2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football
2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten East Division co-champion ; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 48–45 vs. Utah
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 6
Record	11–2 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ryan Day (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Kevin Wilson (5th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast spread
Defensive coordinator	Kerry Coombs (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Captains	Kamryn Babb; Haskell Garrett; Zach Harrison; Teradja Mitchell; Thayer Munford; Chris Olave;
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Ryan Day, and played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 132nd season overall and 109th as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

ConferenceBig Ten Conference

East Division

CoachesNo. 5

APNo. 6

Quick facts Ohio State Buckeyes football, Big Ten East Division co-champion Rose Bowl champion ...

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2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 6 Ohio State x	8	–	1	11	–	2
No. 9 Michigan State	7	–	2	11	–	2
Penn State	4	–	5	7	–	6
Maryland	3	–	6	7	–	6
Rutgers	2	–	7	5	–	8
Indiana	0	–	9	2	–	10
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy	7	–	2	10	–	4
Minnesota	6	–	3	9	–	4
Wisconsin	6	–	3	9	–	4
Purdue	6	–	3	9	–	4
Illinois	4	–	5	5	–	7
Nebraska	1	–	8	3	–	9
Northwestern	1	–	8	3	–	9
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

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This was the first time since 2018 that Ohio State did not reach the College Football Playoff after two losing games against Oregon and Michigan and the first time since 2016 that Ohio State did not reach the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Buckeyes were invited to compete at the Rose Bowl, where they defeated Utah by a score of 48–45.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	8:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 4	Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Big Noon Kickoff)	FOX	W 45–31	50,805
September 11	12:00 p.m.	No. 12 Oregon*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Big Noon Kickoff)	FOX	L 28–35	100,482
September 18	3:30 p.m.	Tulsa*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	FS1	W 41–20	76,540
September 25	7:30 p.m.	Akron*	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	W 59–7	95,178
October 2	3:30 p.m.	at Rutgers	No. 11	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 52–13	51,006
October 9	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	FOX	W 66–17	99,277
October 23	7:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ABC	W 54–7	52,656
October 30	7:30 p.m.	No. 20 Penn State	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 33–24	102,951
November 6	12:00 p.m.	at Nebraska	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	FOX	W 26–17	85,458
November 13	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Purdue	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 59–31	101,009
November 20	12:00 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (College GameDay)	ABC	W 56–7	101,858
November 27	12:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Michigan	No. 2	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry, Big Noon Kickoff, College GameDay)	FOX	L 27–42	111,156
January 1, 2022	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Utah*	No. 6	Rose Bowl, College GameDay Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ESPN	W 48–45	87,842
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) – Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Buckeyes	7	3	21	14	45
Golden Gophers	0	14	7	10	31

Statistics	OSU	MINN
First downs	17	24
Plays–yards	48–495	75–408
Rushes–yards	26–201	50–203
Passing yards	294	205
Passing: comp–att–int	13–22–1	14–25–0
Time of possession	21:19	38:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	13/22, 294 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Miyan Williams	9 carries, 125 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Chris Olave	4 receptions, 117 yards, 2 TD
Minnesota	Passing	Tanner Morgan	14/25, 205 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Mohamed Ibrahim	30 carries, 163 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Daniel Jackson	3 receptions, 58 yards

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Ducks	0	14	14	7	35
No. 3 Buckeyes	0	7	7	14	28

2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Offseason

Players lost

Schedule

Personnel

Roster

Depth chart

Game summaries

at Minnesota

vs No. 12 Oregon

vs Tulsa

vs Akron

At Rutgers

vs Maryland

At Indiana

vs No. 20 Penn State

At Nebraska

vs No. 19 Purdue

vs No. 7 Michigan State

At No. 5 Michigan

Awards and honors

Player of the Game Awards

Weekly awards

Annual awards

Rankings

Players drafted into the NFL

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football

Big Ten East Division co-champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 48–45 vs. Utah
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 6
Record	11–2 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ryan Day (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kevin Wilson (5th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast spread
Defensive coordinator	Kerry Coombs (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Captains	Kamryn Babb Haskell Garrett Zach Harrison Teradja Mitchell Thayer Munford Chris Olave
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

