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Michigan vs Ohio State THE GAME — Looking Back — The 1974 Edition

SPECIAL TO UMGOBLUE.COM

The second installment of the series takes us to 1974. President Richard Nixon was impeached, and was replaced by Vice President Gerald Ford, who played center and linebacker for Michigan and led the Wolverines to consecutive perfect seasons and national championships in 1923 and 1933. On the movie screen, we flocked to theaters to see Al Pacino ascend to the throne as Don Michael Corleone in “The Godfather, Part II’ and country musician Ray Stevens entertained us with “The Streak,” a song about an odd mid-1970s fad. Things were much more conventional on the gridiron, where Ohio State and Michigan engaged in a classic defensive struggle in Columbus.

Once again, Ohio State relied on the legs of star running back Archie Griffin, and with good reason. Griffin was arguably the best player in the 1970s, and giving him the ball was one of the safest, most astute choices a team could make. Griffin rarely fumbled the ball and was rarely tackled for a loss. Just as important as his omnipresent ability to make game-changing plays was his knack for not making critical mistakes, such as fumbles or penalties. Griffin, along with quarterback Cornelius Greene and fellow running backs Brian Baschnagel and Pete Johnson put the Buckeyes in position to win the game, but the Wolverines stuck around like a relative who won’t leave the family picnic without trying the potato salad. As the clock wound down, Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin completed a 20-yard pass to set up a 33-yard field goal attempt for placekicker Mike Lantry, who had a similar role in the 1973 game. For the second year in a row, Lantry, an Army veteran who had served in the 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam from February 1968 to December 1970, and entered the University of Michigan as a 23-year-old married freshman. Lantry entered school as a walk-on football player, but he was named to the All-America team in 1973. Lantry never had much success against Ohio State, though, and once again, the Wolverines’ fate rested on the toes of his left foot. He attempted the 33-yard field goal from an awkward angle, and after a fairly long amount of time, referees ruled that his kick was no good. Once again, his kick had sailed just wide, and Ohio State held on for a 12-10 victory.

It wouldn’t be unusual for fans to mock a player who missed a field goal, but that never happened to Lantry, who received an overwhelming amount of support from Michigan fans, students and alumni. Even more impressive was the support from Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes. Hayes wasn’t shy about his desire to beat Michigan, but he was also a staunch supporter of the U.S. Military, and noted his admiration for Lantry’s service to his country. Prior to the ’74 clash, the two actually crossed paths during warm-ups, and Hayes wished Lantry good luck. Hayes was noted for his disdain for all things Michigan, but on this occasion he offered Lantry a quiet, but respectful greeting for his contribution to the nation. Lantry graduated in 1975 and, after playing briefly for the Dallas Cowboys, began a long career as a consultant to the automotive industry. Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl, where the Buckeyes played in another tough defensive struggle, falling to eventual national champion USC, 18-17. Thanks to OurHonorDefend on YouTube, and to ABC.

Michael Corleone? Oh yes, he outwitted Hyman Roth, particularly after Roth’s wife broke her husband’s concentration when she turned down the volume on the broadcast of the 1958 Notre Dame-USC game.

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Michigan Basketball- Nothing But ‘Net – Week #05 – 11/25/2013 – So Close

The (#14) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games last week, and they won the first two and lost the last one, barely. All three of the games were in San Juan, PR, in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. On Thursday (11/21/2013), they beat Long Beach State 85-61, on Friday (11/22/2013), they beat Florida State 82-80 (in overtime), and on Sunday (11/24/2013), they lost to Charlotte 63-61. The two wins and a loss leave Michigan with a record of 4-2.

The 1st round game against LBSU may look like a blowout, but UM only had a 9 point lead (61-52) with 9 minutes left. A 9-3 run by Michigan pushed the lead up to a more comfortable 15 points, and another 12-6 run put the game out of reach.

The 2nd round (semifinal) game against FSU wasn’t as close as it looks. FSU led most of the way, including a 16 point lead early in the 2nd half. UM kept chipping away at the lead, and finally tied up the game with 7 seconds left. Michigan took control in the overtime, and although the final score looks close, FSU scored a meaningless 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to make it a 2-point win instead of a 5-point win.

