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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1973

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

The third installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State takes us to 1973, one of the most interesting years of the 20th century. TV viewers watched the Watergate hearings in the afternoon, the United States continued to face challenges related to Vietnam, the Mets rallied to top the Cincinnati Reds and win the National League pennant, and Yankee Stadium closed for two years to undergo renovations.

The college football world was just as interesting in 1973, as Michigan and Ohio State both entered “The Game” with perfect records. This was the midpoint of the “Ten-year War” between Bo Schembechler and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, and tensions were at an all-time high. Before the game began, Woody and his troops fanned the flames of the rivalry by tearing down the M Club banner that Michigan players traditionally ran under to enter every home game.

The game itself was divided into two very different halves. In the first half, Ohio State grabbed a 10-0 lead. Michigan was not without big plays, but the shame is that Michigan’s biggest play of the first half was wiped out by a clipping penalty. Gil Chapman took an Ohio State kickoff two yards deep in his own end zone, and zig-zagged his way to the Ohio State 28-yard line before he was tackled. Unfortunately, the ball was brought all the way back to the Michigan 12-yard line, seriously damaging a Michigan scoring opportunity.

Ohio State led, 10-0, and the halftime break, but the second half was all Michigan. In the fourth quarter, the Michigan offense started to hit its stride. Quarterback Dennis Franklin connected with tight end Paul Seal for a 27-yard gain, a play that probably should have been used more often. Then, on 4th down and 1 yard to go at the Ohio State 10-yard line, Franklin kept the ball and darted through the Ohio State defensive line for a 10-yard touchdown, and after Mike Lantry kicked the extra point, the game was tied.

And that’s how it ended, as well. Lantry, who did three tours of duty in Vietnam, missed a pair of field goal attempts in the final minutes, and the final score was Michigan 10, Ohio State 10. Most observers felt that Michigan got the better of the play, having outgained Ohio State in yardage, 333-234. Michigan had 16 first downs to nine for Ohio State. Then there was the passing. Michigan completed nine passes for 99 yards, while Ohio State did not complete one pass. Not one.

Still, it was a tie. On the possession following Franklin’s tying touchdown, he left the game with a fractured collarbone after being hit hard by Ohio State defensive end Van DeCree. In the event of a tie, the Big Ten athletic directors voted on which team should represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. In a vote shrouded in secrecy, Ohio State was named as the representative for the Big Ten Conference. Among the many things that irk Michigan fans is that this happened in a year when Michigan had the type of team that was built to beat the champion of the Pacific 8 conference, USC. Instead, the Wolverines wound up sitting at home on New Year’s Day.

Long forgotten by most people is the fact that this Michigan team went undefeated, finishing the season with a record of 10 wins, no losses and one tie. In addition, both the National Championship Foundation and the Poling System recognized Michigan as co-national champions for the 1973 season. Thanks to the Big Ten Network for the broadcast of the game. As always, we own nothing, and this blog post is intended purely for the enjoyment of readers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDksd–1VwI&t=1932s

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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1977

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

The second installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between MIchigan and Ohio State takes us to 1977. Four years earlier, Woody Hayes and his band of Buckeyes attempted to tear down the M Club banner. This year, this Wolverines were ready. Before the game, a cadre of Wolverine graduates, dressed in street clothes, fended off the Buckeyes as they attempted to attack the banner. This time, Ohio State didn’t fare so well in its attack on the banner.

If Woody Hayes wasn’t concerned by the fact that the Michigan men thwarted the attack, he certainly should have been. Things only got worse for Ohio State after that. After driving deep into Michigan territory, Ohio State was forced to settle for a field goal. The momentum changed in the second quarter when UM quarterback Rick Leach connected with running back Roosevelt Smith to give Michigan a first down and goal at the Ohio State 9-yard line. Two play later, Smith punched the ball over from the 1-yard line, and Michigan never trailed again.

