Ohio State's Top 11 Plays of 2016

There is certainly no shortage of options. The Buckeyes, who will face Clemson on Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl with a spot in the national championship game on the line, made plenty of big-time plays throughout the course of their 11-1 season.

How do you pick just one? Well, you probably can't. 

So, in a season filled with highlights, we've done our best to narrow things down. Here are our choices for the top-11 plays of Ohio State's 2016 season ahead of the New Year's Eve matchup against Clemson.

11. Samuel Punctuates Nebraska Thrashing

The game was all but over at halftime, but Curtis Samuel made sure Nebraska wasn't going to come back from the dead on the very first play of the second half. J.T. Barrett went over the top and found Samuel wide open for a 75-yard touchdown and that was all she wrote as the Buckeyes cruised to a 62-3 win.

10. Back-to-back Pick-Sixes vs. Tulsa

We still have no idea what Tulsa was thinking, trying to throw the ball in a monsoon down by three points just minutes before halftime at Ohio State, but it led us to our No. 10 play (s) of the season: back-to-back pick-sixes by Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore.

It also led us to this block from Hooker on Lattimore's return.

9. The Most Impressive Eight-Yard Gain of the Year

It looked like things were going nowhere.

Down by three in double overtime, Ohio State faced a 3rd-and-9 at the Michigan 24-yard line. J.T. Barrett threw a swing pass to Curtis Samuel that the Wolverines had swarmed. Samuel looked liked he was going to lose yards on the play and potentially take the Buckeyes out of field goal range. 

What he did from there, well, just watch for yourselves.

8. Whose Was It?

Michigan State scored a late touchdown to get within one of Ohio State in what would have been a disastrous loss to the Buckeyes. But Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio opted to go for two to take the lead and things didn't go as planned.

Malik Hooker and Chris Worley simultaneously picked off a pass from Tyler O'Conner and, for the time being, saved Ohio State's season.

7. Hooker to the House vs. Michigan

By this point in the season, it was pretty well known anytime Malik Hooker gets his hands on a pass he's looking to score. So when he stepped in front of a sputtering pass from Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight, it was kind of a forgone conclusion things would end with Ohio State putting six points on the scoreboard.

6. Barrett to Brown in Crunch Time

Ohio State got the ball first in overtime against Wisconsin and, despite a pair of penalties, still had a 3rd-and-2 from the 8-yard line. J.T. Barrett faked a handoff to Mike Weber and then fired a ball to the corner of the end zone as Noah Brown was matched up one-on-one with a Wisconsin cornerback.

That's a matchup that favors Brown almost every time, and it allowed the Buckeyes to strike first in overtime.

5. Baker Goes the Distance at Oklahoma

In Ohio State's biggest non-conference game of the season, a sophomore linebacker making just his second career start came up with a huge momentum-changing play early in the first quarter.

The pass from Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield was tipped into the air and Buckeyes linebacker Jerome Baker grabbed it and took it 68 yards to the house to give Ohio State a quick 14-point lead.

4. Hooker Shows Off Freak Athleticism

The star sophomore safety had plenty of highlights in his first year on the field, but none were more impressive than the play Hooker made in Ohio State's season-opener against Bowling Green.

He ran what seemed like 75 yards across the field from the opposite hashmark, tipped the pass and intercepted the ball with one hand. It sounds difficult enough when written, but it's even more impressive to watch.

#BTNStandout alert:@OhioStateFB's @MalikHooker23 just made this crazy, one-handed INT. https://t.co/Umw67Dp87i

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 3, 2016

3. ‘Rushmen’ Save the Day in Madison

Ohio State was on the ropes against Wisconsin thanks to a perfectly schemed offensive performance from the Badgers in the first half.

Eventually, however, Barrett led the Buckeyes back to force overtime and after his toss to Brown gave Ohio State the lead in the extra period, Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Nick Bosa ended things — simultaneously — with a game-winning sack.

2. Noah Brown Did What?

This would be our No. 1 play if not for the timing and situation of the only play we have ranked ahead of it because Noah Brown's touchdown catch at Oklahoma was the best play of this college football season.

He had four in the game, of course, but you know which one we're talking about.

Want to see that again? Here, we made an entire post of nothing but GIFs featuring the insane grab.

1. Curtis Samuel Ices Michigan, Sends Ohio State to CFP

There was little doubt about this one.

After Samuel's crazy run after the catch on third down set up a fourth-down run by Barrett — the one that led to The Spot — Ohio State's talented do-it-all offensive weapon took a handoff and sprinted left.

The play was 29-Lead, and Samuel went 15 yards untouched to the end zone. Michigan's dreams were crushed; Ohio State's became a reality.

The final score in double overtime: Buckeyes 30, Wolverines 27.