After his 1995 Buckeyes won their first 11 games before limping to the finish with losses to Michigan and Tennessee, pressure mounted on head coach John Cooper to turn the tide against the Wolverines and make a legit run at a national title.
Making such a run in 1996 would require replacing key elite performers, notably Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, Biletnifkoff Award winner Terry Glenn and quarterback Bobby Hoying.
Lucky for Cooper, the '96 Buckeyes would still feature a bevy of experienced seniors in names like Luke Fickell, Matt Finkes, Mike Vrabel, LeShun Daniels, Greg Bellisari, Ty Howard, Rob Kelly, Ryan Miller and Dimitrious Stanley.
Junior Pepe Pearson stepped in for George while redshirt junior Stanley Jackson and transfer Joe Germaine split duties in an effort to replace Hoying's production and Orlando Pace, the reigning Lombardi Award winner, returned to anchor the offensive line as truly the best player in college football.
Finally, newcomers in Andy Katzenmoyer and David Boston would make plenty of noise as true freshmen.
With the '95 departures largely offset by the wave of talent Cooper had amassed on the recruiting trail during the preceding few years, Ohio State entered the '96 campaign as the No. 10 team in the preseason Coaches Poll. Whether or not Cooper could finally make full use of his talent remained to be seen as skepticism loomed for a coach sporting a 1-6-1 record against Michigan and a 1-6 mark in bowl games.
The Buckeyes started the season clicking on all cylinders, blowing out Rice, 70-7, as the offense cranked out 632 yards, scoring three touchdowns in each of the first three quarters.
Pearson showed he just needed a chance to play, going for 119 yards on the ground, via 7.0 yards per carry, with three touchdowns. With Jackson and Germaine rotating possessions under center, the duo combined to complete 12-of-19 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns including a 58-yard strike to Boston.
Defensively, Katzenmoyer turned in a sparkling debut with eight tackles and three tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks.
The train kept rolling after an open week with a 72-0 pasting of Pitt. Ohio State led 52-0 at the half and finished with 24 more first downs and 482 more yards than the Panthers. Pearson found the end zone three more times as did Boston, one via a punt return.
With the cupcakes out of the way, now-No. 4 Ohio State headed to South Bend to face No. 5 Notre Dame.
Stanley got the Buckeyes off on the right foot with an 85-yard kickoff return to start the game and Pearson cashed in a few plays later for a 7-0 lead. In what was a talent mismatch, particularly in the speed department, Ohio State took a 22-7 lead into intermission and never looked back in a 29-16 victory.
Pearson was sensational with 173 yards and two scores while the Silver Bullets held Autry Denson to 2.9 yards per carry and forced Ron Powlus (lol) into a 13-for-30 afternoon with four sacks.
Riding high and now sitting at No. 3 in the land, Ohio State welcomed No. 4 Penn State to the Shoe the following weekend. In dishing out 60 minutes of pain, Cooper's squad dominated from start to finish, racing out to a 24-0 halftime lead before coasting to a 38-7 decision.
The Buckeyes generated a 565-211 advantage in total yards including a 350-68 (!) edge on the ground while running 89 plays. Pearson ran for 141 yards while Penn State's Curtis Enis managed 34. Stanley torched the Nittany Lions for 105 yards and two touchdown catches. The defense rode Katzenmoyer (nine tackles, PBU, sack) and Antoine Winfield (six tackles, TFL, PBU), among others, to a statement victory.
The win pushed Ohio State to No. 2 in the polls.
Ripe for hangover after back-to-back wins against top-5 teams, the Buckeyes squeaked by Wisconsin, 17-14, thanks to a host of self-inflicted wounds including two turnovers and a missed field goal. In his only playing time on the day, Germaine rescued the Buckeyes with a 48-yard scoring strike to Stanley with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter. Of note, redshirt sophomore safety Damon Moore, one of the more underrated Buckeye defenders of all-time, blew up for 19 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception.
Following the minor scare, Ohio State got back on the blowout train after a slow start in West Lafayette to handle Purdue, 42-14. Down 14-0 early and tied 14-14 at the half, the Buckeyes went on a 28-0 run in the second half boosted by 152 yards and two touchdowns from Pearson and 17 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble from Katzenmoyer. Damn, son.
A trip to Iowa City followed and Ohio State raced to a 38-6 lead early in the third quarter before getting bored and finally prevailing 38-26. Moore was again spectacular with nine stops, three pass breakups, and three interceptions (in the first half). Katzenmoyer also kept the big plays coming with nine tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and another interception.
