Mac Aljancic: The top 10 comeback stories

In the span of just a week, Ohio State’s trashed title hopes were resurrected from a Maize and Blue casket thanks to USC’s PAC-12 title game loss to Utah. While some "Debbie Downers" within Buckeye Nation quickly began whining about an inevitable New Year’s Eve beat down from top-ranked Georgia, history has shown that unexpected opportunities have opened the door to awesome accomplishments. Here’s my latest "10-4 Good Buddy" list: Our area’s top 10 revived seasons over the last four-plus decades. These squads transformed hopelessness to happiness:

10. 1987 Buckeyes

OSU began the season as the nation’s fifth-ranked team, but limped into their finale losing three in a row and four of six, including their first loss to Indiana since 1951. At the start of Michigan week, OSU announced that head coach Earle Bruce would be fired after the game. Led by their passionate All-American captain Chris Spielman (from Massillon), this gritty Buckeye squad all wore "EARLE" headbands onto the field, then pulled out an emotional, upset 23-20 win in Ann Arbor.

9. 1989 Browns

Cleveland had high hopes coming off four straight playoff appearances, but a late-season four-game winless streak had the season looking as gloomy as the December skies off Lake Erie. The Browns rebounded in a pair of season-ending thrillers over eventual playoff teams: A snowy overtime victory vs. Vikings, then a 24-20 win in the Houston Astrodome on a last-minute touchdown. In the postseason, Cleveland edged Buffalo 34-30 thanks to a Clay Matthews end-zone interception of Jim Kelly in the final seconds, before falling to Denver in the AFC Championship for the third time in four years.

8. 2001 Buckeyes

This unranked, mediocre 6-4 OSU team upset No. 11 Michigan to kick-off coach Jim Tressel’s era of dominance: three BCS National Championship game appearances (one win); seven Big Ten titles and a 9-1 record vs. Michigan.

7. 2007 Browns

It’s hard to write off a season after just one game, but this was pretty close. Cleveland, which averaged less than five wins over the previous four seasons, were so dominated in their opening-game 34-7 loss at home to Pittsburgh that they traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye the very next day. Thanks to career seasons by QB Derek Anderson, TE Kellen Winslow Jr., and WR Braylon Edwards (each earning their only career Pro Bowl bid), Romeo Crennel’s gang finished 10-6, barely missing the playoffs.

6. 2004 Buckeyes

This unranked, mediocre 6-4 OSU team upset No. 7 Michigan to kick-off quarterback Troy Smith’s era of dominance: A 2006 Heisman Trophy and a 3-0 record vs. Michigan where he totaled 857 passing yards, 186 rushing yards, and 9 touchdowns.

5. 1984-85 Cavaliers

What’s a more hopeless start to a season, 0-9 or 2-19? This team accomplished both but somehow recovered to go 34-27 the rest of the way to sneak into the playoffs. Paced by sharpshooter World B. Free, high-flying Roy Hinson, and Canton’s Phil Hubbard, they gave the defending NBA champion Celtics all they could handle in the opening best-of-5series. The Cavs in four games, losing by 3 points, 2 points and 2 points.

4. 1997 Indians

In each of their previous two seasons, Cleveland sported the best regular season record in baseball, winning 65% of their games. With perennial All-Stars Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton both departing during the off-season, the Tribe won just 53% of their games in 1997, but still snuck into the playoffs. With little title buzz, the 86-win Indians then upset the 96-win Yankees and 98-win Orioles, becoming the third-worst team record-wise to ever make the World Series. They just missed capturing the crown, blowing a 2-1 ninth-inning game-seven lead before losing 3-2 in 11 innings to the Marlins.

3. 2016 Indians

The title hopes of this balanced, 94-win team looked finished after September injuries to starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. During the playoffs, Trevor Bauer suffered a bizarre drone-caused cut on his finger that greatly limited his effectiveness. Manager Terry Francona somehow navigated these landmines, piecing together the amazing pitching performances of starting ace Corey Kluber and reliever Andrew Miller to get the Tribe all the way to the 10th inning of World Series Game 7 before falling to the Cubs.

2. 2014 Buckeyes

Quarterback Braxton Miller, the two-time Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending injury during pre-season practice. OSU lost ugly in their home opener vs. Virginia Tech, dropping to No. 22 in the national rankings. Freshman QB J.T. Barrett's strong play helped his team slowly climb up the rankings. Barrett, however, broke his ankle late in a win over Michigan. Third-stringer Cardale Jones was forced into action and made the most of it. OSU obliterated Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten Championship, allowing Urban Meyer's club to leapfrog TCU’s Horned Frogs for the coveted No. 4 seed. The Buckeyes upset No. 1 Alabama (national champs in 2009, 2011, and 2012) in the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinals, then handled Oregon 42-20 to win the national crown

1. 2015-16 Cavaliers

This team had to climb out of some deep valleys during their journey to end a 52-year title drought for the city of Cleveland. Up to that point, only three of 31 NBA Finals teams down 2-0 ever recovered to win the title. And the Cavs were crushed by Golden State in those opening road games by 25 and 33 points. After winning Game 3 and losing Game 4, the Cavs became the first NBA team in 32 attempts to overcome from a 3-1 Finals deficit, highlighted at the end of Game 7 by two of the biggest plays in Cleveland sports history: LeBron James’ epic chase-down block, followed by Kyrie Irving’s game-winning 3.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Mac Aljancic's top 10 comeback teams