Ohio State vs. Michigan: Ranking the Rivalry Wins of the Jim Tressel Era
Ohio State's head coach Jim Tressel has an 8-1 record against the Buckeyes' biggest arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines.
It is that number that has endeared Jim Tressel to the Buckeye faithful, and it has made it so Jim Tressel could go into any bar in the state and get a free beer...although the soft-spoken, sweater vest-wearing Tressel would probably order a ginger ale and insist that he pay.
Tressel has taken three teams to National Championship games, winning one, and did exactly what his predecessor John Cooper could not do—beat Michigan—as Cooper went 2-10-1 against the team up North.
Tressel has broken out every stop against the Wolverines, from implementing the best of Tressel Ball to wear down their defense and preserve victory, to airing out the long ball. He has his boys on a six-game win streak against Michigan.
Only one player on Ohio State has lost in the rivalry game, Justin Boren, who saw the light a few years ago and transferred to Ohio State.
So let's take a walk down memory lane and rank all of Jim's wins over Michigan, starting with number eight.
8. 2008 Ohio State 42, Michigan 7
1 of 8
For the second year in a row, the Ohio State defense held Michigan's offense to under 10 points for the game, but unlike the year before they had an offensive explosion to give them some breathing room.
Ohio State's Beanie Wells ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, Dan Herron ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman phenom Terrelle Pryor threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns as OSU blew out Michigan in Rich Rod's first OSU-UM game.
At one point, Ohio State was pinned on its own 9-yard line, until Wells ran for 42 yards and Herron ran for 49 yards on consecutive plays to put OSU up 21-7.
By that point the game was well in hand, and the Buckeyes cruised to their biggest win over Michigan since winning 50-14 in 1968.
7. 2009 Ohio State 21, Michigan 10
2 of 8
After debuting their white-domed uniforms made especially for the game, OSU went on to take care of business the best way they know how: with oodles of defense.
The win may not have been as exciting as in years past since Michigan was sitting at 5-6 coming into the game, with a 1-5 Big Ten record.
However, the win did give Ohio State it's fifth straight Big Ten Title and it propelled the Bucks to their first Rose Bowl victory since 1997.
The beefy Ohio State defense held Michigan to only 10 points as a result of four interceptions and a fumble by Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier.
Forcier was the second Michigan quarterback in the Tressel Era to throw four interceptions in the big game, something that hadn't happened since John Navarre did it in 2001, and before that in 1960.
The loss made Rich Rodriguez the first coach to lose his first two games against Ohio State.
6. 2004 Ohio State 37, Michigan 21
3 of 8
This was one of the most fulfilling wins of the Jim Tressel Era, as it came a season after OSU's first loss to Michigan under Tressel, and it also upset the then No. 7 Wolverines.
The game started with a bang, as OSU struck like a rattlesnake, scoring less than two minutes into the game with a 67-yard pass from Troy Smith to Anthony Gonzalez.
The boys in scarlet and grey would put the game out of reach in the third quarter when Ohio State's explosive return man Ted Ginn Jr. returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown, his fourth return touchdown on the season as a freshman.
The game featured two huge passes by Smith of more than 40 yards and a 47-yard run by Smith, who totaled 145 rush yards and 241 passing yards for the game. It was his best game since taking over for Justin Zwick at midseason.
This win was especially delightful for the Buckeye fans, as they opened the Big Ten season with three straight losses and were looking like a team on the decline.
The Buckeyes won the game to go to 7-4 on the season and went on to win the Alamo Bowl over Oklahoma State, salvaging their season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
5. 2005 Ohio State 25, Michigan 21
4 of 8
For the second year in a row, Troy Smith had a career day on the last game of the regular season to beat Michigan in the process.
Ohio State came into the game ranked ninth in the nation, and Michigan came in at No. 17, putting an added subplot to the game. With the win, Ohio State earned a share of the Big Ten Title with Penn State.
OSU went into halftime with a 12-7 lead, but relinquished it on a set of miscues, a fumble by Smith and a botched punt which gave Michigan a 21-12 lead with less than eight minutes left in the game.
Then Troy Smith took over.
Smith took the offense down for a touchdown on five plays, three of which were huge passes after eluding sack after sack.
A 26-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes got Ohio State to within two points.
After the defense held strong, OSU got the ball back with four minutes to go and 88 yards to drive.
With more magic from Smith, who spun away from defenders and jolted backwards in the blink of an eye to avoid another diving defender on successive plays to keep the team moving forward, OSU was able to drive again.
A one-handed catch by Ted Ginn Jr. and a diving catch by Anthony Gonzalez set up a four-yard run by Antonio Pittman to put OSU ahead. From there the game was iced.
