Just as relevent as the "best game" topic. Ohio State has a great history, but with some gut wrenching losses.
The worst games I've seen in person are the 1996 Michigan game we lost 13-9 on Shawn Springs' slip (still one of my favorite Buckeyes ever though) and the egg we layed at UCLA 10 days after 9/11 in 2001 losing 13-6.
'08 vs. LSU, '07 vs Florida (basketball), '00 tsun at home, '08 @ USC (it was painful to watch that absolute drubbing in front of all of their cocky a-hole fans), '05 @ Penn State (because their fans were even bigger a-holes than USC fans), '07 vs Illinois at home '05 Texas at home...Probably some others I'm missing but those immediately jump out.
USC may have been the one where I was most just absolutely frustrated. I kept saying we have to win this game to have any sort of national credibilty after getting smoked on the big stage two years in a row. We came out and played the absolute worst game I've ever seen an Ohio State team play.
Texas vs OSU 06. F**king Ryan Hamby dropped the game winning touchdown vs Vince Young and crew
'06 was in Austin. Ted n Troy all day long.
Texas '05 for heart break....at USC in '08 because we got killed.....UF in NC Game because we got punched in the stomach....but the worst for me was Illinois in '07---game ended up not mattering but at the time hurt so much because we were the better team
2-10-1 Need I say more?
I was at Michigan Game 96' when Springs slipped. One of the worst games, Cooper played so conservatively that day. You could tell he was playing not to lose. I think we had a few trips inside the 10 yd line and we settled for Field Goals. When Michigan was only a big play away and conditions began to get worse you sensed something bad was going to happen.
Also was at MSU 98'- To this day not sure what loss stings more. I truley believe that the 98' team may have been one of the top 3 if not the greatest college football team of all time. If you look at there average margin of victory and how dominate the defense was it certainly ranks up there. It went downhill as soon Damon Moore returned an INT for a TD and slid into the endzone (for no reason) and pulled his hamstring. Then a punt went off our player and MSU had momentum. I'll never forget sitting in the South Stands watching Germaine miss Boston by inches. Then getting pissed because we tried the same fade 2 more times. Then on the final play we give Germaine two options to throw too. Was just sickening!
Those were the worst two games I witnessed because of the teams I thought we had. They were really good. I will say honorable mention goes to Texas 05' and Illinois 07' But the Michigan and MSU will forever sting!
"I'll fire when I'm god damn good and ready! You got that?" - Pete "Maverick" Mitchel
The basketball NCG sucked so much just because I had to listen to "41-14 Gator bait!" ALL GD WEEKEND. And then we got beat and their fans still relentlessly shoved it in our face leaving the arena.
Went to both 2006 and 2007 NCGs against UF and LSU....also went to 2009 USC. As a result, I don't believe I've went to a stadium to watch them since. Very superstitous.
2007 Illinois. I drove out from Washington for that game. I don't know how long Illinois actually held the ball in the fourth quarter, but it seemed like it was for the entire fourth quarter. Every snap was run the clock down, gain 5 yards up the middle, repeat. It was the most frustrating game I've ever been to, and I remember thinking "so this is what it is like to be Tressel'ed"
Definitely 2007 Illinois game. Worst feeling ever walking with thousands of others a mile back to my car in complete silence.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
I will never forget how painful that loss was against Sparty was in 98.
"Winning takes care of everything. - Woody Hayes"
1998 Michigan State...That the one game that STILL really haunts me, and still the most silent I've ever heard the stadium after a loss. The 2007 NC game vs florida sucked royaly to be at, but still for me cant compare to 98.
05 OSU-Texas, 06 OSU-Florida, 07 OSU-LSU, 09 OSU-USC.
The above is why I stopped going to bowl games. And alas! I was rewarded with victory in 2010 Rose Bowl and 2011 Sugar Bowl.
Worth pointing out I saw us win in the 06 OSU-Texas game, 2004, 2006, and 2007 Michigan games, and 2010 Miami (Fl.) game. Still, not a stellar record in big out of conference matchups I've seen in person.
Class of 2008
Texas 05 and USC in LA were both awful.
