When Florida State went into Columbus, Ohio and knocked off the seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in 1981 by a 36-27 score, it served as quite the shock. When the Seminoles returned the following year, they came expecting to win.
When FSU arrived at the stadium affectionately referred to as “The Horseshoe” on Oct. 2, 1982, not many were expecting a similar result. The Seminoles had managed just touchdown victories over Cincinnati and Southern Mississippi and had been defeated by Pittsburgh by 20 points in between.
The Buckeyes however, weren’t exactly flying high. After beating Baylor and Michigan State to open the year, Ohio State had been upset at home the week before and was primed to avoid allowing it happen two weeks in a row. Unfortunately for Ohio State, history would repeat itself.
Early on, things went well for Ohio State as Tim Spencer opened the scoring with an 8-yard first quarter touchdown. It took FSU less than four minutes to answer as head coach Bobby Bowden dialed up a trick play and running back Cedric Jones found quarterback Kelly Lowrey for the 11-yard touchdown.
About a minute later, Rich Spangler kicked a 40-yard field goal to put the Buckeyes up 10-7, but that would be the last time they would lead.
Lowrey again led the Seminoles into the end zone, but this time, he was doing the passing. Lowrey hit Zeke Mowatt for a 6-yard touchdown with 13:41 to play in the second quarter. Running back Greg Allen extended the lead to 21-10 with more than nine minutes to play in the half.
Ohio State was able to seize some momentum before the break as Spencer scored his second touchdown with 2:05 to play in the half — this time on a 31-yard pass from Brent Offenbecher. The score cut the lead to 21-17 at the break, but that would be the last time the Buckeyes would get on the board.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Seminoles seized control late. Blair Williams replaced Lowrey and found an open Jessie Hester from nine yards out with 11:54 to play in the game. The extra point was no good, but momentum stayed on FSU’s side after Jim Gayle fumbled the ensuing kickoff.
The Seminoles took over at the Ohio State 22-yard-line and needed just four plays to find the end zone. Ricky Williams’ 10-yard march put the exclamation point on a 34-17 FSU win in Columbus.
FSU finished the day with 496 yards of offense, but turnovers from both teams thwarted scoring opportunities. FSU turned the ball over four times while the Buckeyes committed five turnovers.
Allen and Williams combined for 181 yards to anchor the ground attack while Tommy Young and Larry Harris anchored the FSU defense. Young recorded a pair of interceptions while Harris had a sack, interception and fumble recovery to go with his team-high eight tackles. Alphonso Carreker added a sack for the Seminoles while Brian McCrary came away with another pick.
Although neither team entered the day ranked, Florida State would go on to finish the year with a 9-3 record and a No. 13 national ranking. Ohio State won seven of its eight final games to finish 12th and with an identical 9-3 record.
Florida State and Ohio State have not played during the regular season since the contest that happened on this day 35 years ago. The only other contest between the teams came in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1997 season. The Seminoles won that contest, 31-14, to improve to 3-0 all-time against the Buckeyes.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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