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 that opportunity under the lights in Spartan Stadium.
Meyer knows that his team will need to be at its best to come out victorious. The Buckeyes were gashed by the Spartans last year, surrendering 304 passing yards (and 438 yards total) in the 10-point loss.
"They jumped out to a quick start," Meyer said, according to Ohio State's official website. "We did not play very good pass defense. Gave up a big one that we didn't need to give up."
Can Ohio State shut down the rugged and high-flying Spartans, who have used a blend of power on the ground and speed on the perimeter to build the nation's fifth-best scoring offense?
If the Buckeyes can find a way to do that and produce a victory Saturday night, Meyer believes his team will finally earn the respect it deserves.
With that respect—Ohio State would also register a signature win it desperately needs. The Buckeyes came in at No. 16 in the College Football Playoff's first poll and moved up two spots to No. 14 on Tuesday.
Jeff Long—the chairman of the 12-member committee in control of selecting the final four playoff contenders—explained Ohio State's meager ranking with a reference to the Buckeyes' bad loss to Virginia Tech in Week 2. He also spoke about the opportunities ahead for the Buckeyes.
“I wouldn’t call [the Virginia Tech loss] an albatross, but it was not a good loss for them,” Long said, according to Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch. “But Ohio State has opportunities on their schedule to play up…"
Meyer knows that a win over a championship-caliber Michigan State team would vault Ohio State back into playoff contention. And he, like his own players, reflected on last year's loss to the Spartans this week.
“The dream was ripped away from us (last year), ripped away by a very good team," Meyer said, according to Todd Porter of The Repository.
The Buckeyes are hoping to return the favor in East Lansing Saturday night.
All stats via NCAA.com.
David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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