Michigan Football 2011: Will Hoke Stop Buckeyes' Stranglehold on 'The Game'?
The subplots are numerous: national rankings, snowstorms, the Big Ten championship and even coaching careers have been at stake during the 114-year Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.
Michigan has the better of the overall series 57-44-6, but Ohio State has won the last seven meetings.
New Michigan coach Brady Hoke will be looking to reverse the trend, but he'll have to do it against Buckeye Coach Jim Tressel, who has a sparkling 9-1 record against the Wolverines.
Or will he? Because of the NCAA's investigation into the questionable merchandising practices of five OSU football players, Tressel's future might be in jeopardy. Naysayers not only accuse him of being in the middle of an on-campus cover-up, he's also reportedly lied to the NCAA. .
Hoke need not be concerned since he takes over a team that featured one of the nation's leakiest defenses. But there is optimism surrounding Michigan's spring practice. All-American Denard Robinson returns for his second year as the Wolverines' starting quarterback.
Let's look back at many of "The Game's" classic battles, There have been more than a few of them:
1901: Michigan 21, Ohio State 0
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Fielding Yost left Stanford to take over a Michigan team which had already displayed a high level of success. The next five years, however, was to become the most dominating in the history of the game.
From 1901 to 1905, Yost's teams compiled a 55-1-1 record, outscoring their opponents 2,821 to 42, hence the nickname "Point-a-minute" Wolverines.
Ohio State held Michigan to its lowest point total of the 1901 season, dropping a 21-0 decision before 33,000 at University Park in Columbus.
Michigan went on to win the nation championship, thanks in part to a 49-0 win over Stanford in the nation's first ever bowl game in Pasadena. Michigan wasn't invited back until the 1948 Rose Bowl game.
1902: Michigan 86, Ohio State 0
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Perry Hale was brought in to put the clamps on Yost's hurry-up Wolverines, but there was nothing doing as Michigan dominated the Buckeyes, 86-0, at Ann Arbor's Ferry Field. One of the few bits of smack in the new rivalry was offered by the Detroit Free Press. "Ohio State never got near enough to Michigan's goal line to see what the cross-bars looked like."
The Buckeye faithful weren't exactly happy, but the following year (1903) was more of the same. Michigan won 36-0 and Perry was eventually out of a job.
1919: Ohio State 13, Michigan 3
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John Wilce was the first OSU coach to beat Michigan. In fact, he put together a respectable 4-7 mark against the Wolverines. Overall, Wilce compiled a 78-33-9 record, including three Big Ten championships.
Before 25,000 at Ann Arbor's Ferry Field, Ohio State defeated Michigan 13-3. It was already Yost's 19th season as coach, and the faithful were getting restless.
The Wolverines went on to finish the season 3-4 (1-4).
In past years, banners reading "Yost's the Most," were often seen about town. But as the season progressed, the banners began to take on a different look.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
1926: Michigan 17, Ohio State 16
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The 1926 game was to be Yost's final season as Michigan's coach.
Before 90.411 in Columbus, Michigan held on to a 17-16 victory as Ohio State missed a late extra point.
Big Ten MVP and All-America quarterback Benny Friedman provided what amounted to be the winning margin with a surprise 42-yard field goal late in the first half. He also threw touchdown passes to Bennie Oosterbaan and Leo Hoffman.
1930: Michigan 13, Ohio State 0
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Harry Newman followed Friedman's footsteps to be another great quarterback. In the 1930 game, Newman set up the first touchdown, then scored it on a quarterback sneak. He also kicked the extra point before intercepting a pass to end a late Buckeye threat.
The Michigan band was ready to celebrate. "The final gun had hardly sounded before Michigan's ninety piece band was parading obliquely down the field blaring 'Hail to the Victors', Michigan's song of triumph and destiny.
1934: Ohio State 34, Michigan 0
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Francis Schmidt became the Ohio State coach hoping to reverse a trend that saw Michigan win nine of the last 12 games. But could the Buckeyes actually win? "Of course we can," Schmidt quipped.
"Those fellows put their pants on one leg at a time, the same as everyone else."
It didn't hurt that Michigan had plummeted from from a 7-0-1 slate and a national title in 1933, to a 1-5 mark before the 1934 game.
Even MVP center Gerald Ford, the eventual President of the United States, couldn't do much for this team. After the ensuing shutout, Schmidt's charges defeated Michigan three more times--all by shutout.
The four-game winning streak launched a new tradition in Columbus. When Ohio State beats Michigan, all the players are given a gold pants keepsake. Ironically, some of gold pendants are part of the merchandise traded for tattoos in the ongoing scandal involving Coach Tressel.
Michigan coach Harry Kipke, as you could imagine, was a goner after the fourth shutout
1940: Michigan 40, Ohio State 0
7 of 15What goes around comes around. Just as Frances Schmidt helped Harry Kipke out the door, now it's Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler sending Schmidt packing.
Crisler came to Michigan in 1938 with a bright new helmet, an effective single-wing attack, and a two-platoon system. The Wolverines were headed back to dominance. The 1940 season was led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon, QB Forest Evashevski, Ed Frutig, Paul Kromer and Ralph Fritz.
Harmon may have been the most versatile player in America. During the 1940 season, Harmon rushed for 852 yards, passed for 506, had 204 kick-off return yards, 234 punt-return yards, four interceptions, one field goal and 18 extra points. And, he averaged 37.0 yards punting.
1950: Michigan 9, Ohio State 3
8 of 15Nearly 50,000 football fans showed up to the Horseshoe in 30 mph winds and wind chills near zero degrees. While it appeared that the game might be cancelled, the ADs figured the battle should go on. Since the roads were becoming impassable fans weren't going anywhere, anyway. Plus the game could decide the conference championship and a trip to the much-warmer Rose Bowl.
