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My 40 favorite Buckeye Football games

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In the midst of staying at home, I've done some thinking about my OSU fandom. After some reflection, I thought it'd be fun to make a list of my favorite OSU games over the years. When I went through them all, I found roughly 40 games that I thought were noteworthy. So I figured I'd make a list of MY top 40 games as a fan. Some context:

1.) I became a fan in the early 90s. The list skews more towards the Tressel/Meyer era because of how successful they have been. These are games I remember watching, so nothing from before the Cooper era.

2.) I have no set criteria. "Favorite" could mean a great game, an important game, the narrative surrounding the game, or just personal feelings. Just how I feel. Some games are either elevated or devalued because the rest of the season made the game feel more or less significant.

One thing that did definitely guide this list is "what was the story heading into the game". Some of these games seem like relatively simple games, but I believe the story heading into the game made all the difference.

Obviously, as you'll see, some games are bumped up because of personal feelings.

3.) They are ranked, however there are parts of the list where games are roughly interchangeable in how I feel about them. I feel strongly that the top 6 are in the right order. After that, the rankings aren't as meaningful.

4.) I probably missed a few games because I am an amateur list maker. SO SUE ME. Or say where I was an idiot and incorrectly ranked games. All in good fun. But I am sure there's a no-brainer game I missed because I'm a moron.

5.) I think I am going to go in batches of 5 at a time, depending on my schedule. Who knows. But I want to convey why I think this game was memorable. Highlights/full game of each game are posted.

6.) I hope this spurs some conversation/reminiscing. But if you all think this is dumb, I'll stop.

Here are games 40-36:

40.) Ohio State 56, Michigan 27 2019

I otherwise don't have a game from the most recent season. The only really close game was a heart breaking (and horribly reffed) game, and I only have 1 OSU loss on here (for a good reason). The 2019 version might have been the most complete Buckeye team I've watched, so it needed a game on this list. So, as is a common theme, I chose a win over Michigan.

Michigan stormed out to an early 6-0 lead. Harbaugh was fired up. I think Michigan was secretly very confident after a second half surge including big wins over ND and MSU.

OSU then went on a 42-10 run that saw:
- JK Dobbins do whatever he wanted
- Chris Olave and Garret Wilson made multiple big plays
- Justin Fields get hurt, leave the game, come back, and have a Heisman worthy TD throw to Wilson
- Michigan give OSU a first down by jumping offside on a punt, fumbling a shotgun snap due to wind, and committing a 15 yard unsportsmanlike by untying a shoe

In the end this was an elite team soundly defeating a very good team, which happened to be a rivalry game. The exclamation point was JK Dobbins literally dunking on Michigan as he scored the final TD. Great team, deserved better from the committee and the refs.


39.) Ohio State 42, Michigan 41 2013

This game was not fun.

OSU, after going 12-0 but ineligible for postseason in 2012, was billed as a national champion favorite in 2013. Despite an early season injury to Braxton Miller and a 3 game suspension for Carlos Hyde, the offense soared all year. However, the defense was shaky at times, giving up 35 to Cal (with a young Goff at QB), 30 to NW (more on that game later) and 35 to an Illinois team whose best win, BY FAR, was over Cincinatti (their other wins were over an FCS school and two teams who combined to go 1-21). Still, OSU was 11-0, ranked 3rd in the BCS behind FSU and Bama.

Michigan started the year 5-0, beating a solid ND team and an 8-5 Minnesota team by 29. However, their offense tanked mid season. In the 4 games leading up to this game, Michigan scored 6, 13, 9* and 21 points (the 9 point game was vs Northwestern. It was only 9 points in regulation. The game went into overtime and they eventually won 27-19, but 9 points in regulation. Also, the 2013 NW team will be mentioned again). They were 7-4. but had lost 3 of 4 and 4 of 6, and hadn't beaten a bowl team since the first weekend in October.

Michigan's offense saved their best performance for this game. Devin Gardner threw for 451 yards and Michigan put up over 600 yards of offense. Michigan grabbed the early lead on a 99 yard TD drive. Braxton Miller had a 53 yard TD pass and a 53 yard TD run in the first quarter.

A scrum after an early second quarter kickoff saw three ejections, including starting OSU guard (and Glenville alum) Marcus Hall. His parting gift to the crowd:

marcus-hall-the-bird.png


Yup.

