It has been 10 years since the home team last won a matchup between Ohio State and Michigan State.
The teams have played seven times since, with one neutral-site game being thrown in the mix, as the Spartans upset Ohio State in the 2013 Big Ten title game.
With Michigan State looking to continue that streak in Columbus on Saturday, we revisit each of those seven games – until we get to the last home victory – beginning with the most recent.
Nov. 19, 2016: (No. 2) Ohio State 17, Michigan State 16 (Spartan Stadium)
With its playoff hopes still on the line in East Lansing, Mich., it appeared on paper that the Buckeyes were going to roll. Michigan State entered the game 3-7, with its chances at a bowl game already gone.
Blustering winds and snow made the conditions less than ideal for either team to throw the ball, as J.T. Barrett and Spartan quarterback Tyler O'Connor combined to complete just 16-of-38 passes for 191 yards. A good chunk of those yards came on the first drive when O'Connor found running back LJ Scott on a screen pass that the Ohio native was able to take 64 yards for a score to give Michigan State the early 7-0 advantage.
Barrett and the Buckeyes responded with a score of their own later in the first, as Barrett found Curtis Samuel open in the middle of the field for a 24-yard touchdown to knot the game at 7-7. The teams traded field goals in the second quarter to head into the locker room tied at 10.
Mike Weber gave the Buckeyes their first lead in the third quarter, as he followed up a 52-yard run with a touchdown run from four yards out later in the drive to put Ohio State up 17-10 with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter.
With 4:41 to play in the game, Michigan State found the end zone again, as Scott plunged in from a yard out. Mark Dantonio elected to go for two and the lead, but O'Connor's pass was intercepted by linebacker Chris Worley, maintaining Ohio State's 17-16 lead.
After Ohio State was unable to run out the clock, Michigan State got the ball back with the chance to win the game in regulation. However, O'Connor threw his second interception of the game on the second play of the drive as Gareon Conley plucked the ball out of the air to seal the game for the Buckeyes.
Nov. 21, 2015: (No. 9) Michigan State 17, (No. 3) Ohio State 14 (Ohio Stadium)
A top-10 matchup in Columbus turned out to be one of the most embarrassing losses in the Urban Meyer era at Ohio State, as the Buckeyes were upset by the Spartans, who eventually went on to win the Big Ten title.
Michael Geiger ended Ohio State's perfect season and playoff hopes in 2015.
With star quarterback Connor Cook out with an injury, O'Connor earned his first start for the Spartans. He completed just 7-of-12 passes and a touchdown, but it was enough to get the job done. On a rainy, cold night at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State managed just 132 total yards of offense and five first downs for the game. Despite all of that, the game was knotted at 14 before Michigan State's Michael Geiger drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to send the Spartans home with the victory.
Following the game, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, frustrated by his lack of carries, put the Buckeye coaches on blast and announced he would not return for his final season of eligibility in Columbus.
Nov. 8, 2014: (No. 14) Ohio State 49, (No. 8) Michigan State 37 (Spartan Stadium)
While the majority of the games played between these two schools in recent memory have been low scoring, the 2014 game featured more than 1,000 combined yards of total offense. Each team had already suffered one loss on the season, and the game, much like the game a year later, would serve as a de facto playoff game, with the loser on the outside looking in at the Big Ten East winner.
Barrett played perhaps his best game as a Buckeye, accounting for 386 yards of offense and five touchdowns while Elliott added another 154 yards on the ground and a pair of scores.
With so much scoring, though, the play of the game happened early in the contest. Trailing 14-7, Barrett and the Buckeye offense faced a 3rd-and-23 from their own 36-yard line. Barrett connected with Devin Smith for a 43-yard gain up the Michigan State sideline to extend a drive that culminated with a rushing score from Barrett.
After another Michigan State score put the Spartans up 21-14, Ohio State answered quickly as Barrett found Michael Thomas on a slant and Thomas did the rest, taking the catch 79 yards for the score. Ohio State never trailed for the rest of the game.
The Buckeyes were able to withstand Cook's 358 passing yards and Jeremy Langford's 137 yards and three scores to collect a win that ultimately propelled them to a Big Ten and national title.
Dec. 7, 2013: (No. 10) Michigan State 34, (No. 2) Ohio State 24 (Lucas Oil Stadium)
The Spartans win over Ohio State in the Big Ten title game was the final Big Ten game of the Legends and Leaders era, but it ended with the Buckeyes missing out on a chance to play for the final BCS national championship.
