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It's "The Game," Michigan versus Ohio State, played once every fall since November 30, 1918 - just three weeks after the end of World War I.
More often than not, The Game decides the winner of the Big Ten conference. The two teams have been so dominant that many people in the Midwest called their conference "The Big Two, Little Eight." Since we Midwesterners are apparently still lousy at math, this appellation continues today, despite the addition of Penn State giving the league eleven teams.
Michigan leads the series, 57-39-6, but that large margin is due to Michigan's dominance during the Fielding Yost years (1901-1923), during which the Wolverines won six national championships. The series has been fairly even over the last fifty years.
The series is most famous for the friendly, but intense, rivalry between Michigan coach Bo Schembechler and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. Schembechler was once an assistant to Hayes at Ohio State. Schembechler coached at Michigan for 21 seasons from 1969-1989, was 194-48-5 overall and 11-9-1 against the Buckeyes. Hayes coached at Ohio State from 1951-1978, was 205-61-10 overall and 11-16-1 against Michigan.
Twice before, the schools have met on the last day of the season with perfect records. In 1970, Ohio State came out on top. And in 1973, the teams met in Ann Arbor, both 10-0, and played to a 10-10 tie. Back in those days, the Big Ten only allowed one team to participate in postseason bowl games. There was also a rule that in case of a tie, the team that had most recently represented the league in a bowl would not be eligible.
That second rule had recently been repealed. But people still expected Michigan to represent the Big Ten after the tie. The conference athletic directors met, and awarded the title to Ohio State by a 6-4 vote. To this day, Michigan fans hold nothing against Michigan State other than its athletic director's vote against Michigan in 1973.
That vote was the biggest heartbreak of my young childhood, not to be forgotten until I discovered girls years later. But anyway...
Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin compiled a 30-2-1 record during his tenure for the Wolverines, from 1972-74. He never played in a bowl game and he never beat Ohio State. The post-season ban on second-place Big Ten teams was lifted in 1975, and Michigan has played in the postseason every year since - a stretch that will reach 32 seasons this year.
When the inevitable "win it for..." book comes out, expect to see Franklin's name prominent among the requests.
Coaches are judged at Michigan and Ohio State not by their overall record, or their national titles. They are judged by The Game, and only The Game. John Cooper was 111-43-4 at Ohio State from 1988-2000. He had three 11-win seasons, but was 2-10-1 against Michigan. There's no question that was the reason for his firing.
In 2001, Jim Tressel was hired, and in his first press conference, promised a win over Michigan the following year. He delivered. He is 4-1 against the Wolverines, and as far as the people in Columbus are concerned, he is almost the coach Woody Hayes was. Lloyd Carr is 6-5 against the Buckeyes, but despite starting out as successfully as Tressel did, frustrations over the last five years have led to significant grumbling about Carr's future.
Some quick notes about Michigan...
The Wolverines last had a losing season in 1967, two years before Schembechler took over.
The Wolverines have had 39 consecutive winning seasons in the Big Ten, also dating back to 1967.
Michigan is 211-34-4 at home over that stretch, and 135-44-4 on the road (only 14-19 in bowl games, though).
The Wolverines have outscored their opponents, 13540-6569, over the last 39 years.
Michigan has 860 wins since beginning collegiate play in 1879, by far the most of any school at any level - college, pro or high school.
In the interest of positive Wolverine I am unoriginal and unfunny. Please put me out of my misery, here's my ticket from the 1977 game, which was a 14-6 Michigan victory:
"Go Blue, Beat Ohio"
"Andiamo Azzurro"
