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MSU spoiling OSU's 1996?  1998?  Both? season(s) must have been maddening.


On '06 Michigan....I realize OSU was IN and the debate to play them was UM again or Florida, and then what happened happened, but I like to wonder about that '06 Michigan team vs Florida.  

How would they have fared vs the Gators?  Obviously, no one saw it coming, what UF did to OSU, but you did see the best of that Florida team - crazy pass-rushing DEs, great DB play, diverse running game with Tebow and Harvin, efficient passing game...

All I remember from that UM team was the lockdown defense, which OSU exploited in their game.  What would have been different if it was UM facing Florida?

I'm still amazed that of MSU's recent success, their best season came with one of their worst defenses.

Just the best B1G linebacker in history. No biggie.

Was he though? 

LaVarr Arrington was pretty spectacular. I think would go with him.

I wouldn’t even put Hawk as the best OSU Lb. For my money that’s Chris Spielman.

'98 and '15.

Both times in Columbus.  I think we've won like 5 times road/neutral against OSU since that '98 upset, but haven't won at home in over two decades

I was going to add that 15 Buckeye team to this list. I feel they were the best team by far that year.  

MSU spoiling OSU's 1996?  1998?  Both? season(s) must have been maddening.

Both of those OSU teams won a share of the Big Ten title, rendering them ineligible in accordance to the criteria that YOU authored.

I'm calling shenanigans on the 1984 Gators. They won the SEC. I get that someone said "but the cheating" but they were atop the standings and beat the other team atop the standings. Take your title.

They feel like 2015 OSU in the sense that they got kind of a consolation prize, even if one believes strongly they were that awesome of a team. (In this context, the 2016 Buckeyes are wild. They won a division title without a trip to the title game, got awarded a trip to the playoff, which meant the woodshed. It was pretty successful and didn't totally feel like it)

For UW, it probably has to be 2006. They went 12-1, but missed OSU (undefeated until the title game) and lost fairly comfortably to Michigan (No. 2 heading into the OSU game). They couldn't go to the BCS at 11-1 because there was a two-teams per conference limit. UW went to the Cap One Bowl and beat an Arkansas team that collected losses to good teams (Opened with beat down to 11-2 USC, won 10 in a row, lost to 11-2 LSU, 13-1 Florida and 12-1 UW).

The Badgers schedule was bad and they started slow, but they did win nine in a row. Wins of note were 9-4 PSU and 10-4 Arkansas.

UW had the No. 2 scoring D and top-5 in yards per play. The group was junior and sophomore heavy and just smothered folks. The offense had a senior QB with a totally new set of skill guys. A first-year TE blossomed for 900 yards and both receivers were second-tier quality in program history. The RB was very system, but he did have 1,569 yards and 15 TDs. 

For UW, they didn't have a lot of modern era teams that were good by squeezed out before the CCG, and with the west, you almost can't be very good and not go. The 2013 team is interesting, having lost that controversial one to ASU (with an advantage of 2 yards per play), put up a nice YPP edge but couldn't get No. 4 OSU and then had the passing game and defense fizzle down the stretch. South Carolina beat them after their WRs played out of their minds and Stave exploded his shoulder on a defender. That Badgers team had Melvin Gordon, James White, Jared Abbedaris, Jacob Pederson (with the best Joel Stave) with top-13 groups in points per drive on both sides of the ball.

Oh, you spelled it wrong.

Yeah Musberger did like to really emphasize the A.J. in "A.J. Hawk"