Welcome to “That Happened” where we dig deep into the who, why, and how of outliers in Ohio State athletics history.
After an undefeated inaugural season under Urban Meyer, expectations were sky-high for Ohio State in 2013. The season, however, almost ended before it began, as a knee injury to Braxton Miller against San Diego State seemed to threaten the Buckeyes' lofty hopes.
Following the injury, redshirt senior quarterback Kenny Guiton entered the game. He finished with over 200 total yards and three touchdowns in a rout of the visiting team. It was a great outing for Guiton, who was already known by Buckeye fans for his comeback victory against Purdue a year ago.
The next week, the senior started the first game of his career, leading the Bucks to an impressive win against California, tossing four touchdowns and gaining over 350 yards of offense. Guiton was not just any old backup; he fit Urban Meyer's system like a glove and had one of the best-supporting casts in the nation. But no one could have predicted that he would have one of the greatest throwing performances in Ohio State history just seven days later.
With Miller sidelined once again, Guiton trotted out to start his second consecutive game. Florida A&M was outmatched before the teams touched the field, but the backup quarterback intended to leave his mark.
On Ohio State's first drive, however, Guiton threw an interception. The defender fumbled the ball on the return, which was subsequently recovered by the Buckeyes and turned into a rushing touchdown for Carlos Hyde. After the pick, Guiton did not make another mistake for the rest of the day.
With an offensive showcase, things were already ugly at the end of the first quarter. The senior quarterback connected with Jeff Heuerman, Evan Spencer and Philly Brown for touchdowns as the Buckeyes led 27-0 after the first fifteen minutes.
In the second quarter, Ohio State completed its fifth consecutive scoring drive with a touchdown pass to Devin Smith. Then, after a score from Jordan Hall, Guiton threw a 15-yard strike to Chris Fields for his fifth touchdown of the day. Finally, with five seconds left in the half, Guiton broke Ohio State's single-game passing record, breaking the 61-year old record in less than 30 minutes.
It would also be the final game he would ever start. Kenny Guiton was benched the following week for Braxton Miller, who would go on to win the conference's Most Valuable Player award.
| Player | Season | Opponent | Yards | Passer Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Guiton | 2013 | Florida A&M | 215 | 176.1 |
| J.T. Barrett | 2014 | Kent State | 312 | 223.4 |
| J.T. Barrett | 2016 | Bowling Green | 349 | 219.7 |
| Dwayne Haskins | 2018 | Indiana | 455 | 197.8 |
| Dwayne Haskins | 2018 | Michigan | 396 | 235.7 |
Today, an Ohio State quarterback has thrown for six touchdowns in a single game only five times in the program's 1,303 games, placing the probability of the event to be less than 0.5%. The other instances of this achievement belong to J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins, who each have thrown six touchdowns on two separate occasions, both of whom needed a second half to tie Guiton's mark.
For Barrett and Haskins, the six-touchdown mark is merely another mark in a laundry list of accomplishments; Barrett holds nearly every major career passing record at Ohio State while Haskins holds nearly every major single-season passing record at Ohio State.
For Guiton, the six-touchdown game means more. As a backup, albeit with experience in key moments, the redshirt senior was never expected to be alongside some of the greatest passers Columbus has ever seen. Today, his side-armed motion and record-breaking performance live in Ohio State's memories.