OSU took their first lead with 6:59 to go in the 3rd. They extended the lead to 14 late in the 3rd, but a Carlos Hyde fumble let Michigan back in. Michigan tied it at 35 with 5:01 left in the 4th. Hyde gave OSU the lead with 2:41. Michigan scored with 32 seconds left to play. They opted to go for 2. Bedford native Tyvis Powell (more on him in game #2) intercepted the 2 pt try and saved the season.

In the end, this was a game effort by an undermanned Michigan team. However, OSU wouldn't win again, losing in the B1G title game and the Orange Bowl. The lasting memory is Devin Gardner after throwing the last pick.

-o1b7MENlGUBb_aBy8t8F_YPXnDWIV2SAOkfO6NhEHI.jpg


38.) Ohio State 31, Michigan 16 1998

Another Michigan game? Why not!

OSU from 1993-1998 was awesome (more on this in game #8). If you exclude 1994 (4 losses) they lost 8 games in 5 years (also tied a top 10 Wisconsin team in 93). Those losses were:

- To Peyton freaking Manning in 95.
- To a #1 ranked (at the time) Penn State team in 97, in Happy Valley
- To eventual #3 FSU in the Sugar Bowl after the 97 season.
- To Nick Saban and MSU in a fluky game in 98.
- To Michigan in 93, 95, 96, and 97, all when OSU had a shot at national championship.

Those Cooper teams were great. They produced a Heisman Trophy and tons of draft picks (including 2 #1 overall picks). But Cooper couldn't beat Michigan and struggled in other big games. Only one year did he win both the Michigan game and the bowl game, and it was 1998. In essence, that was the Cooper era: great talent and good results, but never putting it all together.

1998 was Cooper's best team. Lead by Andy Katzenmoyer and Joe Germaine, they stared the year #1 in the AP and Coaches poll. They were #2 in the initial BCS poll (this being the first year of the BCS) and were #1 when they inexplicably lost to MSU. However, they were still 9-1 heading into The Game vs 9-2 Michigan.

Michigan had lost to a solid ND team and a Donovan McNabb lead Syracuse team. They were probably held back by having a first year starter at QB named [checks noted] Tom Brady. That's right, John Cooper coached against both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in college. He beat one and should've beat the other.

The actual game wasn't much to write about. OSU went up 14-0 int he first, and never lead by less than single digits. David Boston had 2 TDs. Here's a pic of him taunting Charles Woodson from 1997 BECAUSE THAT'S THE TYPE OF BOSS DAVID BOSTON IS

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In the end, this is a non-de-script game. It makes the list because 93-98 was almost and epic era of OSU football, and this was the culmination.

OSU would end up #3 in the BCS, having to watch Tennessee beat FSU in the inaugural BCS title game. OSU would beat Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl and finish #3 in the polls (Wisconsin, OSU and Michigan all tied for B1G title at 7-1. but at that time, the tie break was "whoever hasn't been to the Rose Bowl in the longest time gets to go. Seriously, that was the tiebreaker. OSU and Michigan had gone the previous 2 seasons, and Wisconsin last went in 1993, so Wisconsin got the nod).


37.) Ohio State 31, Penn St 24 2014

Reasons why this game mattered:

The OSU/PSU rivalry is insane, and makes multiple entries on the list
This game many "bonkers" moments
The 2014 season ended up being pretty good

Ohio State entered this week 13th in the CFP poll. They were behind 5 SEC teams, 3 Big 12 teams, Notre Dame, and 5 spots below the highest B1G team. An early season loss to Virginia Tech seemed to have killed OSU's playoff hopes. They hadn't lost since then but their best win was....Navy? They were clearly playing for a conference title at best (*wink*). Penn State was 4-2. Their best win was either a 2 pt win over pre Scott Frost UCF or a 3 pt win at Rutgers (who somehow won 8 games that year).

This was a whiteout under the lights in Happy Valley, which meant is was a tough environment. OSU jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead, but Penn State forced overtime. Here's how it happened:

- Vonn Bell "intercepted" a pass at the PSU 39, that OSU eventually turned into a Zeke TD run. It was not legal catch (see highlights below) but somehow SURVIVED REPLAY
- OSU kicked a 49 yd FG early in the 2nd quarter, despite snapping the FG after play clock expired (OSU got some calls in this game...to see PSU get calls, see game #13)
- Anthony Zettel, a DL who played for the Browns in 2018, had a 40 yard Pick Six
- JT Barrett sprained his MCL during regulation
- Penn State, down 3, drove into the red zone with under a minute left, but settled for a tying FG.

