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THE GAME – Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1998

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games

The fourth installment in this year’s series looking back at the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry takes us to 1998. The national economy was roaring, Michigan was coming off a perfect season and National Championship in 1997, and Michigan Stadium had just undergone a renovation that expanded the seating capacity by 5,000 seats. Life was good for the maize and blue.

However, the 1998 season didn’t start the way that Michigan fans and alumni would have wanted. Adversity hit the Wolverines like a Mack truck, placing a damper on many celebrations. Fortunately, the Wolverines responded with renewed determination, and Michigan roared into Columbus with a perfect record in Big Ten Conference play, something that appeared unlikely just two months earlier.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Ohio State capitalized on its home field advantage in this game. The Buckeyes thoroughly outplayed the Wolverines in the first quarter, taking a 14-0 lead, and it could easily have been much worse. By halftime, Ohio State had expanded its lead to 21-0, and things were looking bleak for the Wolverines.

The Wolverines mustered up all their pride in the second half. Michigan scored 10 points in the third quarter to make the score respectable, but a touchdown pass from Joe Germaine to David Boston all but ended the drama. Ohio State won, 31-16, and advanced to the Rose Bowl. In a bizarre twist, Michigan played Hawaii to end the regular season, routing the Rainbow Warriors, 48-17. The Wolverines then defeated Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl, 45-31, to finish the season with a record of 10 wins and three losses.

Thanks to YouTube, ABC Sports, and YouTube poster College Football Historian for the video of this game. As always, we own nothing and we not profit from this content, which is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

1998 Michigan @ Ohio State; The Game; ABC College

About Jeff Cummins

Jeff Cummins has written about football since 1998, including nine years with The Record of Hackensack, N.J. He frequently contributes feature stories to Touchdown Illustrated, an insert in the national college football game program, published by University Sports Publications, and he has also written the official pregame stories for the game programs of the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. He has written the preview story for the official program for the NHL Winter Classic at MIchigan Stadium, and numerous college basketball feature stories for College Hoops Illustrated, another game program insert published by University Sports Publications. In addition, he has written stories about theater, music, physical therapy, and newsletter marketing. He’s an avid Michigan football fan and long-time New York Jets season ticket holder, and he can be reached at jeffcummins@optonline.net.

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