Happy Thanksgiving to all. Spend time with your loved ones today, but don't forget to get pumped up for The Game this Saturday. To help, watch these videos:
Ohio State vs. That Team Up North:
2014 preview video from Ohio State football
The best part of this one is Woody Hayes in the locker room saying, "If you take it to them, and you keep taking it to them, hell, there's no question who will win."
The Journey: Big Ten Football 2013 - Ohio State vs. Michigan Director's Cut:
OSU-UM highlights from the Big Ten Network
This one has some great footage that does a good job of capturing what that game felt like. In case you forgot, Brady Hoke had the brilliant idea to go for two at the end of the game and OSU safety Tyvis Powell intercepted the ball, handing the Wolverines a 42-41 loss.
Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Best Rivalry in Sports:
Made in 2011, this one has some great cuts of old games, leading up to the present era.
The Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry includes 110 installments, so there are many coaches to choose from. We all know about Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel, but for this list, I will focus on the first half of Ohio State football history: 1890 - 1950. During many of these early years, Ohio State was a small, upstart program going up against a well-established Michigan program that was widely considered to be one of the best in the country.
Head coach Francis Schmidt in 1934
1. Francis Schmidt (4-3 vs. UM). When Schmidt took over in 1934, OSU already had a fairly successful football team, but they struggled against Michigan every year. Schmidt came from Texas Christian and brought his "razzle-dazzle" offense with him. His Buckeyes immediately made their mark with four straight wins against the Wolverines, who were a serious college football powerhouse at the time.
Francis Schmidt coached OSU from 1934-1940 and was the guy whose comment about UM players putting their pants on one leg at a time started the gold pants tradition at Ohio State. Schmidt's career with the Buckeyes is also decorated by the 1935 and 1939 Big Ten Championships.
Paul Brown leading a pep talk in the locker room in 1942
2. Paul Brown (1-1-1 vs. UM). Although his biggest impact was his career in the NFL coaching the Browns and Bengals, Paul Brown had an important short tenure at Ohio State (1941-1943). In 1941, Brown led the Buckeyes to a tie against Michigan and a No. 13 AP ranking at the end of the season. In 1942, Brown's Buckeyes beat the Wolverines, won the Big Ten and were awarded Ohio State's first National Championship.
Paul Brown is the guy the Bengals' stadium is named after, as well as the Massillon High School Tigers' stadium, where Brown coached before coming to Columbus. Also, the Cleveland Browns are named after him.
John Wilce, the man that brought national recognition to the Buckeyes
3. John Wilce (4-7 vs. UM).Wilce was the longstanding head coach of the Buckeyes (1913 - 1928) during their formative years. He coached greats like Chic Harley, Pete Stinchcomb and Wes Fesler. He got Ohio State three Big Ten Championships and two undefeated seasons. When he took over from John Richards, the Michigan game was not even an established event yet. UM was a powerhouse at the time and they "won" the "National Championship" in 1918, even though World War I had shortened their season to five games. Under Wilce's guidance, the Buckeyes got their first win ever over UM in 1919, which began a three-game win streak against the Wolverines. Although the 1919 & 1920 Wolverines were rebuilding their former glory, Wilce's Buckeyes handed Michigan their only loss of 1921, spoiling their comeback. Toppling the Michigan giant was now possible, and the rivalry was cemented. Without John Wilce's Buckeyes standing up to Fielding Yost's Wolverines, there would never have been much relevance to The Game.
In addition to beating UM for the first time, Wilce's tenure also saw the Buckeyes' first Rose Bowl and the construction of Ohio Stadium. "Fight the Team" was written in 1915 and was dedicated to John Wilce.
This is pretty much the best week of any year, and it is made even better by the fact that Ohio State has a real chance to make the College Football Playoff and Michigan is likely to be ineligible for a bowl of any kind. Goings-on this week include the Mirror Lake jump and covering all of the Ms on campus signs. Here are some of the highlights from the OSU Twitterverse so far:
Meyer on getting ready to play TTUN: "The most motivated, prepared team will win this game. I know this rivalry."
