Category: Football

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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1989

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 back to 1989. The 1980s were heady economic times in the United States, and the world looked on as the Berlin Wall was knocked down. Changes were starting to accelerate, but in the Big Ten, Michigan used an old school philosophy, and it proved to be just as effective as ever.

Ohio State entered Michigan Stadium with a new coach in 1989. John Cooper was an outsider, born and raised in Tennessee. He began to recruit many speed athletes to the Buckeyes, a slight change in Ohio State’s offensive attack. By contrast, Bo Schembechler, in his final year at Michigan, still believed in two running backs, using both the pro set and the I-formation. Early in the game, Michigan was allowing Ohio State to hang around a little too long. That’s when Bo put the game on the backs of his offensive line. Few drives in Bo’s 21-year tenure screamed “Michigan football” like the drive that started at the Wolverines’ 19 yard line midway through the second quarter. The drive began with Leroy Hoard knocking several Buckeyes on the rear ends as he bulled his way for a 16-yard gain on first down, and ended when running back Allen Jefferson, lined up as part of a full house backfield, took the ball two yards around left end for the touchdown. Michigan drove 81 yards on 13 plays, with not one passing play in the lot. There was no emphasis on speed in the open field; this drive was simply about old fashioned blocking, and the Wolverines used massive maulers like left tackle Tom Dohring and guard/center Steve Everett, one of the most spirited Wolverines of all time. The final score was 28-18, Michigan, but the tenor of the game was determined on that 81-yard drive, which gave the Wolverines a two-score lead and established how the game was going to unfold.

The 1989 iteration of The Game was Schembechler’s last; he retired after the season. But there was little concern for the future of the program, because both offensive coordinator Gary Moeller, who took the head coaching job in 1990; and defensive coordinator Lloyd Carr, who took the head coaching job several years after that, were accomplished coaches. Fans enjoyed the Big Ten championship that Michigan won in 1989, but few could have imagined what the team would accomplish eight years later.

Thanks to ABC Sports, YouTube, and YouTube poster expressfan. As always, I own nothing and I do not profit from this blog post in any way.

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By the Numbers: Week 14 vs. Ohio State

LAST WEEK RECAP

Michigan finished up the road portion of their regular season schedule with an impressive 39-14 disassembly of the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington.

NEXT UP: vs. Ohio State: 1st, 36.2

PREGAME SP+: Ohio State by 11.0, Michigan Win Probability 26%
The Buckeyes’ SP+ rating score (36.2) is 59% higher than #10 Michigan’s (22.7).  On the other hand, Michigan has beaten the SP+ projected margin in 8 consecutive games.  The Wolverines have outperformed the projected margin by an average of 14.5 points since Week 4 @ Wisconsin, and by an average of 21.4 since Week 8 @ Penn State.

Michigan Offense (26th) vs. Ohio State Defense (1st) 
With just under 5:00 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Ohio State’s Sevyn Banks returned a blocked punt for a touchdown to increase the 2018 Buckeyes’ lead over Michigan to 15 points 34-19.  This is the moment the wind left the sails for the Wolverines and for the fan base. With 19+ minutes remaining in game time, I did not believe the Michigan offense would be able to change gears to the hurry-up passing attack necessary to come from behind.  That need to be able to change gears on offense, I believe, led to the January 10th hiring of Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator. The early season transition costs were steeper than I predicted, and a Big Ten Championship berth is not possible. However, those transition costs were absorbed to buy the chance for success in this game vs. Ohio State.  In that regard, Gattis and Jim Harbaugh have this unit peaking at the right time with added flexibility to exploit scoring opportunities against the Buckeyes.

Michigan Defense (5th) vs. Ohio State Offense (5th)
Like Harbaugh and Gattis, Don Brown and his staff designed a sharp transition triggered by the 2018 Ohio State game.  The defensive evolution also came with significant cost. Wisconsin exploited major mistakes in the run game in Week 4, and Penn State did so through the air in Week 8.  But, as October turned into November the Michigan defense re-emerged as a top-tier unit. The Wolverines drowned Notre Dame in a first-half rain storm and the Irish could only muster 180 total yards.  Indiana’s passing attack leads the Big Ten in 2019, but barely crept over 200 yards passing last week versus Michigan. Don Brown does not have to be perfect in this game, but he will have to utilize every tool in his belt to bottle up JK Dobbins and Justin Fields on standard downs.  If Michigan can force the Buckeyes into passing downs (2nd & 8+ or 3rd/4th & 5+), the Wolverines’ speed personnel can attack Ohio State from all angles.