In the third quarter, Michigan hit Ohio State running back Ron Springs hard, causing Springs to fumble, and Michigan linebacker Ron Simpkins pounced on the ball immediately, giving Michigan possession at the Ohio State 20-yard line. Three plays later, Leach scored on an option play, and the Wolverines led, 14-3. Ohio State kicked a field goal to trim the lead, setting up the dramatic final quarter.

With four minutes left in the game, Ohio State had a first down and goal to go at the Michigan 8-yard line. Michigan linebacker John Anderson then drilled Buckeye quarterback Rod Gerald, knocking the ball loose, and Derek Howard recovered it for Michigan. The Wolverines then ran out the clock, while Hayes punched an ABC cameraman on the sideline.

The victory earned Michigan the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl, while Ohio State was relegated to the Sugar Bowl. Michigan fell to Washington in the Rose Bowl, but the lasting memory of the 1977 season is the throng of Michigan fans who stormed the field after the win over Ohio State.

Many thanks to ESPN Classic for the film of this game. As always, we own nothing, and this film and blog post are intended strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKk3yfggb2g
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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1995

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

The first installment of this year’s series looking back at the football series between Michigan and Ohio State takes us back to 1995. Most people still had not heard of the Internet, Bill Clinton was the president, and the national economy was just about to take off. For the Michigan football team, 1995 was “The Tale of Two Cities.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

The worst of times came in the offseason, when head coach Gary Moeller had an incident at a local restaurant and was subsequently removed from his job. It was the best of times because Lloyd Carr, a little known defensive coordinator, was named the interim head caoch.

Let the record show that Lloyd Carr is probably among the best “interim” hires of all time.

In Carr’s first game, Michigan trailed almost the entire game until Scott Dreisbach found Mercury Hayes in the corner of the north end zone for a last-second touchdown pass to give Michigan an 18-17 win. After that, Michigan played classic mid-90s Wolverine football for most of the season. As usual, the week leading up to the Michigan-Ohio State game proved to be the most interesting week of the season.

Ohio State had won the previous season, and reporters asked Ohio State receiver Terry Glenn what he thought of the team’s chances against Michigan. Glenn, a former walk-on, was enjoying a breakout season in 1995, but his quote fueled Michigan’s pregame fire. Then Tim Biakabutuka proved to be the catalytic converter.

Biakabutuka had assured Carr in a midweek conversation that the Wolverines would be ready for Ohio State, and he delivered in legendary fashion. “Touchdown Tim” spent much of the afternoon bouncing off would-be tackles, and turning single-digit gains into gains of double-digit yardage. The Buckeyes fought back valiantly, but every time they came back, Michigan had the right answer for them.

Early in the game, Ohio State tested Michigan’s freshman cornerback, Charles Woodson. As the game wore on, that strategy backfired for the Buckeyes. Woodson had two interceptions on the day, the second coming when he outjumped Glenn for the ball and returned it 23 yards, allowing Michigan to line up in victory formation and run out the clock.

Woodson’s interception completed a 31-23 win for the Wolverines, who finished the regular season with nine wins and three losses. But when you beat Ohio State, few people are really thinking about the losses.

Many thanks to ABC, which owns all the rights to this game. As always, we own nothing and do not profit in any way from this blog post, which is intended purely for the enjoyment of readers.

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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #04 – 11/22/2021 – Overrated

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games this past week, and they won one and lost two of them.  On Tuesday (11/16/2021), they lost to Seton Hall 67-65 in Crisler Arena, on Saturday (11/20/2021), they beat UNLV 74-61 in Las Vegas, NV, and on Sunday (11/21/2021), they lost to Arizona 80-62 in Las Vegas.  The Seton Hall game was part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, and the two games in Las Vegas were part of the Roman Main Event holiday tournament.  The one win and two losses leave Michigan with a record of 3-2.

What Happened?

Michigan looked weak against Seton Hall, decent against UNLV, and pathetic against Arizona.  They are seriously overrated.  They will certainly drop a long way in the polls, possibly all the way out.  Based on their performance this week, they don’t deserve to be ranked.

