Ohio State On This Date: A Braxton Miller Bomb Changes the Course of Ohio State History

The first game Ohio State played on Oct. 29 was in 1892. The Buckeyes massacred Marietta, 80-0, on Ohio Field. This was the 11th game ever for OSU and the 80-point margin of defeat remained a program-high until the 1916 team edged Oberlin by 128 points.

Exactly 104 years after Ohio State beat down Marietta, the Buckeyes found themselves on the other side of a blowout. After one quarter of play, John Cooper's 21st-ranked team was only down 7-0 to Joe Paterno's No. 1 Nittany Lions. But, the game quickly got out of hand.

At the time, Penn State became the second team to ever score 28 second-quarter points against the Buckeyes (Michigan, 1902) and continued to pile it on in the second half. When the final gun fired, the Buckeyes found themselves on the wrong side of a 63-14 annihilation – the fifth-largest margin of defeat in Ohio State history.

In 2016, Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern came to Columbus looking to end a winless streak in Ohio Stadium that dated back to 1971. The Buckeyes were coming off of a stunning fourth-quarter meltdown that resulted in a loss at Penn State. When the Wildcats' Garrett Dickerson caught a 2-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, it appeared the team from Evanston could pull off the upset.

The unthinkable was dashed when Curtis Samuel crossed the goal line in the fourth quarter and Ohio State's defense held Northwestern to a late field goal to escape with a 24-20 win. Had the Buckeyes lost, it would have marked the first time since 1992 (Wisconsin and Illinois) that the program lost to unranked teams in back-to-back weeks. 

Games to remember

Braxton Miller bests Russell Wilson 

Although Ohio State started league play in 2011 with an 0–2 record, the team still had a chance to make the conference championship game. If the Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin, won its remaining games and Penn State lost to Nebraska, Fickell's team would go to Indianapolis.

Those plans seemed in doubt as Wisconsin held a 7-3 edge at halftime, but the second half turned into an offensive shootout.

The Buckeyes built a 12-point lead after two touchdown runs by Braxton Miller, a rushing score by Jordan Hall and a Drew Basil field goal. Miller's second touchdown came with 4:39 remaining, and those in attendance felt the game was in hand. 

That ended up being a premature thought with Russell Wilson behind center for the Badgers.

A recap of the dramatic finish from The Columbus Dispatch:

But then an Ohio State defense that had been so stout against the potent Badgers collapsed. Wisconsin scored touchdowns on consecutive four-play drives of 66 and 68 yards to take a 29-26 lead.

On the latter score, Jared Abbrederis somehow got wide open behind the Buckeyes defense for a 49-yard touchdown with 1:18 left.

A crowd that had been raucous all night went stone quiet. The Buckeyes have hardly been a quick-strike offense this season, and now that was required.

Ohio State got a lift when Jordan Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Buckeyes’ 48. 

Daniel Herron got a first down at the Wisconsin 40 with 30 seconds left. Then came Miller’s fateful throw.

[...]

Braxton Miller rolled right, skirting dangerously close to the line of scrimmage.

He could run, as he had done so effectively all night, and possibly get into field-goal range. But he looked downfield, and he saw fellow freshman Devin Smith impossibly alone in the end zone.

And thus, the first signature play of Miller’s young career and of the Buckeyes’ season was born.

Smith caught the 40-yard pass for the winning touchdown in Ohio State’s 33-29 victory over No. 15 Wisconsin.

Before the game, many fans wanted Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith to put a postseason ban on the 2011 team. By enacting the ban for this season, the thought was the 2012 team would not get punished. The dramatic victory over Wisconsin gave the Buckeyes an outside chance at a Big Ten title. Smith decided to roll the dice and leave any possible punishment in the hands of the NCAA. We know how that worked out.

Ferguson runs for 112 and a score to stop Spartans

In 1960, Michigan State (3-1-1) looked to defeat Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State in the same season for only the second time in program history. The Spartans already dispatched the Wolverines and Fighting Irish before they hosted the Buckeyes and the 76,520 in Spartan Stadium wanted blood. 

The Buckeyes' Bob Klein broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter when he burst through the Spartans' line and bolted 45 yards for a touchdown.

Tom Perdue set up the team's second touchdown when he blocked a Michigan State punt and recovered it on the Spartans' 21-yard line. From there, the Buckeyes marched down the field and Bob Ferguson scored from three yards out. The two-point conversion gave Ohio State a 14-3 halftime lead.

Tom Matte finished off the Spartans when he connected with Bob Middleton on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Michigan State scored late, but the Buckeyes prevailed 21-10. This was the first time Ohio State ever played in East Lansing.

Stat Superlatives

Five Fun Facts

1. Ohio State defeated the NYU Violets, 32-0, at the Polo Grounds. This was the last game of the home-and-home series that the Bucks swept with a combined score of 92-0. 
2. The 24-20 win over Northwestern in 2016 was the first time J.T. Barrett didn't throw a touchdown pass as a starter.
3. The 1927 victory over Chicago was the first for the Buckeyes over the Maroons in Columbus. 
4. Ohio State’s 5-5 tie with Denison in 1910 was the last time the Buckeyes did not defeat the Big Red. OSU won the final five games of the series that ended in 1927.
5. Urban Meyer won his 161st game as a head coach against Northwestern in 2016, giving him the most wins of any FBS coach during his first 15 years.