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.
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Michigan vs Ohio State THE GAME — Looking Back — The 2000 Edition

SPECIAL TO UMGOBLUE.COM

It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by, but here we are at the beginning of another week leading up to the game between Ohio State and Michigan. For the first installment of the series, we go back to the 2000 game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. That year, we were preoccupied with a controversy involving “hanging chads” in the Presidential election, the much-feared Y2K computer disaster had turned out to be much ado about nothing, and on the air waves, we listened to Carlos Santana team up with Rob Thomas for a sexy track titled “Smooth.” On the football field, Michigan football enthusiasts enjoyed what turned out to be the only year that Drew Henson would be the Wolverines’ starting quarterback, much to the chagrin of everyone wearing maize and blue.

The day of the game, an intense cold front hit everything from the Midwest to the East Coast, and pretty much remained through the Thanksgiving holiday. The 2000 game was the final game for Ohio State coach John Cooper, a very good coach who failed to embrace the bigger-than-life ferocity of the rivalry, and led his team to only two victories over Michigan in his 13 years at the helm, which resulted in his dismissal at the conclusion of the season. Ohio State fans reviled him; while Michigan fans loved him, and to this day many UM fans would happily take him out to dinner and ask to see pictures of his children and grandchildren, something that certainly can’t be said for Jim Tressel.

The game began with Nate Clements of Ohio State returning the opening kickoff 82 yards to the Michigan 18 yard line, and a few plays later, Jonathan Wells burst into the end zone to give the Buckeyes the early lead.

Momentum wore a scarlet jersey until 9:30 remained in the first quarter, when Henson threw a screen pass to running back Anthony Thomas, who got some key blocks from fellow seniors Steve Hutchinson and Maurice Williams, enabling Thomas to go 70 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, the flow of the game changed significantly. Ohio State later regained the lead, but Henson’s early TD pass to Thomas woke up the Wolverines.
With less than two minutes to go in the game, Michigan led by five points on a critical fourth down near the Ohio State goal line. Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr showed a gumption he wasn’t known for, and eschewed an easy field goal attempt to go for the touchdown on 4th down and goal to go, and Henson faked a handoff to Thomas and sprinted around to the left side, scoring a touchdown on a naked bootleg that sealed both the Michigan victory and John Cooper’s fate.

The 2000 game marked the end of an era for both schools. Ohio State replaced Cooper with Tressel after the season’s end, and Ohio State got back on track. Henson, on the other hand, chose not to stay at Michigan for his senior season, opting to sign a contract with the New York Yankees, who saw tremendous potential for Henson as an infielder. Curiously, the late George Steinbrenner, longtime Yankees owner and a native of Rocky River, Ohio, began his studies at Ohio State before transferring to Williams College. In his final season at Michigan, Henson threw 28 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions, and he never made the impact on his baseball that scouts thought he might. Had he stayed at Michigan, it’s fair to say that the Wolverines would have been much better in 2001. As always, thanks to my YouTube friend Wolverine Historian, and to the folks at ABC for yet another tremendous telecast of a classic game. Enjoy!

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THE GAME- Looking Back 2011

The final installment of my Michigan-Ohio State countdown takes us to 2011, the lone game I’m reviewing in the current century, and with good reason, from a Michigan perspective. The current decade has been dominated by Ohio State, with Troy Smith spinning away from Michigan linebackers and A.J. Hawk knocking running backs all the way to Massachusetts. It’s been a rough century so far, from the Maize and Blue view.

But in 2011, that changed. Led by former UM assistant coach Brady Hoke, the Wolverines started the game with renewed optimism, only to see Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller find Corey Brown all alone for a 54-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State the early lead. Michigan regained its poise, though, and quarterback Denard Robinson knotted the score when he darted around left tackle on an option play for a 41-yard touchdown run. A holding penalty in the end zone on Ohio State gave Michigan a safety, and the Wolverines took control…for a little while. Ultimately, the game went back and forth, and wasn’t decided until Courtney Avery intercepted Miller with seconds to play, giving Michigan its first win in the series since 2003.

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THE GAME- Looking Back 1997

It’s Thanksgiving, and as one writer friend notes, it’s very good to have “an attitude of gratitude.” We all have plenty to be thankful for in life, and this is a good opportunity to remember that.

