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Make the Call: Most controversial Buckeye Football loss of all time

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OK, here's one....

The Touchdown That Didn't Count
Ohio State was in the Spartans' end zone. There was no doubt about that. But had the Buckeyes arrived there in time to keep their No. 1 ranking?

By now Woody Hayes may have stopped eating furniture, with reels of film for dessert. He may have quit shredding photographs of Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke. He may have finally turned away from growling at his Enemies List, fleshed out with such recent additions as Referee Gene Calhoun, Field Judge Robert Daganhardt and Back Judge William Kingzett, men who last weekend took their places next to Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini in the state of Ohio. If Woody has calmed down, it is good for his digestion, but nothing has changed since last Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich. when perverse fate, a clock or incompetence (depending on your loyalties) knocked off a college football team that was supposed to be mightier than a Divine Presence in a face mask.

To give it a memorable name, let's call it the Bizarre Bowl. For what happened on Nov. 9, 1974, in an athletic contest that was expected to be a normal 35-0 victory for No. 1 Ohio State over a group of undernourished and culturally deprived Michigan State Spartans defies, even at this hour, the logic of the mentally healthy everywhere.

That Michigan State scored one of the epic, colossal, classic, shocking (choose any two) upsets in the history of men and boys, 16-13, is no longer a secret on the globe. But exactly how it was managed in those last chaotic seconds is likely to remain a slight mystery because it was the greatest ending nobody ever saw.

Ignoring for a moment all of the madness that came before the game's final play, this is the way the scene will be etched in the minds of the 78,533 in Spartan Stadium and the multitudes tuned in on ABC-TV. The clock is ticking off four...three...two...one; a ball squirts through the quarterback's legs with the Buckeyes inside the Spartans' one-yard line and everybody not quite in the proper place; a guy grabs the ball as it conveniently bounces into his hands; he crashes into the end zone; the head linesman signals touchdown while other officials signal time has expired. Both teams take turns celebrating the win although none of us will know who won, actually, for 45 more minutes.

Entire story: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1089234/index.htm

11/9/1974 - Michigan State 16 Ohio State 13



 
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Y
ScriptOhio said:
OK, here's one....

The Touchdown That Didn't Count
Ohio State was in the Spartans' end zone. There was no doubt about that. But had the Buckeyes arrived there in time to keep their No. 1 ranking?

By now Woody Hayes may have stopped eating furniture, with reels of film for dessert. He may have quit shredding photographs of Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke. He may have finally turned away from growling at his Enemies List, fleshed out with such recent additions as Referee Gene Calhoun, Field Judge Robert Daganhardt and Back Judge William Kingzett, men who last weekend took their places next to Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini in the state of Ohio. If Woody has calmed down, it is good for his digestion, but nothing has changed since last Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich. when perverse fate, a clock or incompetence (depending on your loyalties) knocked off a college football team that was supposed to be mightier than a Divine Presence in a face mask.

To give it a memorable name, let's call it the Bizarre Bowl. For what happened on Nov. 9, 1974, in an athletic contest that was expected to be a normal 35-0 victory for No. 1 Ohio State over a group of undernourished and culturally deprived Michigan State Spartans defies, even at this hour, the logic of the mentally healthy everywhere.

That Michigan State scored one of the epic, colossal, classic, shocking (choose any two) upsets in the history of men and boys, 16-13, is no longer a secret on the globe. But exactly how it was managed in those last chaotic seconds is likely to remain a slight mystery because it was the greatest ending nobody ever saw.

Ignoring for a moment all of the madness that came before the game's final play, this is the way the scene will be etched in the minds of the 78,533 in Spartan Stadium and the multitudes tuned in on ABC-TV. The clock is ticking off four...three...two...one; a ball squirts through the quarterback's legs with the Buckeyes inside the Spartans' one-yard line and everybody not quite in the proper place; a guy grabs the ball as it conveniently bounces into his hands; he crashes into the end zone; the head linesman signals touchdown while other officials signal time has expired. Both teams take turns celebrating the win although none of us will know who won, actually, for 45 more minutes.

Entire story: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1089234/index.htm

11/9/1974 - Michigan State 16 Ohio State 13
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Yep MSU 1974.
 
