The 2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The r ...

. They were led by third-year head coach Ryan Day, and played their home games at

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. It was the Buckeyes' 132nd season overall and 109th as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. This for first time since 2018 when Ohio State did not qualify for the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

after two losing games against Oregon and Michigan.

Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2020 season 7–1 overall, and 5–0 in Big Ten play to win the East division. They defeated Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game by the score of 22–10. Subsequently, then received an invitation to the

, where they beat the No. 2 Clemson in the Sugar Bowl-CFP Semifinals 49–28, and there they played No. 1

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the

CFP National Championship The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football seaso ...

losing the game 52–24.

Offseason

Players lost

*LB

Tuf Borland Tuf Jarred Borland (born March 23, 1998) is an American football linebacker. He played college football at the Ohio State University. After going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He appeared in two games with ...

*LB

Baron Browning Baron Browning (born February 19, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State. Early years Browning attended Kennedale High School in Kennedale, ...

Drue Chrisman Drue Chrisman (born 1997) is an American football punter for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2021 ...

*DE

Jonathon Cooper Jonathon Cooper (born January 8, 1998) is an American football outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State. Professional career Cooper was drafted by the Denver Bro ...

Wyatt Davis Wyatt Davis (born February 17, 1999) is an American football guard for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2021 ...

- Declared for NFL Draft *TE Luke Farrell *QB

Justin Fields Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Georgia, he played college football at Ohio State, where he twice won Graham–Ge ...

- Declared for NFL Draft *K Blake Haubeil *TE

Jake Hausmann Jacob Hausmann (born August 12, 1997) is an American football tight end. He played college football at Ohio State and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Lions in 2021. College career Hausmann was ranked as a fourstar recruit ...

*LB

Justin Hilliard Justin Hilliard (born March 25, 1997) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers after the 2021 NFL Draft. Education and ...

*C Josh Myers - Declared for NFL Draft *RB

Trey Sermon An'treyon "Trey" Sermon (born January 30, 1999) is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma and Ohio State and was drafted by the San Francisco 49 ...

*DT

Tommy Togiai Tommy Togiai (; born September 19, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State. Early years Togiai attended Highland High School in Pocat ...

- Declared for NFL Draft *CB Shaun Wade *LB Pete Werner

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

at Minnesota

No. 4 Ohio State opened the season at Huntington Bank Stadium, where they faced the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This was the 51st meeting between the teams, with Ohio State having a winning record against the Golden Gophers at 44–7–0. The Buckeyes had won ten straight entering the game, which was their second longest current Big Ten winning streak. The teams last met in 2018, with the Buckeyes winning 30–14 at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State took an early lead on 71-yard touchdown run by Miyan Williams and a 35-yard field goal. Leading 10–0, Minnesota scored two consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14–10 lead at the half. The teams traded touchdowns to start the third quarter.

CJ Stroud Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV (born October 3, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeyes. He played high school football at Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Califor ...

then hit

Garrett Wilson Garrett Wilson (born July 22, 2000) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted 10th overall by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft. W ...

on a 56-yard touchdown pass to give the Buckeyes a 24–21 lead. On the ensuing possession,

Haskell Garrett Haskell Garrett (born May 4, 1998) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State. Early years Originally from Vermont, Garrett moved to Hawaii, then Nevada at age 13, after the d ...

recovered a strip sack and returned the fumble 32 yards for a touchdown and pushing the Buckeye lead to 31–21. Following a Minnesota field goal, Stroud hit

TreVeyon Henderson TreVeyon Henderson (born October 22, 2002) is an American football running back for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Henderson attended high school at Hopewell High School in Hopewell, Virginia, where he set many school records, and was a 5-star recr ...

on a 70-yard pass and run to extend OSU's lead to 14. Minnesota narrowed the lead to seven again with just over five minutes remaining, but Stroud hit

Chris Olave Christian Josiah Olave ( ; born June 27, 2000) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he holds the school record of most career to ...

for a 61-yard touchdown, Olave's second in the game and Stroud's fourth touchdown pass. The 45–31 win moved OSU to 1–0 in conference on the season. Williams ran for 127 yards on nine carries while Stroud completed 13 of 22 pass for 294 yards and four touchdowns. OSU's defense, though scoring a touchdown, surrendered 203 yards rushing and 205 yards passing to Minnesota in the win.

vs No. 12 Oregon

The No. 12 Oregon Ducks defeated the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 35–28 in a rematch of the

2015 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship was a bowl game that determined a national champion of NCAA Division I FBS college football for the 2014 season, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January 12, 2015. ...

. Ohio State, who is now 9–1 in the series, was favored by 14. This was the first Buckeye game in

open to the general public since November 23, 2019. Big Noon Kickoff was filmed on location for the game.

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

*The NCAA and Ohio State only recognize the AP, AFCA, FWAA, Sporting News and WCFF All-American teams to determine if a player is a Consensus or Unanimous All-American. To be named a Consensus All-American, a player must be named first team in three polls and to be Unanimous, they must be named first team in all five. ''See

2021 College Football All-America Team The 2021 College Football All-America Team includes those players of American college football who have been honored by various selector organizations as the best players at their respective positions. The selector organizations award the "All-Am ...

'' *

Player of the Game Awards

Weekly awards

Annual awards

Rankings

References

{{Ohio State Buckeyes football navbox

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Ohio State Buckeyes football seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium in ...