Ranking Best Games in Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry

Michigan vs. Ohio State has been called the greatest rivalry in sports, and the teams are meeting for the 97th straight year and 111th time overall. Michigan leads the series (58-46-6), but Ohio State has been on a roll, winning 11 of the last 13 meetings.

“The Game” has been marked by remarkable performances, surprising upsets and great competition. Both teams recruit many of the same players, and those who leave their home state to play for the other team often draw the ire of both family and friends.

The teams even refuse to use the given names of their respective institutions. Michigan is “that school up north,” and Ohio State is simply referred to as “Ohio.”

Here are some of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry.

1950 Michigan 9 Ohio State 3 Snow Bowl

Other games have been referred to as the “Snow Bowl,” but the very first one was played in 1950 between Michigan and Ohio State in Columbus.

According to the Ohio State University Libraries archives:

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The game was played in the teeth of a full-scale blizzard, five inches of snow on the ground and snow whistling through the air, borne on a 29-mile-per-hour gale. Despite the fact it was the worst blizzard in 37 years in Columbus, the Ohio capital easily defended its title as the football craziest town in the nation. A total of 50,503 persons braved the elements, staying below deck, under the Stadium, until just a few minutes before the kickoff.

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The weather conditions hid the lines on the field, and both teams combined to punt the ball 45 times. Ultimately, the game became a battle of field position with Michigan prevailing 9-3 and earning a trip to the Rose Bowl. Michigan scored its points on a safety and a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone.


WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

The game set the standard against which the weather of all future games would be judged. If current players ever whine about the weather, the coaches can use tape of this game to silence the whining.

1968 Ohio State 50 Michigan 14

According to the Ohio State University Libraries archives:

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The 8-0 Buckeyes met the Michigan Wolverines on November 23, 1968, in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd to ever fill Ohio Stadium (85,371). Ohio State was ranked number 1; Michigan was ranked number 4.

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This game played a pivotal role in making the modern rivalry what it is today. The Buckeyes led 20-14 at halftime before pulling away in the second half for a 50-14 victory.

Ohio State dominated the rushing statistics 421 to 140. But what really set the tone for the rivalry was that after its final touchdown, Ohio State went for a two-point conversion. Maybe it was intentional or maybe Hayes was covering for a mistake made by his players, but after the game when asked about the play, he reportedly said, “because they wouldn't let us go for three.”

The bitter humiliation felt by Michigan would not soon be forgotten.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

Many fans remember the score but forget that Michigan entered the game highly ranked. The crushing defeat set the stage for Michigan athletic director Don Canham to replace coach Bump Elliott with Bo Schembechler the next year, and the rest is history.

1922 Michigan 19 Ohio State 0

Ohio State scheduled Michigan for the official dedication game of the newly completed Ohio Stadium. Michigan crashed the party and beat Ohio State 19-0.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

As long as football is played at Ohio Stadium, the loss to Michigan on dedication day will be remembered—and reviled.

1995 Michigan 31 Ohio State 23

Ohio State entered the game undefeated (10-0) and was looking to win the national championship. Michigan entered the game with three losses but won with breakout performances from two of its players—Tim Biakabutuka (313 yards rushing) and freshman Charles Woodson (seven tackles and two interceptions).

According to the Michigan Daily, the rushing totals were a team effort:

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Biakabutuka gave much of the credit for doing it to his offensive line. 'I've been playing football for six years and even in high school I never saw holes that big,' he said. 'Anybody here could have run through those holes and gained all those yards…Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the nation, people were saying Michigan wasn't Michigan anymore, and we proved them wrong.'

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Woodson would continue to haunt Ohio State for his entire Michigan career.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

The perfect example of a game that fuels the rivalry. Michigan prevented Ohio State from competing for the national championship. Michigan did the same thing in 1993, a year after this game in 1996 and again in 2003.

2005 Ohio State 25 Michigan 21

Michigan was in position to pull an upset, but Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith rallied his team from a 21-12 fourth-quarter deficit. On his last two drives, Smith was 9-of-12 for 130 yards and a TD. The 88-yard final drive silenced the Michigan crowd with 24 seconds left in the game.

"There is nothing that can make you feel better after losing this game," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

Michigan was on track to win at home until Smith elevated his game to get the win for Ohio State. A great performance by a star player is a common occurrence in the rivalry and often decides the outcome.

2003 Michigan 35 Ohio State 21

The 100th game between the storied rivals saw Michigan win and prevent Ohio State from competing for a second consecutive national championship. Michigan won the Big Ten title outright on the performances of running back Chris Perry (154 yards and two touchdowns) and receiver Braylon Edwards (seven receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns).

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

Michigan prevented Ohio State from winning a national championship, took the conference title and won the 100th edition of “The Game.”

2006 Ohio State 42 Michigan 39

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan entered the game with the Big Ten title, national championship and bragging rights all on the line. Michigan trailed 28-14 at halftime on the road before storming back with 25 second-half points. Ohio State prevailed 42-39 in a shootout that had some in the media calling for a rematch to decide the national championship.

The “Game of the Century” came a day after the passing of former coach Bo Schembechler.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

The rivals battled with everything on the line and played a game for the ages.

1997 Michigan 20 Ohio State 14

Michigan beat Ohio State and secured a trip to the Rose Bowl. The game was a classic conflict between the two rivals that Michigan led 20-0 in the third quarter. Ohio State mounted a comeback but fell short, losing 20-14. Charles Woodson, who played high school football in Ohio, played a major role in the victory with a 78-yard punt return for touchdown, an interception and 37-yard reception on offense.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

Ohio State had a chance to spoil Michigan’s national title hopes but couldn’t get the job done, and a Wolverine from Ohio (Charles Woodson) clinched the Heisman Trophy.

1973 Michigan 10 Ohio State 10

The teams entered the game undefeated and played to a 10-10 stalemate at Michigan Stadium. In the closing minutes of the game, Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin was injured. The injury might have been the deciding factor when the Big Ten athletic directors voted to send Ohio State to represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. At this time it was the Rose Bowl or bust for Big Ten teams—the vote ended Michigan’s season and put in motion a series of events that would change the conference forever.

Schembechler was furious that the conference had picked Ohio State over Michigan and campaigned for the conference to end its practice of allowing only one team to play in a bowl game.

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

This game set events in motion that would allow the Big Ten to send more than one school to a bowl game. It also fueled animosity between Michigan and other schools who it believed had sided with Ohio State.

1969 Michigan 24 Ohio State 12

The game that launched the rivalry into the modern national consciousness. Ohio State entered the game with a 22-game win streak and was trying to repeat as national champions. Michigan was still smarting over the 50-14 beating it took the year before.

Michigan raced to a 24-12 halftime lead that ended up being the final score.

An estimated 22,000 Ohio State fans witnessed the upset in Michigan Stadium.

A common misconception is that Michigan defeated Ohio State on a “three yards and a cloud of dust” philosophy. While Schembechler would become known for this approach later in his Michigan career, the team passed the ball 20 times in the 1969 win, with most of those attempts coming in the first half. Also forgotten is that Michigan had a late second-quarter touchdown called back that could have further extended its lead.

Ohio State coach Woody Hayes told Bo Schembechler afterwards, “You’ll never win a bigger game.”

WHY IT’S A GREAT RIVALRY GAME

The game reignited the rivalry and was the beginning of what would come to be known as “The Ten Year War” between Schembechler and Hayes.

Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand

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