— Jeff Rapp (@RappUp) November 22, 2014
Don't sleep on TTUN... The Wolverines are wounded and very dangerous!!! This is the GREATEST RIVALRY IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!! #Buckeyes
— DOM TIBERI (@DOMTIBERI) November 23, 2014
Since we are four days from the annual game against that team up north, here is a look at Ohio State's four all time best wins over Michigan. Of course, any win over Michigan is a good one, and there are many, many to choose from, but these here are my favorites. Not listed: the 50-14 victory in 1968, the missed Wolverine FG victory of 1974 and the beautiful 21-14 victory of 1975. Upsetting them in 1952 was pretty cool, too. 1. November 21st, 1970. After the Wolverines snapped our 22-game win streak and kept us out of national championship consideration in 1969, we came back with a vengeance. Going into this game, OSU was ranked 4th and UM was 5th. Woody Hayes' super sophomores of 1968 were now seniors, and they had Michigan in the cross hairs. The Wolverines fumbled the opening kickoff, and from then on Ohio State dominated. The final score was 20-9. The Buckeyes went on to lose the Rose Bowl, but still win a national title. Thirteen Buckeyes from that squad were drafted in the spring.
Here is a video of the highlights of the 1970 game. Quarterback Rex Kern ran a lot of option plays in this game. Ohio State's current offensive style is somewhat reminiscent of these days.
Here are the highlights of that crisp autumn day, when the air was thick with sweet revenge:
2. November 18th, 2006. Called the Game of the Century, this was No. 1 OSU vs. No. 2 UM, in a battle that would decide who would play for the national championship. This was Michigan's latest effort to become a relevant college football team again. Chad Henne and Mike Hart did a good job, but Troy Smith, "Beanie" Wells, Antonio Pittman , Ted Ginn and Brian Robiskie were too much for the Wolverine defense to handle. OSU (in case you had forgotten) went on to lose the BCS National Championship Game to Urban Meyer's Florida Gators and Michigan went on to lose the Rose Bowl to USC. Since 2006, Michigan has never regained their status as a serious college football champion material. Instead, teams now take joy in beating the once-great Wolverines.
Relive the glory here:
Fullback Gene Fekete (bottom) carries the ball down field for the Buckeyes
3. November 21st, 1942. En route to our first national title, the Buckeyes were led by Gene Fekete, Paul Sarringhaus and eventual Heisman winner Les Horvath. The single loss that year was to Wisconsin, but the Buckeyes overcame it and were named National Champions in Paul Brown's second year as head coach. This season took place during the U.S. involvement in World War II, so the school was disrupted by the enlistment and drafting of potential football players. Nevertheless, Ohio State proved the best team in the country, beating No. 4 Michigan 21-7. Michigan ended up with a 7-3 record and a No. 9 ranking.
Les Horvath (right) passes to Paul Sarringhaus (left) for an Ohio State touchdown
4. November 21st, 1998. While this season was spoiled by the Michigan State loss, John Cooper and the Buckeyes salvaged their honor with a victory over Michigan. Three consecutive losses to the Wolverines had left Ohio State hungry for a win. The Joe Germaine-David Boston combination was way too much for Michigan to handle. We finished the season by beating Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl and settling for a No. 2 ranking.
It's six days until the Michigan game, so here are six great reasons to hate the Wolverines. Six reasons aside from their ugly helmets, neanderthalesque fight song, and the fact that you can buy a UM baseball cap in every corner drug store around the world.
1. They are winning the series. Since the first match up in 1897, Michigan has won 58 times and Ohio State has won 45 times. Six have been ties. Many of those losses to Michigan were early in football history, at a time when UM was the dominant Midwestern power and OSU was a fledgling program. Michigan also pulled away during the 1990s, when John Cooper could only get two wins against the Wolverines in his thirteen seasons as head coach. The Buckeyes have dominated the contest in the Tressel and Meyer Eras, but we still have some catching up to do.
