I can't remember anything in my lifetime as bleak as it is for them, OSU-wise, anyway. I'd imagine it's similar to being a browns fan...you just get beaten to the point of submission. Sometime during 2009, I stopped really giving a [Mark May] anymore as a browns fan. I just cannot bring myself to give one solitary fuck until I see concrete signs of sustained improvement. OSU-wise, I remember the Liberty Bowl against Air Force probably being the all-time low. But I as only 13 at the time, so my fandom wasn't as intense.
Look back on really the last 13 years for them...very few "high points" and some incredible lows. Really, that Appalachian State game was the start of an incredible plummet. Take away 2011 (against a popcorn-fart schedule and the worst OSU team in a quarter century), and they've had very little to be happy about. Hell, even their moment of "great triumph" beating tOSU in 2011 was short lived when OSU announced the hiring of Urban Meyer immediately following it. tOSU's transition lasted exactly one year, then ripped of 23 wins straight and counting. scUM has been rebuilding since 2007, and they're looking at potentially another reboot after next year...and there ain't no Jim Harbaugh or Urban Meyer out there to offer a quick turnaround. In fact, given the absolute debacle their last two coaching searches have been, they should be trembling at the thought...