Standing at a perfect 7-0 with two middling programs in Minnesota and Illinois up next, the Buckeyes peeled off back-to-back shutouts. The Gophers felt the pain in a 45-0 romp as the Silver Bullets held Minnesota to 105 total yards while forcing five turnovers and racking up a ridiculous 14 tackles for loss.
The following weekend in Champaign, the Illini took a 48-0 haymaker. Illinois managed 130 total yards as Finkes and Vrabel combined for five tackles for loss. On offense, according to Ohio State football historian Jack Park, Germaine led the Buckeyes to touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions.
Now 9-0 with a chance to clinch a Rose Bowl bid, Ohio State traveled to Bloomington for a date with Indiana in what was Bill Mallory's last home game as the Hoosiers head coach. Feeling the pressure, the Buckeyes trailed 10-7 midway through the third quarter before scoring 20 straight points in what became a 27-17 win. The big play came with the game tied 10-10 and a little over six minutes left in regulation as Katzenmoyer forced a fumble and Finkes snagged the ball before chugging 45 yards to the end zone. Moore later added a pick six, sealing a trip to Pasadena.
But first, it was womp-womp time.
Sitting at an unblemished 10-0, No. 2 Ohio State welcomed No. 22 Michigan (7-3) to the Horseshoe. The Wolverines entered the contest having lost two straight games.
Cooper decided to give Germaine his first start and the Buckeyes held a 9-0 advantage at the half but it felt ominous that Ohio State mustered only three field goals despite holding a 220-62 total yards advantage heading into the locker room.
On the second play of the second half, elite cornerback Shawn Springs slipped while in man coverage on Tai Streets and Brian Griese made the Buckeyes pay, hitting Streets for a 69-yard touchdown trimming the lead to 9-7.
(I honestly just walked away from my laptop for a few minutes, in need of a Calumet Farm 14-year refill.)
The slip took the wind out of Ohio State's sails and Cooper went full clench as Michigan added two field goals down the stretch in what became a heartbreaking 13-9 loss, moving Cooper to 1-7-1 against the Wolverines and ending any shot at a national title.
The Buckeye offense went in the tank in a second half producing just 79 total yards with the longest drive chewing up 19 whole yards. On six possessions after halftime, Ohio State punted five times and turned it over once via an interception. After rushing for 117 yards in the first half, Pearson mustered 10 in the second. Through the air, Germaine completed a dismal 12-of-31 passes.
The consolation prize came via a shared Big Ten crown with Northwestern and a date with Arizona State in the Rose Bowl but GOT DAYUM that one stung more than most.
After the soul-crusher, Ohio State entered the Rose Bowl ranked No. 4 against Jake Plummer and the 11-0 and No. 2-ranked Sun Devils, who still had eyes on capturing a national title.
In a back-and-forth affair, it looked Plummer had pulled off a miracle after his 11-yard touchdown scamper gave the Sun Devils a 17-14 lead with 1:40 left in regulation.
To Ohio State's credit however, as The Snake and company got a little too giddy on the sideline, Germaine and the Buckeye offense went to work.
Facing a 3rd-and-10 early in the possession, Germaine hit Stanley for 11 yards. Three plays later, on another 3rd-and-10, Germaine again found Stanley, this time for 13 yards. After a 1st-and-10 connection with Stanley for another 12 yards to the Sun Devils' 29-yard line, a couple Germaine incompletions were offset by a pair of Arizona State flags for pass interference.
The latter, on 3rd-and-10, gave Ohio State 1st-and-Goal at the Sun Devils 5-yard line. ASU head coach Bruce Snyder cried and cried over both accurate calls but he'd cry harder when Germaine found Boston for the game-winning touchdown on the next play, leaving just 19 seconds on the clock.
Germaine was named Rose Bowl MVP and Ohio State's defense held Plummer and company to under 300 yards and 17 points after the Sun Devils came in averaging nearly 500 yards and 42 points per contest.
The Florida Gators (12-1) would win the national title with Ohio State (11-1) finishing No. 2. The Gators drew 58 first-place votes to four for the Buckeyes.
Pace captured his second-straight Lombardi Award, the Big Ten MVP award and an Outland Trophy while finishing fourth in the Heisman voting. Pace, Vrabel and Springs earned All-American honors while Moore became the first non-linebacker since at least 1970 to lead the Buckeyes in tackles.
