Author: 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.
Posted on

Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1978

The fourth installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State takes us to 1978. This was an unusual time in America, and particularly in southeastern Michigan. The automobile industry was undergoing changes and facing significant competition from foreign manufacturers. People wanted desperately to feel optimistic, but there was an uneasy sense in the nation. For Michigan students, alumni, and fans, the UM football team provided a temporary escape from their concerns.

While head coach Bo Schembechler always preached the importance of focusing on the team, there’s no denying the fact that quarterback Rick Leach was the face of those Michigan teams from 1976 through 1978. Sure, Michigan boasted its usual staunch defense and pulverizing offensive line, but Leach grabbed most of the headlines as he slashed his way through defenses. In 1978, Leach led Michigan back to Ohio Stadium, where the Maize and Blue had routed the Buckeyes two years earlier. This time, it would be a little more challenging. Michigan running back Harlan Huckleby didn’t play and fullback Russell Davis was sick. Compounding that was the fact that Leach pulled a hamstring in the second quarter. So, how did Leach respond? He threw a pair of touchdown passes, one for 30 yards to Rodney Feaster and one for 11 yards to Roosevelt Smith, to lead the Wolverines to a 14-3 win over their rivals from Columbus.

Still, any report on this game would be remiss if it didn’t mention the Michigan defense. The Wolverines held the Buckeyes to just 48 passing yards, and Michigan’s third down efficiency was impressive, to say the least. Michigan allowed Ohio State to convert only four of 16 third down opportunities, ushering the Buckeye offense off the field swiftly. Linebacker Ron Simpkins led the Wolverines with 15 total tackles, and middle guard Mike Trgovac had two tackles for loss.

The win marked Michigan’s third consecutive triumph over Ohio State, and it was the 10th and final game between Bo and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. The series continued to be intense in subsequent years, but it lacked the galvanizing coaching personalities that marked that 10-year period, which many consider to be the height of the rivalry.

Thanks, as always, to ABC Sports, and to YouTube posters WolverineHistorian and Dr. Sap. I own nothing and this blog and the accompanying videos are posted strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

Posted on

Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1989

The third installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State takes us back to 1989. The Wolverines had a fair number of talented players in the secondary that season, including safeties Vada Murray, Tripp Welborne, and Corwin Brown. But on this day, the defensive star was cornerback Todd Plate.

Don’t go scouring old game programs for information on Plate; you won’t find much. The ’89 iteration of The Game was his signature performance. Plate intercepted two passes that day as the Wolverine defense welcomed Ohio State coach John Cooper to Ann Arbor for the first time.

Of course, Michigan’s 28-18 win wasn’t strictly defense. Michigan used an old-fashioned ball control running game to take control of the game for good, highlighted by a 13-play, 81-yard drive that consisted entirely of running plays, which was only appropriate, since this was the last time that Bo Schembechler would coach in The Game. Allen Jefferson capped the drive with a short touchdown run into the south end zone, giving the Wolverines a 14-0 lead, and Schembechler was an expert when it came to preserving a lead.

With the victory, the team gave Bo the sendoff present that mattered most to him: The Big Ten championship of 1989.

Thanks to ABC Sports and YouTube poster expressfan. As always, I own nothing, and this blog and video are posted strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

Posted on

Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1996

The second installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State takes us back to 1996. On the morning of the game, I was driving up to Buffalo, N.Y. with my wife to watch the worst Jets team in history take on the Buffalo Bills. On the radio while we were driving, someone on the radio referred to The Game, and noted that Ohio State was the favorite. He added that he expected OSU fans to sing “Buckeye Battle Cry” many times after the end of the game.

That’s exactly when I knew Michigan was going to win.

Yes, that sounds corny. Call it what was defined in “Star Wars” as a “tremor in the force.” Sure, that sounds even cornier, but the fact is that I just had a sudden feeling that Michigan was going to win that day. By the time we checked into our hotel room in Hamburg, N.Y., the game was down to the final play, and sure enough, Marcus Ray intercepted a Joe Germaine pass and eventually came to a sliding halt. Man, those were the days!

