The countdown of Ohio State's top 25 plays from the last 25 years continues.
After reliving some game-turning and game-saving plays against Michigan and in the postseason during Part 3, we've reached the top 10 plays of the past quarter-century. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the countdown to relive more of the best Ohio State moments since the change of the millennium. A quick recap of the list so far, with the opponent and season attached:
25. Marvin Harrison Jr.'s acrobatic sideline snag (Indiana, 2022)
24. Chris Gamble's pick-six (Penn State, 2002)
23. Noah Brown's around-the-back catch (Oklahoma, 2016)
22. J.T. Barrett to Marcus Baugh to complete 18-point comeback (Penn State, 2017)
21. Justin Fields delivers bomb to Chris Olave through injury (Clemson, 2020)
20. Braxton Miller hits the B button (Virginia Tech, 2015)
19. Ted Ginn Jr. embarrasses Michigan's punt team (Michigan, 2004)
18. Steve Miller's College Football Playoff thick-six (Alabama, 2014)
17. Jaxon Smith-Njigba stamps record-breaking performance (Utah, 2021)
16. Ryan Shazier forces a Montee Ball fumble at the goal line (Wisconsin, 2012)
15. Antonio Pittman leaves Michigan in the dust (Michigan, 2006)
14. Ohio State clinches its first national championship in 32 years (Miami, 2002)
13. TreVeyon Henderson shocks Texas before halftime (Texas, 2024)
12. Tyvis Powell rescues Buckeyes in The Game (Michigan, 2013)
11. Michael Jenkins converts do-or-die 4th-and-14 (Miami, 2002)
Part 4 of our list features two of the most legendary deep passes thrown by Ohio State quarterbacks and two equally legendary catches on different plays. Any list like this is going to feature a lot of subjectivity when compiling. Still, we did our best to rank each moment based on its importance, quality in a vacuum, the stage on which it occurred, how iconic it has become and how impactful it was to winning that game.
If you enjoy this series, be sure to check out our five-part countdown of the Top 25 Games of the Quarter-Century, too.
10. Oct. 29, 2011: Braxton Miller’s prayer answered by Devin Smith
It’s fitting, in some respect, that a season as forgettable as Ohio State’s 2011 campaign could produce a play memorable enough to crack the top 10 of our 25 best plays this quarter-century.
Wisconsin entered as hefty favorites on a cold night in Columbus, the No. 12 team in the country playing a Buckeye squad off to a 4-3 start under interim head coach Luke Fickell. But Ohio State came to scrap. It entered the fourth quarter ahead 17-14.
No less than 28 points were scored in the final five minutes of the game. Then-freshman quarterback Braxton Miller launched a 44-yard touchdown run to put the Buckeyes up 26-14, but the Badgers surged back with two touchdown passes from Russell Wilson to Jared Abbrederis. With a two-point conversion, Wisconsin led 29-26 with 1:18 to play. An excellent kickoff return by Jordan Hall set OSU up with good field position at its own 48-yard line.
Miller’s legs were a heavy part of the Ohio State game plan throughout, as he picked up 99 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns from a mix of scrambles and designed runs. Passing-wise, he was just 5-of-10 for 42 yards entering the Buckeye offense’s final series of the night. He took off for a 2-yard gain on that drive.
Everyone in the stadium thought Miller would scramble once more when he scrambled out to his right on a first-and-10 play at Wisconsin’s 40-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. The Badgers’ defense thought so too, beginning to converge on him as he neared the line of scrimmage. Even ESPN commentator Brad Nessler believed the quarterback would run again.
“Miller, flushed, wants to throw, now he’s gonna do it again with his legs–”
But then Miller reared back and fired a moonshot toward the end zone.
The eyes of a breathless Horseshoe turned to spot freshman wide receiver Devin Smith streaking wide open behind the Wisconsin secondary. Anxiety grew from the 105,511 patrons as Miller’s pass hung in the air, allowing one Badger defensive back to converge. But not in time. Smith hauled in the rock before being clobbered and brought the stadium to a fervor as Ohio State took a 33-29 lead with 20 seconds left.
That margin stood as the final score.
9. Oct. 25, 2014: Joey Bosa walks off Penn State in double-overtime
How many times have you seen a defensive lineman lift a running back and slam him into his own quarterback for a sack? That alone makes this a top-25 play of the last 25 years. The fact that it walked off a gotta-have-it game during a national title run cements it in Buckeye lore.
Ohio State probably shouldn’t have needed one overtime, let alone two, to knock off a Penn State squad that finished the year 7-6, but such was life with a 2014 team that had to build to become a juggernaut after a Week 2 home loss to a sorry Virginia Tech outfit. The Nittany Lions held J.T. Barrett and Ohio State’s passing attack to 74 yards as both teams managed less than 300 yards of offense in a slog in Happy Valley.
In the beginning, it didn’t seem like a close game would unfold. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 17-0 lead. But a 40-yard pick-six by Nittany Lion defensive tackle Anthony Zettel on a pass intended for Michael Thomas regained momentum for the home team. Its defense capitalized by pitching a second-half shutout. The dam eventually broke for the Silver Bullets, which allowed a touchdown with 11:09 to play, then saw Penn State get all the way down to 14-yard line in 19 plays before holding for a game-tying field goal.
The Nittany Lions faced little resistance scoring a touchdown in the first overtime, but neither did Ohio State in either the first or second. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg connected with tight end Jesse James for 4 yards, but an incompletion brought up fourth-and-6.
Hackenberg dropped back, but his fate was sealed the moment whatever ill-fated pass protection scheme the Nittany Lions drew up left running back Akeel Lynch one-on-one with star Buckeye defensive end Joey Bosa. Bosa decleated Lynch with a bull rush straight through his chest and smashed him into Hackenberg’s legs for a sack, snuffing out PSU’s last bid for an upset.