Texas was particularly bad as Hamby was a high school classmate and dropped the ball.
At USC the fans were classless and gave us a really hard time.
Oddly enough, I would say the Nebraska game last year was the best loss I have been to. The fans were great the entire game, as we were in the middle of a Nebraska section, it could have gone a lot worse.
Not to mention, those are the only 3 losses I have ever been to out of 50+ games.
Gotta agree with @Buckeye56. That was one of the better OSU teams in recent memory which made that loss even tougher to swallow!
For me, it was the 96 UM game, and "the slip" that stung the most.
98 MSU game was equally terrible, but at least finally seeing us beat UM at the end of the year made the sting go away a little bit.
I haven't been to any losses yet. I look to lengthen my attendance win streak on 11/24 vs TTUN!
You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy
My streak is 11-0 in the 'Shoe. Fully intend to keep it going as long as I can. Pray for me
41-14. nuff said.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Worst for me was 98 MSU. Growing up I usually got to go to 1 game a year (parents only had 2 tickets, and both die hard fans). That was my first Big Ten (keeping it old school logo for the times) contest in about 5 years, and we had been crushing everyone that year.
I still remember the drive down the southeast sideline..
“The teams that don’t respect their coaches and don’t trust their coaches are the teams that go .500"
~Zach Boren
Had season tickets from '08-'11. Needless to say, the worst was MSU last year. Such a dehumanizing loss was made infinitely worse by the rain and the cold, but even moreso the fact that it was my first game back after medial arch reconstruction in my left foot. My dad drove my girlfriend and I to Cannon and 12th (because the Handivan doesn't run on gameday), and I proceeded to crutch all the way there, and then crutch all the way back to Cannon and King after the game ended.
I'm exhausted and depressed just thinking about that.
Two words, Tim Biakautuka.
I was at the Ohio U game the week before the Bucks travelled to USC. That game was horrible to watch, plus the realization that USC was going to blast us the next week was hard to cope with. That was one game I was actually a little pissed that I drove to Columbus to witness in person.
Texas 05 and it's not close. I was also in the Desert for the Florida game. Texas was the toughest because I honestly believe we had the best team in the country that year...and so many things went untressellike in the game that it was so odd and frustrating. Missing field goals, losing field position at times, personal fouls, wide open guys not making easy catches.
Florida, we got beaten up. I think we did some things tactically that didn't make sense but UF was better than us on that day. I wonder what the score is if Tress keeps running up the gut (Pittman 60 yards on 10 carries)
'96 Michigan. Ugh. Still can't believe we lost that game.
Unfortunately, I have more of these than the other. Natural that these are the ones that stand out, but here goes the short list:
Sitting in the student section in 2010 at Wisconsin, when the number 1 buckeyes fall to the hands of Bucky in Madison. A close second is the 07' title game.
You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing. - Gordon Gee
Ugh It was my first game to watch in person at the shoe. 2001 Ohio State vs Illinois. That game always sticks with me as I rememeber Kurt kitner not really playing all that well against BelliSORRY, Wells and Co but doing just enough at the crucial moments of that game. I was devastated as a kid and didnt want to go to another game because I thought it was my fault they lost lol....I got over it and went to the Michigan game the following year. Well we know how that year turned out...So i guess i kinda got over it lol
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
worst loss i've ever attended, 05 Texas.
worst loss in my lifetime, '98 MSU. If I live to be 1000, I'll never get over that one.
Ohio State/Wisconsin 1982 - we lose 0-6
Boring game; third loss in a row, totally unexpected (i dont think Wisky had beaten us in a long time at that point). Good news is that we won the rest of our games that year, including a great win over Michigan and a pounding of BYU with Steve Young in the Holiday Bowl
OSU/Michigan 1976 - we lose 0-22.
After going 3-0-1 in the last 4 Michigan games and go to 4 straight Rose Bowls, we start a 3-game losing streak against them
OSU/USC - 1990 - we lose 26-35 in the rain. The officials consider suspending the game because of lightning. We had just scored a TD and Coop tells the officials and USC coaches that we are going to do an onside kick, and if we fail, we give up, game over. We failed and thats how it ended with 2:38 to go.
