Michigan State Football: Top 30 games in school history
Nov 7, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes helmet prior to the game versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
8. MSU vs. Ohio State (1974)
In one of those games where many fans who were alive during that time would look back and say, “Wow, I cannot believe that actually happened.”
Looking to win their third straight Big Ten title, the No. 1 overall Ohio State Buckeyes were beating Michigan State 13-3 in the fourth quarter with time winding down. It seemed all but inevitable that the Buckeyes would walk out of Spartan Stadium with a victory, but a tough-nosed battle with a surprisingly tough MSU team.
Ohio State wasn’t prepared for what was next. A 44-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Baggett to wide out Mike Jones made the game 13-9, but the Spartans missed a potential two-point try to pull the game within field-goal range.
Michigan State came up big on its next defensive possession, holding the Buckeyes to little yardage and forcing a punt. The Spartans would get the ball back down by four with just over three minutes left to play and at their own 12 and a simple dive play up the middle turned into an 88-yard running score, resulting in a 16-13 lead for the Spartans.
Chaos then ensued afterward as the time was ticking away and blown calls were aplenty. The last play of the game seemed to be after the clock hit zero even though Ohio State had crossed the goal-line for the score, it was ruled an illegal procedure and the game was over to everyone’s confusion.
Fans were on the field, goal posts were coming down and no one knew who the clear winner was because the refs ran off the field before an explanation could be had. Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke finally ruled the game in the Spartans’ favor and the Big Ten’s Goliath went down.
Controversy didn’t end there are Woody Hayes never accepted the final result and he had a helping hand, along with Michigan’s Bo Schembechler, in MSU’s three-year bowl ban with no televised games as well.
Next: 7. MSU vs. Michigan (2001)