Ohio State entered the game as the favorite, but quickly found itself in a 17-0 hole as Cook ripped apart the Buckeye secondary for 304 yards through the air on the day. The Buckeyes responded, though, as quarterback Braxton Miller threw a touchdown to Corey "Philly" Brown and added two more with his legs as Ohio State scored 24 unanswered to take a seven-point lead late in the third quarter.
Michigan State answered with 10 unanswered points of its own, as Cook followed up a Geiger field goal with a touchdown pass to tight end Josiah Price, giving the Spartans a 27-24 lead with 11:41 to play in the game.
With 7:36 to play, Ohio State got the ball back near midfield. After three straight run plays, the Buckeyes were faced with a 4th-and-2 at the Michigan State 39-yard line. On a play that has been discussed by Buckeye fans ever since, Miller carried around the right end and was stopped short of the line to gain, giving the ball back to the Spartans.
Ohio State's failed 4th-and-2 would ultimately end its chances of a national title in 2013.
Michigan State would ice the game later in the drive, as Langford scored from 26 yards out to seal the Spartans' Big Ten title, sending MSU to the Rose Bowl and Ohio State to the Orange instead of the final BCS title game.
Sept. 29, 2012: (No. 14) Ohio State 17, (No. 20) Michigan State 16 (Spartan Stadium)
Urban Meyer's first Big Ten game as Ohio State's head coach was a nail-biter, but the Buckeyes came away with a close win in East Lansing.
After starting the game with a score on the opening drive (one-yard touchdown run from Jordan Hall), the Buckeyes didn't find the end zone again until late in the third quarter, when Miller connected with Devin Smith for a 63-yard strike up the Ohio State sideline to give OSU a 17-13 lead with 3:05 to play in the third.
After Michigan State was able to add a field goal with 7:07 to play, the teams traded punts. From there, Ohio State was able to run out the final 4:10 on the game clock to come away with a victory.
Oct. 1, 2011: (No. 25) Michigan State 10, Ohio State 7 (Ohio Stadium)
In one of the uglier games Ohio State has played in the last decade, the Buckeyes opened Big Ten play in 2011 with a three point loss to the Spartans at home.
The Buckeyes punted 10 times and picked up 12 first downs. Miller was benched in favor of Joe Bauserman. Verlon Reed was Ohio State's leading receiver on the day. The Buckeyes rushed 39 times for just 35 yards and did not score until there were 10 seconds left in the game, when Bauserman found freshman wide receiver Evan Spencer for a 33-yard score over the middle.
Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 250 yards and a score, but also tossed two interceptions in the game, while the Ohio State defense bottled up Le'Veon Bell for just 50 yards on 14 carries.
Oct. 18, 2008: (No. 12) Ohio State 45, (No. 20) Michigan State 7 (Spartan Stadium)
In a game that featured two top-20 teams, the Buckeyes rolled the Spartans behind a steady running game from Chris Wells.
The junior running back pounded the Michigan State defense for 140 yards on 31 carries, finding the end zone twice while freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor accounted for two touchdowns and 188 yards of offense.
On defense, Ohio State knocked Michigan State starting quarterback Brian Hoyer out of the game early in the contest. Hoyer was replaced by Cousins, a freshman at the time, who completed 18-of-25 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. The Buckeye defense forced four Spartan turnovers, two of which resulted in touchdowns, as Thaddeus Gibson and Jermale Hines returned fumbles 69 yards and 48 yards for scores in the second half. Kurt Coleman and Brian Rolle also each added an interception for the Ohio State defense.
Oct. 20, 2007: (No. 1) Ohio State 24, Michigan State 17 (Ohio Stadium)
The last time the home team won in this series, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman played the role of game manager while Wells took over.
"Beanie" rushed for 221 yards on 31 carries and added a touchdown, while Boeckman threw two touchdown passes to Brian Robiske and Jake Ballard, as Ohio State took a 24-0 lead with 6:52 to play in the third quarter.
Michigan State's defense would collect scores on back-to-back possessions as the Spartans pressured Boeckman heavily on Ohio State's next two drives, resulting in a pick-6 and a scoop-and-score off a strip sack. The Spartans would add a fourth-quarter field goal before Ohio State was ultimately able to run out the clock and preserve a one-score victory.
