FOREWARD: Welcome to season two of your favorite offseason forum series, Unsung Heroes, where I delve into the archives to find the most underappreciated performances in Ohio State football history. I plan on posting a new entry every two-to-four weeks, work and my professional future allowing. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.
In case you forgot, Sparty can be a real pain in the ass.
From the time Urban was hired in 2012, to the game the year before this contest, the combined score in those five games was 121-120 in favor of the Bucks. To say Sparty played OSU tough would be insulting, they were the team that gave the Buckeyes the most trouble. Granted, OSU did have the advantage in wins at 3-to-2, but Michigan State undoubtedly held the edge in quality of wins, having ended the Buckeyes’ national title hopes in each of their two victories.
The Buckeyes did exact a sweet measure of revenge in 2014 in a rare November night game in the Big Ten, defeating the eighth-ranked Spartans in East Lansing 49-37, eleven months after Urban Meyer’s first defeat as Ohio State head coach in the 2013 B1G Championship. The win kick-started a legendary run that led the Bucks to become the first national champions of the college football playoff. That, along with a pair of 17-16 wins in both 2012 (Urban’s first road win with the Bucks) and 2016 (a not-so-entertaining win), was how the Bucks led the series in the Urban-Dantonio era.
The rivalry between these two programs is a mystifying one, to say the least. Prior to the 2017 matchup, the home team hadn’t won since the Todd Boeckman-led Bucks beat the Spartans in The Shoe 24-17, after having nearly blown a 17-0 halftime lead. As great of a coach as Dantonio was, he was never able to beat the Bucks in East Lansing; the last Spartan coach to accomplish that was, believe it or not, Nick Saban back in 1999. But Dantonio more than made up for it by beating the Bucks twice in The Shoe, once in the dismal 2011 season, and the infamous game in 2015, and defeating them for the 2013 conference title in Indy.
After making the playoff in 2015, the Spartans fell off a mountain in 2016, going 3-9, which included losing the Old Brass Spittoon to Indiana for the first time in ten years, allowing 54 points to Northwestern, losing at home to Michigan for the first time since Dantonio’s inaugural season in East Lansing back in 2007, and pitiful defeats to the likes of Maryland and Illinois. Still, in the midst of the worst season of the Dantonio era, Sparty still found a way to put a scare in the hearts of all the Buckeye faithful by coming up shy of a monumental upset of the second-ranked Buckeyes, in which they failed to convert a two-point conversion that would’ve given them a one-point lead late in the fourth.
It seemed no matter how good or bad Sparty was, they would always find a way to raise the anxiety levels throughout Columbus.
2017 was a major bounce-back year for them. They upset seventh-ranked “big brother” Michigan in Ann Arbor in week six, ending the Wolverines’ perfect season, and the week before heading to The Shoe, they defeated seventh-ranked Penn State in a game that lasted more than seven hours due to two lightning delays.
They seemed to have experienced an offensive renaissance with the play of quarterback Brian Lewerke, who threw for a school-record 445 yards in a triple-overtime loss to Northwestern in week nine, and threw for 400 yards the following week in their upset of Penn State, becoming the first Spartan QB with consecutive 400-yard passing games.
Given the state of the Buckeye defense at this juncture in the season, pundits had every right to expect a similar performance from Lewerke.
After two consecutive seasons of elite defense, the Buckeyes took a major step back in 2017. The departure of Luke Fickell heading to Cincinnati was a major blow, but many believed Greg Schiano would right the ship. His tenure as Buckeye D-coordinator was off to a rocky start, after allowing 420 yards passing to Indiana in week one, then 387 yards through the air to Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma in a home loss to the Sooners in week two. Through the first fortnight of the 2017 season, the Buckeyes were allowing 403.5 yards passing per game, dead last in the FBS.
The Silver Bullets rebounded by not allowing a hundred yards passing to any of their next four opponents (Army, UNLV, Rutgers, and Maryland), and made several keep defensive stops in their epic 18-point comeback victory over second-ranked Penn State, 39-38. The Nittany Lions’ 38 points is misleading to how well the defense performed. Saquan Barkley ran the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Penn State returned another kickoff inside the Buckeyes 25, before Urban decided to squib kick for the remainder of the game, essentially conceding tremendous starting field position to PSU. They also had two controversial calls go against them in which interceptions in the end zone were nullified thanks to a bogus pass interference call in the second quarter, and an iffy replay reversal of a Denzel Ward pick that gave PSU a touchdown via simultaneous possession in the third.
