Michigan versus Ohio State Football Looking Back — 1992

There have been several memorable ties in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and a couple of times when Michigan finished the season undefeated, but ended with a tie against Ohio State. That was the case in 1992, the third installment of this year’s series on the rivalry. The rivals finished the game tied, 13-13, with different perspectives from each side.

Make no mistake; the Michigan faithful were not wild about the tie. Michigan came in with a team that probably should have beaten Ohio State. The Buckeyes had already suffered defeats to Wisconsin and Illinois, and the critics in Columbus were already barking for coach John Cooper’s hide. Still, Cooper had the Buckeyes steadily improving, setting up a classic matchup between the two rivals.

Michigan entered the game having only given more than 20 minutes on two occasions, and coach Gary Moeller’s coaching staff featured a pair of assistants (Lloyd Carr and Les Miles) who each went on to win a national championship, and another (Jim Herrmann) who went on to win a Super Bowl. The Wolverines had three All-Americans in Joe Cocozzo, Chris Hutchinson and Derrick Alexander. Aside from the stars on the team, the defense led the Wolverines. Moeller had amassed a stellar secondary featuring Corwin Brown at free safety and Shonte Peoples at strong safety, with a promising young backup at cornerback named Ty Law. By the time The Game rolled around in 1992, Michigan had already clinched the Big Ten championship, but Ohio State had won five consecutive games, and the Bucks were red hot – or scarlet hot, if you’re an OSU fan.
The day was warm, but wet. Late in the first quarter, Ohio State got on the board first with a field goal from Tim Williams, but it wasn’t long before the Wolverines responded, with senior quarterback Elvis Grbac, dropping back to pass, but then quickly sprinting forward to scored on a quarterback draw play, giving the Maize & Blue a 6-3 lead. Unfortunately, OSU defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson hit Grbac hard as he crossed the goal line, knocking him out of the game. Todd Collins stepped in to ably replace Grbac, but Michigan fans will always wonder how the game might have turned out had Grbac not been injured. Still, Collins made his present felt, scoring in the third quarter on a naked bootleg to put Michigan ahead, 13-1. Against most opponents, that would have been a safe lead, but not against Ohio State. Williams narrowed the deficit to 13-6 when he kicked a 29-yard field goal for the Buckeyes, which led to the critical drive. Quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who went on to considerable success on television, completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Beatty, leaving Cooper with a decision. Should he kick the extra point, or go for two? Well, Cooper kicked the extra point, a choice that wasn’t sexy, but was built on sound reasoning. If the Bucks went for two points and failed, Cooper would have been blamed by an entire state. So Michigan got the ball back with more than four minutes remaining. The Wolverines made a drive of it, but incompletions on the final two plays of the game ended Michigan’s hope for victory.

For Ohio State, the tie might have saved Cooper’s job. For Michigan, a couple of questions will always haunt the Wolverines. First, would the Wolverines have won if Grbac had been able to stay in the game? Second, what possessed Lloyd Carr to wear one of the ugliest sweaters in history? Fortunately for Lloyd, there was no need for winter weather gear in the Rose Bowl, where Michigan topped Washington, 38-31. Ohio State went on to the Citrus Bowl and lost to Georgia, 21-14.

Many thanks to ABC and to youtube poster WolverineDevotee for the video clip below. As always, I own none of the material presented.

Michigan Wolverines vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Complete Game Preview

Last week Michigan (5-6, 3-4 Big Ten) entered the fourth quarter leading 16-9 at home versus Maryland. It appeared that Brady Hoke had his team on track to win its third straight game and clinch a bowl berth. But Maryland (7-4, 4-3) rallied to score two touchdowns and prevailed 23-16.

The loss dropped Michigan below .500 with only one game left to play. Michigan heads to Columbus and needs to beat Ohio State (10-1, 7-0 Big Ten) to go bowling. Michigan’s season will end if Ohio State wins, and Hoke will most likely be fired shortly thereafter. A Michigan victory would extend its season and allow the team valuable practice time it desperately needs to prepare for next season—no matter who the coach is.

