Team of Biography Ohio State Buckeyes football
Andrew Walker
Updated on April 02, 2026
Team of Biography Ohio State Buckeyes football
Team of Biography Ohio State Buckeyes football: The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. It represents Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio since the year 1922. The Buckeyes are recognized by the university and NCAA won eight national championships. It has 41 conference championships (including 39 Big Ten titles), 10 undefeated seasons, 10 division championships, and six perfect seasons (no losses or ties). Seven players of the team have received the Heisman Trophy (second all-time), with the distinction of having the only two-time winner of the award.
The first Ohio State game was a 20–14 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, on the 3rd of May in the year 1890. The team was a football independent from the years 1890 to 1901 before joining the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) as a charter member in the year 1902. The Buckeyes had won two conference championships while members of the OAC. In the year 1912, the team became a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Ohio State won its first national championship in the year 1942 under head coach Paul Brown. After World War II, Ohio State experienced sparse success on the football field with three separate coaches. In the year 1951, Woody Hayes was hired to coach the team.
Under Hayes, Ohio State went on to win over 200 games, three consensus national championships (1954, 1957, and 1968), 13 Big Ten conference championships, two other non-consensus national titles (1961 and 1970), and eight Rose Bowl appearances. Following Hayes’ dismissal in the year 1978, Earle Bruce went on to win 4 Big Ten titles (1979, 1981, 1984, 1986). John Cooper then took over to coach the team to 3 conference championships (1993, 1996, 1998).
Jim Tressel was hired as head coach in the year 2001 and led Ohio State to its seventh national championship in the year 2002. Under Tressel, Ohio State bagged seven Big Ten championships and appeared in eight Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games. They won five of them. Urban Meyer became head coach in the year 2011. Under Meyer, the team went 12–0 in his first season and went on to set a school record with 24 consecutive victories, winning three Big Ten championships (2014, 2017, and 2018). The team went on to win the first College Football Playoff National Championship in the year 2014.
2022 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The first season – 1890
Athletic director – Gene Smith
Head coach – Ryan Day
3rd season, 34–4 (.895)
Stadium – Ohio Stadium
(capacity: 102,780)
Year built – 1922
Field surface – FieldTurf
Location – Columbus, Ohio
NCAA division – Division I FBS
Conference – Big Ten Conference
Division – East Division
All-time record – 942–330–53 (.731)
Bowl record – 27–27 (.500)
Playoff appearances – 4 appearances(2014, 2016, 2019, 2020)
Playoff record – 3–3 (.500)
Claimed national titles – 8 claimed national titles (1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014)
Unclaimed national titles – 7 unclaimed national titles(1933, 1944, 1945, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975)
National finalist – 5 national finalist (2002, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2020)
Conference titles – 41 conference titles (2 OAC, 39 Big Ten)
Division titles – 10 division titles (2 Leaders, 8 East)
Rivalries – Michigan (rivalry)
Illinois – (rivalry)
Penn State (rivalry)
Heisman winners – 7
Consensus All-Americans – 90
Championships
| Year | Head Coach | Selector | Record | Big Ten Record | Bowl | Final AP | Final Coaches |
| 1942 | Paul Brown | AP | 9–1 | 6–1 | – | No. 1 | − |
| 1954 | Woody Hayes | AP | 10–0 | 7–0 | Won Rose Bowl | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| 1957 | Coaches, FWAA | 9–1 | 7–0 | Won Rose Bowl | No. 2 | No. 1 | |
| 1961 | FWAA | 8–0–1 | 6–0 | – | No. 2 | No. 2 | |
| 1968 | AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF | 10–0 | 7–0 | Won Rose Bowl | No. 1 | No. 1 | |