Statistics	ORE	OSU
First downs	27	32
Plays–yards	73–505	86–612
Rushes–yards	38–269	31–128
Passing yards	236	484
Passing: comp–att–int	17–35–0	35–54–1
Time of possession	29:46	30:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oregon	Passing	Anthony Brown	16/34, 225 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	CJ Verdell	17 carries, 151 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	CJ Verdell	3 receptions, 34 yards, 1 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	34/53, 472 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Miyan Williams	14 carries, 77 yards
	Receiving	Chris Olave	12 receptions, 126 yards

Statistics	Tulsa	Ohio State
First downs	25	24
Plays–yards	82–501	66–508
Rushes–yards	28–73	41–323
Passing yards	428	185
Passing: comp–att–int	31–54–2	15–25–1
Turnovers
Time of possession	31:34	28:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulsa	Passing	Davis Brin	31–54, 428 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Deneric Prince	9 att, 38 yds
	Receiving	Josh Johnson	8 rec, 149 yds, 1 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	15–25, 185 yds 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	24 att, 277 yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Garrett Wilson	6 rec, 70 yds, 1 TD

Statistics	Akron	Ohio State
First downs	17	26
Plays–yards	74–229	61–622
Rushes–yards	40–76	35–237
Passing yards	153	385
Passing: comp–att–int	18–34–2	18–26–1
Turnovers
Time of possession	36:40	23:20

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Akron	Passing	DJ Irons	14–29, 115 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Blake Hester	12 att, 47 yds
	Receiving	Konata Mumpfield	7 rec., 67 yds, 1 TD
Ohio State	Passing	Kyle McCord	13–18, 319 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	8 att, 93 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Garrett Wilson	4 rec, 124 yds

Statistics	Ohio State	Rutgers
First downs	25	18
Plays–yards	64–541	71–346
Rushes–yards	37–208	31–111
Passing yards	333	235
Passing: comp–att–int	18–27–0	28–40–3
Turnovers
Time of possession	30:32	29:28

Statistics	Maryland	Ohio State
First downs	22	29
Plays–yards	75–335	71–598
Rushes–yards	36–56	33–166
Passing yards	279	432
Passing: comp–att–int	28–39–2	24–33–0
Turnovers
Time of possession	34:44	25:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	28–39, 279 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Challen Faamatau	9 att, 71 yds, 0 TD
	Receiving	Chig Okonkwo	5 rec, 56 yds, 0 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	24–33, 406 yds, 5 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	16 att, 102 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Chris Olave	7 rec, 120 yds, 2 TD

Statistics	Ohio State	Indiana
First downs	30	10
Plays–yards	62–539	54–128
Rushes–yards	32–187	37–48
Passing yards	352	80
Passing: comp–att–int	28–37–0	8–17–0
Turnovers
Time of possession	32:01	27:59

Statistics	Penn State	Ohio State
First downs	27	22
Plays–yards	81–394	68–466
Rushes–yards	29–33	34–161
Passing yards	361	305
Passing: comp–att–int	38–52–1	22–34–0
Turnovers
Time of possession	29:50	30:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Penn State	Passing	Sean Clifford	35–52, 361 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	John Lovett	13 att, 20 yds, 0 TD
	Receiving	Jahan Dotson	11 att, 127 yds, 0 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	22–34, 305 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	28 att, 152 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	6 att, 97 yds, 0 TD

Statistics	Ohio State	Nebraska
First downs	25	18
Plays–yards	84–495	65–361
Rushes–yards	30–90	34–113
Passing yards	405	248
Passing: comp–att–int	36–54–2	16–31–1
Turnovers
Time of possession	33:52	26:08

