Ohio State was tested in the Big Ten opener on the road against #20 Michigan State. In a low-scoring affair, Miller was able to give the Buckeyes a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter when he found Smith in stride for a 63-yard score. The OSU defense would hold on for a 17-16 victory after allowing just 1.5 yards per rush and 34 rushing yards.
After getting to 5-0, Meyer’s team blew out #21 Nebraska (63-38) before hanging on versus unranked Indiana (52-49) after being up double digits for most of the day. In the final five weeks of the year, the Buckeyes won three games by one possession including two overtime victories, the first of which came on Saturday, October 20 versus Purdue.
Miller, who was responsible for the only Ohio State touchdown in the first half, was hit hard on a 24-yard run and had to leave the game in the third quarter down by six points. Kenny Guiton was put in to replace the sophomore signal-caller. Later in the game, trailing 22-14 with 47 seconds left, OSU had to go 61 yards to force overtime.
@CoachGuiton comes in for an injured Miller in the second half and leads OSU to a 29-22 overtime win over @BoilerFootball to get to 8-0. This 38-yard completion to Smith started the drive perfectly. If Guiton takes a sack here, Buckeyes likely lose. pic.twitter.com/3doPdiDfSd
— Charles Post (@_charlespost) September 6, 2020
Guiton was able to shed a near-sack and hit a wide-open Smith for 38 yards. The Buckeyes most likely lose their first game of the year if Guiton is sacked with no timeouts. He did a great job of stepping up in the pocket and letting Smith find an open spot in the defense. Guiton later connected with Chris Fields and Jeff Heuerman to send the game into OT.
Hyde, who finished the game with 91 rushing yards, would score from five yards out in the extra period to give Ohio State a 29-22 win and an 8-0 record. Meyer’s team picked up two consecutive double-digit wins against Penn State (35-23) and Illinois (52-22). With two games left in the regular season, OSU sat at 10-0 before heading to Wisconsin.
After Hyde gave the Buckeyes a 21-14 lead in overtime over the Badgers, Christian Bryant finished off Wisconsin with a beautiful diving pass deflection to break up Curt Phillip’s fourth-down pass. The following week versus rival Michigan, C.J. Barnett was the defensive player to make the game-winning play this time around.
@see_4our intercepts @devingardnerXCI with 4:53 left to go in the fourth quarter to keep a 26-21 lead. @elguapo then picks up a first down to run out the clock. The Buckeyes finished the season 12-0 and +90 versus @BigTen teams. pic.twitter.com/mCSEG5IeeO
— Charles Post (@_charlespost) September 6, 2020
He intercepted Devin Gardner’s floating pass with 4:53 left to seal the 26-21 victory and a perfect 12-0 season. Miller finished the win over Michigan with 246 total yards and 77.7% passing. Hyde led the Buckeyes on the ground with 146 yards on 26 carries. Miller was named Big Ten MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2012.
Since Ohio State was ineligible for postseason play, they missed out on an opportunity to face Nebraska in the Big Ten championship and Notre Dame in the BCS national title. Even though Ohio State wasn’t able to win a championship in 2012, the perfect 12-0 campaign set the stage for the next seven seasons, as the Buckeyes went 83-9 under Meyer.