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Michigan versus Ohio State Football Looking Back — 1960

The second installment of the Michigan-Ohio State series takes us to 1960. Bump Elliott was in his second year as Michigan’s head coach, and a nicer guy you couldn’t find. Unfortunately, his teams often reflected that, and as we know from recent events, that isn’t always a good thing. It wasn’t very good in 1960, either.

Contrast that with Woody Hayes, who was in his 10th season as Ohio State’s head coach in 1960. Hayes had a tendency to ruffle some feathers from time to time, and he seemed to take pleasure in ruffling all things maize and blue. In 1960, it was the Ohio State defense that did most of the ruffling.

Still, the Wolverines weren’t in the habit of letting their rivals walk all over them, and for more than three quarters, their defense matched the Buckeyes, and with only minutes to go, there was still no score. That’s when Hayes turned to his fullback, Bob Ferguson. In the early ‘60s, fullbacks did more than just block, and Ferguson’s bulldozing style fit the Bucks’ offense perfectly. With a little more than two minutes left, Ferguson rumbled 17 yards for the only score of the game, and the Buckeyes went on to win, 7-0, the exact reverse of the score they lost by in the first game that Hayes coached against Michigan.

Oddly enough, it was the final game of the season for both teams. Michigan finished 5-4, with a record of 3-4 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State finished with a record of 7-2, and 5-2 in the Big Ten. The Big Ten champions? The Minnesota Golden Gophers, who finished the regular season with a record of 8-2, and a 6-1 mark in Big Ten play. The folks in Columbus might not be too happy with that, since Minnesota didn’t play Ohio State in 1960. Following the season, the Gophers made their way to Pasadena, where they were soundly defeated by Washington in the Rose Bowl, 17-7.

I’d like to thank the folks at the Bentley Historical Library for their capsule on the 1960 Michigan football team. As always, I own none of the material presented.

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1960fbt.htm

Michigan versus Ohio State Football Looking Back — 1951

The first installment of this year’s series on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry takes us to 1951. The United States was leading UN forces in the Korean War, the national economy was enjoying stable growth, and Ohio State welcomed a new head coach, Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes. Woody went on to make quite an impact on The Game, but in ’51, the Maize & Blue welcomed him with an old-fashioned shutout, topping the Buckeyes, 7-0.

Michigan All-American Lowell Perry made his presence felt on defense, intercepting three passes and returning them for a combined total of 22 yards, and teammate Frank Howell intercepted still another pass and returned it 23 yards, giving the Wolverines four interceptions for the game, something that quite possibly left a lasting impression on Hayes, who despised the forward pass. In addition to being an outstanding defensive back, Perry was also an excellent receiver who caught 68 passes for 1,232 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career in Ann Arbor. 

Despite the presence of Perry, the offensive star for the Wolverines was fullback Don Peterson, who was named the team’s Most Valuable Player that season. Peterson gained 70 yards on 19 carries on the ground, but more important, he scored the only touchdown in the victory. 

The irony is that both Michigan finished with a record of four wins and five losses, a stark contrast to the previous season, when the Wolverines won the “Snow Bowl” against Ohio State and went on to win the Rose Bowl against Cal. Ohio State finished the 1951 season with a record of four wins, three losses, and a pair of ties, to Wisconsin and Illinois. 

It could certainly be argued that this was not one of the most exciting games in the history of the rivalry, but it illustrated one point that has been proven time and again in this rivalry: Beware of the team that seems like a wounded animal. This rivalry tends to inspire a lot of players to deliver banner performances.

Thanks to the Bentley Library for their historical information on the game, which can be examined below. 

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1951fbt.htm

http://www.umich.edu/~bhlumrec/athdept/fbstats/1951osu.pdf

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aaperryl.htm