Michael Thomas is one of two Ohio State receivers to haul in a 79-yard pass against MSU.
Five Fun Facts
- Ohio State has only one game of 300 passing yards against the Spartans.
- Beanie Wells ran for a series high 221 yards in 2007.
- The Buckeyes have shut Sparty out four times.
- Michigan State has never kept Ohio State from scoring...for an entire game (thank you, Meek).
- In 1993, Joey Galloway had a series high 186 yards receiving and 3 TDs.
FUN FACT
Kirk Gibson, yes the Kirk Gibson who hit the famous World Series homerun for the Dodgers in 1988, was an All-American wide receiver for the Spartans.
Even more impressive than hitting a World Series changing home run off of Dennis Eckersley? Gibson has Michigan State's longest reception ever against Ohio State. It was an 82-yard TD in 1976...Ohio State won 49-21.
The majority of the information below is based on games played in this series between 1953 and 2020.
The stats. Nothing but the stats.
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 463 (1976) | MOST YARDS | 387 (1965) |
| 75 (1973) | MOST ATTEMPTS | 73 (1972) |
| 10.2 (1981) | BEST YPC | 6.0 (1965) |
| 6 (1976) | MOST TOUCHDOWNS | 3 (2014, 1965) |
| 82 (2017) | LONGEST RUN | 88 (1974) |
| 17 (1965) | LEAST ATTEMPTS | 17 (2003) |
| -22 (1965) | LEAST YARDS | 5 (2003) |
| -1.3 (1965) | WORST YPC | 0.3 (2003) |
| 0 (8 TIMES, 2011) | LEAST TOUCHDOWNS | 0 (24 TIMES, 2019) |
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 300 (2014) | MOST YARDS | 373 (2003) |
| 24 (2018) | MOST COMPLETIONS | 36 (2003) |
| 39 (2018) | MOST ATTEMPTS | 56 (2003) |
| .818 (1967) | BEST PERCENTAGE | .738 (1993) |
| 4 (1969) | MOST TOUCHDOWNS | 3 (2013, 1976) |
| 79 (2014, 1987) | LONGEST PASS | 82 (1976) |
| 3 (1966, 1971) | MOST INTERCEPTIONS | 3 (6 TIMES, 2004) |
| 10 (1971) | LEAST YARDS | 6 (1973) |
| 1 (1976) | LEAST COMPLETIONS | 1 (1973, 1971) |
| 2 (1976) | LEAST ATTEMPTS | 2 (1973) |
| .133 (1971) | WORST PERCENTAGE | .143 (1971) |
| 0 (9 TIMES, 2000) | LEAST TOUCHDOWNS | 0 (19 TIMES, 2020) |
| 0 (18 TIMES, 2020) | LEAST INTERCEPTIONS | 0 (12 TIMES, 2015) |
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 603 (1980) | MOST YARDS | 538 (1965) |
| 93 (1969) | MOST PLAYS | 87 (2005) |
| 9.4 (2005) | BEST YARDS PER PLAY | 6.8 (2014) |
| 79 (1999) | LEAST YARDS | 94 (1973) |
| 41 (2005) | LEAST PLAYS | 47 (1973) |
| 1.8 (1999) | WORST YARDS PER PLAY | 2.0 (1973) |
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 54 (1969) | MOST POINTS | 37 (2014) |
| 27 (1969) | 1ST QUARTER | 14 (2014) |
| 24 (2019) | 2ND QUARTER | 17 (1999) |
| 14 (2013, 2000) | 3RD QUARTER | 14 (2007) |
| 21 (1982) | 4TH QUARTER | 20 (1965) |
| 7 (4 TIMES, 2011) | LEAST POINTS | 0 (4 TIMES, 1979) |
| 0 (11 TIMES, 2018) | 1ST QUARTER | 0 (24 TIMES, 2020) |
| 0 (11 TIMES, 2012) | 2ND QUARTER | 0 (18 TIMES, 2020) |
| 0 (16 TIMES, 2019) | 3RD QUARTER | 0 (25 TIMES, 2019) |
| 0 (16 TIMES, 2017) | 4TH QUARTER | 0 (18 TIMES, 2018) |
*Between 1958-2019, 17 shutouts all-time.
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 221 BEANIE WELLS (2007) | MOST YARDS | 179 HYLAND HICKSON (1988) |
| 40 KEITH BYARS (1984) | MOST ATTEMPTS | 37 HYLAND HICKSON (1988) |
| 18.2 FERGUSON(1959) | BEST YPC (MIN. 5 ATT) | 10.2 LEVI JACKSON (1974) |
| 3 BRUCE ELIA (1973) | MOST TOUCHDOWNS | 3 JEREMY LANGSFORD (2014) |
| 82 MIKE WEBER (2017) | LONGEST RUN | 88 LEVI JACKSON (1974) |
| -5.8 DONALD UNVERFERTH | WORST YPC (MIN. 5 ATT) | -5.7 BILL BURKE (1999) |
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 300 J.T. BARRETT (2014) | MOST YARDS | 360 JIM MILLER (1993) |
| 24 DWAYNE HASKINS (2018) | MOST COMPLETIONS | 35 JEFF SMOKER (2003) |
| 39 DWAYNE HASKINS (2018) | MOST ATTEMPTS | 55 JEFF SMOKER (2003) |
| .818 WILLIAM LONG (1967) | BEST PERCENTAGE (MIN. 10 ATT) | .786 BRIAN HOYER (2006) |
| 3 J.T. BARRETT (2014) /// 4 OTHERS | MOST TOUCHDOWNS | 3 CONNOR COOK (2013) |
| 3 WILLIAM LONG (1966) | MOST INTERCEPTIONS | 3 DAMON DOWDELL (2004) /// 3 OTHERS |
| 31 CORNELIUS GREEN (1973) | LEAST YARDS (MIN. 10 ATT) | 27 BRIAN HOYER (2008) |
| 3 CORNELIUS GREEN (1974) | LEAST COMPLETIONS (MIN. 10 ATT) | 3 TOM YEWCIC (1953) |
| .273 CORNELIUS GREEN (1974) | WORST PERCENTAGE (MIN. 10 ATT) | .286 BRYAN CLARK (1979) |
| OHIO STATE | STAT CATEGORY | MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 186 JOEY GALLOWAY (1993) | MOST YARDS | 154 BJ CUNNINGHAM (2011) |
| 12 PHILLY BROWN (2012) | MOST CATCHES | 9 BJ CUNNIGHAM (2011), AGIM SHABAJ (2003) |
| 36.7 HOUSTON (1959) | BEST YPC (MIN. 3 REC) | 45.0 FRANK FOREMAN (1969) |
| 3 JOEY GALLOWAY (1993) | MOST TOUCHDOWNS | 2 MILL COLEMAN (1992) /// 2 OTHERS |
| 79 MICHAEL THOMAS (2014), EVERETT ROSS (1987) | LONGEST CATCH | 82 KIRK GIBSON (1976) |
| 3.0 NICK VANNETT (2015) | WORST YPC (MIN. 3 REC) | 1.3 TERRY LOVE (2004) |
You Might Like
The Rundown: No. 7 Michigan State at No. 4 Ohio State
