Ohio State suffered a soul-crushing road loss on Saturday to end its national championship hopes. It will look to rebound from that loss when it returns home to play Michigan State.
The last time the Buckeyes were in that position was 1983.
The 1983 Buckeyes started the season as the preseason No. 6 team in the country. It made quick work of Oregon in the season-opener, handing the Ducks a 31-6 defeat. It made serious strides toward the top of the rankings when it stymied the No. 2 Sooners the next week in Norman. That moved Ohio State to No. 3 in time for a road clash at No. 7 Iowa.
Iowa prevailed in that contest, dropping the Buckeyes to No. 8. It took out its anger on Minnesota (69-18) and Purdue (33-22) the following weeks. That set up the No. 6 Buckeyes for a visit to Champaign to play No. 19 Illinois. Illinois dropped Ohio State to No. 17 in the AP rankings and ended any hopes for the Buckeyes at a national championship.
The conditions for Ohio State to get back on the winning track were less than ideal. Mike Tomczak suffered a concussion in the Illinois loss, prompting Earle Bruce to insert freshman Jim Karsatos as starter. The game was a rain-soaked affair, even worse than the 1982 deluge that saw Ohio State lose 6-0 to Wisconsin. Further, hearts were heavy with the loss of Clarence Curtis to a nightmarish practice injury that ended his playing career.
However, the game started as well as anyone could have hoped under those circumstances. Ohio State received the ball to start the game and drove 80 yards on 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead after 4:52 of action. Michigan State responded on its first drive with a field goal made possible by consecutive plays from Daryl Turner.
The action stuck there for most of the first half before Ohio State capitalized on its fourth drive of the game. The Buckeyes capitalized on a coverage bust from the Michigan State 39-yard line. Jim Karsatos' ball fake combined with confusion in the secondary to leave tight end John Frank wide open at the 10-yard line. Karsatos found him and Frank waltzed into the end zone for a 14-3 lead before halftime.
The third quarter that followed was an ugly, but ultimately scoreless, period. Michigan State's second drive of the second half ended with a wide-left field goal try from 33 yards. Its next drive ended with an interception on the fourth play from scrimmage. Ohio State's Vaughan Broadnax fumbled three plays later on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Michigan State, though, gave the ball right back. Keith Gates fumbled the first play of the ensuing drive to set up Ohio State at the Michigan State 27-yard line.
The drive that followed went like clockwork. Six plays in, Keith Byars received an option pitch and broke a tackle to extend Ohio State's lead to 21-3.
Keith Byars led the Buckeyes with 70 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Michigan State in 1983. (The Lantern-Rick McCormick)
Michigan State was threatening on its next drive to get points on the board, but Ohio State blew up a quick pass to Daryl Turner to force a fumble. Ohio State recovered with 8:12 left and the fans in attendance could sense the game was over.
Effectively, it was. Ohio State and Michigan State traded punts, save with a snafu with a minute remaining when Michigan State blocked an Ohio State punt attempt and returned it for a touchdown and two-point conversion. However, Michigan State's onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds and Ohio State took a knee and the 21-11 victory.
Michigan State's George Perles was gracious in defeat, highlighting that Michigan State was just beat by a better team. He did, however, lament the play that ultimately put the game from reach for Michigan State. The Spartans' pass defense had not busted at an inopportune time by like it did when John Frank was wide open for a 39-yard touchdown pass.
Ohio State rolled forward with three straight wins against Wisconsin (45-27), Indiana (56-17), and Northwestern (55-7). Even the season-ending loss to Michigan wouldn't sour the Fiesta Bowl on taking the Buckeyes and matching them with the AP No. 15 Pittsburgh Panthers in Tempe. Ohio State finished 1983 with a delightful win in what might be the best hidden gem of an Ohio State bowl win.
However, the path to finishing 1983 on a high note notwithstanding two losses to end a national championship campaign began with a home win over Michigan State. This year's Buckeyes will hope for a similar path forward after the debacle in Iowa last week.