| 1970 | NFF | 9–1 | 7–0 | Lost Rose Bowl | No. 5 | No. 2 | |
| 2002 | Jim Tressel | BCS, AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF | 14–0 | 8–0 | Won Fiesta Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| 2014 | Urban Meyer | CFP, AP, Coaches, FWAA/NFF | 14–1 | 8–0 | Won Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal)Won CFP National Championship | No. 1 | No. 1 |
Undefeated seasons
| Year | Record | Big Ten Record | Head Coach |
| 1899 | 9–0–1 | – | John B. Eckstorm |
| 1916 | 7–0 | 4–0 | John Wilce |
| 1917 | 8–0–1 | 4–0 | John Wilce |
| 1944 | 9–0 | 6–0 | Carroll Widdoes |
| 1954 | 10–0 | 7–0 | Woody Hayes |
| 1961 | 8–0–1 | 6–0 | Woody Hayes |
| 1968 | 10–0 | 7–0 | Woody Hayes |
| 1973 | 10–0–1 | 7–0–1 | Woody Hayes |
| 2002 | 14–0 | 8–0 | Jim Tressel |
| 2012 | 12–0 | 8–0 | Urban Meyer |
Conference championships
| Year | Conference | Coach | Record | Conference Record |
| 1906 | OAC | Albert E. Herrnstein | 8–1 | 4–0 |
| 1912 | OAC | John Richards | 6–3 | 4–0 |
| 1916 | Big Ten | John Wilce | 7–0 | 4–0 |
| 1917 | Big Ten | John Wilce | 8–0–1 | 4–0 |
| 1920 | Big Ten | John Wilce | 7–1 | 5–0 |
| 1935† | Big Ten | Francis Schmidt | 7–1 | 5–0 |
| 1939 | Big Ten | Francis Schmidt | 6–2 | 5–1 |
| 1942 | Big Ten | Paul Brown | 9–1 | 5–1 |
| 1944 | Big Ten | Carroll Widdoes | 9–0 | 6–0 |
| 1949† | Big Ten | Wes Fesler | 7–1–2 | 4–1–1 |
| 1954 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1955 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 7–2 | 6–0 |
| 1957 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–1 | 7–0 |
| 1961 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 8–0–1 | 6–0 |
| 1968 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1969† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 8–1 | 6–1 |
| 1970 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–1 | 7–0 |
| 1972† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–2 | 7–1 |
| 1973† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 10–0–1 | 7–0–1 |
| 1974† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 10–2 | 7–1 |
| 1975 | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 11–1 | 8–0 |
| 1976† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–2–1 | 7–1 |
| 1977† | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–3 | 6–2 |
| 1979 | Big Ten | Earle Bruce | 11–1 | 8–0 |
| 1981† | Big Ten | Earle Bruce | 9–3 | 6–2 |
| 1984 | Big Ten | Earle Bruce | 9–3 | 7–2 |
| 1986† | Big Ten | Earle Bruce | 10–3 | 7–1 |
| 1993† | Big Ten | John Cooper | 10–1–1 | 6–1–1 |
| 1996† | Big Ten | John Cooper | 11–1 | 7–1 |
| 1998† | Big Ten | John Cooper | 11–1 | 7–1 |
| 2002† | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 14–0 | 8–0 |
| 2005† | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 10–2 | 7–1 |
| 2006 | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 12–1 | 8–0 |
| 2007 | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 11–2 | 7–1 |
| 2008† | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 10–3 | 7–1 |
| 2009 | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 11–2 | 7–1 |
| 2014 | Big Ten | Urban Meyer | 14–1 | 8–0 |
| 2017 | Big Ten | Urban Meyer | 12–2 | 8–1 |
| 2018 | Big Ten | Urban Meyer | 13–1 | 8–1 |
| 2019 | Big Ten | Ryan Day | 13–1 | 9–0 |
| 2020 | Big Ten | Ryan Day | 7–1 | 6–0 |
† Co-champions
Division championships
| Year | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG Result |
| 2012 | Big Ten Leaders | Urban Meyer | N/A – Ineligible (postseason ban) | |
| 2013 | Big Ten Leaders | Urban Meyer | Michigan State | L 24–34 |
| 2014 | Big Ten East | Urban Meyer | Wisconsin | W 59–0 |
| 2015 | Big Ten East | Urban Meyer | N/A lost tiebreaker to Michigan State | |
| 2016 | Big Ten East | Urban Meyer | N/A lost tiebreaker to Penn State | |
| 2017 | Big Ten East | Urban Meyer | Wisconsin | W 27–21 |
| 2018 | Big Ten East | Urban Meyer | Northwestern | W 45–24 |
| 2019 | Big Ten East | Ryan Day | Wisconsin | W 34–21 |
| 2020 | Big Ten East | Ryan Day | Northwestern | W 22–10 |
| 2021 | Big Ten East | Ryan Day | N/A lost tiebreaker to Michigan |