4. 2007 Ohio State 14, Michigan 3
5 of 8
This game was all Beanie Wells and Ohio State defense.
Ohio State came into this game after a disappointing loss to Illinois the week before and needed to win the game to both win the Big Ten Title and keep their hopes for a trip to the National Championship Game alive.
Wells put together all the scoring Ohio State would need, as he scored both touchdowns for Ohio State, all while amassing a career high 222 yards.
Wells had the signature run of his career in this game, coming on the opening drive of the third quarter when he broke a simple dive play up the middle for 62 yards to leave Michigan in his wake, breaking three tackles in the process.
The real star of the game, however, was the OSU defense, who absolutely shut down the high-powered Wolverine offense, allowing only 91 total yards—the first time UM had been held under 100 yard of offense since 1962.
They forced 10 three-and-outs and one four-and-out at the end of the game, keeping Michigan from a first down on 12 of their 15 drives.
The win and the dominoes that fell in the following weeks sent Ohio State to its second BCS National Championship Game in a row.
The game would be Lloyd Carr's last Michigan-Ohio State game, as he would retire after his team's Capital One Bowl win over then No. 9 Florida. He was replaced by Rich Rodriguez.
3. 2001 Ohio State 26, Michigan 20
6 of 8
This was a truly special victory for the Buckeyes as it was the first time the Buckeyes had won in Ann Arbor in 14 years.
Jim Tressel had come in slightly less than a year prior to the game and made it obvious that one of the most important things on his to-do list was to bring Ohio State back into contention in the rivalry.
In his introduction speech in January at the halftime of a basketball game, Tressel said, "I can assure you that you will be proud of our young people, in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the football field."
And oh boy, was Columbus proud.
Michigan came into the game looking to continue their dominance at home and wrap up at least a share of the Big Ten Title, as they came into the game at 6-1 in the conference.
Ohio State took the air out of The Big House early, running to a 23-0 lead in the first half with three touchdowns by Johnathan Wells and a safety in the final second of the half.
They did enough in the second half to hold off Michigan, finishing the game off 26-20 as the Bucks sprinted over to the visitors corner of the field and sang Carmen Ohio with the fans with all their might, knowing they had gotten a gorilla off their back by winning in Ann Arbor.
The Jim Tressel Era had officially begun.
2. 2006 Ohio State 42, Michigan 39
7 of 8
The game of the century.
This game was the most anticipated regular season game in decades, as two undefeated juggernauts came into the game at 11-0 each and were ranked No. 1 and No. 2.
It was the fourth time in the history of the rivalry, and the first since the 1970s that the two met at the end of the year when both teams were undefeated. OSU is 3-0-1 in those games.
The result was unexpected, as the two teams came in allowing only 20 points per game...combined...and nobody expected it to be the second highest scoring game in the history of the rivalry.
The hatred was not as vehement in this game, as Bo Schembechler died prior to the game, who was both an Ohio State alum and a former Michigan head coach.
Ohio State led by 14 points twice in the game, but the boys in blue refused to quit.
Down 28-14 at halftime, Michigan rallied to trail by only four points, 28-24 in the middle of the third quarter.
The teams traded touchdowns, as Ohio State went up 42-31 with only five minutes left in the game, but Michigan rallied yet again.
Their next drive covered 81 yards, and a 16-yard pass to Steve Breaston, followed by a two-point conversion by Steve Breaston put the game at 42-39.
Ted Ginn Jr. then recovered the onside kick, and the Bucks went on to ice the game and book their trip to the National Championship.
1. 2002 Ohio State 14, Michigan 9
8 of 8
The Buckeyes came into this game undefeated and looking to win their final game of the season to go to the Fiesta Bowl for a chance at a National Championship.
The memories from 1995 and 1996 were all too fresh going into this game, as Michigan beat Ohio State in both of those seasons to put an end to their perfect seasons and National Title hopes.
Fans were on edge the whole game, as the low scoring affair was close the whole time, with Michigan leading 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ohio State's game-winning drive came with less than nine minutes to play, and with two big plays, a 15-yard pass to Brandon Schnittker and a 26-yarder to Maurice Clarett, they set up a three-yard touchdown run by Mourice Hall.
There was no time to celebrate, however, as the Wolverines had two more drives that went deep into OSU territiory.
They stopped Michigan with two-and-a-half minutes left when Will Smith recovered a fumble by John Navarre and ended their second drive in the last five minutes on the 24-yard line with an interception by Will Allen.
The final seconds ticked off the clock and bedlam ensued in Columbus, as the Buckeyes finished the season 13-0 and went on to play Miami University in the Fiesta Bowl.
The rest, as they say, is history.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
