Urban Meyer says Ohio State's loss to Michigan State in 2015 still 'haunts' him

sahil kurup, usa today network

Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 10:51 PM·2 min read

Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer may be out of the coaching business, but he still loses sleep over the 2015 Buckeyes loss to Michigan State.

In an appearance on the podcast "Bleav in Buckeyes," Meyer discussed the current Ohio State team that missed a College Football Playoff appearance due to a singular loss to Michigan and drew a parallel to the 2015 No. 3 Buckeyes who fell to No. 9 Michigan State in a wire-to-wire 17-14 loss.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer walks past defensive coordinator Luke Fickell during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 21, 2015. Michigan State won 17-14. (Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)

"I get really angry when I look back at the 2015 team we had in Ohio State," Meyer said. "We lost in the rainstorm to Michigan State. That team would have won it all. That was my fault. Still, it's been eight years ago, still that haunts me, because that team was so good. But we lost."

#9 Michigan State upsets #3 Ohio State (2015) pic.twitter.com/SZweWPHcAh
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 9, 2023

The game against the Spartans likely sticks out to Meyer because he did not do much losing during his time at Ohio State. The 17-14 game was the first time Meyer lost a regular-season game to a Big Ten opponent in his first four seasons with the Buckeyes.

Coming off a 2014 national championship victory, the Buckeyes spent eight weeks on top of the polls and looked poised to make another run for the trophy, but the loss to Michigan State derailed those aspirations. Ohio State finished the season with a 12-1 record and went 7-1 in conference play, tied with Michigan State, but did not represent the East Division in the Big Ten Championship game due to the head-to-head loss to the Spartans.

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The Buckeyes were heavy favorites to win at home, with Michigan State starting quarterback Connor Cook sidelined, but Ohio State managed just 132 total yards and went 4 of 14 on third downs.

Although running back Ezekiel Elliot carried the ball 12 times for just 33 yards as the offense stalled, Ohio State led 14-7 going into the fourth quarter. However, 10 unanswered points by the Spartans to close the game was enough to give Meyer nightmares about the defeat for the next eight years.