For the fifth installment of the Michigan-Ohio State, we go back 15 years to 1997, right in the heart of then-President Bill Clinton’s second term in the Oval Office. The economy was roaring, but the Michigan Wolverines entered that season with plenty of doubts regarding their talents. There were quiet rumblings that “The Block M stood for mediocrity.” Quietly, Michigan vowed not to let the ’97 campaign turn out the way that previous seasons had finished. Through the first 10 games, everything went according to Michigan’s blueprint, but the 11th game was against a highly motivated group from Ohio State. After a scoreless stalemate in the first quarter, Michigan broke through when freshman Anthony Thomas scored on a run up the middle. A few minutes later, Charles Woodson used a couple of good blocks to scamper down the far sideline. Michigan led at the half, 13-0.

The third quarter started out with Michigan scoring on an Andre Weathers, giving the Wolverines a commanding 20-0 lead. But Ohio State wasn’t about to go quietly into the night. The Bucks stormed back with a pair of touchdowns, the first coming when quarterback Joe Germaine connected with David Boston, and the second coming after linebacker Jerry Rudzinski forced a fumble from Michigan quarterback Brian Griese. With the Wolverines ahead by only six points, Michigan fans held their collective breath, but the Michigan defense held the lead, punctuated by Marcus Ray’s bruising hit on Boston that swung the pendulum of momentum back in Michigan’s direction. The Wolverines held on to win, 20-14, and went on to defeat Washington State in the Rose Bowl, completing Michigan’s first perfect season in decades and giving Michigan a share of the National Championship in the season before the Bowl Championship Series was introduced.

Once again, thanks to Brian Cook of mgovideo & mgoblog, as well as to color commentator Bob Griese, and venerable play-by-play man Keith Jackson, who provided the heart and soul of college football for viewers everywhere for several decades.

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THE GAME- Looking Back 1950 (Snow Bowl)

The fourth installment of Michigan-Ohio State week takes us all the way back to 1950. Today, even the most casual of fans knows obscure statistics, largely because of the advent of fantasy football. Go on. Admit it. I see you smiling over there. Yes, you, the person checking this story on his smart phone. You’re blushing, because you know your stats cold.

Well, cold is exactly how the stats were served at the 1950 game between Michigan and Ohio State. The night before the game, a freak blizzard dumped more than a foot of fresh snow on Ohio Stadium, and volunteers worked through the night to make the field playable for the game. When the decision was made to play the game, the two teams played hot potato with the ball, combining for a record 45 punts, including 24 alone by Michigan’s Chuck Ortmann. But Ortmann would be the first to tell you that he couldn’t have done it without Carl Kreager.

Who’s Carl Kreager, you ask? Well, long snappers have never gotten their due in football, but for this game, Kreager deserved to make the All-America team. In a blinding snowstorm, Kreager delivered 24 perfect long snaps to Ortmann; an impressive feat under ideal conditions. Late in the second quarter, Michigan blocked an Ohio State punt, and Tony Momsen fell on the ball in the end zone for the game’s only touchdown. Michigan went on to win, 9-3, without registering one first down for the entire game.

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THE GAME- Looking Back 1973

The third installment of Michigan-Ohio State week takes us back to 1973. By this time, the decade of the ’70s had established its own feel, slightly different from that of the ’60s. Motorists waited in odd/even lines for gas (hmm….sounds vaguely familiar), and on Nov. 24, 1973, the Carpenters ruled the airwaves with “Top of the World.”

In the Big Ten, the two old rivals were on top of the world that day, as both teams entered the ’73 game with perfect record. Ohio State grabbed a 10-0 halftime lead as two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin twisted and and spun his way on a long run during an Ohio State touchdown drive. In the second half, Michigan had the better of the action, and with the Wolverines facing a critical play, quarterback Dennis Franklin faked a handoff to fullback Ed Shuttlesworth and kept the ball himself on an option, scoring to tie the game, 10-10. Later in the game, Michigan kicker Mike Lantry missed a 58-yard field goal, but Lantry got a second chance when Ohio State quarterback Greg Hare was intercepted by Tom Drake, giving Lantry another shot. This time, Lantry’s kick was wide right instead, giving Ohio State the ball one final time. On the final play, Greg Hare lofted a pass into the air, and before it hit the ground, a record 43 people touched the ball, including a few stragglers who who wandered onto the field from section 3, before the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.The game ended in a 10-10 tie, with Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin leaving the game due to an injury he suffered on a possession following Michigan’s touchdown.

In the controversial aftermath, Big Ten athletic directors voted 6-4 to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, with rumors swirling that Michigan State voted for Ohio State in retaliation for Michigan voting against Michigan State’s admittance to the Big Ten in 1949. Ohio State went on to trounce USC in the Rose Bowl, 42-21, as both Ohio State and Michigan finished the season undefeated.

Here it is is, in two parts, but in all its glory, thanks to our friend Brian Cook at mgovideo. Sit back and enjoy!