In retrospect, when you watch the game on YouTube, Ohio State had the better of play in the first half, but the 9-0 half time margin was far from commanding. Then came the second half. Brian Griese entered the game, and the beginning of the Griese legend was about to take shape. Griese connected with Tai Streets on a post pattern that produced a touchdown, and it was evident that Michigan was determined to play the role of the less-than-cooperative underdog. Oddly enough, Michigan wound up losing to Alabama in the Outback Bowl. Still, in my mind, many of the seeds for that glorious 1997 season were planted on that day in Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks, as always, to ABC Sports and YouTube poster j bakkar. I own nothing and this blog and the attached video are strictly posted for the enjoyment of readers.

Posted on

Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1998

The first installment of this year’s series on the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry takes us to 1998. The late ‘90s were heady times for the Maize & Blue, and the offseason leading up to the ’98 season might have been the headiest time of all. Coming off a perfect season and a share of the national championship, Michigan had vanquished all the ghosts of seasons past. An expansion of 5,000 seats enabled Michigan Stadium to reclaim the title of nation’s largest college football stadium, and the addition of highly-touted quarterback recruit Drew Henson and highly-touted running back Justin Fargas had Michigan fans dreaming of even more glory.

Unfortunately for Michigan, the 1998 season unfolded with all the charm of a hangover. Many critical players graduated or left early to join the National Football League. My wife and I attended the home opener in the newly expanded stadium, hoping to see the raising of the National Championship banner (in our native New York, the raising of a world championship banner borders on a religious experience). Sadly, Michigan didn’t raise a national championship banner in the stadium, and Donovan McNabb and Syracuse thrashed Michigan.

Still, by the final week of the regular season, Michigan had righted the ship, and was in position to win the Big Ten championship with a victory in Columbus. Unfortunately, Ohio State was lying in wait for Michigan, still smarting from a loss in Ann Arbor the previous season. By now, everyone knows how that game turned out. A year earlier, Michigan cornerback Andre Weathers had been one of the heroes for the Wolverines; this time, Ohio State receiver David Boston burned him for a pair of touchdown receptions on the way to a 31-16 Ohio State win.

Fortunately for Michigan, the Wolverines adhered to Bo Schembechler’s old rule not to let one loss become two losses, as they routed Hawaii in a rare season-ending non-conference game, and then overcame two deficits to top Arkansas in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Thanks, as always, to ABC Sports, and to YouTube poster Stephen Barnett. We own nothing, and this post is strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPB76vENTwg

Posted on

Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 2000

The fifth and final installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 2000. Prior to the new year, there were widespread fears about Y2K, and what it would mean to computers around the world. There were fears of mass transit problems, complete with concerns that Y2K could seriously hurt the trains in this country.

As it turned out, the Y2K computer problems never materialized, and computer problems were really Michigan State’s only hope of stopping the A Train, Anthony Thomas. In his final game against the Spartans, Thomas rushed 25 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns, averaging a whopping seven yards per carry. Throw in a Michigan defense that had bad memories of the previous year in East Lansing, and it was the perfect recipe for a 14-0 shutout of the Spartans.

The game started with junior quarterback Drew Henson deftly mixing the run and the pass, but the Wolverines failed to score very much. In the first quarter, Thomas punched the ball over from the 1-yard line, and that was really all Michigan would need. Later in the game, the Wolverines’ defense put its stamp on this game with a goal line stand that ended with Michigan linebacker Victor Hobson stripping the ball away and Eric Wilson making the recovery to give Michigan possession of both the ball and the momentum. In the third quarter, Thomas scored on a 31-yard run that was just icing on the cake. The Wolverines’ defense had already established which team was better.

All in all, the Wolverines were young in 2000 and struggled when playing away from Michigan Stadium. The Pasadena heat doomed them in an early season loss to UCLA, and losses to Big Ten foes Purdue and Northwestern prevented the Wolverines from going to a more serious bowl. The season ended with a 31-28 win over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, hardly a fitting conclusion to the careers of Thomas and offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson. Henson left school permanently in the offseason, lured by the baseball dollars of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Thanks to ABC Sports and YouTube poster WolverineHistorian. As always, we own nothing, and this video and blog are strictly for the enjoyment of readers.