College Football Old School Game of the Week: Ohio State Rallies From 31 Points Down to Beat Minnesota

Ohio State quarterback Greg Frey would complete 18 of 23 passes for 327 yards and throw three touchdowns in the second half alone.

In 1984, the Maryland Terrapins overcame a 31-point deficit to beat the Miami Hurricanes 42-40 to pull off the greatest comeback in college football history.

Five years later, the Ohio State Buckeyes would tie the record for largest deficit overcome to win a college football game as they came back from 31 points down to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Buckeyes came into the Minnesota game with a 4-2 record under second-year head coach John Cooper whose team had already equaled the same amount of victories they got in his first season in 1988.

On the field, the Buckeyes were led by junior quarterback Greg Frey, who had started every game for Ohio State since the beginning of the 1988 season with his top performance coming on September 24, 1988 when he led the Buckeyes back from a two-touchdown deficit in the final four minutes to a 36-33 comeback win over LSU.

Frey and the Buckeyes were looking for two more victories to become eligible for a bowl as they traveled to the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" to take on the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota also came into the game with a 4-2 record under fourth-year head coach John Gutekunst, who had complied a 18-20-2 since his arrival in 1986 and taken the Gophers to just one bowl game during that time.

If the Gophers were going to get bowl eligible, they would need to ride the legs of senior running back Darrell Thompson, who needed just 77 yards to cross the 4,000 yard career rushing mark, as the Gophers hoped to knock off the Buckeyes for the first time since 1981.

The Gophers got the ball to start the game as they did not pick up and were forced to punt the ball to the Buckeyes only to have the punt hit the leg of Ohio State tight end Rich Huffman leading to a recovery by Scott Streiff to give the Gophers the ball at the Buckeyes' 28-yard-line.

Four plays later, the Gophers were in the end zone as Thompson punched it in from 12 yards out to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead just 2:49 into the game.

After both teams traded punts on their ensuing possessions, the Buckeyes had the ball at their 33-yard-line when Frey was sacked by Minnesota defensive end Eddie Miles to jar the ball loose as defensive tackle Bob Coughlin recovered the fumble at the Ohio State 22-yard-line.

A pair of runs by Thompson which totaled 13 yards gave Minnesota a 1st & goal at the nine-yard-line as three straight running plays gained six yards to set up 4th & goal from the three-yard-line when the Gophers decided to go for the touchdown.

It looked like the gamble was going to pay off as quarterback Scott Schaffner took it in for a three-yard touchdown only to have it nullified by a holding penalty which pushed the Gophers back 10 yards to the Ohio State 13-yard-line.

Brent Berglund would come on to kick a 30-yard field goal which increased Minnesota's lead to 10-0 with  as Carlos Snow would return the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to give Ohio State a 1st & goal at the Gophers' nine-yard-line.

But after the next two plays netted only one yard, disaster struck for the Buckeyes on 3rd & goal when Frey was hit by Minnesota defensive tackle Mike Sunvold, causing the ball to come loose and land in the arms of defensive back Sean Lumpkin, who then ran it back for a 85-yard touchdown to increase the Gophers' lead to 17-0 with 3:07 left in the first quarter.

The score remained 17-0 as the game moved into the second quarter when the Gophers got the ball at their 27-yard-line as wide receiver Steve Rhem ran for 15 yards on two carries, then caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Schaffner at the end of the four-play drive which pushed the Minnesota lead to 24-0.

Things would get worse for the Buckeyes on their ensuing possession as Frey had a pass intercepted by Minnesota linebacker Joel Staats after it was tipped by defensive end Skeeter Akre to give the Gophers the ball at the Ohio State 44-yard-line.

From there, it would take nine plays for the Gophers to get back into the end zone as Schaffner threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Chris Gaiters to push the Minnesota lead to 31-0 with 4:29 left in the first half.

Minnesota running back Darrell Thompson would carry the ball 29 times for 133 yards and score one touchdown.

It seemed hopeless for the Buckeyes as they now trailed by 31 points and would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to punt the ball back to the Gophers,

However, the Buckeyes would get a reprieve as Minnesota was called for 12 men on the field during the punt, drawing a 15-yard penalty and giving Ohio State a 1st down at its 35-yard-line.

A pass interference penalty on the Gophers would give the Buckeyes another 15 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line as Snow would run the ball twice as he gained 13 yards to give Ohio State a fresh set of downs at the Minnesota 37-yard-line when Frey connected with Bobby Olive for a 30-yard completion to give the Buckeyes a 1st & goal at the Gophers' seven-yard-line.

Three straight runs by Snow for a total of six yards would set up 4th & goal from the one-yard-line as the Buckeyes would go for the touchdown which they got when Snow punched it in for the one-yard touchdown that with Frey's two-point pass to Jeff Graham cut the Gophers' lead to 31-8 as the first half came to an end.

The Buckeyes would get the ball to start the second half as they were able to drive 66 yards in nine plays to set up a 25-yard field goal by Pat O'Morrow which trimmed Minnesota's lead to 31-11 with 10:04 remaining in the third quarter.

The Buckeyes would be given a golden opportunity to cut even further into the lead when on the first play of the Gophers' ensuing possession, Thompson lost the football as Ohio State linebacker Steve Tovar would recover the fumble to give Frey and the offense the ball at the Minnesota 23-yard-line.