Still, the Bullets held PSU to only 283 yards of total offense, limiting superstar running back Saquan Barkley to a meager 44 yards on 21 carries. J.T. Barrett stole the show with his impeccable fourth quarter performance, but don’t let that overshadow how brilliantly the Bullets played.
Unfortunately, everything fell apart the next week in Iowa City. The usually inept Hawkeye offense amassed nearly 500 yards of total offense in a 55-24 shellacking of the Bucks, giving them their second loss on the season, and essentially dealing a deathblow to their playoff aspirations.
Given how badly the Bucks played the week prior, and how well Brian Lewerke looked throwing the ball, and the history between the Bucks and the Spartans, many believed the twelfth-ranked Spartans would waltz into The Shoe and walk out with their third victory in seven years. Even the most optimistic of Buckeye fans, myself included, expected another hard-fought game that would inevitably come down to the wire.
We forgot—never bet against Urban Meyer when he’s an underdog.
Ohio State won the toss and deferred. The Spartans needed only two plays to enter Buckeye territory, thanks to a twenty-five yard scamper by Hubbard High alum L.J. Scott. But two sacks, one by a blitzing Malik Harrison, and an unstoppable Nick Bosa, derailed the Sparty drive, and forced a punt. The Buckeyes proceeded to take a 7-0 lead, thanks to a 47-yard jaunt by Mike Weber.
It was evident from the start that, although Lewerke was completing some passes, it wasn’t going to be easy. The rushmen: Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes, Tyquan Lewis, DreMont Jones, Robert Landers, and a true freshman Chase Young were going to make Lewerke less comfortable in the pocket than me at my high school prom. The secondary consisting of Denzel Ward, Kendall Sheffield, Damon Webb, Damon Arnette, and Jordan Fuller, were glued to the Sparty receivers like failure to Michigan.
Sparty’s second drive began with Jim Bollman’s infamous “Dave” up the middle for three yards, Bosa’s pressure off the edge forcing an overthrow, a false start, and an inaccurate back shoulder throw to L.J. Scott. Three-and-out for the Spartans.
A botched snap forced the Buckeyes to punt, but the Bullets forced another Sparty three-and-out due to tremendous coverage by Ward and Arnette. Barrett ran in a four-yard touchdown toward the end of the first quarter to make it 14-0 Bucks.
The Spartans began with putrid starting field position due to remarkable kickoff coverage from OSU, tackling the return man at his own five-yard line. Three consecutive incompletions resulted in another Sparty three-and-out. After only a quarter, the nation realized that there would be no repeat performance of Iowa City.
The Bucks went on a nine-play, 76-yard drive, in which the only pass attempt resulted in Sparty corner Justin Layne interfering with Johnnie Dixon in the end zone, culminating in another Barrett four-yard touchdown run. The Bucks were pounding Sparty on the ground, a team led by OSU’s former defensive coordinator who took pride, more than anywhere else, in their front seven, was looking like a JV squad against a bunch of grown-ass men. 21-0 Bucks.
As badly as the kickoff coverage was against Penn State two weeks earlier, Kerry Coombs’ unit was flying down the field, never allowing the Sparty return team to advance past the twenty, other than on a touchback.
Sparty had so little confidence in their passing game, a unit that has averaged 422.5 yards in their last two games, that they were more willing to lose yardage by running Bollman’s “Dave” than test the most maligned unit of the Buckeye defense. On 3rd and 10, for one of the few times in his career, Bosa drew a holding flag (seriously, is it a rule that the opposing O-line can’t be called for holding?), but it mattered not, because Lewerke was hit from behind by Tyquan Lewis after scrambling to the left, forcing a fumble and having it recovered by Damon Arnette at the Sparty 25. Three plays later, J.K. Dobbins took a swing pass eight yards to the house. 28-0 Bucks.
Holy shit, where was this last week? I remember thinking. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t able to savor the moment as much as I should’ve. This team caused the Bucks more heartache than anyone else in the past half-decade. I despised everything about them: “No Fly Zone”, their stupid windmill kicker, Connor Cook disrespecting Archie. Why the hell couldn’t the Bucks just blow them out once? And here they were doing just that, and all I could think about was why this team didn’t show up against Iowa last week.
Thankfully the internet exists, so I can rewatch it anytime I want.
Sparty’s next drive saw something unprecedented for them in the game, they converted a third down. Before Brian Lewerke scrambled for six yards on a 3rd and 5, MSU was 0-for-6 on third downs. It was also their first first down since their opening drive, and it was now midway through the second quarter. It hardly mattered, as the Spartans next three plays resulted in zero yards, and they were forced to punt yet again.
