He had a problem when the rosters were even.His bowl record was almost as dismal as it was vs Michigan
Cooper also had a poor record in Bowl Games.
Cooper at Ohio State was great except for his record against Michigan.
As soon as I saw this thread I knew that it would generate a Cooper discussion.
Here are the facts:
- .715 overall winning percentage (111-43-4), 10th best in program history and only #6 Woody Hayes has a better record with the same or more games.
- .692 conference winning percentage (70-30-4), 14th best in program history and only #6 Woody Hayes has a better record with the same or more conference games.
- 3 Conference titles which is tied for fourth best with Meyer and John Wilce behind only Woody (13), Tressel (6), and Bruce (4).
- 3 postseason wins, fifth best behind only Woody, Urban, Tressel, and Earle Bruce.
That much is good.
Now the bad:
- 2-10-1 against TTUN
- 7 bowl losses (3-7 record)
Cooper is hard to get a read on. Excluding the last two games of the year he was one of Ohio State's greatest coaches. Only "one name" legends Woody, Urban, and Tressel are definitively better. His record against Michigan and in bowls was abysmal. Only the one or two year failures are comparably bad.
I also think that, to really understand Cooper's tenure it is important to make a distinction between his first five years and his last eight. Cooper inherited an empty cupboard (Earle Bruce's recruiting failures were a major cause of his dismissal) and did about as well as could be expected:
- 1988: 4-6-1 ending with a very competitive loss to a vastly superior (9-2-1) Michigan team. Obviously going sub .500 is never a good thing but the team seemed to be improving and giving a much better Michigan team a solid run for their money to end the season looked pretty good.
- 1989: 8-4 and the four losses were to teams that finished 9-2-1 (USC), 10-2 (Illinois), 10-2 (Michigan), and 10-2 (Auburn) and only the USC loss on the West Coast was a complete blowout. This wasn't great, obviously, but did appear to be heading in the right direction.
- 1990: 7-4-1 ending with an embarrassing Liberty Bowl loss to Air Force. The Buckeyes went into THE GAME at 7-2-1 and the Michigan loss was close (3 points) but still bad. That and the embarrassing bowl loss probably should have gotten Cooper canned at the end of 1990 but they didn't.
- 1991: 8-4 ending with a loss to Michigan and a bowl loss to Syracuse. Syracuse was 10-2 so, in theory, this wasn't bad but tOSU should have won. The Orange went 10-2 the next year as well and that included getting smoked by the Buckeyes in the Carrier Dome early in the season. Additionally, the Michigan loss wasn't even remotely competitive (31-3). Cooper definitely should have been fired at this point.
- 1992: 8-3-1 and FINALLY, a non-loss to Michigan. A one-score bowl loss to a very good (10-2) UGA team isn't bad and the tie with Michigan was actually pretty good considering that they were 9-0-3 with one of the other ties being with a very good Notre Dame team. The problem with this season was that Ohio State had back-to-back losses to ~.500 teams in early October (5-6 Wisconsin, 6-5-1 Illinois).
In those five years Ohio State wasn't great. The 0-8-1 against Michigan and in bowls are terrible.
After that, Cooper's recruiting was so good that it carried him. From 1993-2000 Ohio State was very good . . . except against Michigan and in bowls:
- 1993: 10-1-1 with an actual bowl win! Other than getting shutout by the Wolverines this was a great season!
- 1994: 9-4 with a WIN over Michigan! I can't really complain about the bowl loss. the 9-3 Buckeyes got matched up with an 11-1 Bama team that had lost only once and only by a point to Florida in the SECCG and the Buckeyes kept it within one score. The other three losses were less forgivable. The Buckeyes got annihilated by PSU (63-14), lost to a mediocre (7-5) Illinois team at home, and lost to a mediocre (7-4) Washington team on the road.
- 1995: 11-2 ending with losses to Michigan in Ann Arbor and Tennessee in Orlando. Of Cooper's 10 losses to Michigan, this one is the most annoying. The Buckeyes were 11-0 and ranked #2. It was a great season with a horrible ending.
- 1996: 11-1 with a Rose Bowl win! The Buckeyes were undefeated and ranked #2 heading into the Michigan game (sound familiar?) then lost to Michigan again. The bowl win was nice but anti-climactic after yet another upset loss to Michigan.
- 1997: 10-3 ending with losses to Michigan in Ann Arbor and FSU in NOLA. Honestly, my only complaint with this season was getting run off the field by FSU. The other two losses were close in Happy Valley to a team that was ranked #2 at the time and close in Ann Arbor to a team that was ranked #1 at the time.
- 1998: 11-1 and this was Cooper's only season that ended with wins over Michigan and in a bowl. The problem was that the #1 ranked Buckeyes inexplicably lost at home to an MSU team that finished 6-6. The Buckeyes were oh-so-close to appearing in the very first BCSCG.
- 1999: 6-6 obviously a rebuilding year after nearly winning it all in 1998. Through October this year looked decent. At the end of October the Buckeyes were 6-3 and ranked #20 and the three losses were to very good Miami, Wisconsin, and PSU teams. Then the bottom fell out. The Buckeyes ended the year with back-to-back-to-back losses to MSU, IL, and Michigan and only the Michigan loss was competitive.
- 2000: 8-4 and the end. Heading into THE GAME the Buckeyes were 8-2 and #12. The losses were to mediocre (6-6) Minnesota and (8-4) Purdue teams but that could have been forgiven if the season had ended with wins. Instead the Buckeyes, yet again, ended the year by losing to Michigan and in a bowl.
In 13 years Cooper's seasons ended:
- 6 times with losses to both Michigan and the bowl opponent. (1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2000)
- 2 times with a loss to Michigan and no bowl. (1988, 1999)
- 2 times with a loss to Michigan and a bowl win. (1993, 1996)
- 1 time with a tie with Michigan and a bowl loss. (1992)
- 1 time with a win over Michigan and a bowl loss. (1994)
- 1 time with wins over both Michigan and the bowl opponent. (1998)
The odd thing is that Cooper might be two or three games from being remembered not just as one of the greats at Ohio State but as one of the greats in CFB. Seriously, three games:
- Convert the 1996 Michigan loss to a win. Ohio State wins the 1996 NC (Sorry Florida).
- Convert the 1995 Michigan loss to a win. Ohio State would have gone to the Rose Bowl and frankly, USC would have been an easier game than Tennessee. There is a good chance that tOSU wins and at least shares the NC (Sorry Nebraska).
- Convert the 1998 MSU loss to a win. Ohio State plays Tennessee in the very first BCSNCG where a win (that would have been at least a 50/50 shot) gets them another NC.
Make those changes and Cooper is 5-7-1 against Michigan with three NC's. Moreover, four of the seven losses and the tie with Michigan were in Cooper's first five years
after which he goes 5-3.