In OT1, Penn State scored a TD. OSU answered in 3 plays, with JT Barrett scoring on a sprained MCL. In OT2, JT again scored on a sprained MCL. Up 7, the OSU defense forced a 4th and 5. Either by OSU wizardry or PSU dumfoolery, the 4th down play saw Joey Bosa blocked by PSU running back Akeel Lynch. No seriously, PSU tried to block Joey friggin Bosa with a RB. Check the highlights below if you don't believe me. The result was Bosa driving Lynch back into PSU QB Christian Hackenberg, resulting in a walk off sack.

This was a bizarre game. It's also part of 6 games from the 2014 season on the list. Furthermore, the last 2 TDs of the game were rushing TDs scored by a QB playing with a sprained MCL. And it's the lowest of 4 OSU/PSU games on the list. INSANE!

PSU ended up losing to both Maryland and Rutgers that season. But they won their bowl game!


36.) Ohio State 28, Washington 23 2019

OSU has played in the Rose Bowl 3 times since I've been a fan. They've won all 3, and thus all 3 have made this list (see game #6 for more details).

However, this game makes the list because it was the last game for Urban Meyer. His accolades will be well described throughout this list. 2018 was a trying year for him. He was suspended for 3 games to start the year (More about the 2018 campaign in game #13) . He announced his "retirement" after beating Michigan, so we knew this was his OSU swan song.

The game itself was not extremely interesting. OSU jumped out to a 28-3 lead midway through the 3rd. Washington got within 5 with 42 ticks left, but failed to recover an onside kick and thus OSU prevailed.

This was nothing more than OSU's sendoff to Urban. He took an already strong program and raised it to new heights. Thanks for the memories, Urbs!


So there is the first 5 games. I plan on going all the way to #1 if you guys are interested. If not, I spent a lot time researching this for nothing.
 
This is great! Makes me want to do my own list once my new laptop gets in.
 
Excited to see where Holy Buckeye and 2002 Natty vs Miami ranks.

2002 vs Miami is easily my personal favorite of all time. Been a lot of awesome non-conference regular season games too.
 
Excited to see where Holy Buckeye and 2002 Natty vs Miami ranks.

2002 vs Miami is easily my personal favorite of all time. Been a lot of awesome non-conference regular season games too.
I agree with that. The only games that are even close, to me, are the Alabama Sugar Bowl and the 2016 Michigan game. Those 3 standout above all others to me, at least since 2000 which was when I was really old enough to know what was going on.

Holy Buckeye is an all-time moment, but that game was...not great :chuckle: Always interesting to see just how much weight an individual moment has vs an overall game.
 
I agree with that. The only games that are even close, to me, are the Alabama Sugar Bowl and the 2016 Michigan game. Those 3 standout above all others to me, at least since 2000 which was when I was really old enough to know what was going on.

Holy Buckeye is an all-time moment, but that game was...not great :chuckle: Always interesting to see just how much weight an individual moment has vs an overall game.

Id even throw in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame uo in there.

it always feels great to beat the fuck up on Notre Dame.

Also I think 2007 OSU vs Michigan is better than 2016. 1 v 2 and the game of the Century.

I just have way too fucking many fond memories of that Troy Smith lead team.
 
Id even throw in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame uo in there.

it always feels great to beat the fuck up on Notre Dame.

Also I think 2007 OSU vs Michigan is better than 2016. 1 v 2 and the game of the Century.

I just have way too fucking many fond memories of that Troy Smith lead team.
That was 2006.

2016 took some of the shine off 2006, in my opinion. Just thought it was a more crazy, intense game. In 2006, OSU played with the lead pretty much the entire game.

Sidenote: The 2005 Michigan game is severely overlooked. Hell, the 2005 OSU team in general is as well.

Troy was the ultimate Wolverine slayer.
 
After the 1987 season football season Coach Bruce was let go & the search which resulted in John Cooper being hired took place.
While that was happening, Meatchigan was convincing 2 seniors from Cleveland's east side to head to Ann Arbor. One was a tailback -Desmond Howard. The other had just completed his 1st year at QB -Elvis Grbac (he played TE as a jr). To be fair to Cooper due to the timing of his hire, he never had a real shot at landing either player.

