine quarterback. But it was 1998, his senior year as the starter and team co-captain, when he set 11 school records while throwing for 3,330 yards and 25 touchdowns, that separated him from other OSU quarterbacks.
He was the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football Award winner as the Big Ten MVP that year and he led OSU to the No. 1 national ranking for a then-school-record 10 consecutive weeks. He also was named by the conference coaches as the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year.
No Ohio State fan will ever forget his heroics in the 1997 Rose Bowl as he calmly directed the Buckeyes 65 yards in 12 plays in the final 1:40 for the winning touchdown (a five-yard touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds left). Germaine threw for 6,370 yards and 56 touchdowns in three seasons. The Mesa, Arizona, product played five seasons in the NFL.
| CATEGORY | POINTS |
|---|---|
| HEISMAN | |
| NO. RETIRED / HONORED | |
| BIG TEN MVP | 6 |
| TEAM MVP | 5 |
| ALL-AMERICAN | |
| CAPTAIN | 4 |
| 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT PICK | |
| ALL-BIG TEN | 3 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN | |
| NFL DRAFT PICK | 2 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN | |
| LETTER | 0.75 |
| TOTAL | 20.75 |
For more information on other players who wore No. 7 go here.
Sources- The Ohio State Team Guide and Wikipedia
| CATEGORY | POINTS |
|---|---|
| HEISMAN | 8 |
| NO. RETIRED / HONORED | 8 |
| BIG TEN MVP | 6 |
| TEAM MVP | 5 |
| ALL-AMERICAN | 4 |
| CAPTAIN | 4 |
| 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT PICK | 4 |
| ALL-BIG TEN | 3 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN | 3 |
| NFL DRAFT PICK | 2 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN | 1 |
| LETTER | 0.25 PER YEAR |
