Buckeye Bracket: The greatest Ohio State play of the decade

Well, after a few weeks of voting and some really tough matchups, we have finally come to the conclusion of our Buckeye Bracket. It all began with 32 of the top plays from throughout the last 10 years of Ohio State football, but only one could be crowned the Greatest OSU Play of the Decade.

We have our winner: Ezekiel Elliott’s 85-yard TD run vs. Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl.

I can’t say I'm all that surprised with the voters, as this is likely the most commonly named favorite play among many Ohio State fans — maybe all-time. It really has it all: Zeke was the best in general, but he really turned on the jets in this one. The play put the game out of reach for Alabama, as the Buckeyes got to defeat the SEC’s best in their own backyard. We even get the added bonus of sad Crimson Tide fans and angry Nick Saban! What’s not to like?

Let’s take a look at the road we traveled to get to this point...

So much strong competition throughout this bracket. One of my personal favorite plays of the last few years — Justin Fields’ touchdown after returning from injury against Michigan — was knocked out in the very first round by Braxton Miller’s spin move, which went on to have a Cinderella run into the Final Four. Joey Bosa’s Penn State sack made a Final Four run as a No. 4 seed, but was eventually knocked off by our runner-up in Michael Thomas’ huge touchdown against Alabama.

The championship game came down to two plays from the same game, and we nearly had a Final Four that included three plays from the same game if Steve Miller’s pick-six could have held on. While both of the title contenders hold special places in the hearts of Buckeye fans, Zeke ran away with the voting and won with nearly double the amount of votes as his opponent to win the whole damn thing — much like he ran away with the National Championship in the actual football game that ensued.

Congrats to Elliott for his big victory, and thank you to all the Ohio State players past and present that have made each and every football season an enjoyable and memorable ride. We now look forward to the next decade, and what special plays these years shall bring.