The 3rd round (championship) game against Charlotte was miserable. Michigan shot terribly, threw the ball away a lot, and looked very disorganized. They were down 12 points midway through the 2nd half, and they looked lost out there. Yet, somehow, they managed to fight back late in the 2nd half and tie the game up with 8 seconds left. Charlotte took the ball down, missed a layup, grabbed the rebound, and put it in for the win. It was a lousy ending to a lousy game.

Let’s look at the stats. First, the LBSU game: UM shot pretty well overall (31-for-58 = 53.4%), they shot pretty well from 3-point range (14-for-30 = 46.7%), but they didn’t shoot very well from the free-throw line (9-for-15 = 60.0%). They won the rebounding battle (34-30) and the turnover battle (10-16). Those are stats worthy of a blowout.

The stats for the FSU game aren’t nearly as impressive: UM shot pretty poorly overall (28-for-65 = 43.1%), they didn’t shoot 3-pointers very well (9-for-24 = 37.5%), and they didn’t shoot free-throws very well (17-for-27 = 63.0%). They did win the rebounding battle (39-34), which is impressive since FSU had two 7-footers in their lineup. Michigan also won the turnover battle (7-13). Those 11 extra possessions really helped Michigan win this game.

The stats for the Charlotte game are pathetic: UM shot terribly overall (19-for-61 = 31.1%), and they shot terribly from 3-point range (5-for-23 = 21.7%). They did shoot acceptably from the free-throw line (18-for-24 = 75.0%), but that wasn’t enough to make up for the lousy shooting from the floor. They lost the rebounding battle (40-47), but they won the turnover battle (13-17). It was an embarrassing performance.

Individually, only one player hit double figures in all three games:

  • Nik Stauskas – 24 vs. LBSU, 26 vs. FSU, and 20 vs. Charlotte. Nik scored the tying basket at the end of regulation vs. FSU, and he was the only reason UM had a chance at the end of the Charlotte game. He had a great tournament, but the rest of the team didn’t show up for the Charlotte game.

Two players hit double figures in two of the three games:

  • Caris LeVert – 20, 5, and 11. Caris had a decent tournament, but he came up short at the end of Charlotte game.
  • Glenn Robinson III – 14, 13, and 4. GR3 also had a decent tournament, but he was invisible in the Charlotte game.

Two players hit double figures in one of the three games:

  • Mitch McGary – 6, 14, and 6. Mitch is still getting back into playing shape after missing the first 3 games (and 2 exhibition games) of the season. He certainly isn’t the same player who dominated in the NCAA Tournament run last season.
  • Derrick Walton Jr. – 9, 15, and 0. See that 0? That’s the problem.

Several other players scored in at least one of the games:

  • Spike Albrecht – 2, 5, and 6. Not bad for the backup point guard.
  • Max Bielfeldt – 2, DNP, and 0. Max missed a couple layups vs. Charlotte.
  • Zak Irvin – 3, 2, and 8. It took Zak a lot of shots (14) to get those 8 points vs. Charlotte.
  • Jon Horford – 2, 2, and 2. At least he was consistent.
  • Jordan Morgan – 3, 0, and 4.

Andrew Dakich played in the LBSU game, but didn’t score.

So, what does it all mean? Should we be worried that Michigan played so poorly in the championship game vs. Charlotte? I think so. They have had a couple bad games now, and the team chemistry just seems to be off. They have enough talent, they just seem to disappear for long stretches at the wrong time. They can still fix things, and have a successful season, but they need to start heading in the right direction soon.

This Week

Since this is Thanksgiving week, Michigan only plays 1 game: on (Black) Friday (11/29/2013, 3:00 p.m., BTN) they play Coppin State in Crisler Arena. They shouldn’t have much trouble with them, unless they take them too lightly. Check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

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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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Michigan vs. Ohio State: Can Brady Hoke Save the Rivalry?

Michigan heads in this year’s edition of The Game reeling, having lost four out of their last six games, while Ohio State is cruising. Michigan is a double-digit underdog at home versus Ohio State and has an opportunity for an epic upset victory over their great rival.

A victory would provide Hoke with a signature win and knock the Buckeyes out of the national title picture. It would also provide a needed jolt to a rivalry that is relying way too much on history to promote itself.

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