No one expected Michigan to go undefeated this season, but it still would have been nice to win a few more games before that first, sad loss.  The Seton Hall game felt like a March Madness game, but the officials weren’t in March Madness form.  With competent officiating, Michigan would have beaten SHU by about 10 points, but the refs on Tuesday had other ideas.

The game was close for the whole 1st half, with neither team able to build up a lead of more than 3 points.  Michigan finally got ahead by 5 points (31-26) with 0:40 left in the half, then SHU cut it to 3 (31-28) before halftime.  The 2nd half was better, and UM pulled out to a 10-point lead (39-29) with 17:18 to go.  They inched the lead up to 11 points (45-34) at the 14:41 mark, and still had it at 9 points (55-46) with 8:46 to go.  SHU kept chipping away at the lead, and tied the game at 57-57 with 4:30 left.  It was still tied (64-64) with 0:32 left, when SHU went ahead for the first time in a long time.  The final seconds were exciting, but Michigan couldn’t make the key baskets or free throws, and lost by 2.  It was a sad display of lousy officiating, especially in the last 3:00.

The UNLV game was much better.  After some early choppiness, the game was tied (15-15) with 11:27 left in the 1st half.  At that point, Michigan went ahead, and never trailed again.  They got the lead as high as 12 points (35-23) with 2:57 to go, then let UNLV go on a 9-0 run to finish the half, with the lead down to 3 points (35-32).  UNLV tied the score early in the 2nd half (35-35, with 19:49 left), and tied it again (40-40) with 17:15 left, but they never got ahead.  After the second tie score, Michigan went ahead and stayed ahead, pushing the lead up to 11 points (58-47) with 9:29 to go.  UNLV did get within 6 points (65-59) with 3:08 left, but that was as close as they got.  Michigan made the winning baskets, stops, and free throws down the stretch.  It was a good, solid win against a capable team playing (essentially) at home.

The Arizona game was very sad.  Arizona pushed Michigan around, and made UM look foolish.  They had way too much height for Michigan, and they used it very effectively, with lots of alley-oop dunks.  The game was actually close for a while, but once Arizona started pulling away, Michigan was powerless to slow them down.  Michigan actually led, 16-12, at the 11:58 mark, and again, 20-19, with 7:57 to go in the 1st half, but once Arizona took the lead, they never looked back.  They led by 8 points (37-29) at halftime, and pushed the lead up into the 15-17 point range for most of the 2nd half.  It was a dominant performance by Arizona.

Stats

The game stats for the SHU game are pretty sad.  Michigan shot poorly overall (26-for-62 = 41.9%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (3-for-15 = 20.0%), but they did shoot free throws well (10-for-12 = 83.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (39-33), and tied in the turnover battle (11-11).  They lost this game with poor 3-point shooting, along with bad officiating.

The game stats for the UNLV game are much better.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (26-for-51 = 51.0%), they shot 3-pointers reasonably well (6-for-19 = 31.6%), and they shot free throws well enough (16-for-21 = 76.2%).  They won the rebounding battle (33-24), but they (barely) lost the turnover battle (12-11).  They won this game with rebounding and defense, holding UNLV to 39.7% shooting (25-for-63).

The game stats for the Arizona game are embarrassing.  Michigan shot poorly overall (23-for-53 = 43.4%), they shot 3-pointers horribly (1-for-14 = 7.1%), and they shot free throws respectably (15-for-22 = 68.2%).  They lost the rebounding battle (34-29) and the turnover battle (15-10).  They lost this game with poor shooting, poor rebounding, and poor defense.

Who Started?

The starters were Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, Brandon Johns, Jr., and DeVante’ Jones.

Who Looked Good?

Dickinson hit double figures in all 3 games: 18 vs. Seton Hall, 13 vs. UNLV, and 11 vs. Arizona.  He also got some rebounds: 9, 7, and 7, respectively.  He didn’t play like an All-American, but he did OK.

