As I settled into my seat in one of the Michigan State press boxes Saturday, I was reminded of some not so great moments in the history of Buckeye football.

Just before the opening kickoff, I heard one radio broadcaster say, “Remember, an underdog Michigan State team did beat and undefeated OSU team 28-24 in 1998.”

For the record, the Spartans did not upset the Buckeyes Saturday, getting trounced 38-7. In fact, the only people upset at Spartan Stadium were the hapless MSU backers, who left the game faster then Teddy Ginn Jr. ran past green and white defenders.

The only time MSU threatened to make the game interesting was after OSU freshman running back Chris Wells put the ball on the ground on the third play of the game, giving the Spartans the ball at the Buckeye 31 yard line. The next two possessions by the OSU defense and offense truly showed what OSU football 2006 is all about.

The defense held MSU to a loss of one on a first down carry, an incompletion on second down, and a James Laurinaitis sack and 16-yard loss on third down, forcing the Spartans to punt the ball back to OSU.

The high-octane OSU offense then embarked on a march that would have made General George Patton proud. The Buckeyes drove 80 yards on 12 plays, converting three third-down situations. Running back Antonio Pittman capped the drive with a two-yard plunge to give OSU an early lead, and most importantly, stole away any momentum MSU had from the recovered fumble.

Three quarters and 31 points later, the Buckeyes had another convincing victory over a clearly weaker opponent. The win was OSU’s ninth straight victory over a Big 10 opponent, and kept the Bucks atop the national rankings.

Thus far, these Buckeyes have not only beaten every team they have played, but have in convincing fashion. Excluding the Bowling Green game, OSU has covered the spread every contest.

Despite the recent success of Buckeye football, this form of dominance is something new in Columbus. Being upset as the No. 1 team was becoming an annual expectancy in the mid 1990’s, as OSU lost as the top-tier team three straight seasons, twice to arch-rival Michigan, and yes, the 1998 heartbreaker to the Spartans, who were 4-4 at the time of the shocking upset. Even in the 2002 National Championship season, OSU caused their fans to perspire more then a 13-year-old kid on his first date. OSU needed a forth-and-one and one miracle to beat a 6-6 Purdue team, overtime to beat a subpar Illinois, and an end zone interception to dispatch Cincinnati, who was in Conference USA at the time.

The new breed of Buckeyes play the way they are supposed to play: In a dominating fashion. They beat teams with such a force that they leave no question who the best team on the field that day was. This team plays with an execution, a swagger, and a force that no team has played like at OSU in quite some time. Plain and simple: OSU does not lose to the Michigan States of the world. Put to rest the Buckeye teams of 1968, 1998, and 2002. This is OSU, 2006.

As I was leaving the stadium, I saw a 10-year-old Michigan State fan sitting alone, obviously still dejected after the OSU victory. As I passed him, we exchanged a few words about football, and his fallen team. “I don’t think we’ve ever beaten OSU,” the kid said. I then told him about that fabled 1998 game, which happened when this fan was two. “Wow, that was a long time ago,” the boy said in response.

Yes, it was a long, long time ago.

Brian DeArdo is The Lantern staff writer. He can be reached at [email protected].