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2009 USC. Rolle stonewalled Johsnon on his first carry, but on 4th his knee was down well short of the goal line. That stop, in all likely hood would have at least flipped field position for a Trojan offense that had trouble moving the ball all night.

I'm just going with a game in my lifetime.
 
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BuckeyeNation27 said:
2007 Illinois. We played pretty blah to start, but we got hosed on that long TD run that got punched out of the back of the endzone. I still don't understand why we get fucked over on a majority of the replay calls in our own stadium.
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And the clearly illegal pick on the Brian Gamble TD catch at the end of the half. And the fumble that was called down on the first long run that we recovered but could not challenge (we could now with the rules since we clearly recovered it). We repeatedly got screwed in that game no doubt.
 
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BuckeyeNation27 said:
2007 Illinois. We played pretty blah to start, but we got hosed on that long TD run that got punched out of the back of the endzone. I still don't understand why we get fucked over on a majority of the replay calls in our own stadium.
Click to expand...

My only loss in The Shoe....thanks for reminding me.....dick lol
 
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ScriptOhio said:
Both teams take turns celebrating the win although none of us will know who won, actually, for 45 more minutes.
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Wow. I had never heard that.

Make the Call Sports said:
Interestingly I posted the same question in an MSU board and many picked the 2012 OSU game!
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I guess I don't remember a controversy in that game.

The only game I can think of is 1996 against Michigan, but the only controversy was that Ohio State was playing the better game - it just wasn't converting into points. Then Ohio State's lock-down corner, who had only been tested 5-10 times all season before that falls down, and gives up the only touchdown of the game. No real "we got hosed because of the officiating" crap.
 
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Zurp said:
Wow. I had never heard that.



I guess I don't remember a controversy in that game.

The only game I can think of is 1996 against Michigan, but the only controversy was that Ohio State was playing the better game - it just wasn't converting into points. Then Ohio State's lock-down corner, who had only been tested 5-10 times all season before that falls down, and gives up the only touchdown of the game. No real "we got hosed because of the officiating" crap.
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They bitch about the fumble Braxton had when he hurt his knee and just kind of threw the ball to the ground in pain. The whistle blew, so the MSU guy who picked it up and started running with it wasn't allowed to score a TD. He probably would have scored a TD....but a case could be made that he'd have been tackled and their shitty offense would have had to go back out on the field.
 
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BuckeyeNation27 said:
2007 Illinois. We played pretty blah to start, but we got hosed on that long TD run that got punched out of the back of the endzone. I still don't understand why we get fucked over on a majority of the replay calls in our own stadium.
Click to expand...

That was the first game that came to my mind. That was a dark, dark evening. The play you cite occured in the first half, right? The Buckeyes had time to overcome that call. I believe refs don't decide games (although I have had my doubts since seeing what that crew did to Wisky at Arizona St last year) - that players and coaches make thousands of decisions a game that outweigh the few dozen decisons refs make. But that particular call with the ball coming out and going thru the endzone seemed to be an obvious error, and definitely contributed to Illinois' momentum. Still, don't let guys get loose for 80 yards, and stop one play: QB draw.

We didn't lose, but the NC game vs. Miami contained several crap calls late in the 4th qtr. I contend that the game would have never gotten to OT without several terrible blown calls/non-calls. With under 3 min left in regulation, Ohio State had the ball, and came to a 3rd and 7. Gamble gets held twice on his pass pattern, Krenzel threw the ball low, and Gamble caught it for a first down. Ohio State gets a first down if: 1) either of the holding penalities are called 2) the catch is ruled complete. But, no holding and the pass was ruled incomplete. Ohio State has to punt. At that point, I think Miami only had 1 timeout. If the refs had made one of those 3 calls correctly, the Bucks could have run the clock out with one more 1st down, or would have punted with little time left. As it was, they punted, Miami got a big return, and they were able to send the game to OT. But on that punt return, AJ Hawk was blocked in the back as he zeroed in - as blatant a block in the back as you will see. If called correctly, that would have put Miami on their side of the field with about 2 min. Instead, they were in FG range after the return.

On the PI against Miami in the endzone, I'm still not sure whether it was PI. But I am sure that it was justice.
 
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