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Ohio State Sports
Ohio State’s Top 10 Moments of 2011: Numbers 5-1
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — We already looked at five of Ohio State’s top 10 moments from 2011, but it only got better from there.

It was a rough 12 months in Columbus, but there were a few moments that made all of the rest of it disappear. The Buckeyes pulled off a stunning upset, routed one of the top college basketball programs in the country and got their first bowl win over the Southeastern Conference.

They also found a football coach.

Braxton Miller
Photo by Jim Davidson

5. Braxton Miller upsets Wisconsin with last-minute TD pass to Devin Smith. It is remarkable to think that without Miller’s 40-yard toss to Devin Smith against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes would not have been bowl eligible this season. It is almost more remarkable that Ohio State needed that last-minute heave to beat the Badgers after blowing a 12-point fourth quarter lead. That would have been yet another way the Buckeyes found to lose this season, but Jordan Hall sparked some hope inside Ohio Stadium with his big kick return.

Miller provided the real heroics, however, with a miraculous toss off his back foot as he was rolling to his right and falling away. It stayed in the air for what seemed like minutes, if not hours, before falling into the arms of Smith, who had gotten behind Wisconsin’s defense. Like a wave of emotion, the fans stormed out of the stands and on to the field, where they celebrated with emotionally relieved Ohio State players.

Jared Sullinger
Photo by Jim Davidson

4. Craft, Sullinger and Buford lead Buckeyes to 22-point rout of No. 4 Duke. In terms of importance, Ohio State’s victory over Duke might be their most consequential nonconference win in years. The Buckeyes didn’t just beat Coach K and the Blue Devils in their trip to Columbus on Nov. 29, they throttled a team that was ranked among the top five in the country. With a packed arena and a number of NBA stars on hand, the Buckeyes confused and confounded Duke in an 85-63 win. They got 21 points from Sullinger, 20 from William Buford and 18 from Deshaun Thomas to go with a spectacular performance from point guard Aaron Craft. It was a big moment for this team early in the season and it will undoubtedly serve as a signature performance for the Buckeyes come tournament time. Ohio State whooped Purdue and Wisconsin in Columbus during the 2010-11 season, but there was just something about the fact it was Duke that made this win all that much sweeter for Buckeyes fans.

Cameron Heyward bears down on Ryan Mallett
Photo by Jim Davidson

3. Buckeyes beat Arkansas in Sugar Bowl for first postseason victory over SEC. Officially it didn’t happen, but unofficially it was a pretty big night for Ohio State. Despite trying to give the game away—Terrelle Pryor’s fumble was recovered by Dane Sanzenbacher in the end zone and Ben Buchanan’s punt was blocked late in the game—the Buckeyes held on for a 31-26 victory in the Sugar Bowl. It was extra sweet because Ohio State had never beaten an SEC team in the postseason, and because Solomon Thomas snagged an interception from Ryan Mallett late in the game after it looked like the Buckeyes had all but given it away. Who knew it would be Jim Tressel’s last game ever at Ohio State? Not the worst way to go out. It was Ohio State’s second-straight BCS bowl win and it included some amazing individual performances. Defensive end Cameron Heyward played one of the best games of his career and Pryor totaled 336 yards of offense for the Buckeyes. There was a lot of celebrating that night in New Orleans back on Jan. 4, but not a whole lot since.

Jared Sullinger
Photo by Jim Davidson

2. Jared Sullinger vows to return for his sophomore season. At the time, it seemed like beating the Razorbacks would be a tough moment to top in 2011, but Jared Sullinger managed to accomplish that less than three months later. It was Friday, March 25 and the Buckeyes had just lost a heartbreaker to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It was another disappointing end, for what might have been Thad Matta’s best team in Columbus, but Ohio State received great news after the game when both Sullinger and William Buford vowed to come back for the 2011-12 season. Buford’s presence was big because he would be the lone senior on this year’s squad, but the decision by Sullinger, who followed up by sticking around for a second season of college basketball, was everything OSU fans could have asked for. After a rough history with one-and-done players, the Buckeyes finally building some consistency within the program, and Sullinger has a lot to do with that. He was the National Freshman of the Year last season and preseason All-American coming in to this year. His return makes the Buckeyes a legitimate contender to win the national championship, as long as he can stay healthy.

Urban Meyer

1. Ohio State announces Urban Meyer as 24th head coach in school history. This was always going to be the No. 1 moment of 2011, but it pretty much blew the rest of the storylines out of the water when Meyer decided to keep interim head coach Luke Fickell as his defensive coordinator. It couldn’t have done more to unite Buckeye Nation and bring a renewed sense of excitement to the program after nearly an entire year of gloom. While fans would never have wanted to see Jim Tressel exit the way he did, the fact Meyer was available and willing to take over the program seemed to right so many of the wrongs this program had to endure. It doesn’t hurt that Meyer is a Buckeye at heart and native of Ohio, along with being a pretty darn good football coach. After everything the Buckeyes have been through as a program, the payoff is pretty sweet and the future is pretty bright in Columbus. For that reason, the hiring of Urban Meyer is our No. 1 Ohio State moment from 2011.

Moments 10 through 6

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