Big Ten Football: Picking the best season for each program since 2000
By Shane Lunnen
10. Scouting Report. 2014. Record: 14-1. Ohio State Buckeyes. player. 812. Pick Analysis
Ohio State has been very successful during the 21st century. The Buckeyes have only three seasons where they failed to win at least 10 games. They have won 10 conference titles and two national titles in that span. It was tough to choose, but the 2014 edition was the best of the best.
In 2014 the Buckeyes roster was ridiculously loaded with talent. Quarterback Braxton Miller was set to return but he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in fall camp just a few weeks before the season was to kick off. Taking over for Miller was redshirt freshman JT Barrett.
On defense, the Buckeyes were led by defensive end Joey Bosa, who would lead the conference in many statistical categories by season’s end and be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Of the 22 players on the 2014 Buckeye roster that would eventually be drafted in the NFL, six of them were first-rounders and 16 would be drafted in the first three rounds. The 2014 team was stacked from top to bottom.
Ohio State would enter the season ranked fifth and open with a win against Navy in Baltimore. The home opener the following week would see the Buckeyes lose to an unranked Virginia Tech 35-21. The loss would drop the Buckeyes to 22nd in the rankings but they would not lose the rest of the way.
The Buckeyes would easily vanquish their next four opponents and climb back to No. 13 before a trip to face Penn State and in the Nittany Lions’ annual White Out game. Ohio State would lead 17-0 at halftime with 10 of those points stemming from controversy. Penn State would come storming back in the second half to tie the game at 17 to force overtime. Both teams would score touchdowns in the first overtime. In the second overtime, Ohio State would score another touchdown, but Penn State could not match and Bosa ended the game with a sack of Christian Hackenberg.
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After escaping Happy Valley, Ohio State would go on to win their last five regular season contests. This would include a 42-28 victory over rival Michigan in which Barrett broke his ankle, ending his season.
Sitting at No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Buckeyes would annihilate Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game 59-0 and finish 12-1 on the season. They would jump into No. 4 for the final rankings and make the first ever College Football Playoff.
In the Sugar Bowl versus Alabama, the Buckeyes took care of business in a close 42-35 contest. In the national title game against Oregon, Ohio State continued their all time undefeated record against the Ducks by beating them 42-20 and winning the first ever College Football Playoff.
Quarterback Cardale Jones, who was third string quarterback when fall camp opened, won a Big Ten title, Sugar Bowl and national title in his first three starts. The national title would be coach Urban Meyer’s third and first with Ohio State.