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2009/09/flashback-ohio-state-vs-usc-1990.html
OSU/Iowa -- 4 and 23 with 6 seconds to go on the OSU 30, Iowa scores on a pass to the tight end who catches at the 10 and drags OSU defenders into the end zone. We lose 27-29. First loss against Iowa in the shoe since 1959
Buckeyes/Badgers - 2010. OSU #1 beaten by #18 Wisconsin. Watching the field get stormed, ugly crowd post game.
WIBUCKEYE
JLB, nice references. I was at (2) of those games. At least I believe I was at the Wisc game at 9 years old ... help me remember ... didn't it rain the 1st half and the sun came out at halftime? Was at that USC game too.
1998 MSU - Screw you Nick Saban! He made Neutron man cry!
"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University
'05 OSU vs Texas Still hurts to this day. I've never heard the crowd so quiet when leaving
the 'Shoe.
@JLBNYC, I was at that Iowa Game as well. Definite WTF ending. Marv Cook is a B.
So is Ron Zook and Juice Williams, the Illinois game in '07 was a horrid 4th quarter.
The Penn State game in '08. I thought TP was going to make a play at the end and show his #1 recruit stuff, then fumble.
My history of attending games doesn't reach nearly as far back as some of you but the absolute worst game I ever attended fell seven weeks after the best game I've ever attended.
I was a senior at OSU that fall and I was there for both the Michigan win in '06 and the awful loss to Florida in the National Championship. I also attended the Texas game in '05 and, to me, that wasn't nearly as painful.
Nebraska and Michigan last year both sucked a lot too but nearly to the level of that NC.
We should strive to keep thy name, of fair repute and spotless fame...
(Also, I'm not a dude)
Knarcisi
Thanks. The rain at the Wisc game sounds right, but dont recall. All i remember is we were only down 6-0, but we just couldnt score. The crowd was just waiting for a TD but never happened. I think its the last time we were shut out at home. At that time, Wisc had not yet become a thorn in our side, so it was a little suprising.
1998 Michigan State game, without question. It was the first OSU game I left feeling sick to my stomach and felt like I was going to seriously vomit. That was back when I was a sports reporter out of college and watched it from the pressbox and heard the OSU assistants cursing up a storm on the way down the elevator after the game. What was so frustrating was that OSU had the best team in all of college football that year. They were freaking loaded. Germaine, Wiley, Boston, Katzenmoyer, Antoine Winfield and that one slip up cost them a shot at the national title game. that was the first year of the BCS and it was horrendously painful watching a mediocre Tennessee team win it all. OSU would've beaten them by 2 scores easy. Buckeyes blasted everyone else they played that season including TSUN. MSU played out of their minds but the OSU mistakes drove me nuts. That pic of Neutron Man says it all. In fact I think they showed him on the jumbotron after the game. That face says it all :(
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
Easy: Michigan '96. Though I think poor Shawn Springs has gotten a bit of a bad rap here. We were still in the lead after Michigan scored that touchdown. That play wouldn't have been decisive, except that Cooper and the team made it so, by acting afterwards as if a loss was fated.
I was a student in 1982 when we lost to Wisconsin 6-0 in a constant rain, a game that I believe marked the first time ever we had lost 3 in a row at the Shoe (I think it was also the last home game we didn't sell out). It was as much fun as it looks from the score. The only thing I recall about that game was that Earle had benched Mike Tomczak and started a transfer named Brent Offenbacher in his place. The apparent goal was to give 'em a spark. Didn't work so well. (To the team's credit, they really jelled afterwards and didn't lose another game.)
Also: Minnesota 2000, which I believe was the last Cooper-era game I saw in person. That Gophers team was just fair and we were still undefeated at the time, but they came out and totally dominated us (Ron Johnson just caught another touchdown pass). After several years where we were constantly in the national title picture, things really got away from Cooper there at the end.
The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.
I drove with my mom from C-bus down to New Orleans to watch the 1978 Sugar Bowl. Ohio State looked awful in the 35-6 loss. It was the first time i have ever heard the term "Roll Tide" utered from the chew-filled mouth of an Alabama fan and hearing that today still makes me ill.
