Yesterday’s last-second loss to Michigan State was a kick in the gut to the Buckeyes and their fans. Undefeated season gone. National championship hopes likely dashed. 23-game win streak cut off. Magic of defending their crown evaporated. The pain is raw and fresh right now, but in context, where does this loss rank with other OSU defeats?
Let’s examine. We are only going to consider the post-Woody Hayes era, primarily because I was 8 years old watching when Woody decided to punch a Clemson linebacker at the end of the Gator Bowl to end his storied coaching career.
#8–NEW ORLEANS, BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, JANUARY 7, 2008: #2 LSU 38, #1 OSU 24
Ohio State had a chance to redeem themselves after their blowout loss in the 2007 BCS title game (see below). They jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but the hometown Tigers rolled from that point. OSU scored a late TD to make the score look closer than the actual game.
NEEDLE POINTS (extra pain): a loss in a national championship game; grew the feeling of doubt that OSU could beat elite non-Big 10 teams
TYLENOL POINTS (pain relief): Blow-out loss to a team with 2 losses. This over-achieving OSU squad wasn’t as good as its record. They suffered a late-season loss at home to Illinois, and weren’t expecting a title bid. Several crazy losses by teams above them on the final weekend got them in the backdoor to the BCS title game.
#7–COLUMBUS, NOVEMBER 21, 2015: #9 MICHIGAN STATE 17, #3 OSU 14
No need to re-hash this loss too much. I look like a prophet in this blog I wrote in late September about their offensive woes. In fact, this paragraph from that blog seems to predict the inevitable:
The solution, according to television game announcers the last two weeks, is to simply hammer superback Ezekiel Elliott up the middle to pound these lesser teams into submission. That mentality will get them wins over the Hawaii’s and Northern Illinois’s of the football world. But when big boys like Michigan State come calling, being a one-trick pony won’t be enough. It’s also an enormous waste of the wealth of talent the Buckeyes have at QB and just about every other position.
NEEDLE POINTS: undefeated season, national championship hopes, and long win streak gone; also lost a chance to defend their national championship crown
TYLENOL POINTS: regular season game; got thoroughly outplayed; sore losers in post-game comments; underachieved offensively all season *I initially had this game at #4, but moved it down, the more that I thought about it and heard from others.
#6–BIG 10 CHAMIONSHIP GAME, DECEMBER 7, 2013: #10 MICHIGAN STATE 34, #2 OSU 24
Ohio State was 24-0 since Urban Meyer got hired (they were ineligible to go to a bowl game his first year). Braxton Miller was the two-time Big 10 offensive MVP, and Carlos Hyde was one of the nation’s premiere running backs. But the Spartans jumped all over them early, scoring the first 17 points of the game. The Buckeyes responded with the next 24 points, but MSU took control in the 4th quarter.
NEEDLE POINTS: lost undefeated season, long win streak, and chance to get to BCS title game
TYLENOL POINTS: got out-played; the week before, they had to stop a last-second two-point conversion to edge a weak Michigan squad; Urban Meyer had not faced any tough opponents during his win streak; lost their Orange Bowl game to Clemson
#5–ANN ARBOR, NOVEMBER 25, 1995: #18 MICHIGAN 31, #1 OSU 23
This Buckeye team was loaded. Eddie George was on his way to the Heisman Trophy. Bobby Hoying was one of the nation’s top QBs, while WR Terry Glenn, OT Orlando Pace, and DE Mike Vrabel were All-Americans. They earned marquee wins over Notre Dame and at Penn State earlieer that year.
Michigan was down that year, and Cooper had gained his first win over his rival the year before. I was at this game, along with an unsually large number of fellow Buckeye fans. But the Wolverines ruled the day, with Tim Biakabutuka gashing the Bucks for 313 rushing yards.
NEEDLE POINTS: undefeated season gone; loss to a rival; lost a Rose Bowl berth; loaded team that was rolling.
TYLENOL POINTS: you don’t deserve to win when you let a guy rush for 313 yards; team then continued a John Cooper pattern and lost their bowl game (Citrus Bowl)
#4–COLUMBUS, NOVEMBER 23, 1996: #21 MICHIGAN 13, #2 OSU 9
OSU followed up their disapointing end to their 1995 campaign (see above) by winning their first 10 games this season. Michigan came in with three losses in their last six games. Ohio State dominated the first half, but led only 9-0. Just after halftime, Michigan scored a 69-yard TD on a quick slant pass where All-American Shawn Springs slipped. The Wolverines seized the momentum and once again trumped coach John Cooper.
NEEDLE POINTS (extra pain): undefeated season gone; another loss to a rival; this loss made it seem like Cooper could never beat ‘the school up North’; later won the Rose Bowl to finish #2 behind a 1-loss Florida team
TYLENOL POINTS (pain relief): they got outplayed by a lesser team at home (*I initially had this at #7)
#3–COLUMBUS, NOVEMBER 7, 1998: MICHIGAN STATE 28, OSU 24
This was the best team of the John Cooper era. Senior QB Joe Germaine was the Big 10 MVP. Their march to a national championship seemed inevitable until Nick Saban’s scrappy Spartan team came to town. Ohio State went up 17-3, but MSU raced back for the victory. This dominant Buckeye squad won every other game that year by double digits.
NEEDLE POINTS: undefeated season, Rose Bowl, and national championship gone; this team dominated their opponents all season
TYLENOL POINTS: a regular season loss to a 6-6 team
#2–THE BCS CHAMPIONSHIP, TEMPE ARIZONA, JANUARY 8, 2007: #2 FLORIDA 41, #1 OSU 14
Jim Tressel’s top-ranked team entered the game with a 19-game win streak. Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy a few weeks earlier. They earned their championship spot with a thrilling 42-39 win over #2 Michigan. Many thought that the Wolverines would get a re-match in this championship game, but 11-1 Florida just barely edged them out in the final poll.
All-American Ted Ginn returned the opening kick-off for a touchdown, but had his ankle severely sprained when the team celebrated with him. Florida dominated the rest of the game.
NEEDLE POINTS: championship game, undefeated season, and win-streak on the line; Most fans expected an easy victory that would clinch a second national championship in five years; this loss started the period of doubt that OSU could beat elite teams.
TYLENOL POINTS: this blow out showed OSU didn’t deserve it
#1: THE ROSE BOWL, JANUARY 1, 1980: #3 USC 17, #1 OSU 16
Earl Bruce led his team to an undefeated season in his first year after taking over for Woody, ending a 3-year losing streak to Michigan by winning 18-15 in Ann Arbor. The 11-0 Buckeyes earned a right face the 10-0-1 (there were ties back then) hometown Trojans. OSU came back from a 10-0 deficit to take a 16-10 lead into the 4th quarter, but USC drove 83 yards on their final drive, with Heisman Trophy winner Charles White scoring the game-winning TD.
NEEDLE POINTS: stop that last drive and you have an undefeated national championship season
TYLENOL POINTS: you may have shared the crown with 12-0 Alabama
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