Ranking the biggest and best postseason wins in Ohio State history
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Ohio State has experienced both joy and heartbreak in postseason play. We opt to focus on the joy this time.
Here are a dozen of the biggest and best postseason wins in program history, ranked by impact, excitement and staying power. The wins include bowls, playoffs and the Big Ten championship game.
12. 1974 Rose Bowl
Opponent/score/site: USC, 42-21, Pasadena, California
The Buckeyes needed to prove themselves after Big Ten athletic directors picked OSU over Michigan to represent the conference in the Grandaddy of Them All. Ohio State tied Michigan 10-10 in the regular-season finale in a game the Wolverines mostly controlled, but Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin was injured in the game, which tipped the AD vote to OSU. The Buckeyes, crushed 42-17 the year before by USC in Pasadena, got their revenge.
USC led 21-14 early in the third quarter before Ohio State scored four unanswered touchdowns. Fullback Pete Johnson had two short touchdown runs and Archie Griffin completed the scoring with a 47-yard scamper. Quarterback Cornelius Green completed 6 of 8 passes for 129 yards, and added a TD run to earn MVP honors.
11. 2025 CFP first round
Opponent/score/site: Tennessee, 42-17, Ohio Stadium
What began with worry ended in wide-eyed wonder. Coming off a devastating and improbable 13-10 loss to Michigan, the concern going in was how Ohio State would respond three weeks later.
The Buckeyes appeared broken after losing to the Wolverines, to the point of holding a contentious but also therapeutic team meeting to clear the air. And instead of receiving a first-round playoff bye they had to play the Vols in a first-round game at a frigid Ohio Stadium inundated with nearly 30,000 UT fans. The Horseshoe had never hosted a postseason game.
But the Buckeyes hushed Rocky Top early and often, jumping to a 21-0 lead and never looking back.
The offensive outburst proved prophetic, as OSU shook off its poor showing against Michigan to find its mojo over the four playoff games.
10. 1997 Rose Bowl
Opponent/score/site: Arizona State, 20-17, Pasadena, California
Ohio State was still licking its wounds after a devastating 13-9 loss to Michigan when the No. 4 Buckeyes went west to take on the No. 2 Sun Devils, who with a win would secure their first national championship.
Quarterback Jake “The Snake” Plummer and linebacker Pat Tillman led ASU, while Ohio State rotated QBs between Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine. After Plummer put the Sun Devils ahead on an 11-yard scramble with 1:40 left, OSU coach John Cooper opted to go with Germaine on the Buckeyes’ final drive. Germaine connected with Dimitrious Stanley on two third-down conversions and OSU benefited from two pass interference calls to keep the drive alive. With 19 seconds left, Germaine found David Boston for the winning score. Ohio State was voted No. 2 in the final polls.
9. 2014 Big Ten championship game
Opponent/score/site: Wisconsin, 59-0, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
The 2014 playoff wins against Alabama and Oregon probably never would have happened without what transpired at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the Buckeyes’ defense shut out the Badgers while the offense went off like a rocket.
Few saw the defensive gem coming, not after OSU had surrendered 116 points in its previous four games. Few also knew how well the offense would execute under quarterback Cardale Jones, who became the emergency starter after J.T. Barrett broke his ankle in the Michigan game.
As it turned out, Jones was a beast, completing 12 of 17 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception.
The impressive win helped No. 5 Ohio State leapfrog No. 4 Texas Christian in the final CFP rankings to earn a date with Alabama in the four-team playoff.
8. 2025 Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal)
Opponent/score/site: Texas, 28-14, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
The No. 6 Buckeyes already had shown a ton of bounce back after the Michigan loss by defeating Tennessee 42-17 in the first round of the 12-team playoff and then clubbing Oregon 41-21 in the quarterfinals. Next up: No. 4 Texas, led by former OSU quarterback recruit Quinn Ewers, who transferred after one season in Columbus. The Longhorns and Buckeyes both owned dangerous offenses and formidable defenses, so no surprise that the game was tied 14-14 late into the third quarter before OSU tailback Quinshon Judkins scored from one yard out to make it 21-14 with seven minutes to play.
What happened next will live forever in Buckeye Nation lore. Texas, facing first-and-goal at the OSU 1-yard line, was stopped for no gain on first down, lost seven yards on second down and threw incomplete on third, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the Ohio State 8-yard line. Ewers rolled left to throw but never saw defensive end Jack Sawyer closing on him from behind. Sawyer knocked the ball loose, then scooped it and ran 83 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-14 with 2:13 left. Game. Set. Match.
7. 1958 Rose Bowl
Opponent/score/site: Oregon, 10-7, Pasadena, California
Ohio State won its second national title with a closer-than-expected victory over Oregon. The Buckeyes had won eight straight after losing their season-opener to TCU. As was the case three years earlier, when California subbed in for Pac-8 champion UCLA due to the conference’s no-repeat rule, Oregon took Oregon State’s place against the Buckeyes. Oregon had lost to the Beavers in their regular-season finale.
