Michigan State Has History of Ruining Ohio State No. 1 Hopes
The Ohio State fan base is ultra confident and its belief in the fourth-ranked Buckeyes is growing by the day, with every blowout like OSU's 48-7 win Saturday night at Nebraska.
But tucked there in the recesses of fans' minds is a lingering uneasiness born of lopsided, inexplicable, out-of-the-blue losses at Iowa in 2017 and Purdue in 2018.
MSU has ruined promising Ohio State seasons before
And the arrival of No. 25 Michigan State on the schedule only feeds that paranoia.
While Michigan has long loomed as the Buckeyes' chief rival, it's the Spartans who have crushed the national championship hopes in Columbus often enough to make their trip to Ohio Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ABC-TV) cause for concern.
Ask any Ohio State fan of any age and they'll have an MSU nightmare somewhere in the forefront of their memory banks, including:
OSU's four most heart-breaking losses to Michigan State
- 1974: No. 1 OSU rolled into East Lansing having won five straight games by 40 or more points (sound familiar?), and led in the waning seconds until Levi Jackson broke a simple off-tackle play 88 yards for a touchdown. The resultant 16-13 MSU lead survived a furious OSU drive down the field, with Brian Baschnagel crossing the goal line on the final play. Officials ruled time had expired, however. Woody Hayes begged to differ, and required his players to remain in uniform in the locker room for an hour after the clock hit 0:00 until Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke ruled the outcome official.
- 1998: No. 1 OSU led the inaugural BCS standings as the season entered November. No opponent had come within 19 points of the Buckeyes, and Michigan State looked similarly outmanned when Damon Moore's interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter provided a 24-9 Ohio State lead. But after that, Plaxico Burress and the Spartans staged a furious rally aided by an Ohio State fumble and a fourth-down stop from the MSU defense. Sparty held off four plays from inside the 10 in the last minutes to hand head coach Nick Saban the 28-24 upset.
- 2013: No. 2 Ohio State was one win away from playing for the national championship against Notre Dame when it ran into the Spartans in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis. OSU had yet to lose a game under Urban Meyer, winning 24 straight. The Buckeyes, ineligible for a bowl the season before because of NCAA sanctions, appeared in good shape after rallying from a 17-10 halftime deficit to lead, 24-17, but Michigan State scored the game's final two touchdowns for a 34-24 victory, knocking OSU out of the BCS title game and into the Orange Bowl, where it would lose to Clemson.
- 2015: Defending national champion Ohio State started the year a unanimous No. 1, but won unimpressively enough on occasion to drop to No. 2 for the Spartans' visit on Nov. 21. The matchup would decide the Big Ten East, but when MSU quarterback Connor Cook was unable to play because of a shoulder injury, most expected Ohio State to roll easily at home. Instead, backup quarterback Tyler Cook led MSU to the win despite passing for only 89 yards. The Spartans' defense rose up and held Ezekiel Elliott in check and Toledo native Michael Geiger kicked a last-play field goal for a 17-14 upset.