While Cooper then landed St. Ignatius QB Joe Pickens and Euclid RB Robert Smith as part of the 1990 class, a running back at Akron Buchtel headed to Ann Arbor (Ricky Powers). The list can go on. While Cooper still got some talent from Ohio & NE Ohio a number of talented players still went to join TTUN or somewhere else.

By the time Tressel took over, it was clear that tOSU had to do something to reduce the flow of talented players leaving the state. Tressel did a much better job of attracting Ohio talent to Columbus & he also did better at getting talented players from the Cleveland area.

Absolutely Troy Smith (Cleveland Glenville) was a Wolverine slayer but he also was aided by some other great talents from NEOhio, namely Ted Ginn Jr (Glenville) and Anthony Gonzalez (St. Ignatius) to get those jobs done..
 
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I became much more of a fan after I started going to school in Columbus, but I remember the hype, confidence, and obliterating disappointment from that title game against Florida after winning the GotC while I was in middle school. I'm not spoiled, any season where you beat Michigan is a success in my book, but that was a lesson for me, and it helped in 2007.

That 2002 game has everything. The 06 TTUN game was really high scoring, so even though we had the lead it never felt that secure (my memories of that game were listening on the radio at a campout, so not the clearest recollection). The 2016 game was fun and dramatic, as was 2013 which is arguably one of the best in the rivalry.

In terms of favorite games I got to go to (between 2011-2015):
  • Two wins against UM
  • Game winning bomb against Wisconsin
  • Obliterating Nebraska (fun game PLUS the video game halftime show blew everybody's shit)
  • Kenny G comeback against Purdue
  • OT win against Penn State in a White Out on the road to a championship
I also remember seeing that Virginia Tech loss and thinking we were done. Good times.
 
That was 2006.

2016 took some of the shine off 2006, in my opinion. Just thought it was a more crazy, intense game. In 2006, OSU played with the lead pretty much the entire game.

Sidenote: The 2005 Michigan game is severely overlooked. Hell, the 2005 OSU team in general is as well.

Troy was the ultimate Wolverine slayer.

Shit 2005 Michigan was AMAZING.

That throw by Smith and then seemingly impossible catch by Gonzalez will live in my memory forever.
 
Games 35-31
35.) Texas 25, OSU 22 2005
I said only 1 loss made the list, and this is it. However, it's too great a game not have on here.

This was a night game, only the 7th night game in the history of the Shoe. It was also the first ever football meeting between these 2 schools. And I was lucky enough to have tickets. The atmosphere rivaled Jacobs Field in the 90s or the Q during the NBA Finals.

OSU was ranked #4 and Texas #2. Texas was coming off a Rose Bowl win over Michigan the year before, but they had never been able to slay Bob Stoops and Oklahoma and contend for a national title, and people wondered if Vince Young would ever "put it all together". OSU was coming off a 4 loss season, but returned most of their major contributors. Unfortunately, Troy Smith had been suspended for the previous year's Alamo Bowl plus the season opener vs Miami, OH. He was eligible for this game, but Justin Zwick still started.

OSU started slowly, with 2 punts on 2 drives. Texas responded with a FG and a TD for a 10-0 lead. Then Troy Smith was inserted. He lead 4 straight scoring drives (3 FGs and a TD), aided by 2 Texas turnovers. 2 of the FGs were drives that started at the Texas 18 and 30. Texas added a FG right before half and OSU lead 16-13 at the break,

Another Texas turnover set up a short field, but OSU only got a FG. Texas responded with a FG. Then things got weird. Tressel re-inserted Justin Zwick. Zwick did lead a FG drive that started near midfield after a Ginn kickoff return, but Ryan Hamby dropped a TD on 3rd drown to kill the drive. After Zwick went three and out, Smith came back in, and went 3 and out himself. Zwick came back in and lead a drive that resulted in a missed FG. Texas responded with a TD pass to Limas Sweed for a 1 point lead. Zwick fumbled on the first play of the ensuing series. OSU got the ball back on their own 1, but Smith was sacked for a safety, effectively ending the game.

A total of 5 QB switches, and 4 drives starting at midfield or better that only netted FGs. Impossible not to think OSU 'should've' won the game with all the field position advantages. Had Troy Smith not been suspended and been the starter from day 1, offense probably plays a lot better.