PREDICTION: The Wolverines and Buckeyes share 3 SP+ top-25 opponents: Wisconsin, Penn State, and Indiana.  Michigan’s resume also includes victories over 2 more: Iowa and Notre Dame. I believe this particular version of The Game sets up much more evenly than most analysts.  The Wolverines are averaging 26.8 points in 5 games against current SP+ top-25 defenses. The 4 top-25 offenses have scored an average of 22.8 points against Michigan’s defense.  Ohio State is better than those other teams, but this isn’t the same Michigan team either.
Michigan 30 Ohio State 27  (PRESEASON Michigan 37 Ohio State 33)

MICHIGAN RESUME UPDATE (11/26/19), 9-2

  • SP+ Overall: 10th (same), 22.7
    • SP+ Offense: 26th (↑8), 35.0
    • SP+ Defense: 5th (same), 12.7
    • SP+ Special Teams 52nd (↓3) 0.3
  • CFP Rank: 13th (same)
  • AP Poll: 10th (↑2), 913
  • Coaches’ Poll: 11th (↑1), 893
Week 14 Resume vs. Ohio State
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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1980

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 back to 1980. When most historians think of the final score of 9-3 in that rivalry, thoughts usually turn to the Snow Bowl in 1950. But in 1980, Bo Schembechler’s Michigan team had started the season with two losses in the first three games, leaving many fans worried about the team.

Those worries were put to rest in the game for the Little Brown Jug, as the Wolverines routed the Minnesota Golden Gophers, establishing the identity of the ’80 team. Once November arrived, Michigan recorded three connective shutouts against Indiana, Wisconsin, and Purdue, leading to the regular season finale at Ohio State. The Buckeyes grabbed the lead first when Vlade Janakievski hit a 33-yard field goal for Ohio State’s only points of the game. Ali Haji-Sheikh then tied the score several minutes before halftime with a 43-yard field goal. The second half continued with more defense, but five minutes into the third quarter, John Wangler connected with wide receiver Anthony Carter as he darted between two defenders at the goal line, and suddenly the Wolverines had a 9-3 lead. With 1:08 remaining in the game, Ohio State got the ball back on its own 32-yard line. The Buckeyes then advanced all the way to the Michigan 32-yard line before the Wolverines’ defense stiffened. On 3rd down and 10 yards to go, the Michigan defense pressured Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter into an intentional grounding penalty, bringing up one final chance for the Buckeyes. On fourth down, Michigan’s Robert Thompson hit Schlichter before he could react, and the sack gave Michigan the ball and the victory, as Wangler took the snap from center and kneeled down on the game’s final play.

When the season was over, Michigan finished with a 10-2 record, recording a 23-6 win over Washington in the Rose Bowl, and allowing just nine points in the last five games. Michigan’s defense had entered the Ohio State game with 14 consecutive scoreless quarters. The argument could certainly be made that no team coached by Schembechler improved as much over the course of a season as the 1980 team did.

Many members of the 1980 team went on to prominent careers. Reserve linebacker Jim Herrmann became the Michigan defensive coordinator, and coached the Wolverines’ defense during the perfect season in 1997, and coached the New York Giants’ linebackers during the Giants’ Super Bowl-winning campaign in the 2011 season. Defensive back Brad Bates became the athletic director at Boston College. Assistant coaches Bill McCartney, Lloyd Carr, and Les Miles each went on to coach national championship teams at the collegiate level. Finally, Anthony Carter and George Lilja both went on to be named All-Americans.

Thanks to YouTube, ABC Sports, and YouTube posters WolverineHistorian and Dr. Sap. As always, I own nothing and do not profit from this blog post in any way.