A Look Back on Michigan State's Big Ten Championship Victory Over Ohio State
It was not a proverbial David vs. Goliath, but it felt like the Michigan State Spartans had a giant beast to slay when they took on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game.
Mark Dantonio led his team to an 11-1 record that season. The Spartans had played some good teams that season, but this was the biggest test of the year. Could this group that barely made a bowl the season before, take down a team with NFL talent everywhere you looked?
We would find out on the evening of Dec. 7, 2013.
Michigan State started the game hot. It began with the team converting a fourth down, leading to a field goal. Back-to-back Buckeye three-and-outs eventually led to Connor Cook throwing a ball over the top to Keith Mumphery, who slipped behind the defense and took it 72 yards for a score.
The Spartans led 10-0. Eyebrows started to rise, as did heart rates around the state of Michigan.
Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller dropped the ball on third down well behind the line of scrimmage. Fourth and long.
Cook was surgical on the following drive. He hit Aaron Burbridge on third down. He rolled out and hit Mumphery again.
He threw a confident ball into the end zone for his good friend Tony Lippett, who got just enough space from the defender to make the catch in the end zone.
17-0 Michigan State. The Spartans were rolling.
Then, Ohio State woke up.
Miller hit Philly Brown for a touchdown. They got a field goal on their next drive.
It was 17-10, Michigan State, after the first half.
Ohio State got the ball to start the half. Miller was a one-man show on the Buckeyes’ opening drive of the second half, rushing for 32 yards and punching in the game-tying score.
The Buckeyes had roared back. How would Michigan State respond?
With a Cook interception and a three-and-out. Panic started to set in for Michigan State fans.
On the ensuing Ohio State drive, Miller once again used his legs to move the ball down the field. He scored from six yards out, and Ohio State had the lead.
But Dantonio would not let the Spartans come all this way just to lose.
Cook converted another fourth down with his legs, eventually leading to a Michael Geiger field goal. 24-20.
The 2013 Michigan State defense was one of the best in college football history. That unit was ready to dig deep and help the offense.
They did just that, forcing an Ohio State punt after Miller could not pick up a first down with his legs.
It was time for Michigan State to make a statement.
Deep in his own territory, Cook hit Bennie Fowler down the field. He threw a strike to MacGarrett Kings deep into Ohio State territory. On third down, Cook ran a play-fake, rolled right and found a wide-open Josiah Price.
Touchdown.
The Spartans didn’t blink. They took the lead back with a meticulous drive.
27-24.
There was still plenty of time for the Buckeyes to move the ball, but Michigan State forced a punt.
Ohio State eventually got the ball back with less than 6 minutes left in the game. It moved the ball down the field, but eventually faced a fourth down with 2 yards to go.
A designed Miller run went nowhere after Denicos Allen blew up his block and tackled Miller short of the line to gain.
Michigan State ball, up 3, 5:42 left.
Jeremy Langford took a handoff up the middle, bounced off two defenders, and rolled into the end zone as the broadcast camera panned to him with a big smile on his face.
Michigan State led 34-24 with just 2 minutes left.
Miller could not move the ball, the Spartans forced a turnover on downs, and that was it.
Michigan State 34, Ohio State 24.
The Michigan State Spartans were Big Ten champions.
An excellent response to a Buckeye barrage represented a microcosm of what Dantonio instilled in his team from his trip to the Rose Bowl the prior summer. He told his team they would be the ones to return to Pasadena.
They did, and they defeated Stanford to win their first Rose Bowl since 1988.
2013 was a magical season that ended with a signature Spartan football victory.
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