Welcome to the third edition of Unsung Heroes, where I delve into the archives to find some of the best individual performances in Ohio State football history.
Man, 2007 was one weird season. From Sunday, November 19th till the late evening of Saturday, November 25th, the lone two unbeaten teams in the FBS were Kansas and Hawaii.
The entire season was backwards. Some of the teams that were either #1 or #2 at some point that season: South Florida, Cal, West Virginia, Boston College, Kansas, and Missouri. Florida State beating Boston College and Oklahoma beating Missouri were considered upsets. And every week the rankings were nothing more than a revolving door of fresh new sacrifices placed in the top five for underdogs to squash.
There was a hex put on being the #2 team that year also. USC lost to Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal while being favored by 41. Cal lost at home to Oregon State. South Florida lost to Rutgers one week into being the #2 team. The Matt Ryan-led Boston College Golden Eagles lost to Florida State. Dennis Dixon’s injury caused Oregon to lose on a Thursday night game to Arizona. Unbeaten Kansas lost the Border War to Missouri. And finally, Rich Rod’s West Virginia Mountaineers lost their title chances at home against a 4-win Pitt squad.
Thirteen, yes thirteen, unranked teams beat top five-ranked teams that season. Ohio State was no exception, losing on Senior Day to Juice Williams and the Fighting Illini one week before The Game. But just as Ohio State was snake bitten by this onslaught of upsets, the Michigan Wolverines were the ones that started this trend in the first place.
Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and Jake Long all decided to forgo the NFL and stay for their senior seasons. They had too much business left undone. They hadn’t won the Big Ten, they hadn’t won a Rose Bowl, they hadn’t played for a national title, and, best of all, they hadn’t beaten the Buckeyes. That was all about to change. Ohio State had lost their Heisman-winning quarterback, their leading rusher, receiver, and a ton more talent across the board. 2007 was their year.
In the words of Kirk Herbstreit on the first College Gameday of 2007, when Chris Fowler mentioned that Appalachian State was the two-time defending FCS national champions, his response was, and I quote: “So you’re giving them a chance? Chad Henne might set a record today, unless they take him out of the game. He’s got all his weapons back. Michigan will have the best offense this year in the Big Ten, because of Hart running the football, Henne throwing; and this is a team that, we talk about, being on a mission collectively. Well it starts today against poor ole’ Appalachian State.” (Link to video)
Welp, we all know how that turned out.
I’m not one of those people that call Herbstreit a traitor or sellout. The man makes a lot of money to be one of the biggest voices in the sport, I don’t fault him for that, and I don’t think he casts OSU aside for the sake of a paycheck. But it’s tough to find anybody be as wrong as he was. Well, okay, you can.
I’m not trying to rip the guy, but you can deny the hilarity in this. He makes his historically inept preseason prediction for Michigan, and then doubles down on his inaccuracy by reporting Miles as the next Michigan head coach. This all feels like a sketch from a Three Stooges episode.
Alas, let’s not get too sidetracked here. Michigan loses to Appalachian State, causing a seismic shift in the universe. The flowers blossom, all conflict ceases to exist, as we all gather to point toward the Big House and laugh. They followed that beauty up with a 32-point shellacking from the upstart Oregon Ducks. After that? They actually went on an impressive eight game winning streak. Shutting out Notre Dame 38-0, beating then tenth-ranked Penn State, and winning a come-from-behind thriller against Michigan State, a game made infamous by Mike Hart’s “little brother” post-game comment.
Oh Mike, if only you knew when to shut your mouth.
Leading up to The Game, Mike Hart made a statement to the media, saying “I’d rather lose to Appalachian State than lose to Ohio State.”
Well I got great news for you, Mike, you wouldn’t have to choose between the two. As a token of gratitude, they gave you both.
The Herbstreit dubbed “best offense in the Big Ten” was held to a whopping 91 yards of total offense, on Senior Day in the Big House, with the same trio that spurned the NFL to accomplish all their bucket list goals. Chad Henne was knocked out of the game late in the 4th, replaced by Ryan Mallett. Mallett’s freshman season ended just like his senior season at Arkansas would, with a loss to the Buckeyes.
Mike Hart was held to 44 yards on 18 carries, rounding out to a 2.4 yard average.
To be fair, the Buckeyes offense wasn’t faring much better. Todd Boeckman threw for only 50 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Outside of Wells, the Buckeyes had only 7 yards on 20 carries. Not good, not good at all.
