2013 Big Ten Championship Game: Michigan State upsets Ohio State 34-24
By Josh Hill
When we started the night, it was looking like the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida State Seminoles would be battling it out in the National Championship barring any dramatic upsets. While Florida State got through their game against Duke with relative ease, the same couldn’t be said for the Ohio State Buckeyes and their matchup with the Michigan State Spartans.
We felt like one of the two title games tonight could end in an upset and that apparently was Michigan State’s agenda as well. The Spartans hung in with the Buckeyes through four quarters before totally pulling away from Ohio State in the last five minutes of the game as they ripped the wheels off of the Buckeyes National Championship dreams.
The SEC Championship game was a shootout to end all shootouts it seemed, but the Big Ten title game did its best to match the intensity of that game as the seesaw nature of the game kept fans on the edge of their seats the whole way through. While Ohio State has been clamoring for a shot at the title this year, they got out manned and out gunned by the Spartans who rode the arm of quarterback Connor Cook, who out dueled Braxton Miller with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns on the game.
Jeremy Langford also deserves a ton of credit for helping his team get the big win in Indianapolis as he rushed for over 100 yards and added a huge late touchdown to secure the win for Michigan State. The Spartans defense also held up in the final drive against Ohio State and were able to end the Buckeyes season with a stout attack on Braxton Miller’s ill-fated attempts to bring his team back.
It’s not that no one was giving Michigan State a chance to win the game, but Ohio State was coming into the game pretty hot and boasted an offense that not many wanted to face. But Michigan State had no problem taking in the task of stopping that offense and the Spartans ended the Buckeyes winning streak under Urban Meyer at the worst possible time for the Buckeyes.
Michigan State won’t be playing for the National Championship but thanks to their efforts in the Big Ten Championship game, neither will the Ohio State Buckeyes.