That Texas team went on to be hailed as one of the great teams of all time. They finally beat Oklahoma, then went on to upset the Reggie Bush lead USC Trojans in one of the great college football games of all time to win the national championship.

This OSU team will feature again. This was probably Tressel's most talented team, but the offense took half a season to click with the QB issues.


34.) OSU 24, Texas 7 2006
Revenge!

That OSU team was hit hard by graduation. They lost 9 starters on defense (keeping only the starting DTs) and lost 2 1st rounders on offense (Santonio Holmes and Nick Mangold). Despite that, they kept a lot of their offensive skill players. That was apparently enough to warrant a preseason #1 ranking. Texas lost Vince Young, who was replaced by redshirt freshman and future nearly competent Browns QB Colt McCoy. Texas was ranked #2. Ohio State and Texas both opened the season with wins over mid major programs.

The story of this game was all about hype. It was the first #1 vs #2 had met in the regular season since a Spurrier/Bowden clash in 96. It was a night game, featuring the defending champs vs the team that felt like they should've beaten them. This game was ENORMOUS.

The game wasn't quite the classic as the year before. On the first drive of the game, Smith hit Ted Ginn on a crossing route that netted 46 yards. While that drive ended in a missed FG, it was a harbinger of Texas not being able to deal with OSU's receivers. The two teams traded punts. McCoy lead the Horns down to the OSU 2, but OSU recovered a fumble and returned it to midfield. OSU scored on a pass to Anthony Gonzalez. After a few more traded punts, Texas scored a TD with just under 2 mins left in the half. OSU answered with a great 2 minute drill, capped off by a 29 yd TD pass to Ginn. OSU lead 14-7 at the break.

OSU's defense dominated the second half. James Laurinaitis picked off McCoy's first pass of the half, setting up a FG. After some more trading of punts, Texas put together their only real drive of the half. It only went for 33 yards and ended in a missed FG. OSU responded with a drive ending in a short Antonio Pittman TD.

Smith ended up an very efficient 17/26 for 269 yards and 2 TDs, which probably really started his Heisman campaign. Texas ended up going 10-3. They won their next 8 games after this, including wins over Oklahoma and Nebraska, and rose back up to #4. However, they dropped the final 2 games by a total of 8 points, and had to watch Nebraska and Oklahoma play for the Big 12 title. They won their bowl game and finished the year ranked 13.

For the record, this is not the #1 vs #2 regular season matchup from 2006 on the list.


33.) Ohio State 29, Purdue 22 2012

2012 was probably Urban Meyer's best coaching job. He went 12-0 with a team that wasn't that good. The fallout from Tatgate left OSU ineligible for either the B1G Title game of the BCS. Had they been eligible, they were wins against Nebraska and Notre Dame from a national title (maybe). It's a sad what if.

Anyways, they very nearly weren't 12-0. Purdue actually makes this list 3 times, as they often have been a pesky underdog (or a season ruining terror in 2018). Purdue came in at 3-3, with wins over nobody and a 3 pt loss to Notre Dame. OSU was 7-0, coming off two straight night games and a trip to Happy Valley up next. All the makings of a trap game.

And it was a classic trap game. Purdue scored first, but missed the extra point. OSU fumbled and punted before finally scoring on a Braxton Miller run to take a 7 - 6 lead...which quickly went away as Purdue took the ensuing kickoff back for a score. The rest of the half featured 3 total turnovers and a missed FG, but no more scoring.

After trading punts to open the second half, Carlos Hyde scored to regain the lead. Purdue however answered on their next drive, and lead 20-14. On the next OSU drive, Miller lost a fumble. OSU's defense held Purdue to another missed FG. First play after the miss, Braxton rushed for 37 yards, but was tackled awkwardly, forcing him to leave the game. The drive ended in a missed FG after backup Kenny Guiton came in.

OSU then forced a punt, but Purdue down it at the OSU 1. On the first play, OSU got called for an illegal block in the endzone, resulting in a safety and a 22-14 Purdue lead. OSU forced a punt, but OSU did little with it, throwing a pick. OSU forced another punt, and returned the punt to their own 39. Good field position, but only 47 seconds left, no timeouts, and OSU had managed 18 yards, 1 pick and 1 safety in 14 plays since Guiton came in. Things looked bleak.

Then magic happened.