However, the Buckeyes would give the ball right back when on the very next play as running back James Bryant tried to throw a halfback pass, only to have it intercepted by Minnesota cornerback Fred Foggie to give the Gophers the ball back at their five-yard-line.

Six straight runs by Thompson for 50 yards would help Minnesota drive to the Ohio State 38-yard-line until the Gophers punted the ball back to the Buckeyes, who would take over at their two-yard-line.

The Gophers seemed poised to get the ball back in good field position as the first two plays of the Buckeyes' drive picked up only three yards until Frey completed a 13-yard pass to Snow on 3rd & 7 to give Ohio State a 1st down at its 18-yard-line.

From there, Frey completed a 20-yard pass to Graham, then handed the ball off to Snow who ran for nine yards to set up 2nd & 1 when Scottie Graham would carry the ball for six yards to pick up another Ohio State a 1st down at the Minnesota 47-yard-line.

Frey would then hit Greg Beatty for 21 yards which was followed by a nine-yard run by Snow and two straight runs by Scottie for two yards, all leading to Frey's 15-yard touchdown pass to Snow to end the 11-play, 98-yard drive which cut the deficit to 31-18 with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

With their lead now down to 13 points, the Gophers would get great field position to start their next drive as Gaiters returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Minnesota 49-yard-line.

From there, the Gophers would drive 37 yards in nine plays as Berglund would come on to kick a 32-yard field goal to increase the Minnesota lead to 34-18 with 11:24 left in the fourth quarter.

It would only take the Buckeyes 93 seconds to get back into the end zone as a 45-yard return by Dante Lee on the ensuing kickoff would give Ohio State the ball at the Minnesota 46-yard-line as Frey would complete a 17-yard pass to Olive on 3rd &8, then connected with Snow on a 27-yard touchdown to cut the Gophers' lead to 10 points.

The Buckeyes would go for two again and would again be successful as Snow caught the two-point pass from Frey to make it an one-possession game at 34-26 with 9:51 remaining.

Ohio State would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball at their 33-yard-line with a chance to tie the game, only to have them turn it over for the sixth time in the game when a bad snap out of the shotgun formation lead to a fumble recovery by Lumpkin to give Minnesota the ball at the Buckeyes' 28-yard-line.

After a holding penalty pushed them back 10 yards, the Gophers would pick up 14 yards on the next three plays to set up a 42-yard field goal by Berglund to push the Minnesota lead back to double digits at 37-26 with 5:15 left in the game.

Carlos Snow would account 278 all-purpose yards on 30 touches as he scored three touchdowns.

The Buckeyes would start their ensuing drive at their 32-yard as Frey completed four consecutive passes for 60 yards to put Ohio State at the Minnesota eight-yard-line as two incomplete passes and a holding penalty would push the Buckeyes back 10 yards to the Gophers' 18-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & goal.

That is when Frey would complete a 17-yard pass to Jeff Graham to set up a 4th & goal from the one-yard-line when Cooper decided to go for the touchdown as Frey would keep it himself on a quarterback option as he punched it in for one-yard touchdown that with his two-point pass to Graham made it 37-34 in favor of the Gophers with 3:04 to go in the game.

The Gophers would get the ball at their 32-yard-line to start their next possession only to pick up a 1st down or two and run out the clock so they could escape with the win.

But with Thompson on the sidelines with a bruised right hip, the Gophers could not pick up a 1st down as they gained four yards on three plays, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Buckeyes who would take over at their 27-yard-line with 1:52 left and no timeouts.

Frey would complete an 18-yard pass to Snow to start the drive, then hit Chris Stablein for 19 yards to give Ohio State a 1st down at the Minnesota 36-yard-line when Akre would sack Frey, dropping him for a 13-yard loss to force 2nd & 23.

However, Frey would overcome the loss of yards as hit tight end Jim Palmer for 34 yards to give the Buckeyes a 1st down at the Minnesota 15-yard-line when Frey threw a pass for Jeff Graham in the right corner of the end zone.

Graham would make the catch for the 15-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at 41-37 with 51 seconds left in the game.

The Gophers would get one last chance to salvage themselves from an historic defeat as they began their next possession at their 38-yard-line as Schaffner completed a seven-yard pass to tight end Shane Strain, then completed back-to-back passes to Pat Tingelhoff for a total 33 yards to put Minnesota at the Ohio State 22-yard-line with seven seconds to play.

That is when Schaffner rolled to his left and fired a pass for Rhem in the back of the end zone who got his fingertips on the ball before it fell to the ground for an incomplete pass to end the game with the Buckeyes on top 41-37.

The Gophers would somewhat recover from their collapse against Ohio State to finish the season with a 6-5 record as they defeated rivals Wisconsin and Iowa in the final month of the regular season though they would not be invited to a postseason bowl game.

As for the Buckeyes, they would finish the regular season with a 8-3 record to earn them an invitation to play Auburn in the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Florida where the Tigers would defeat Ohio State 31-14 as the Buckeyes would finish ranked #24 in the final AP poll.

The win over Minnesota remains the greatest comeback in Ohio State history while the record for greatest comeback in college football history was broken in 2006 by the Michigan State Spartans as they overcame a 35-point deficit to beat Northwestern.