2005 Ohio State Buckeyes football team


The 2005 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes compiled a 10–2 record, tied with [2005 2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State] for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 392 to 183. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes lost to No. 2 Texas and No. 16 Penn State, and defeated No. 21 [2005 2005 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa], No. 16 [2005 2005 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State], No. 25 Northwestern, and No. 17 Michigan. They concluded the season with a 34–20 victory over No. 5 Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 4 in the final AP and Coaches polls.
The Buckeyes gained an average of 196.7 rushing yards and 225.7 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 73.4 rushing yards and 207.9 passing yards per game. The team's statistical leaders included Troy Smith, running back Antonio Pittman, wide receiver Santonio Holmes, kicker Josh Huston, and linebacker A. J. Hawk. Hawk won the Lombardi Award, was a consensus first-team All-American, and won the team's most valuable player award. Eight Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 2005 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Holmes; Hawk; Huston; guard Rob Sims; defensive lineman Mike Kudla; defensive backs Nate Salley, Ashton Youboty, and Donte Whitner.
The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

Justin Zwick started at quarterback due to a suspension of Troy Smith.

Texas

Justin Zwick started at quarterback, but Troy Smith took over and started at quarterback the rest of the year. The game was a matchup of the No. 2 and No. 4 teams.

Iowa

Ohio State came into the contest looking to avenge the previous year's 33–7 loss to Iowa.

Michigan

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Awards and honors