A long pass to Smith started the drive. A risky 3rd down run got a first. A PI on 3rd and 11 got another 1st. Guiton found Chris Fields in the front corner of the endzone with 3 seconds left (and the play was upheld after a review). Then, a well executed throwback to TE Jeff Heuerman got the 2 pt conversion and the game was tied at 22.

Even though the game wasn't over, that last sequence seemed to take the air out of the Boilermakers. Purdue put up little resistance in OT. OSU scored in 5 plays on a 1 yard Hyde run. Purdue was only able to manage 5 yards in 4 plays.

It was an ugly game, in which OSU did very little on offense and made just enough mistakes on D and ST to lose it. Once Miller went down, it seemed over. Very few OSU games have seen such a sudden reversal in fortune, and it happened with a backup QB. Guiton would end up starting 3 games next year for Miller, throwing 12 TDs in those games, including 6 in one half vs Florida A&M. He is currently WR coach at Colorado State.

There are full video highlight elsewhere, but here is the final part of the game in real time.


32.) OSU 40, NW 30 2013

Northwestern is an enigma. Two years ago, they lost to Akron and Duke, blew a 14 point lead vs Michigan at home, and still won the B1G West over a Wisconsin team who had a perfect regular season the year before. They followed that up by going 3-9. Pat Fitzgerald is obviously a good coach and has done great stuff at NW. You just never know if they are good.

The 2012 Wildcats had a really good season. They went 10-3, won their bowl game vs an SEC team (first bowl win since 1949), beat 3 Power 5 schools in the regular season, and the 3 losses were by a combined 19 points, including an OT loss. They returned the majority of their starters for 2013, and were a trendy pick to win the *sigh* Legends Division. They won their first 4 games on 2013, including a win at 1-11 Cal and 7-6 Syracuse. They were coming off a bye week and a 1AA game before this clash, which was a night game. NW entered as #16 in the AP.

OSU entered 2013 ranked #2 coming off their 12-0 2012 campaign. However, it had already been a weird year. Carlos Hyde was suspended the first 3 games of the year, and only had 22 carries on the year heading into the game. Braxton Miller had missed 3 games, although the aforementioned Kenny Guiton had filled in well. OSU had fallen to #4, getting leaped by Oregon and Clemson. They had beaten Wisconsin 31-24 the previous week in a night game at the Shoe.

OSU started with a FG after getting a 1st and goal and stalling. NW's first drive, lead by Kain Colter, ended in a punt. However, Miller fumbled, setting a short field for a Trevor Simien TD pass and a 7-3 NW lead. OSU drove to the NW 38 before punting, but the punt was downed at the 1. Colter lead a 3 and out, and Bradley Rovy blocked the punt for a TD and a 10-7.

You may notice that NW keeps switching up QBs. This was a strategy that doomed Tressel vs Texas in 05. However, here it worked for NW. Colter stayed in and lead a TD drive. OSU drove down to the NW 3, but settled a FG. NW answered with a FG lead by Simien. OSU faked a punt and was stopped, giving NW the ball at OSU's 30. OSU held NW to a FG and a 20-13 Halftime lead. At Half, Hyde had 11 rushed for 57 yards.

NW opened the 2nd half with a Simien lead FG drive. OSU marched down to the NW 7, but a Miller fumble turned it over (marking 3 different drives where OSU got within the 10, but scored a total of 6 pts). OSU forced a punt and got great field position at the NW 36.

Then, Hyde took over.

He had 4 rushes for 22 yard and covered the last 4 for a TD making it 23-20. After trading punts, an OSU INT put the Buckeyes at the NW 16. Hyde covered 13 of the yards and scored another TD, giving OSU a 4 pt lead. Simien lead a long TD drive giving NW the lead back at 30-27. Hyde then had 30 yards on 3 carries and 2 catches, including a 7 yard TD run to give OSU the lead for good.

NW next drive was stopped on 4th and 1. Hyde helped the offense gain 1 first down before punting. NW try and a Cal-Stanford lateral-fest ended in Joey Bosa recovering a fumble in the endzone for a 40-30 final score.

Hyde ended up with 206 total yards and 3 TDs in final 19 minutes of game time. It spring boarded him into a phenomenal campaign that same him gain over 1500 yards in 11 games.

Many thought this would be a preview of the B1G title game. Instead, NW went on to lose 6 more in a row, although 4 of the 6 were by 8 pts or less. The NW QBs combined to go 25-21 for 343 yards. Unfortunately, it was a sign that OSU's defense was leaky.


