Ohio State will square off against Bowling Green and Tulsa before heading to Oklahoma for one of the season's premier showdowns. The Buckeyes opened as nine-point underdogs against the Sooners, who some outlets have ranked in the preseason top three. While the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium isn't known for being the loudest stadium in America, it still could be a challenging atmosphere for a young Ohio State squad making their first road trip of the 2016 season.
Bob Stoops has received his share of criticism over the years for taking shots at the Oklahoma faithful and their inability to create an imposing atmosphere.
“Why? Here? I’ve seen a lot of teams come in here and not even use silent counts,” Stoops said before the game. “I’m not so sure I’m with you on that. We haven’t been a real loud stadium.” Via
Regardless of the Sooners' ability (or inability) to draw a raucous crowd, a game that of this magnitude – and one that seems destined for a nighttime kickoff – is likely to bring out everything that Norman has to offer. Fortunately for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes, it won't be something entirely new.
In Meyer's first season in Columbus, the 8-0 Buckeyes traveled to Happy Valley for a primetime showdown with new head coach Bill O'Brien and the Nittany Lions. The Scarlet and Gray has had some struggles with the Penn State whiteouts, most notably the 2005 game which saw the Nits take down the No. 6 Buckeyes 17-10.
The 2012 game would be a different story. Yes, the atmosphere was pretty intense – at least for the first thirty minutes as the game was tied 7-7 heading into the half. The Buckeyes exploded for 21 third-quarter points en route to a 35-23 victory. Braxton Miller accounted for three of those touchdowns.
That was fun.
The Buckeyes returned to Penn State in 2014, this time facing off against James Franklin in his first season at the helm. That night it was a mostly a tale of two halves as the Buckeyes led 17-0 at the half before the Nits started to chip away in the third quarter. The game would go into two overtimes before Penn State ultimately would make the mistake of allowing tailback Akeel Lynch to "block" Joey Bosa one on one.
In 2013 Ohio State traveled to California to take on the Golden Bears, and fifth-year senior Kenny Guiton made his first ever start in place of a dinged-up Braxton Miller. Guiton tossed three touchdown passes in the first six minutes of the game, including a 90-yarder to Devin Smith for the game's first score.
Defensive minds across the country were probably cringing while watching this one. The Buckeyes tallied 608 yards while Cal added 503. Ohio State would take home the victory by a score of 52-34. Though California Memorial Stadium isn't exactly a feared venue, the stadium did have a scenic look to it with the trees in the backdrop. From most fan accounts, it seemed like the experience was a pleasant one in Berkeley.
The Buckeyes would travel to East Lansing to play under the lights in November of 2014. The game would end up being one of my personal favorites as J.T. Barrett lit up the Spartan defense for 386 yards and five total touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott added 154 yards on the ground a pair of scores. It didn't really feel as close as the 49-37 score would indicate.
Last season the atmosphere in Blacksburg was booming as the Buckeyes traveled to take on the Hokies. Virginia Tech's patented "Enter Sandman" entrance has always been pretty cool since its inception back in 2000, but it was really a site to behold when they squared off against the top-ranked Buckeyes.
Love 'em or hate 'em, Virginia Tech's "Enter Sandman" pregame intro will never get old. pic.twitter.com/Rc0RXuxRRa
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) September 8, 2015
The Buckeyes started off strong in spite of the Lane Stadium crowd, jumping out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Hokies would score 17 unanswered in the second quarter and go into halftime with the lead. The Buckeye offense was simply too much in the second half as Braxton Miller scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns en route to a 42-24 road victory.
There were a number of memorable read games pre-dating the Meyer Era as well. Under Jim Tressel, Ohio State had a home-and-home with both the Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans. All four games took place when both teams were ranked in the top ten nationally.
While the 2005 home loss to the Longhorns continues to be the most heartbreaking loss I've ever attended, Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. stole the show in 2006 in Austin. Since their 2010 loss in the BCS National Championship Game, there have been some complaints about the game-day atmosphere in Austin. This isn't totally surprising given the team's performance of late. Gotta give credit to Austin, though. It's one of the top five cities in this country.
The 2008 loss at USC was just awful. Ohio State was totally outmanned that day and it wasn't even close from the start. Mark Sanchez tossed four touchdown passes and the Buckeyes didn't even find the endzone once while mixing Terrelle Pryor in with senior Todd Boeckman. The game also featured an attempted option between Todd Boeckman and Maurice Wells on 3rd down and long. Truly one of the more baffling play calls of all time. The top-ranked Trojans defeated No. 5 Ohio State by a score of 35-3.
Dating back even further, the Buckeyes traveled to South Bend in 1996 and took down the Irish by a score of 29-16. Orlando Pace paved the way for Pepe Pearson who rushed for 173 yards on 29 carries.
"What can we say?" asked quarterback Ron Powlus. "The national championship's done. The season's over. Please don't take that out of context. The season is not over. (But) our national championship is over. You (might) say anything can happen, but Notre Dame will never win a national championship with one loss because we are Notre Dame." Via
Ohio State would finish the season 11-1, capping things off with a 20-17 win over Jake Plummer and Arizona State in the Rose Bowl.
Typically the big ticket for Oklahoma is the Red River Shootout which is played annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In 2014 the Sooners hosted Tennessee and handled them with ease on their way to a 34-10 victory. In 2012 the Fighting Irish traveled to Norman and took down the Sooners by a score of 30-13.
Last season the Sooners hosted non-conference bouts with Akron and Tulsa, so it's not that hard to see why this upcoming game is being so hyped in Norman, even with a ton of fresh faces on the Buckeye roster.
Sept. 17 can't get here soon enough.