The key play, and the game's only touchdown, occurred late in the first half. With 45 seconds left, Ohio State's Vic Janowicz had a punt blocked into his own end zone. Michigan fell on it and the game was basically over.
Ohio State fans were upset with the strategy, figuring the Buckeyes could have run out the remaining seconds of the half.
Michigan won a trip to the Rose Bowl, and OSU, and like other times in the rivalry, decided to fire Coach Wes Fesler. Woody Hayes became the next Buckeye coach at the outset of the 1951 season.
1964: Michigan 10, Ohio State 0
9 of 15The Wolverines made the trip to Columbus with a No. 6 ranking and a record blemished only by a 21-20 loss to Purdue. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 7 were pummeled by Penn State 27-0 for their only loss.
Michigan took advantage of a fumbled Buckeye punt return to score the game's only touchdown. Bob Timberlake hit Jim Detwiler from 18 yards out.
Timberlake added a 26-yard field goal and Michigan had its first Big Ten championship since 1950.
The Wolverines earned the trip to the Bowl Bowl and came away with a 34-7 victory over Oregon State.
1968: Ohio State 50, Michigan 14
10 of 15No. 1 Ohio State came into the game undefeated and underwhelmed. The No. 4 Wolverines had rebounded from an opening game loss to Cal and won eight straight. The Wolverines actually kept it close for a while, trailing 21-14 at halftime.
The Buckeyes overpowered Michigan 29-0 in the second half, even failing on a two-point conversion late in the game. When asked why OSU went for two, Woody reportedly shouted: "Because I couldn't go for three."
The Buckeyes defeated Southern Cal 27-16 in the Rose Bowl and were crowned national champions.
Michigan coach Bump Elliott resigned and former Buckeye assistant Bo Schembechler was hired to replace him. .
1969: Michigan 24, Ohio State 12
11 of 15There is an unwritten rule against cheering in the press box. But nothing was going to stop the Michigan football assistants from dancing on the roof.
Michigan's 24-12 upset of the self-proclaimed best team in college football history will go down in infamy.
The Wolverines, who came into the game as a 17-point underdog, stuffed Jim Otis on a fourth and two to stop the first drive and give Michigan some hope. Ohio State then scored a pair of first half touchdowns but missed the extra point attempt on the first, and failed at the two-point conversion on the second
Michigan came back from a 12-7 deficit to score 17 unanswered points to leave the field with a 12-point lead at halftime.
That opening stop on Otis showed that Michigan could control the line of scrimmage, thus forcing quarterback Rex Kern to throw. Since the Buckeyes hardly broke a sweat all season, Kern was out of his comfort zone, and he proved it by throwing one interception after another. The Buckeyes finished with seven turnovers.
1992: Ohio State 13, Michigan 13
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There's been a few football teams over the years, which have been undefeated and unappreciated. The 1992 edition of the Michigan Wolverines were all that and more. The "more" happened to be three ties.
One of them was a 13-13 standoff with Ohio State, which saw Buckeye QB Kirk Herbstreit bring his Buckeyes back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Herbstreit is better known for his work on ESPN's Game Day. He's also well known for "breaking" the story that had Les Miles becoming the next Michigan coach a few years back.
Neither that story nor the fact that this Michigan team was that great are true.
But the Wolverines, who clinched the Big Ten title by tying Illinois, went on to defeat Washington 38-31 in the Rose Bowl, finishing the season at 9-0-3 and ranked No. 5 in the nation.
1997: Michigan 20, Ohio State 14
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Michigan entered "The Game" undefeated and ranked No. 1. The No. 4 Buckeyes lone loss came at Penn State 31-27.
If there was any doubt, Charles Woodson clinched the Heisman trophy by retuning a punt for a touchdown, intercepting an Ohio State pass in Michigan's end zone, and catching a key 37-yard pass to set up a Michigan touchdown. The Wolverines earned a share of the 1997 national championship with Nebraska by defeating Washington State, 21-16, in the Rose Bowl.
2001: Ohio State 26, Michigan 20
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Jim Tressel took over from John Cooper to begin the 2001 season. Cooper had posted a decent 111-43-4 mark but won only twice in 13 tries against Michigan.
Tressel proved right away that the karma was changing. The Buckeyes jumped off to a 23-0 halftime lead, thanks to the rushing of Jonathon Wells and the indifferent play of Michigan quarterback John Navarre. On this day the better team was destined to lose.
Wells gained 129 yards on 25 carries, scoring three touchdowns (including a 46 yarder). Navarre on the other had three interceptions and was sacked four times.
Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel was basically a non-factor, just making sure his team didn't lose.
2006: Ohio State 42, Michigan 39
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Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler had passed a way what seemed like moments before the opening kickoff. But Michigan claimed it was ready for the matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.
Ohio State had the better stats, but Michigan battled back from a 28-14 halftime deficit to make a game of it.
Michigan's defense seemed intent on stopping Troy Smith's running game, and almost neglected the fact that Smith could indeed beat you with his arm. At least, on this day he could. Smith completed 29 of 41 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns, three coming before intermission.
The killer blow came with 5:38 left in the game and Michigan within four, 35-31, when Smith hit Brian Robiskie with what became the clinching touchdown pass.
Running backs Michael Hart and Antonio Pittman cancelled each other out, as Hart gained 142 yards on 23 carries and Pittman gained 139 yards on 18 carries.
The difference was Smith's elusiveness in the pocket and out. At times he was able to find some extra time to get a pass away.
Chad Henne, who is not known for his quickness, was sacked four times but still had an effective outing. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
With the hiring of Brady Hoke fans are already talking about the possibility of games like the 1997 and 2006 affairs.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
