Reliving the 4 times Michigan State football upset top-ranked Ohio State

3. Big Ten Championship, 2013

Now we’re entering a time frame that I personally have witnessed, along with a larger group of Michigan State fans.

Going into this game, the narrative was slightly different than past years. The Spartans only had a single early-season loss to Notre Dame and this came before the team out of East Lansing had found their starting quarterback, Connor Cook. Despite this, the Spartans were still expected to lose, as Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes were on a 24-game winning streak, the longest of all time.

But the Michigan State defensive unit was widely considered the best in the country; they wouldn’t let the Buckeyes breathe.

Ohio State struggled to score early, something that they usually excelled at. Ohio State found itself down three points at the end of the fourth quarter and would turn the ball over on downs. Jeremy Langford eventually capitalized on this by running for a 26-yard touchdown, putting the Spartans up 34-24, a lead that would never be overcome.

This marked the end of a long winning streak for Ohio State and the beginning of a dynasty for Michigan State. Mark Dantonio would go on to win the Rose Bowl against Stanford and many believe this team would have won a national championship if the College Football Playoff were around.