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1988-2000: John Cooper
John Cooper was hired as the 21st football head coach at Ohio State before the end of 1987 and before he had coached his last game at Arizona State University. Cooper's coaching record at ASU and at Tulsa prior to that stood out among his credentials, as did a victory over Michigan in the 1987 Rose Bowl.
Cooper's thirteen years as Buckeye head coach are largely remembered in the litany of negative statistics associated with him: a notorious 2-10-1 record against Michigan, a 3-8 record in bowl games, a 5-year losing streak to Illinois to start his term and a 6-7 record overall, and blowing a 15 point 3rd quarter lead in a 28-24 loss to unranked Michigan State when the Buckeyes were the top-ranked team in the nation and en route to a national championship. However his record also has many positives: back-to-back victories over Notre Dame, two finishes second-ranked in the polls, and three Big Ten championships (albeit shared). Cooper also recruited 15 players who first-round draft picks in the National Football League.[45]
Both 1988 and 1989 began identically: an impressive season-opening win followed by an embarrassing loss to a highly-regarded team (Pitt and USC); a rebound win against two other highly-regarded programs (LSU and Boston College) followed by a loss to Illinois in the conference opener. However 1988 saw Ohio State lose its first three conference games and a close game at home against Michigan for a 4-6-1 record, its first losing season in 22 years. In 1989 the Buckeyes won 6 consecutive Big Ten games before losing its last two to go 8-4. The most noteworthy victory occurred in Minneapolis when Ohio State overcame a 31-0 deficit to Minnesota to win 41-37.
1990 continued the pattern with a 2-win 2-loss start and an overall 7-4-1 record that included an embarrassing loss to Air Force in the Liberty Bowl. 1991 was 9-4, notable primarily as the season that sophomore running back Robert Smith quit the team. 1992, with senior Kirk Herbstreit at quarterback, was 8-3-1, but the losing string to Michigan was broken with a 13-13 tie. Persistent rumors that Cooper would resign or be fired were laid to rest when University President Gordon Gee announced he would be back in 1993.[46]
The next 6 seasons were very successful, winning ten or more games in 5 of the 6 and sharing the conference championship in three. Eddie George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 after a tremendous senior season, Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in 1995 and 1996, and won half its bowl games. But in three seasons (1993, 1995, and 1996) the Buckeyes entered the Michigan game undefeated, with the possibility of a national championship in at least one, and lost all three to underdog Wolverine teams. Ohio State had won 62 games and lost only 12, but a third of those were to Michigan.
After renewing his contract and becoming a member of the "million dollar coaching club",[47] Cooper started sophomore Austin Moherman against the Miami Hurricanes in the nationally-televised Kickoff Classic and was soundly beaten. That presaged a mediocre season in which the Buckeyes finished 6-6, ending their successful 90's run. The 2000 team was more successful, going 8-4, but criticism of Cooper among fans had risen to a clamor again and touched on many areas of the program beyond specific game records. The negative publicity rose to a peak in the days leading up to Ohio State's matchup with South Carolina in the Outback Bowl, when wide receiver Reggie Germany was suspended for having a 0.0 GPA, team captain Matt Wilhelm publicly criticized fellow player Ken-Yon Rambo, and one Buckeye lineman sued another.[48]
In January 2001, the Ohio State University dismissed Cooper. His loss in the Outback Bowl to a team that had not even won a single game the year before was a factor in his subsequent firing, as was negative publicity regarding player behavior before and during the game. Other contributing factors included the record against Michigan (which was actually considered by most people to be the biggest reason for his firing), a reputation of inability to win "big games", the lack of a national championship, the perception of him as an outsider by many alumni, the poor bowl game record, and finally a perceived lack of discipline on the team.
