The Buckeyes Do Not Want Another Sequel To “Darkest Day”

I realize that I may be in the minority of this opinion, but I do not believe that the sequel or sequels to a movie are ever as good as the first. Yes, I know that there are fans of the Star Wars films who will passionately point out that The Empire Strikes Back is better than A New Hope. I know that in 1975, The Godfather, Part II became the only sequel to be named as Best Picture, just as The Godfather was in 1973.

I also know that there are Ohio State fans out there like me who want no part of what took place on October 10th, 1987 to happen again in Ohio Stadium.

Indiana 31, Ohio State 10.

After the conclusion of the game, Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce said, “It’s got to be the darkest day I’ve seen in Ohio State football.”

Similar to the tagline of Jaws 2 of “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…”, Indiana proved that the 1987 win was no fluke, as the Hoosiers thrashed the Buckeyes 41-7 in Bloomington on October 8th, 1988. Ohio State head coach John Cooper, who was in his first year coaching the Buckeyes, stated, “I don’t think I have ever been so puzzled about a team in all my life.”

Fortunately for Ohio State fans, those days of losing to Indiana are in the rearview mirror. Except for a 27-27 tie in 1990 (yes, those actually used to exist), Ohio State has come out on the winning side of the ledger every time since that dreadful two-year stretch of 1987 and 1988.

Oh, that is not to suggest that Indiana has not come very close to snapping their losing streak. John Cooper had his share of close calls during his tenure, especially in the early 1990s. Jim Tressel had a humdrum 27-14 win over Indiana in 2001, before settling into comfortably handling the Hoosiers in his Ohio State coaching career. Urban Meyer had scares in 2012 (52-49) and in 2015 (34-27), both in Bloomington. And Ryan Day probably felt more than a little anxious in the COVID-wracked season of 2020 when Ohio State let Indiana get back into the game before eventually winning 42-35.

Knowing that Ohio State is going into this game with a reshuffled offensive line with Carson Hinzman at center and Austin Siereveld at left guard, and remembering Ohio State’s history versus Indiana, I suppose I am writing this with the mindset of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

Here is to hoping that the Buckeyes will come out in a dominating fashion and give Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his team an offer they can’t refuse — yet another Indiana loss to Ohio State.