On this date in Ohio State football: Sept. 18, 2013
![Ohio State split end Joey Galloway (7) is lifted into the air by Juan Porter (65) after his second quarter touchdown against Michigan State during the 1993 season. [File photo]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/2019/09/17/NBUX/ghows-OH-ce7ead0b-ad16-460d-9e38-ef1b0f8902e5-efcd3ec4.jpeg?width=300&height=424&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Taking a look back at a game Ohio State played on this date:
Ohio State 63, Pittsburgh 28
Setup: John Cooper's sixth Ohio State team was coming off an easy win over Rice and a victory over No. 12 Washington in a raucous night game in the 'Shoe. Week 3 called for the Buckeyes to travel to dilapidated Pitt Stadium, the site of a humiliating 42-10 loss in Cooper's second game as coach. The shoe was on the other foot this time.
Stars: Joey Galloway scored three touchdowns, Eddie George added two and Butler By'not'e returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a score to jump-start the proceedings on a day when OSU finished with 502 yards.
Turning point: The return by By'not'e was followed in quick succession by four more scores on the Buckeyes' first 21 plays from scrimmage as they raced to a 35-0 lead before the second quarter was a minute old. Pitt's four TDs came in garbage time — the entire second half.
Impact: The Buckeyes started 8-0 and enjoyed their best season under Cooper — although "enjoy" is not the verb most fans would use to describe the aftertaste of a season-ending, 28-0 loss to Michigan that denied Ohio State an outright Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl bid.
Quotable: "John Cooper and I, I would consider (us) friends. ... I have a lot of respect for John. He has his best team, he thinks, and who am I to disagree?" — Pitt coach Johnny Majors, who could offer no excuses for his team's thrashing.
rstein@dispatch.com