If there ever was a defining moment during Ohio State’s 2005 football season, it came on the last play of the first half in the game against the Michigan State Spartans on October 15, 2005, at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State entered the game with a record of 3-2, just coming off of a heartbreaking loss at Penn State, and were ranked 15th in the latest Associated Press poll.

The Buckeyes had played most of the first half without much heart, seemingly going through the motions against the 16th-ranked Spartans, who came into the game with a record of 4-1 which included an overtime win over Notre Dame, and an overtime loss to Michigan.

Two fumbles by Ohio State led to 10 points for Michigan State as the Spartans claimed a 17-7 lead, and following Ted Ginn’s mishandling of a Brandon Fields punt, MSU recovered the ball at the OSU 26 with 1:20 left to play looking to add to their margin.

Michigan State would get down to the Ohio State 15-yard line following a nine-yard run by quarterback Drew Stanton, but a sack and a quarterback sneak resulted in a loss of two yards as the final seconds of the half ticked off the clock.

Facing a third-and-12, the MSU field goal team raced out to the field, disorganized from the start. As the Spartans lined up for the field goal attempt, the left side of the offensive line expected quarterback and holder Drew Stanton to spike the ball to stop the clock, while the right side went into field goal blocking protection.

Nate Salley easily sliced through the left side of MSU’s offensive line and blocked the kick, followed by Ashton Youboty picking up the loose ball and racing 72 yards for the touchdown on the final play of the first half. Josh Huston’s successful PAT cut the Spartan lead down to 17-14 as both teams headed into the locker rooms for intermission.

That was a 10-point swing in a matter of seconds after the 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Earlier in the first quarter, MSU’s John Goss connected from 32-yards away.

Michigan State’s John L. Smith following the game on the blocked kick:

“We were going for the spike (to stop the clock). We practice the fast field goal. We time it out in practice. We have someone count the guys so there are not 12 or 10 players on the field. We have them line up, and before they go out, I tell them if we’re going for the kick, the fake or a spike and that didn’t happen. When the guys lined up, I heard someone yell, `Field goal’ and it wasn’t me. So that comes down to me.”

And quarterback Drew Stanton added this:

“We would have spiked the ball so our offense had time. I even tried to get us toward the center because I knew we would try for that. But, I heard someone yelling, ‘Field goal! Field goal!’ and it was a huge miscommunication. No one knew what was going on.”

Michigan State took the first turnover of the game - a fumble by Antonio Pittman - and drove 47 yards in eight plays to take a 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Goss.

On the ensuing kickoff, Santonio Holmes fumbled the ball at the OSU 18 and it was recovered by Michigan State at the OSU 4-yard line. The Spartans punched it in three plays later on a three-yard run by Jehuu Caulcrick as MSU claimed a 10-0 lead with 4:34 to play in the first quarter.

OSU quarterback Troy Smith let Holmes redeem himself on the fifth play during Buckeyes’ next possession when he hauled in a 51-yard touchdown reception that closed the gap to 10-7 with 2:37 left to play in the opening stanza.

Michigan State took possession after a 76-yard punt by A.J. Trapasso with 14:12 remaining in second quarter and marched 84 yards in 12 plays which took nearly six minutes off the clock.

The drive was capped off on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Stanton to wide receiver Jerramy Scott as Michigan State went ahead 17-7 with 6:30 to play before halftime.

Michigan State outgained the Buckeyes 248-157 in total yards in the first half. Stanton completed 15-of-19 passes for 166 yards, and the Spartans rushed 27 times for 82 yards.

For Ohio State, Smith completed four first-half passes for 106 yards and one score, while the Buckeyes ran 10 times for 51 yards, including eight carries by Pittman for 40 yards. Holmes had two grabs for 90 yards and one score.

In the second half, Ted Ginn Jr. turned a pass play designed for a first down into a 57-yard touchdown that finally put the Buckeyes in front 21-17 with 10:21 to play in the third quarter.

On third-and-4 from the OSU 43, Ginn made the catch on a square-in route just across midfield and he raced down the left sideline for the go-ahead score.

Michigan State responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive to reclaim the lead on an eight yard touchdown by running back Jason Teague, who went untouched over the right side as the Spartans moved back in front 24-21 with 4:53 to play.

The Spartans’ tried to add to their lead with a 37-yard field goal attempt by Goss with 7:12 to play in the game, but Youboty blocked the kick. It was the Buckeyes’ second blocked field goal of the game.

Five plays later the Buckeyes reclaimed the lead for good after Smith hit Holmes for a 46-yard scoring strike down the left sideline, then escaped a shoestring tackle and dove into the front corner of the end zone. That effort put the Buckeyes up 28-24 with 4:56 to play.

The defense turned it up another notch and forced Michigan State to punt on fourth down. Holmes returned the punt 26 yards to the MSU 19.

On the first play of the drive Pittman gained 18 yards down to the MSU 1-yard line, then Smith scored on a quarterback keeper on the next play that extended OSU’s lead to 35-24 with 1:29 to play in the game.

Smith completed 10-of-15 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, while Pittman rushed for 101 yards on 18 carries, and Holmes had five receptions for 150 yards and two scores.

MSU quarterback Drew Stanton completed 26-of-36 passes for 340 yards and one score, but was plagued by the “Silver Bullet” defense most of the afternoon. The Buckeyes’ recorded 12 sacks for a minus-58 yards.

Head Coach John L. Smith returns six starters on both side of the ball from last year’s team that finished 5-6. After the Spartans began their season with wins over Kent State, Hawaii, Notre Dame, and Illinois, MSU managed just one more win in their final seven contests, a 46-15 victory over Indiana.

Drew Stanton returns after throwing for 3077 yards and 22 touchdowns during his junior campaign. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior completed 236-of-354 (66.7 percent) of his passes and was intercepted 12 times.

Michigan State returns both top rushers from last year with 5-foot-9, 202-pound sophomore Javon Ringer and and 6-foot, 245-pound junior Jehuu Caulcrick. Ringer led the Spartans with 817 yards on 122 carries and four touchdowns, while Caulcrick gained 478 yards on 89 carries with a team-high seven TDs.

Stanton’s two main targets from last year also return with 5-foot-10, 186-pound senior Jerramy Scott, and 6-foot-6, 227-pound senior two-sport star Matt Trannon.

Scott led the Spartans in receptions (49), yards (722), and touchdowns (4). Trannon hauled in 40 passes for 573 yards and added four more touchdowns before averaging 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the basketball team in 22 games.

Michigan State returns two offensive linemen for last year, right tackle Mike Gyetvai, a 6-foot-7, 302-pound junior, and left guard Mike Cook, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior.

Three of the four starting defensive backs from a year ago return for the Spartans, as junior strong safety SirDarean Adams (6-0, 230), senior free safety Greg Cooper (5-11, 192), and senior cornerback Demond Williams (5-9, 175) gear up for another season in East Lansing. Adams was fourth on the team with 60 tackles and led the Spartans with three interceptions.

The leading sack man from a year ago also returns as defensive end Clifton Ryan (6-2, 302) will play his senior year wearing green.

Other starters returning for the Spartans are linebackers, with senior David Herron Jr. (6-2, 252) and junior Kaleb Thornhill (6-2, 235). Herron was second on the team in tackles last year with 65, while Thornhill was third with 63.

Analysis and Prediction

This will be another tough road game for the Buckeyes, and the Spartans will be a better team than their 5-6 record from 2005 indicates, but I don’t think they have enough defensively to stop OSU, with the Buckeyes winning in a shootout.

Ohio State 49, Michigan State 35

Tags: Buckeye Football //