I also ran out of the bathroom near the end of the 4th quarter and ran smack into an OSU fan carrying a four pack of beers, which of course exploded all over the fan and myself. I immediately broke into tears (I was 9) and the guy says "Don't worry about it kid, it's just been that kind of day"
true story !
@Hodge, I remember that MSU game last year. The weather was crazy. It was sunny and 50 at game time, then it hit 40 halfway through the first half, and that second half was just filled with icy mist and sleet. Absolutely miserable weather and an absolutely miserable game to watch too.
Pretty lucky dude here. 2001-2004 were pretty kind given that 2001 was JT's first and therefore only forgiveable year. 2004 was sort of a crappy up and down season but ended on a high note with Troy Smith announcing himself. 2002 and 2003 OSU ran the table at home so the losses I experienced were all pretty meh. The Illinois loss sort of sucked in 2001 because I came back to my room at Morrill and had about 45 IM's from friends of mine that attended U of I so I guess that'd be the worst.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
Easy for me... '98 Michigan State... My first Buckeye game. Blew the chance to play for a NC. '07 Illinois sucked also, but didn't hurt in the long run, but we definitely Sparty'd that day in '98...
Mich St in 2011. I took my dad to his first ever game in the shoe, and it was miserable. Icy sleet for the weather, plus we lost without scoring a real touchdown. (the garbage time one after everyone had left doesn't count lol)
'07 Illinois. I heard people yelling stuff at Tress that would make Louis CK blush. Watching them run the same play over and over while still converting 3rd downs for what seemed like the entire 4th quarter was ridiculous. I almost felt relieved because I thought we were eliminated from Championship contention (never believed this team was #1 in the country). Had I attended the '07 NC that would have easily won.
The loss against Sparty in 1998 was painful; being in the stadium, the game had that 80's feeling of slipping away in the second half.
The 1976 Rose Bowl loss to UCLA after beating them in the regular season wasn't fun, but at least we got to see a great Rose Parade that year and had fun at the Big Ten Champions dinner in Pasedena where I got the autographs of Woody, Pete Johnson and Archie. Entertainer for the evening - Phyllis Diller.
But, the top loss for me was the 2007 MNC game against Florida. Heisman trophy quarterback; Ginn's kickoff return for a TD; and that was it. Stuck in the top deck of the House of Pain with 2 other Buckeye fans next to me, and then sitting in the traffic jam of a parking lot outside of the stadium to sneak out of Phoenix under cover of darkness. I'm glad we didn't fly back home to Rickenbacker the following morning. I remember what the Hurricane fans looked like sitting in the airport waiting for their flight following the 2002 MNC.
I'm 6-0 at football games and 13-1 at basketball games, aren't I special?
Honestly though the most painful loss I've ever experienced it a tie between 41-14 and 2007 Illinois. That Penn State game a few years ago where we tried to ride a 6-3 lead for an entire half is right up there on my list too.
My first ever OSU game was 2007 vs. Illinois. I almost never went to another.
Fan of bacon since 1981
2007 BCS National Championship Game - Never have I ever or will I ever again be so upset about a game. What I thought was going to be the corronation of one of the best teams and stories in Ohio State history came crashing down to earth in the desert. One of the worst experiences of my life.
2009 Fiesta Bowl - It felt like the guys that had experienced so much heartbreak in NC games would finally get some redemption....and then an absolute gut punch.
2005 Texas - One of the most lopsided team performances in recent memory. The Silver Bullets held what ended up being one of the most prolific offenses in history to 25 points. Offensively we couldn't get out of our own way or manage the plethera of talent we had at our disposal. Truly disapointing.
Dishonorable Mention
2011 at Purdue/2003 at Wisconsin/2003 at Michigan/2009 vs USC/2009 at Purdue
Debatable between Final Four last year and USC in '09
USC in 09. Mostly because it was one of my favorite games based on atmosphere in the stadium but we ended up losing it. So it causes me too many mixed emotions.