Brooks also hit double figures in all 3 games: 17, 22, and 14.  He tried his best to keep Michigan in the losing games, but there’s only so much he can do by himself.

Jones hit double figures in one game, came close in another, and did OK in the 3rd game: 11, 9, and 6.  The surprising stat is his rebounding in the Seton Hall game: 12 rebounds, for a double-double.

Johns didn’t hit double figures in any of the 3 games, but he did score a few points: 6, 7, and 7.  He hit Michigan’s only 3-pointer in the Arizona game.  Yay?

Moussa Diabate was the only other player to hit double figures in at least one game.  He had 14 points vs. UNLV.  The other 2 games were weak: 1 point vs. Seton Hall, and 4 points vs. Arizona.  He did grab a few rebounds: 2, 7, and 5.

Kobe Bufkin played in all 3 games, and scored a few points: 4, 2, and 3.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Houstan had a dismal week, with 4, 5, and 6 points.  His shooting has been terrible: 1-for-9 vs. Seton Hall, 1-for-8 vs. UNLV, and 2-for-8 vs. Arizona.  That’s a combined 4-for-25 (16.0%).  His 3-point shooting is even worse: 0-for-4, 1-for-5, and 0-for-5, for a combined 1-for-14 (7.1%).

Terrance Williams II also had a dismal week, with 4, 2, and 5 points.  He also shot terribly this week: 1-for-5, 0-for-3, and 2-for-5, for a combined 3-for-13 (23.0%).

Who Else Played?

Isaiah Barnes played in the Arizona game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Frankie Collins played in the Arizona game, and scored 2 points.

Jaron Faulds played in the Arizona game, and scored 2 points.

Jace Howard played in the Arizona game, and scored 2 points.

Adrien Nuñez played in the Arizona game, but didn’t attempt a shot.

Who Didn’t Play?

Zeb Jackson and Will Tschetter are the scholarship players who didn’t play in any of the games.  Jackson has an unspecified illness.  I don’t know why Tschetter didn’t get in.

Ian Burns and Brandon Wade are on the scout team, so they’re a lower priority for minutes.

What Does It Mean?

The loss to Seton Hall was unfortunate, but the loss to Arizona was a disaster.  UM sure didn’t look like a Final Four team.  They didn’t even look like an NCAA Tournament team.  If they continue to play like they did this week, they are going to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings, and miss the Big Dance.

One thing that is becoming clear is that Michigan needs more production from their wings/forwards.  Among the mainstream players, the big men (Dickinson and Diabate) seem pretty solid, the guards (Brooks, Jones, and Bufkin) seem to be doing pretty well, but the forwards (Houstan and Johns) are struggling.  The other forward (Williams) is up and down.

The other thing that is becoming clear is that Michigan’s vaunted recruiting class is not as strong as expected.  Diabate has been mostly good, and Bufkin has shown flashes of brilliance, but Houstan has been a disappointment.  Collins and Barnes haven’t played much, and Tschetter hasn’t played at all.  Hopefully, the freshmen will start to contribute more in the remaining non-conference games, so that they’ll be ready to chip in some minutes and points during the Big Ten schedule.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: when Michigan hits their 3-pointers, they look good and win.  When they can’t hit their 3-pointers, everything falls apart.  Look at this week: in their one win, they shot reasonably well from deep (6-for-19 = 31.6%), but in the two games they lost, they shot very poorly (3-for-15 = 20.0% and 1-for-14 = 7.1%).  Most of these 3-point attempts were open, they just aren’t going in.  Fix that up, and Michigan will look much better.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan only plays one game.  On Wednesday (11/24/2021, 7:00 p.m., BTN) they play Tarleton State in Crisler Arena.

Tarleton State was 10-10 last season, 5-7 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).  They didn’t play any ranked teams, and they didn’t play in a conference tournament or any post-season tournaments.  This season, they are 1-3.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they don’t have any height (a pair of 6’9” forwards).  This should be an easy win for Michigan.  They need it.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!