Statistics	Purdue	Ohio State
First downs	28	30
Plays–yards	71–481	69–624
Rushes–yards	19–91	31–263
Passing yards	390	361
Passing: comp–att–int	40–52–0	31–38–0
Turnovers
Time of possession	28:42	31:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Purdue	Passing	Aidan O'Connell	40–52, 390 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	Zander Horvath	5 att, 36 yds, 0 TD
	Receiving	David Bell	11 rec, 103 yds, 0 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	31–38, 361 yds, 5 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	Miyan Williams	14 att, 117 yds, 0 TD
	Receiving	Garrett Wilson	10 rec, 126 yds, 3 TD

Statistics	Michigan State	Ohio State
First downs	12	36
Plays–yards	59–224	86–655
Rushes–yards	21–66	43–206
Passing yards	158	449
Passing: comp–att–int	16–38–0	36–43–1
Turnovers
Time of possession	22:02	37:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing	Payton Thorne	14–36, 158 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	Elijah Collins	3 att, 29 yds, 0 TD
	Receiving	Connor Heyward	4 rec, 20 yds, 0 TD
Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	32–35, 432 yds, 6 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	Master Teague	21 att, 95 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	10 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD

Statistics	Ohio State	Michigan
First downs	23	24
Plays–yards	79–458	487
Rushes–yards	30–64	41–297
Passing yards	394	190
Passing: comp–att–int	34–49–0	14–20–1
Turnovers
Time of possession	31:48	28:12

Player	Position	AFCA	AP	FWAA	Sporting News	WCFF
Chris Olave	WR	1st Team	2nd Team	2nd Team		2nd Team
Thayer Munford	OL	1st Team	2nd Team
Garrett Wilson	WR		2nd Team	1st Team
Nicholas Petit-Frere	OL		2nd Team	1st Team		2nd Team
Noah Ruggles	K	2nd Team	2nd Team			2nd Team
Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR		3rd Team		2nd Team
Haskell Garrett	DT		2nd Team
C. J. Stroud	QB		3rd Team

Week	Award	Player	Ref.
1 (Minnesota)	Offensive Player of the Game	Chris Olave	^[4]
	Offensive Player of the Game	Miyan Williams
	Defensive Player of the Game	Zach Harrison
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Mitch Rossi
3 (Tulsa)	Offensive Player of the Game	TreVeyon Henderson	^[5]
	Defensive Player of the Game	Cameron Martinez
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Cade Kacherski
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Xavier Johnson
4 (Akron)	Offensive Player of the Game	Dawand Jones	^[6]
	Offensive Player of the Game	Garrett Wilson
	Defensive Player of the Game	Tyleik Williams
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Jesse Mirco
5 (Rutgers)	Offensive Player of the Game	C. J. Stroud	^[7]
	Defensive Player of the Game	Ronnie Hickman
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Cade Kacherski (2)
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Demario McCall
6 (Maryland)	Offensive Player of the Game	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	^[8]
	Defensive Player of the Game	Steele Chambers
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Emeka Egbuka
7 (Indiana)	Offensive Player of the Game	C. J. Stroud (2)	^[9]
	Offensive Player of the Game	Jeremy Ruckert
	Defensive Player of the Game	Zach Harrison (2)
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Teradja Mitchell
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Demario McCall (2)
8 (Penn State)	Offensive Player of the Game	none	^[10]
	Defensive Player of the Game	Jerron Cage
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Noah Ruggles
9 (Nebraska)	Offensive Player of the Game	Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2)	^[11]
	Defensive Player of the Game	Ronnie Hickman (2)
	Defensive Player of the Game	Tyreke Smith
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Noah Ruggles (2)
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Jesse Mirco (2)
10 (Purdue)	Offensive Player of the Game	C. J. Stroud (3)	^[12]
	Offensive Player of the Game	Garrett Wilson (2)
	Defensive Player of the Game	Lathan Ransom
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Chris Booker
11 (Michigan State)	Offensive Player of the Game	C. J. Stroud (4)	^[13]
	Offensive Player of the Game	Chris Olave (2)
	Defensive Player of the Game	Defensive Line
	Special Teams Player of the Game	Demario McCall (3)