Sadly it was Ginn Jr's freshmen campaign and my first buckeye game ever when they played the Hawkeyes in IC... and OSU got spanked.. something like 33-7, with Ginn catching a TD late from T Smith. (Smith barely played)
I was 7 rows back when we lost to Texas in '06. The ball was dropped right in front of me. Ahh!!!!
I was 13 and in attendance for the '98 MSU loss. What a heart breaker.
1998 Michigan State game. I was drunk at the Out-R-Inn, and was sprawled out in agony on top of the pool table in the back room as Germaine thre the last pick. Imagine being up 2+ TDs and a punt hitting us in teh back turning that game completely around ...
82 wiscky gets my vote 0-6
November 22, 1969. OSU was riding a 22 game winning streak, defending Nat'l Champs when we ran into a fired up Schembechler & M*chigan team. I was 10 years old and the tickets were my birthday present for my 11th birthday in 2 days hence by my relatives in M*chigan. That was the birth of my white hot hatred for all things M*chigan. Never forgive, never forget.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
USC in 09 was one of the best games I've been to (atmoshphere and gameplay wise) but also the worst loss I've ever been to.
2007 Illinois
2008 Penn State
2009 USC
Those games just killed me.
2007 Illinois...was at that game. And watched the 1998 MSU game at the frat house I lived in at the time. Those two are toss ups for me...
@Oyster: 2-10-1 is exactly why I can't stand it that tTUN fans come here...that record alone makes me want to throw up...not to mention seeing them here.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
1998 MSU was the worst.
2. 2007 Illinois just cause it was Illinois + the refs sucked
3. 2008 PSU because they got a gift that led them to win by TP
T4. 2005 Texas/2009 USC - heartbreaking losses that were fun games until the end
T6. 2001/2004 vs Wisconsin - double digit leads blown
Honorable mention to 2003 SDSU for being the worst f'n game I've been to that we somehow won.
Class of 2010.
I've never seen the Bucks lose in person, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way!
BTW, I will be at the UM game.
/Duff'd It
DIA.OHIO
While I did not attend the three games you mentioned, you have managed to hit probably the three most painful Buckeye games Ive ever seen!
1976 Rose Bowl. What a painful and disappointing loss. As you said, we blew UCLA out earlier in the year - its hard to beat a team twice in one year, but we should have taken care of business. It could have been a way for Woody to go out the right way (wire-to-wire no 1 team). 72-75 should have given us two National Championships ('73 and '75) and instead we got none. I remember that USC was down that year and it was between UCLA and Cal (with Chuck Muncie) for the Rose Bowl (i think it was still the Pac 8?). I firmly believe if we were playing Cal, we would have won the title.
No need to get into the other two games (1998 MSU and the 2007 NC)
You have hit on one of the maddening things about being a Buckeye fan over the years -- so many near misses. How many games can we point to over the years where if only OSU had won its final game, it has a National Championship? 1969, 1970, 1975, 1979, 2006, 2007. Im sure im missing a few.
Im not even taking into consideration seasons like 1998 where a mid-season loss cost us, or 1973, where a tie against Michigan cost us. Or those Cooper teams that were dominant until the last game in November.
'98 MSU for sure
the kids are playing their tail off, and the coaches are screwing it up! - JLS
08 Penn State
2008 national championship against LSU. Only game that I've been at when we've lost in recent memory. We started out strong with the big run by Wells than got dominated for the rest of the game
1990 USC, my first year with a student ticket I watched John Coop Cooop Cooper agree to quit with more than 2 minutes on the clock because of lightning. I have watched more than a few heartbreaking loses but this is the only time I have ever seen an Ohio State coach just give up and quit. Embarassing and unforgivable for our fans.
Was at Purdue in 2004. Spent the whole game in an argument with a guy about basically anything you could think of. Turns out, if you tell a Purdue fan that Illinois has a better engineering department, they don't like it. Saw 4 year olds bashing buckeye nuts with a hammer. Made a sign that said "Orton Purdon't Do Shit" only to have him lead the Boilers down the field to a game-winning TD in the final 2 minutes.
Not a good 4 hour drive home to Columbus.
Tough to pick the worst game..most of the OSU/Tsun games during the Cooper years were pretty painful. I remember sitting in the middle of the Tsun Alumni section on the 50 yard line watching Biakabutuka run the ball up and down the field all afternoon. That was pretty painful.
