When Urban Meyer and the Ohio State football team travel to East Lansing for a battle against Michigan State this Saturday, there will be more than just an inside track to the Big Ten title game on the line.
For the Buckeyes, redemption for last year’s loss to the Spartans, national respect and a renewed hope for this year’s College Football Playoff will all be up for grabs.
It’s a game that fans and media have been looking forward to since December 7 of last year, when Michigan State shocked Ohio State in a 34-24 upset in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Buckeyes were just one win away from booking a trip to Pasadena, California, for a date with Florida State in the national title game, but the Spartans dashed those hopes with a dominant performance in Indianapolis.
Fast forward 11 months, and both teams are in a familiar place—atop the Big Ten with championship aspirations. And while this week’s prime-time matchup has deep implications for the outcome of the 2014 season, it’s hard for the Buckeyes to keep from looking back at the disappointment from last year.
“I feel like Michigan State stole something from us,” Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee said this week, according to Patrick Maks of Eleven Warriors. “That’s how I felt just watching it. I wanted a piece of them last year, honestly.”
Lee and the rest of the Buckeyes—who will be boasting a vastly improved defense for this year’s matchup—will get…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: Redemption, Respect and Renewal on the Line Against MSU