Brian Lewerke, who was lighting up the Spartan record books over the past two games, was now 2-for-12 passing.
One play after another Sparty punt, Mike Weber took a draw play and bolted 82 yards to the house. 35-0 Bucks.
The most yards any individual rusher had gained against MSU hitherto was 61 yards. Weber had 161 midway through the 2nd quarter. Had he kept being fed, he may have obliterated Eddie George’s single-game rushing record a few years before Trey Sermon had the opportunity.
Lewerke was intercepted on the next drive by Damon Arnette, only for it to be negated due to a targeting call on DreMont Jones. Nevertheless, Arnette intercepted Lewerke again just three plays later, this time it stood. Barrett would throw an interception right back to the Spartans, who cashed in with a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the half. It would be their only source of points on this day. 35-3 Bucks.
The second half was more of the same. Sparty couldn’t run or throw, and the Bullets suffocated them even when the backups were put in after the score was 48-3. Urban mercifully spared Sparty of a historical rout, likely to avoid giving Dantonio any extra motivation for the following year. Smart man. Why goad the viper when he’s dug his fangs into your flesh on more than one occasion.
Sparty could only muster 195 yards of offense, 131 through the air, and 64 on the ground. The Bucks offense totaled 524 yards, including a dominating 335 yards on the ground, with both Weber and Dobbins going for over a hundred yards each.
Brian Lewerke, a guy who threw for 845 yards over the prior two games, and looked to be the future of Spartan football, averaged only 3.6 yards per completion in this game. 3.6 yards! The poor guy was never the same after this. He went on to have an uninspiring career in East Lansing, occasionally getting pulled from games due to his wildly inaccurate passes.
Mike Weber alone nearly outgained the entire Spartan offense, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. I want to reiterate that, Mike Weber touched the ball only nine times and nearly outgained the Spartans.
Both teams wound up winning out. The Bucks proceeded to smoke Illinois on Senior Day the next week, make a 14-point comeback in Ann Arbor to send Harbaugh to 0-3, and exact long-awaited revenge on USC in the Cotton Bowl, 24-7, in J.T. Barrett’s farewell game. Michigan State wound up finishing the regular season by beating Maryland and routing Rutgers, then romping Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, 42-17, before Wazzu D-coordinator Alex Grinch headed to Columbus (ugh).
As Buckeye fans, we tend to dwell too much on the negatives. The blowout losses to Iowa and Purdue sucked, no question, but we overlook games like this far too often. I shouldn’t have to write about this game in a series called Unsung Heroes, because a performance this great shouldn’t be unsung, and yet here I am sitting in my office writing this piece while a blizzard occurs outside. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing these, and appreciate you for taking the time to read them, my point is that this game is largely forgotten by the Buckeye fan base, and that shouldn’t be the case.
This game sent Michigan State back down to mediocrity. Seriously, when was the last time they even came close to beating the Bucks? That’s right, 2016, the year before this game. This humbling beat down broke them. The closest they’ve come to beating the Bucks since was in 2018—when they lost by 20 at home. Ryan Day wasn’t even on the sideline in East Lansing this past season, and Larry Johnson still whooped their ass by 40. We should cherish this game because, at least for the time being, it got the doom and gloom Spartan monkey off our back.
Who knows, maybe Mel Tucker will put a scare into Ryan Day one of these days, but for the time being Sparty is right where they belong, toward the middle of the pack, and an afterthought in the minds of Buckeye nation.
Thank you for reading.
Video Links:
Ohio State vs. Michigan State 2017 (full game)
Ohio State vs. Michigan State 2017 (30-minute condensed version)
Previous Unsung Heroes forum links:
(#1) Chris Gamle's Heroic Performance in the 2002 National Championship
(#2) Cameron Heyward's Physical Domination of Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl
(#3) Beanie Wells's Historic Afternoon Against Michigan in 2007
(#4) Michael Bennett's Emotional Demolition of Wisconsin in the 2014 Big Ten Championship
(#5) Chris Spielman's Fabled 29 Tackle Game vs. Michigan in 1986
(#6) Evan Spencer's Unforgettable Showing vs. Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl
(#7) Ryan Day's Final Game as Interim Head Coach vs. TCU in 2018
(#8) Ted Ginn, Jr.'s Bedazzling Breakout Game vs. Michigan State in 2004
(#9) Ryan Shazier Shatters the Dreams of Wisconsin in 2012