But never fear, brethren and sistren. Now it’s time to take a look at Beanie’s performance. How well did he do exactly?
Oh my…
222 yards, in the Big House, when neither team could pass, and everyone in the stadium knew what was coming. This is Tressel-ball at its zenith, and this game plan was The Senator’s ninth symphony. At the time, Beanie’s 222 yard game was the most gained on the ground by a single Buckeye in any game against the Wolverines. Carlos Hyde has since eclipsed that mark.
Beanie also pioneered a trend this day. I understand I might evoke some traumatic memories by mentioning the name Tim Biakabutuka, but I assure you it’s for a good cause. I know it sucked watching him repeatedly gash the Buckeye defense in 1995, but would you rather settle for that one nightmarish game, or have to re-watch Buckeye running backs slash your team’s defense year after year in your own building? That’s what happened to Michigan ever since this game.
Since this game, three different Buckeyes have gone for over 200 against Michigan in the Big House. Carlos Hyde ran for 226 in 2013, Ezekiel Elliott ran for 214 in 2015, and J.K. Dobbins ran for 211 in 2019. Four 200-yard rushing days in the last seven trips to Ann Arbor. Not bad. Not bad at all, I reckon.
Now for some math.
Beanie accounted for 222 of the 279 yards of total offense for OSU, an astonishing 79% of all yardage gained; meaning the rest of the team mustered a vaunted 57 yards. Michigan had 91 yards of offense. Take Beanie out of the equation, and you’re left with a combined total of 148 yards of offense between the two sides. 222 yards goes for 60% of the amalgamated 370 yards from both teams. 60%! The other 169 scholarship players that were on the eighty-five man rosters of both Ohio State and Michigan were outgained by nearly a hundred yards; and it all came from one source, one man—Christopher Michael “Beanie” Wells.
But the zaniness of the 2007 season doesn't end here. OSU entered the game ranked seventh. Oregon had lost to Arizona two nights earlier, so they were eliminated. They needed at least four more teams ahead of them to lose. Three of the teams were Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, two of which were guaranteed to lose since they all played each other. That left LSU and West Virginia. Turns out, every single one of those teams lost within the next fourteen days. LSU lost in triple overtime to Arkansas 50-48. Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech 34-27. Kansas lost to Missouri 36-28. Missouri lost to Oklahoma 37-17. And West Virginia lost to Pitt 13-9. So much for the Rose Bowl. And while they lost to LSU in the national title game, you can't deny the excitement this season produced.
We take for granted just how dominant OSU is against Michigan. In the 90s, a 14-3 win in Ann Arbor would’ve set a Columbus record for most streakers present at one time. But in the 2000s? Pfft. That’s an annual tradition. We’re spoiled beyond belief that OSU can beat Michigan in almost any conceivable fashion. Blow them out? Not a problem. Win by a point? I raise you Tyvis Powell. Dominate them on the ground? We’ve got a factory of running backs lined up for that? Shred them through the air? Send out Haskins or Fields. Beat them in a shootout? Gotcha. Beat them in a low-scoring slug fest with a one-man wrecking crew on offense? Hit ‘em with the Beanie, baby (pun intended).
I get it. In a world where we can go on YouTube and find practically any Ohio State-Michigan game we want, a 14-3 win in the rain isn’t going to be as high on the list of re-watchable games when compared to ’02 (let’s party, Columbus!), or ’05 (on the run, caught by Gonzalez!), or ’06 (game of the century), or ’12 (12-0), or ’13 (Tyvis Powell interception), or ’14 (the beginning of a playoff run), or ’15 (Welcome home, Coach Harbaugh), or ’16 (bitter disappointment), or ’18 (62-39), or ’19 (56-27). But, if nothing else, we can stare at a stat line, or read a forum post from some anonymous stranger with way too much free time on his hands on an OSU message board, and appreciate the standard for complete annihilation via the ground game set by Akron’s finest: Lebron James Beanie Wells.
Thank you for reading.
Video links:
Ohio State vs. Michigan 2007
Beanie Wells vs. Michigan 2007 (thank you Kiddbuckeye)
Previous Unsung Heroes forum links:
(#1) Chris Gamble's Heroic Performance in the 2002 National Championship
(#2) Cameron Heyward's Physical Domination of Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl