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
1994 Penn State game when there number 1 . They beat us 63-14 at Happy valley.
Only been going for the past couple years but it had to Michigan State game last year. 10-7 almost getting shut out.
Sugar Bowl January 1, 1998. Ohio State vs Florida State. Horrible hangover + soon to be ex-wife + 31-14 FSU victory= the most miserable Ohio State football experience of my life!!
An angry fan...rooting for an angry team...led by angry coaches
I was at the Ohio State-Florida bball game and I was in a Florida section far from the court and I still remember all the damn gators chanting "just like football" over and over again. We would have won if we did not take so many 3s.
F--- Michigan!
Been to a lot of losses mostly because we're pretty evenly matched in the big games
09 USC
07 Illinois
99 miami kickoff classic
No question. It was 1996, when Springs fell down. I was in 7A (a student back then), and every time we came out on offense, the whole student section was accurately calling the play before it happened: "First down, Pepe over right guard. Second down, Pepe over left guard." It was awful. The silence of that stadium as we left was surreal.
On a brighter note, I was at OSU-Illinois in '94 (?) in the Shoe, when Eddie George couldn't stop fumbling, and had one returned for a TD (if memory recalls). I turned to someone on my right and told them "This George kid stinks. He'll never do squat here." Mea culpa.
The 1998 Sugar Bowl against FSU, that was the only game the Bucks lost that I went to. The Florida St fans were royal idiots the whole game and on the way out of the stadium. The drive home to Toledo took ten times longer than going down there....
O H I O is the Buckeye State
Worst in-person beating: 1972 Rose Bowl. 17-42 Sam Bam Cunningham over the top 4 times.
Worst game watched: 10-10 UCLA in 1977 or 1978. Woody at his worst.
Worst game on TV: Biakatuka
Worst cheat on TV: Sparty holding down Baschnagel on the MSU 2 yard line as time expired
GOLDENBEARBUCKEYE
I remember those games. At least we got USC back the next Rose Bowl!
I was at the 10-10 tie. I remember Woody shaking his fist at my section as he walked off the field to a chorus of boos.
In the MSU game, I think I remember Champ Henson saying he saw the goal line pass underneath him before he was pushed back on one of those last plays
The lack of 98 MSU responses is astounding....
NCG against LSU with my brother Monte, Hell of a trip though
'09 USC @ OSU
First buckeyes game ever, and my first weekend on campus as a freshman.
Don't give up... Don't ever give up.
1990 loss to USC
1996 loss to ttun
1998 MSU IMO that was the most talented Osu team in the past twenty years, and for them not to win the NT was aweful.
1995 um, 1997 um
Let your hobbies and interests supplement your life, not be the main course.
2009 Fiesta bowl vs. Texas-we had those guys
2003 Wisconsin 17-10 (ending a 19 game win streak)
1977 OSU vs Oklahoma. I will never forget those idiots in their foam cowboy hats as I walked out of the shoe.
"I'm still hungry." --Brady Hoke
Sparty '98
Texas '05
Penn State '08
USC '09
'07 Florida Basketball NC game...could not buy a 3.
1986 Michigan. My first game in the Shoe. Spielman had something crazy like 29 tackles. Jim Harbaugh kept complaining to the refs that our crowd was too loud(a penalty back then), and getting delay of game calls against our fans. In the closing minutes, we missed a FYA that would have sent the Bucks to the Rose Bowl. I was absolutely crushed.
The 1996 Michigan game was also devastating, and it cost a great OSU team a MNC. Was in the Shoe that day as well.
Ohio State vs Siena in the first round of the Tournament. Mainly because our 7 footer BJ Mullens only had THREE REBOUNDS when Siena's tallest player was 6 foot 7. I mean come on. I was so glad when he declared for the draft so I didn't have to watch him play agin.
Close second would be when the Terrance Dials led team lost to Georgetown in the 2nd round of the Tournament as a 2 seed. Terrance Dials went to my high school and when I was little he would work the summer bball camps I went to.
I haven't personally seen a football loss.