\n Let’s talk about anger today. <\/p>\n
\n\tMichigan State fired former head coach Jonathan Smith on November 30th last year before replacing him with Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern fame later this offseason. The Spartan brass presumably did so because of frustration \u2014 an\u00a0emotion that often escalates into\u00a0anger \u2014 with Smith putting together back-to-back losing seasons in wake of Mel Tucker’s downfall, even before MSU had to vacate five wins from its 2024 campaign. As some pointed out around the time of his initial hiring, this was actually the second time Sparty had hired and fired a head coach named “John Smith” in some capacity within the last three decades following the four-season tenure of Mark Dantonio’s predecessor,\u00a0John L. Smith.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tMost college football seasons end in anger. This reality is one that Ohio State fans are currently refamiliarizing themselves with after an undefeated record and historically remarkable defense proved all for naught across the Buckeyes’ final two games. The two teams that triumphed to the chagrin of OSU will play for a national title one week from Monday.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThis anger often finds itself channeled in inappropriate or worse ways. Some folks did so by threatening violence on Jayden Fielding<\/a>. Some have chosen to melt down over a slow start for Ohio State in the transfer portal<\/a> relative to a few\u00a0of the sport’s other rising powers such as Indiana. Some have already pivoted to basketball outrage<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAugust and the return of Buckeye football remain\u00a0seven months away. That’s a long time to emotionally process how the most recent campaign fell apart once the regular season ended. The common fan would go crazy stewing on anger for over half a calendar year.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt’s important to recognize what makes yourself feel better while sorting through these emotions. In a weird way, one example of this can often be witnessing someone else get more upset than you currently find yourself over a circumstance you either deem insignificant or stand on the other side of observing.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat brings the subject back to John L. Smith, and hopefully on a weekend when some Buckeye fans likely continue to feel some sort of anger spilling over from New Year’s Eve, this reflection can bring you some semblance of counter-balancing happiness.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tHowever angry you find yourself in this moment, it probably pales in comparison to what Buckeye fans felt in October of the 2005 season. Ohio State returned to Columbus for the school’s homecoming game after suffering a 17-10 loss on the road against Penn State and barely a month removed from falling short in a top-five showdown at home against the eventual national champion in Texas.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMichigan State made the trip after some heartbreak of their own in the form of a 34-31 loss to in-state rival Michigan at home two weeks prior, but the Spartans also had a bye-week to prepare. It was a considerable crossroads game for both teams given each school sat next to each-other in the AP Top 25 at 15th and 16th. The winner would have a nice set-up for a bounce-back to salvage their season, the loser would descend further into madness.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe game did not get off to a great start for Ohio State. Michigan State scored the first points of the game on a field goal midway through the first quarter during which the holder juggled the snap, perhaps foreshadowing the special teams disaster that would manifest sometime later.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, the Buckeyes would commit the first of their own pair of blunders in that phase of the game on the following play, muffing the kickoff and allowing the Spartans to recover the ball inside of OSU’s five-yard line. Three plays later, Michigan State held a 10-0 lead, and the vibes across Buckeye nation plummeted as a result. As viewers of the most recent Cotton Bowl will confirm, such an\u00a0outcome often proves a subsequent consequence of a game-changing turnover that puts the\u00a0opponent ahead by two scores.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFortunately, Ohio State offered a quick response as\u00a0five players later, Troy Smith uncorked a 51-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes that brought the lead for MSU back to merely a field goal. Both teams would then exchange punts, including a 76-yarder from A.J. Trapasso that had been the longest seen at Ohio Stadium in nearly 70 years.\u00a0Despite the field flip,\u00a0the Spartans then took the ball back and drove 85 yards\u00a0into the end zone across\u00a012 plays to go back ahead by 10 points on\u00a0a 17-7 score line.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Buckeyes then went three-and-out from inside their own red zone, prompting another punt back to Michigan State. Sparty quarterback Drew Stanton guided his team out to midfield before stalling out with just under 90 seconds to play, which prompted another punt. One of the most decorated return men in college football history then committed a rare error while fielding a bouncing ball, as Ted Ginn Jr. muffed the kick at the OSU’s 27-yard line and the Spartans once again capitalized with a recovery.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe hallmark of Jim Tressel’s tenure as head coach of Ohio State resided within special teams, and the Buckeyes were facing the prospect of a 13-point deficit at halftime because of their inability to execute in that phase on that afternoon.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBrent Musburger put it best on the call for ABC in saying, “you talk about a nightmare.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Spartans progressed\u00a0a bit further\u00a0during the final minute of the half to set-up a more manageable field goal attempt, but had no timeouts remaining after Stanton went down on their final offensive play for no gain. That prompted Smith to rush his kicking unit out onto the field in a chaotic frenzy with just under 15 seconds remaining to add to the Spartans’ points-off-turnovers for the game.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhat happened next is best described by Ramzy Nasrallah from his\u00a0My Favorite Things\u00a0piece nearly six years ago that recalls with rich detail this hilarious moment in Buckeye football history:\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t“Not enough Spartans on the field<\/p>\n \t\t\tNo clock management awareness<\/p>\n \t\t\tIt’s only 3rd down<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe 11th player running off the field left a hole\u00a0at 6 o’clock<\/p>\n \n\t\tTwo Buckeyes came off the edge at perfect angles; one deep enough to catch the ball coming off the kicker’s foot and another right behind him in case the kick’s trajectory somehow sneaks\u00a0through. This field goal was extrasupertriplefucked before it happened, then it got worse.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe only Spartan on that weak side of the line had three Buckeyes to choose from, and he decided to block AJ Hawk – but directly toward the kick. This put the Ohio State linebacker in the ideal position to erase the holder. Otherwise, he could have ended the play right there.” \u2014 Ramzy Nasrallah, Eleven Warriors<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tPerhaps leaning on his basketball experience, Ohio State two-sport athlete\u00a0Nate Salley received credit for blocking the field goal, while\u00a0A.J. Hawk made a crucial neutralization of a Sparty player in position to halt a return.\u00a0Defensive back\u00a0Ashton Youboty \u2014 in an evident\u00a0state of physical pain \u2014 then returned the ball 73 yards to give the Buckeyes a massive momentum boost heading into the locker room.\n<\/p>\n \n\tABC masterfully captured the chaos of the events by replaying the\u00a0sideline meltdown of MSU’s Smith during the field goal attempt collapsing in on itself as both teams rushed off the field. Sideline reporter Jack Arute, during a time at which interviewing head coaches prior to half had not yet become a regular broadcast expectation, then caught up to MSU’s Smith as he fled the scene and asked, “coach obviously, a miscalculation there and you’re upset. Tell me about it!”\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn a bizarre blend of pure rage but also recognition that he could not unleash outright vulgarity during a live television interview, Smith shouted out his response to the delight of Ohio State fans and the college football world alike:\n<\/p>\n