31.) Ohio State 45, Texas Tech 21 2002

Not surprisingly, the national title teams of 2002 and 2014 make the most appearances on this list. There were many games those years that either were big games against great opponents or very close games that would've derailed those seasons.

This game was a blowout and against a solid, but not great, opponent. But the story of this game is simple.

Maurice Clarett

Maurice Clarett is either a cautionary tale or tragic one. If you weren't a fan at the time, he's probably seen as a footnote. But make no mistake: he was the best player on a National Championship team as a freshman. And he may be the best player I've ever watched at OSU.

Here are some of his HS highlights. Included is a playoff game vs St. Eds where he ran for over 300 yard....IN THE FIRST HALF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlToR09VoCU

He enrolled early at OSU, back when that wasn't so common. Lydell Ross had been Jonathan Wells' backup the previous year, and many thought he would be the started=r. But Clarett got the nod as a true frosh for the #13 ranked team in the country.

He finished the day with 175 yards on 21 carries with 3 tds, and added 30 yards on a team high 4 catches. The dude was a beast in his first college game.

The game itself was not very close. Tech was in the early years of the Mike Leach era and started current Cardinals head coach Kill Kingsbury at QB. OSU lead 21-7 at half and was up 38-7 with 2 minutes left in the 3rd, when OSU called off the dogs. Kingsbury ended up with 342 yards and 3 TDs, but a good chunk of that came in the 4th quarter vs OSU backups. He threw 1 pick to current 92.3 radio host Dustin Fox. Tech ended up a respectable 9-5 on the year and upset #4 Texas near the end of the year.

But this game was all about Clarett and his burst onto the scene. Had he stayed out of trouble, he could've re-written the OSU record books. But we'll always have his amazing freshman year, along with his amazing debut.

next time: A Michigan game, beating a Browns hero, a thrilling Bowl win that technically didn't happen, and night shootout at the Shoe.
 
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Gotta add this addendum on that Kenny G Purdue win. First of all, a lot of people had filed out of the stadium expecting the loss. Not most people, but I had friends with me in the student section that bailed. After the wild victory, as Urban came around to join the team for Carmen, the south end student section starting chanting his name, "URBAN URBAN URBAN!" He went wild for it and it was very hype and this video shows it but couldn't do it justice:


It was a special day. Given everything the team went through with the previous scandal and the bowl ban, our only prize was going undefeated. Urban refused to lose and we wanted him to know we appreciated it.
 
This is awesome! Thank you for putting this list together. As summer starts I plan on going back and rewatching many of these games. I'm 30 so I started watching and following the Buckeyes right around 2000 so this list is pretty perfect for me.

I was super bummed about March Madness being cancelled this year, so back in March I did something similar with making a list of my favorite NCAA Tournament games, most of which were 1st round upsets or OSU games, and rewatching them. I think I had about 30-35. YouTube has so many full length NCAA Tournament games out there. The past month I've been doing the same with 2006-2010 and 2015-2018 Cavs playoff games. Unfortunately, with the exception of the 2016 Finals, there aren't many full length games out there on YouTube. Mostly have to settle for 8-10 minute long highlights. So, when I'm done with that, it's on to Buckeye football.
 
forgot about that NW shootout in 2013; man that defense was bad. Still a hell of a regular season though.

Really enjoying this @col63onel; detailed writeups really help relive it.
 
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My favorite Buckeye game was the Drew Brees to Sdeth Morales to win the game on Sept 28 2000 and take Purdue to the Rose Bowl.

Then again I am not a OSU fan, although they are my 2nd favorite team, grew up a huge fan, but that was a special game for me. Remember, it almost felt like the Browns to the Super Bowl for a Purdue fan to go to the Rose Bowl, and OSU is New England basically. (no, not Pittsburgh, that is Notre Dame to me.)
 
My favorite Buckeye game was the Drew Brees to Sdeth Morales to win the game on Sept 28 2000 and take Purdue to the Rose Bowl.

Then again I am not a OSU fan, although they are my 2nd favorite team, grew up a huge fan, but that was a special game for me. Remember, it almost felt like the Browns to the Super Bowl for a Purdue fan to go to the Rose Bowl, and OSU is New England basically. (no, not Pittsburgh, that is Notre Dame to me.)

You really need to go get fucked. Fuck that game.

Politely
 

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