Ohio State On This Date: The Buckeyes Head to South Bend for the First Time in Sixty Years and Braxton Miller Sets a Program Record

Before each game of the 2024 season, we look back at the Buckeyes' history of playing on that date.

Ohio State's first game on Sept. 28 was the season opener of the 1901 season. The Buckeyes hosted Otterbein, and the schools played to a 0-0 tie. This marked the third time in program history that a game ended in a scoreless tie.

On this date in 1996, Ohio State traveled to South Bend for the first time in sixty years (1936) and only the second time in school history. It was also John Cooper's 100th game as the Buckeyes' head coach.

Notre Dame entered this matchup fresh off a 27-24 victory at Texas. The Irish kicked a field goal as time expired to secure the win and had plenty of confidence as they hosted the fourth-ranked Buckeyes.

From the opening kick, the Irish realized they were in for a difficult day. Dimitrious Stanley received the ball at his own 2-yard line, then raced 85 yards to the Notre Dame 13. After two Pepe Pearson runs, Stanley Jackson scrambled on 3rd-and-7 from the 10 and picked up an important first down. Pearson punched it in from the 3-yard line on the next play, but Brent Bartholomew was unable to handle the high snap on the extra point. Ohio State led 6-0 not even two minutes in.

After each team had stalled drives, Bartholomew set up to punt near midfield. Bert Berry of the Irish was able to get through and blocked the kick, Allen Rossum recovered and Notre Dame had the ball at the Buckeyes' 49. The Irish did not take advantage and were forced to punt after three plays. Hunter Smith booted a beauty and had it downed at the Ohio State 3-yard line.

On 3rd-and-3, Jackson felt nearby pressure as he rolled left. His attempted pass was deflected by Lamont Bryant and Kinnon Tatum came down with the interception at the Buckeyes' 15. Four plays later, Marc Edwards scored on a pitch to the left and Notre Dame led 7-6 at the midpoint of the first quarter.

Ohio State responded with a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Jackson went 4-for-4 for 57 yards and connected with Matt Calhoun to give the Buckeyes a 12-7 lead. A key play came when Jackson hit John Lumpkin for 25 yards on 2nd-and-11, putting the ball on the Irish's 2-yard line.

Early in the second quarter, Rob Kelly forced Randy Kinder to fumble and Mike Vrabel recovered at the Notre Dame 35. Joe Germaine came in at quarterback, but he could only move the ball four yards in three plays. Ohio State's special team gaffes continued when Benny Guilbeaux blocked Dan Stultz's 49-yard field goal attempt.

Ron Powlus went to work and had the Irish on OSU's 28-yard line in six plays. On 3rd-and-5, he dropped back and threw into heavy traffic. Luke Fickell picked it off and the Buckeyes dodged a bullet. 

Germaine remained in the game and directed an 11-play, 68-yard drive that Josh Jackson finished with a 24-yard field goal. The Buckeyes now led 15-7 with 3:52 left in the first half. 

The defense held the Irish to another three-and-out to give the offense a shot at extending the lead before halftime. Shawn Springs had a 27-yard punt return, but it was called back for an illegal block. Instead of starting at the 46, Stanley Jackson and the offense started on their own 16.

A 24-yard Pearson run, a 31-yard pass to Michael Wiley and a 26-yard pass to Pearson put Ohio State on the Notre Dame 1-yard line. With 54 seconds on the clock, Pearson plowed in and the Buckeyes took a 22-7 lead into the locker room.  

The Irish took the second-half kickoff and made a field goal to pull within 12. Jackson answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Jones and Ohio State took a commanding 29-10 lead. Notre Dame would score again, but it wouldn't be enough as the Buckeyes won for the first time in South Bend.

Pearson finished with two touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 173 yards. Jackson completed 9-of-15 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns and Greg Bellisari had a game-high 14 tackles.

Powlus had a few words after the loss: "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."

The win was Ohio State’s second over Notre Dame in as many years, evening the all-time series between the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish at 2-2. The Buckeyes have since won four more games against the Golden Domers to improve to 6-2 against Notre Dame with six straight wins.

Games to remember

Miller Breaks Record vs. Wisconsin in 2013

Wisconsin came to Columbus as the three-time defending Big Ten champions. The Buckeyes' star quarterback, Braxton Miller, was returning to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a sprained knee. The dual-threat quarterback threw four touchdown passes and eclipsed Cornelius Greene's long-standing career quarterback rushing record of 2,080 yards in Ohio State's 31-24 win.

The game-changing play came at the end of the first half. With 1:30 remaining in the second quarter, Wisconsin capped off a 76-yard drive to pull within three points of the Buckeyes. Miller guided Ohio State to the Badgers' 40-yard line where his team faced 4th-and-7. Urban Meyer eschewed going for a 57-yard field goal, and Miller made the play of the game.

The Wayne High School grad found Corey Brown wide open and threw a strike to the receiver on the left side of the endzone with one second on the clock. The touchdown flipped the momentum and was key to the home team's victory.

Miller finished the game with 83 rushing yards, enough to surpass Greene’s Ohio State record of 2,066 career rushing yards. Miller would go on to run for 3,314 career yards as a Buckeye, the seventh-most by any player in school history.

The victory didn't come without a price. Co-captain Christian Bryant broke his left ankle late in the fourth quarter. The senior snapped his ankle with 26 seconds remaining in the game while making a tackle on the Badgers' 16-yard line.

"Our leader is in an ambulance going to the hospital to have surgery on his leg," Meyler lamented during the postgame press conference. The injury ended Bryant's Buckeye career and left a void in Ohio State's secondary for the rest of the season.

Buckeyes Start 1968 Season by Grounding High-Flying Mustangs

Before taking over the Iowa football program, Hayden Fry had stints at SMU and was the head coach at SMU (1962-1972) and North Texas State (1973-78). The opening game of Ohio State's 1968 season was a home banger against Fry's free-slinging Mustangs.

SMU attempted an NCAA-record 76 passes and tallied 437 passing yards. However, the 15th-ranked Buckeyes slowed the aerial attack by intercepting five passes.

Mike Sensibaugh secured the first interception to end Southern Methodist's first drive. The Mustangs threatened to score when Sensibaugh snagged Chuck Hixson's pass at the Buckeyes' 9-yard line.

Hixson eventually found his groove and took his team 70 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter, cutting Ohio State's lead to 14-7. The 12-play drive consisted of 11 passes and ended when Hixson hit Ken Fleming from eight yards out.

The second half featured more passing and decent drives from SMU. However, Ohio State's defense always rose to the challenge and forced key fumbles or interceptions. In the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes' defense recorded a safety and Dave Brungard rushed in for his third touchdown. Ohio State won 35-14 in its first game of what would ultimately be a national championship season for the Buckeyes.

Stat Superlatives

Five Fun Facts

1. John Cooper is second on Ohio State's career wins list with 111 victories.
2. SMU's 437 passing yards were an all-time high against Ohio State at the time.
3. Jerry LeVias had 15 receptions for SMU in 1968, an all-time high against Ohio State until Sammy Watkins had 16 in the 2014 Orange Bowl.
4. In 2013, Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis had 207 receiving yards, then an-all-time high for an opposing receiver.
5. LeBron James spoke at the Skull Session and was on the sidelines for the 2013 Wisconsin game.