Player	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Zach Harrison	PFF Game-Changing Moment of the Week	September 5, 2021	^[14]
C. J. Stroud	Big Ten Freshman of the Week	September 6, 2021	^[15]
		September 13, 2021	^[16]
		October 4, 2021	^[17]
		October 11, 2021	^[18]
	Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week	October 11, 2021	^[18]
	Big Ten Freshman of the Week	October 25, 2021	^[19]
		November 15, 2021	^[20]
		November 22, 2021	^[21]
	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	November 22, 2021	^[21]
	Pro Football Network Offensive Player of the Week	October 10, 2021	^[22]
	Walter Camp National Player of the Week	November 21, 2021	^[23]
	PFF Offensive Player of the Week	November 21, 2021	^[24]
	Athlon Sports Offensive Player of the Week	November 21, 2021	^[25]
TreVeyon Henderson	Big Ten Freshman of the Week	September 20, 2021	^[26]
TreVeyon Henderson	Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week	September 20, 2021	^[26]
Kyle McCord	Big Ten Freshman of the Week	September 27, 2021	^[27]
Haskell Garrett	Pro Football Network Defensive Player of the Week	September 26, 2021	^[28]
Noah Ruggles	Big Ten co-Special Teams Player of the Week	November 1, 2021	^[29]
	Lou Groza Award Star of the Week	November 1, 2021	^[30]
	Lou Groza Award Star of the Week	November 8, 2021	^[31]
Garrett Wilson	Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week	November 15, 2021	^[32]
Garrett Wilson	Pro Football Network Offensive Player of the Week	November 14, 2021	^[33]

Player	Award	Ref.
TreVeyon Henderson	Doak Walker Award Semifinalist	^[34]
TreVeyon Henderson	Walter Camp Award Semifinalist	^[34]
Thayer Munford	Lombardi Award Semifinalist	^[35]
Offensive Line	Joe Moore Award Semifinalist	^[36]
Chris Olave	Fred Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist	^[37]
Nicholas Petit-Frere	Outland Trophy Semifinalist	^[38]
Bradley Robinson	Patrick Mannelly Award Nominee	^[39]
Mitch Rossi	Burlsworth Trophy Nominee	^[40]
Jeremy Ruckert	William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist	^[41]
Noah Ruggles	Lou Groza Award Finalist	^[42]
Jaxon Smith-Njigba	Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Semifinalist	^[43]
C. J. Stroud	Davey O’Brien Award Finalist	^[44]
	Manning Award Finalist
	Maxwell Award Semifinalist
	Walter Camp Award Semifinalist
	AP Big Ten co–Offensive Player of the Year
	Heisman Trophy Finalist	^[45]
Garrett Wilson	Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Semifinalist	^[46]
Kevin Wilson	Broyles Award Semifinalist	^[47]
Big Ten Awards
C. J. Stroud	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year	^[48]
	Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year
	Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	4 (1)	3	9	10	11	7	6	5	5	6	6	5	2	7	7	6
Coaches	4	3	11	12	10	7	6	5	5	5	5	4	3	7	7	5
CFP	Not released									5	4	4	2	7	6	Not released

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
1	10	Garrett Wilson	WR	New York Jets
1	11	Chris Olave	WR	New Orleans Saints
3	69	Nicholas Petit-Frere	OT	Tennessee Titans
3	101	Jeremy Ruckert	TE	New York Jets
5	158	Tyreke Smith	DE	Seattle Seahawks
7	238	Thayer Munford	OT	Las Vegas Raiders