8. Nov. 19, 2005: Anthony Gonzalez makes The Catch in The Game
In a long history of legendary Ohio State plays against Michigan, this leaping, tumbling grab from Anthony Gonzalez – some Buckeye fans know it simply as “The Catch” – is among the greatest.
No. 17 Michigan had every desire to spoil No. 9 Ohio State’s chances at a Big Ten title before a home crowd in Ann Arbor. Revenge was part of the motivation for the Wolverines, too, after an unranked Buckeye squad upset No. 7 Michigan in the Shoe in 2004. Ted Ginn Jr.’s 82-yard punt return touchdown from that game checked in at No. 19 in Part 2 of our top 25 plays countdown.
Ohio State built a 12-7 lead heading into halftime, but Michigan responded with 14 unanswered points to take a 21-12 advantage with 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. Buckeye quarterback Troy Smith responded with a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes and Ohio State’s defense stopped the Wolverines just outside of field goal range to get the ball back to its offense at its own 12-yard line with 4:18 to play. Smith matriculated the football 57 yards down the field over the next nine plays with his offense, but time was running short as Jim Tressel called a timeout with 47 seconds left.
Smith took the snap and stepped back in the pocket, but found no one open at first. His initial thought was to scramble up the middle, but Michigan linebacker David Harris triggered from his role as quarterback spy and met Smith in the hole. Many quarterbacks would have been dead to rights, but the ever-elusive future Heisman Trophy winner hopped backward and to his right to escape.
Then Smith uncorked an underthrown deep ball to Gonzalez. Wolverine cornerback Grant Mason blanketed the receiver, but blankets can’t weigh down a jet plane, and Gonzalez decided to take flight if it meant beating his rival. He jumped and contorted his body to snatch the ball off Mason’s helmet, was put completely horizontal by the defender’s hit, then rolled and smacked face-first into the ground while somehow hanging on to the ball.
Antonio Pittman punched in a 4-yard touchdown run two downs later and Ohio State secured a 25-21 victory, making it four wins in five years in The Game under Tressel. He’d go on to make it nine wins in 10 years.
7. Jan. 1, 2015: Evan Spencer and Michael Thomas Make Perfect Throw, Catch on CFP Trick Play
A wide receiver making a perfect pass and another making one of the most acrobatic catches of the last 25 years? That's what Evan Spencer and Michael Thomas brought to the table with this incredible trick play.
It marked the turning of the tide as the Buckeyes faced the No. 1 Crimson Tide in the 2014 College Football Playoff semifinals. Ohio State fell behind 21-6 but clawed back with a redzone trip that it finally converted for a touchdown after settling for field goals its first two times inside Alabama's 20-yard line. A defensive stand got the Buckeyes the ball back at their own 23-yard line with 1:32 to play before halftime.
Ohio State took just five plays and 1:13 to drive 64 yards to the Alabama 13-yard line. Spencer took a double-reverse toss from Jalin Marshall and eyed Thomas, but the Crimson Tide weren't fooled. Cornerback Cyrus Jones ran stride-for-stride with Thomas. But Spencer threw the ball anyway. It was a dart that fit into a minuscule window above Jones' outstretched hand.
Thomas high-pointed the ball and bent his left beg back into the field of play to tap his foot down within inches of the sideline.
These two remarkable feats of athleticism brought the Buckeyes within one point of the Crimson Tide, setting the stage for one of the program's most impressive wins. Following the 42-35 Sugar Bowl victory, Ohio State completed its championship run by defeating No. 1 Oregon in the 2015 CFP national championship game.
6. Jan. 20, 2025: 3rd-and-Jeremiah
3rd-and-Jeremiah, 3rd-and-Forever, whatever you call this play, we’ve reached the territory of plays so famous and noteworthy that all of Buckeye Nation recognizes their nicknames. Much more of that is to come in our top five on Friday.
Ohio State scored 31 unanswered points on Notre Dame after the Fighting Irish scored on their opening drive of the 2025 College Football Playoff national championship game, seemingly putting the game to bed in the third quarter. Then the Golden Domers’ offense awoke from its slumber and mustered together two touchdown drives, each with two-point conversions, to slice the team’s deficit to one score at 31-23.
If the Buckeyes couldn’t answer with a score or a few first downs to drain the clock on their following possession, Notre Dame could create some real anxiety as it tried to force overtime in the final minutes. Two nothingburger runs left Ohio State with a 3rd-and-11 as a Fighting Irish timeout stopped the clock with 2:45 remaining.
Plenty of coaches would have played things conservative, run the ball or taken an easy short completion and been willing to punt. Maybe even Ryan Day on a different day. But not Day on this day. Or offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Or senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who made an eagle-eyed observation on a sideline tablet earlier in the contest that proved prophetic.
Emeka Egbuka spoke Will Howards 56-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith on 3rd-and-11 (3rd-and-Jeremiah) into existence while watching film earlier in the game.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 28, 2025
We need to run a go-ball on 29. Look at the inside leverage he has when (Carnell Tates) attacking him. pic.twitter.com/EMEN82BRxR
Quarterback Will Howard sank back in his set as Notre Dame took the bait, sending seven defenders on a blitz and putting their defensive backs on islands. Jeremiah Smith, the freshman focal point of Ohio State’s attack all year, angled his fade route inside sharply to lure Fighting Irish cornerback Christian Gray that way, then burst back out deep up the sideline to gain separation.
Howard tossed a gorgeous dime to Smith’s outside shoulder. Smith answered with a sure-handed catch. Ohio State kicked a field goal four plays later and counted down the seconds to a 34-23 national championship win.