The game was tied at 7-7 in the fourth quarter when OSU kicker Don Sutherin booted a 34-yard field goal for the go-ahead points. Ohio State was voted national champion in the UPI coaches poll. Auburn, which was ineligible in the UPI bowl because it was on probation, was No. 1 in the final Associated Press media poll.
6. 2015 CFP championship
Opponent/score/site: Oregon, 42-20, Arlington, Texas.
After dispatching Alabama in the semifinal, facing the Ducks in the national championship game felt almost anticlimactic. Almost. The Buckeyes entered as underdogs against uptempo Oregon and Heisman Trophy quarterback Marcus Mariota, and quickly fell behind 7-0 before OSU took over control in the trenches, pulling ahead 21-7 before Oregon rallied to make it 21-20 with 6:39 left in the third quarter. Then Ezekiel Elliott took over, rushing for three touchdowns in the last 15 minutes and finishing with 246 yards on 36 carries for a 6.8-yard average. The win gave OSU coach Urban Meyer his third national championship, and first with the Buckeyes.
5. 2025 CFP championship
Opponent/score/site: Notre Dame/34-23/Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
For a hot minute or two, it appeared Ohio State would easily put the finishing touches on a remarkable playoff run. The Buckeyes led 21-7 at halftime before extending their lead to 31-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Fighting Irish came roaring back to make it a game. ND scored the next 16 points and pulled to within 31-23 with 4:15 left before Ohio State quarterback Will Howard connected with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard completion on third-and-11 with 2:45 remaining. The Buckeyes kicked a field goal to seal the deal and give coach Ryan Day his first national championship and quiet the naysayers who argued he could not win the biggest games.
4. 2015 Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal)
Opponent/score/site: Alabama, 42-35, Superdome, New Orleans
Ohio State fans were sick and tired of hearing about Alabama invincibility and SEC dominance when the Buckeyes arrived in New Orleans after coming off a 59-0 win against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.
With third-string quarterback Cardale Jones running the offense – Braxton Miller went down for the season with a shoulder injury two weeks into fall camp and J.T. Barrett broke his ankle in the Michigan game – the Buckeyes stumbled early, falling behind 21-6 before storming back. First Michael Thomas made an acrobatic TD catch on a trick-play pass from wide receiver Evan Spencer, then Jones found Devin Smith deep for another score, followed by a Steve Miller pick-six that gave OSU a 34-21 lead.
Alabama closed to within 34-28, then Ezekiel Elliott ran 85 yards “through the heart of the South” with three minutes left to put OSU up 14. Alabama scored quickly on its next possession and got the ball back with 1:25 left, but Tyvis Powell intercepted a Hail Mary pass to make Ohio State the first national champions of the four-team playoff era.
3. 1969 Rose Bowl
Opponent/score/site: USC, 27-16, Pasadena, California
The “Super Sophs” went to Pasadena and beat a USC team led by Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson. Quarterback Rex Kern led the offense, while defensive lineman Jim Stillwagon and hard-hitting safety Jack Tatum powered the defense. After the Trojans took a 10-0 lead on an 80-yard run by Simpson, OSU scored the next 27 points, the final two on Kern TD passes. The Buckeyes were voted No. 1 in both the AP and UPI polls.
2. 1955 Rose Bowl
Opponent/score/site: USC, 20-7, Pasadena, California
Ohio State’s first-ever Rose Bowl victory marked the start of Woody Hayes’ three-title run, ironically in a season that began with Hayes fighting for his job following three years of mediocrity. Playing the Trojans in an uncharacteristic Pasadena rainstorm, the Buckeyes jumped to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by quarterback Dave Leggett and 21-yard touchdown pass from Leggett to Bobby Watkins, then added an insurance TD in the fourth quarter after USC had cut the margin to seven at halftime.
Ohio State was voted national champion in the AP media poll, while UCLA was crowned champion in the UPI coaches poll.
1. 2003 Fiesta Bowl (BCS championship)
Opponent/score/site: Miami, 31-24 2 OT, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Miami had won 34 consecutive games, and Vegas expected the streak to reach 35 as it made the Buckeyes double-digit underdogs. The “Luckeyes” had survived numerous close calls during the season, and the Fiesta Bowl would be no different.
Ohio State scored 17 straight points to take a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter before Miami running back Willis McGahee made it 17-14 on a 9-yard touchdown before he left the game with a knee injury. Ohio State freshman running back Maurice Clarett made a huge play when he wrested the ball from Miami safety Sean Taylor after an interception to give the ball back to Ohio State.
The Buckeyes led 17-14 before a 50-yard punt return set up Todd Sievers’ 49-yard field goal at the end of regulation. Miami scored a touchdown on its possession, and the Buckeyes appeared to have fallen short when Craig Krenzel’s fourth-down pass to Chris Gamble fell incomplete. But field judge Terry Porter threw a flag for pass interference, and Krenzel then took advantage with a 1-yard TD run. Clarett scored in the second overtime, and the Buckeyes had a goal-line stand to win it. Linebacker Cie Grant pressured Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey into a fourth-down incompletion, giving the Buckeyes their first national title since 1968.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State has enjoyed huge postseason wins. Here are 12 to savor
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