The Buckeyes' Most Agonizing Loss

[hamiltuckbuck]

1969 scum. Jim Mandich riding around satan's pit, on teammates shoulders, is an image I have never been able to exorcise. The super sophs were my boyhood hero's. Their first loss crushed me. Watching that paganist celebration, of my heartbreak and misery, burned a deep hatred for anything rodent-bred in tsun.

 

[ScriptOhio]

I was there and I still have my ticket stubs:The 1976 Rose Bowl vs UCLA.

 

[TGfan06]

I voted for the 98 MSU game. I still have nightmares remebering Dee Miller walking off with the towel on his head. That was the first year I became a OSU fan. I could not stop crying because it was my first loss as a true buckeye fan.

 

[Happygobuckeye]

Most agonizing thread

this one.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

regretably, I remember every friggin one of these...

 

[FadeproofBuck]

That 1998 MSU tore me up, I'm still not truly over that.

 

[tlzimmerman]

The Mich State game

made me sick. I have followed the bucks for 40 of my 45 years and the 98 team had the most talent I have ever seen. That loss cost the bucks a national title. I am certain of it. I don't remember what undefeated team was given the title but OSU would have whipped them without a doubt. Damn! I am pissed all over again!

 

[Jeffcat]

95 was by far the worst for me. we had a perfect season with a perfect team and a heisman winner on our hands and then had to slowly watch biakabatuka(w/e)pound our defense over like they were children. he was LITERALLY unstoppable and there was nothing we could do about it. we all knew the loss was inevitable and for about a full hour we had to few the agony of them destroying us knowing we would lose.

 

[7 45 33 48]

I would take the 1996 Michigan loss over any loss that I have ever seen. I thought the way Ohio State played against Indiana was a team looking ahead. I finally thought this was Cooper's year, it wasn't meant to be as long as Coop was head coach. Only getting 3 field goals inside the 10 with that offensive line was pathetic. I think losing Joe Montgomery factored in not getting a TD and he was bigger loss than people realize. That offense really didn't do anything the last 3 games without him.

95 was by far the worst for me. we had a perfect season with a perfect team and a heisman winner on our hands and then had to slowly watch biakabatuka(w/e)pound our defense over like they were children. he was LITERALLY unstoppable and there was nothing we could do about it. we all knew the loss was inevitable and for about a full hour we had to few the agony of them destroying us knowing we would lose.

The 1995 team was not a perfect team. Yes, the offense was near perfect. The run defense was horrendous all season. Allowed 9 100 yard rushers. Freshman Enis ran all over them. Notre Dame's Dusty Kinder and Marc Edwards ran all over that defense. Cooper's long time DC left after that season. He ran some passive bullshit defense and rarely blitzed. Bellisari was not suited to play MLB and Kevin Johnson wasn't anything special at OLB. I really don't think it would mattered if Ohio State would have won this game anyways. Nebraska would have been out right champs.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

I don't remember what undefeated team was given the title but OSU would have whipped them without a doubt. Damn! I am pissed all over again!

It was Tennessee. Not Peyton Manning's Tennessee - he had already graduated by then. And Jamal Lewis was out with an ACL. No, it was Tee Martin and Travis Stephens's Tennessee. Remember them? That was the year that Tennessee remained undefeated with a miracle finish against Arkansas, who literally fumbled away a certain victory with less than two minutes left in the game. Just thought that that would cheer you up a bit....

 

[NightmaresDad]

1976 Rose Bowl was more painful than 1998. vs Mich. St.

The 2003 Fiesta Bowl removed the pain of 1998 for me.

The pain from 1973-74-75 still lingers.

This nails it for me.
i know for all you young guys out there, who mostly make up the board population, '98 was inexcusable.
But my argument would be that we should have known by then that with Cooper, something bad would happen along the way, so a loss to an inferior opponent was expected. (I guess what I'm saying is that I was almost numb from dissappointment by that MSU game, so it didn't hurt aas much - I was more dissappointed by the previous 2 losses to scUM than by that game)
With the 68 - 70 teams, it was total shock to lose a game. Same with the 73-75 teams, although those were also some of scUM's best-ever teams as well.
ANY game which costs you a NC is a heart-breaker, and there are many on this list, as we have had more than our share of them.

I voted for the 71 Rose Bowl loss to Stanford, because that OSU Sr class is still regarded as the best class is school history, of not CFB history, and for them to go out with a loss is unacceptable.
The 76 Rose Bowl is a close second, for similar reasons. For Archie to not have won a NC by losing to a team they had already thrashed that same year is also unacceptable. That class should have had 2 NCs, in 73 and 75. The Kern class should have had 3. To end up with just one between them is almost inconceivable.

 

[FadeproofBuck]

It was Tennessee. Not Peyton Manning's Tennessee - he had already graduated by then. And Jamal Lewis was out with an ACL. No, it was Tee Martin and Travis Stephens's Tennessee. Remember them? That was the year that Tennessee remained undefeated with a miracle finish against Arkansas, who literally fumbled away a certain victory with less than two minutes left in the game. Just thought that that would cheer you up a bit....

Then they got to play a less than stellar FSU team, both teams were far inferior to that 98 OSU team.

Just the way we lost that MSU game was a killer, we had 24-6 halftime lead if my memory serves correctly, and put up a big 0 in the second half as MSU scores 22 unanswered points to win it 28-24. I just remember at halftime thinking that we had it in the bag, I was just looking forward to the next Saturda when everything just fell apart.

 

[Yertle]

The Buckeyes have lost before? That's funny, I don't remember any of those games... I must kill all of those brain cells right after the game.





'98 MSU - hands down.

 

[BB73]

Then they got to play a less than stellar FSU team, both teams were far inferior to that 98 OSU team.

Just the way we lost that MSU game was a killer, we had 24-6 halftime lead if my memory serves correctly, and put up a big 0 in the second half as MSU scores 22 unanswered points to win it 28-24. I just remember at halftime thinking that we had it in the bag, I was just looking forward to the next Saturda when everything just fell apart.

It was 17-9 at the half, and 24-9 in the 3rd quarter after Damon Moore's pick-6. Then we held them again and they were punting from their own territory when the poorly kicked punt hit a Buckeye DB blocking the MSU gunner. That play started the turnaround. And fuck Bill Burke and Plaxico Burress.

 

[FadeproofBuck]

It was 17-9 at the half, and 24-9 in the 3rd quarter after Damon Moore's pick-6. Then we held them again and they were punting from their own territory when the poorly kicked punt hit a Buckeye DB blocking the MSU gunner. That play started the turnaround. And fuck Bill Burke and Plaxico Burress.

Thanks for the correction, I just knew we had a nice lead on them and I felt that we had it all in the bag before everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

Add in that there isnt a doubt in my mind that we would've easily beaten Tennessee makes it that much worse.