Cleveland native and Michigan Wolverine Desmond Howard
2. They recruit their best players from Ohio. Desmond Howard is probably the most well-known example of this, but it has long been Michigan's policy to come down to Ohio and try to steal the best high school football players from us.
3. November 22nd, 1969. Ohio State was still rolling after the 1968 National Championship and had won 22 straight games, with what Woody Hayes called his best squad ever. Rex Kern, Jim Otis, Jack Tatum, and the rest of the Buckeyes were unbelievably good. Bo Schembechler was a brand new coach at UM and no one expected him to upset the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes. At the end of the heartbreaking loss, our win streak was snapped and our shot at the 1969 national title was gone. Michigan went to the Rose Bowl and lost to USC.
David Boston taunting Charles Woodson in 1997
4. November 25th, 1995. Ohio State was undefeated and ranked No. 2. On the way to the Rose Bowl and a bid for the national title, all the Buckeyes had to do was beat Michigan. Somewhere in the first half of that game, they forgot how to tackle and Wolverine running back Tim Biakabutuka tore upfield continually, amassing 313 yards and sending Ohio State packing. The season was over and Michigan went on to lose tha Alamo Bowl and we went on to lose the Citrus Bowl.
5. November 23rd, 1996. Ohio State was again undefeated and ranked No. 2. Again we were on the way to the Rose Bowl and were serious national title contenders. And again Michigan ruined the season. We did end up going the Rose Bowl that year, and beat Arizona State, ending the season ranked at No. 2.
6. They are arrogant. Michigan players, coaches and fans act like their program is a big deal in college football. Despite having one (shared) national championship in 60+ years. Despite barely staying above a .500 win percentage Since Lloyd Carr's tenure. Mike Hart was arrogant. Brady Hoke is arrogant. Part of the duty of an Ohio State team is to chip away at that Ann Arbor arrogance each November by handing these spoiled brats a loss.
We are seven days from the Michigan game, so out of respect for the Michigan Wolverines, here is a look at the seven most distinguished graduates of the University of Michigan.
1. Unelected former U.S. president Gerald Ford: Ford even played football for the Wolverines during his time at the school. Gerald Ford is best remembered for his pardoning of hated president Richard Nixon and for losing the 1976 Presidential Election to Jimmy Carter. Here Ford can be seen showing off some of that Wolverine athleticism:
Michigan alumnus Gerald Ford bumbling around with a soccer ball. Photo is from www.vintag.es.
2. Terrorist and anarchist Theodore Kaczynski: Kaczynski is best known for attempting to murder people through homemade bombs that he sent through the mail. He currently resides in a federal prison.
Ted Kaczynski after Michigan's 17-16 loss to Northwestern in 1996.
3. Old timey serial killer H. H. Holmes: you may know Holmes from his habit of murdering and disfiguring people at his giant property in Chicago in the 1890s. He was hanged in 1896.
H. H. Holmes staring on in disbelief after Michigan was shut out 4-0 by Harvard in 1895.
4. Famous wife-killer Dr. Hawley Crippen: in 1910, after taking a mistress, Crippen poisoned his wife, hid her torso under their house, and told the police that she had moved away. He was convicted of murder and hanged later that year.
Dr. Hawley Crippen remaining stoic after the Buckeyes tied Michigan 3-3 in 1910.
5. Former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers: Ayers is best known for his involvement with a radical group that bombed the Pentagon and the NYC Police headquarters.
Bill Ayers trying to make sense of Michigan's 3-9 season in 2008.
6. Inflammatory political pundit Ann Coulter: her career consists mostly of yelling and screaming on television and writing books that are little more than racist tirades.
Coulter watching the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.
7. Voice actor James Earl Jones: best known for lending his evil Wolverine tones to the role of imperial overlord Darth Vader, Jones also played Santa Claus in the direct-to-video cartoon Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street.
Jones catching the end of Michigan's 18-15 loss to Ohio State in 1979.
As you can see, some of America's best and brightest come from the University of Michigan. A week from today, the Buckeyes have the honor of taking on the Wolverines once again.
The Pride of the Buckeyes sings We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan
