OSU 62, UM 39

In the aftermath of the bloodbath in Columbus, 2018 edition, I have heard all sorts of crazy takes. Harbaugh should be fired, so much of an embarrassing game that your grand kids will read about it with dismay, season is an absolute failure, beating OSU is all that matters, worst loss ever.

It was a complete embarrassment, the way that OSU had their way. It was no contest. The better team won and it was not close. But, was it the worst loss ever? Was their ever a game in which a team ranked so high lost so badly to a conference rival that was ranked but not nearly as highly? This has to be the worst of it’s kind, ever…right?

Lee, what do you think?

OK, if something happened similarly, it must have been in like the 1920’s, right? No…OK, the 30’s? 40’s? Nope and nope. It happened in this century. Not exactly yesterday, but nevertheless within 20 years.

The year was 2001. Nebraska was ranked #2 in the country heading into their last game of the year where they traveled to play their rival Colorado Buffalo’s in Boulder, who were ranked 14 at the time.

The result: Colorado 62, Nebraska 36.

Here is a comparison of the Buff’s 62-36 2001 win and OSU’s 62-39 2018 win.

	OSU in 2018	Colorado in 2001
Ranking	10 (CFP)	14 (AP)
Opponent Ranking	4 (Michigan, CFP)	2 (Nebraska, AP)
Points For	62	62
Points against	39	36
Total Offense For	567	582
Total Offense Against	401	552
1st downs For	28	25
1st downs against	28	21

It’s really strikingly similar. Really the only big difference is that Michigan “only” had 401 yards of offense against OSU’s defense while Nebraska had an amazing 552 yards of offense in a game they lost by 26 points.

Amazing that UM had the same number of first downs – maybe because OSU scored so quickly and easily they didn’t need long drives that would rack up the first downs along the way.

So, what happened in 2001 following the Buffalo’s dominant win?

Nebraska, as noted above, was ranked 2nd before this game. After the game, they only dropped to #6 and Colorado only jumped to 10th. So, even after that game won by Colorado 62-36, Nebraska was still ranked 4 spots ahead of the Buffs!! Can you imagine a poll – ANY POLL – in 2018 ranking Michigan ahead of OSU after that game? Neither can I! But, that is only the beginning of the story.

The following week (2 weeks after the game), Nebraska moved up from #6 to #4 and Colorado moved up to #5. The next week was the final regular season poll of the year and the one that would be used, in part, to help determine the BCS title game participants. In that critical poll, Colorado was #3 and Nebraska #4.

But, for those that remember the old BCS days, logic rarely won the day. So, take a guess as to who played in the BCS title game against Miami (Fl), who had been #1 the majority of the season? The Nebraska Cornhuskers, that’s who. They leapfrogged Colorado in the final BCS standings even though they trailed them in the final AP poll.

After getting embarrassed 62-36 to Colorado on November 23, 2001, Nebraska stayed home and watched Colorado beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. They were rewarded by being given a shot at the National Championship. They lost to Miami, predictably, 37-14 in the BCS Title Game. Colorado won the Big 12 Championship and Nebraska won nothing, but they had the chance at a national title that the Buffs did not have.

I will ask this again…can you imagine something similar to this happening this year. OSU beats Michigan 62-39, then goes to beat Northwestern in the B1G Championship and getting passed over by Michigan? Unbelievable.

I understand that it isn’t exactly the same because Colorado ended the regular season 10-2 with Nebraska being 11-1. In 2018, OSU is 11-1 and Michigan is 10-2. So, it’s even more impossible for Michigan to pass them, but allow me a little creative license and imagine that OSU had lost to TCU and Michigan had beaten Notre Dame. Everthing else is the same. Michigan loses to OSU, then sits at home at watches OSU win the conference championship, but somehow passes OSU in the rankings. Any rankings. It is simply impossible for this to happen today.

Is the 2001 craziness just another indication of the flawed BCS system? I think so, yes.

Is it also a sign of the times that the public will not accept unfairness such as this? I also think so, yes.

With the recent moves to instant replay in all of our major sports, the idea of “getting it right” is paramount and discussed frequently. I think we can all agree that in 2001, the system did not get it right.

Also, it shows that as embarrassing as Michigan’s loss was, it is not unprecedented.