COLUMBUS, Ohio — There were looks back, forward and even into a fictional fantasy land where rivals could trade players.
To wrap up a week of “The Game,” though, the focus is once again on the past. BuckeyeNation is taking a look at five of the most memorable moments in the storied history between Ohio State and Michigan. They will have a chance to provide yet another chapter on Nov. 30 with what figures to be plenty on the line.
Of course, that’s hardly an exception for the Buckeyes and Wolverines. And there’s no shortage of evidence even on an abbreviated list to prove that point.
2002: Ohio State 14, Michigan 9
Jim Tressel turned the tide a year earlier, famously setting the tone for his successful tenure by backing up his claims that Ohio State fans would be proud of their team in his first meeting with Michigan in 2001 with an upset victory. But it was his narrow victory the next year with freshman Maurice Clarett supplying one of only two touchdowns in the game that propelled the Buckeyes to the national championship game against Miami — ultimately bringing a crystal football back to campus to rub a little extra salt in Michigan’s wounds.
1975: Ohio State 21, Michigan 14
The memories still come back easily to Cornelius Greene, but even if there were some details now of the 80-yard, 11-play drive to tie the game during a fourth-quarter comeback, he’d surely get plenty of help from the Ohio State fans who sweated out a heated meeting with then-unbeaten Michigan. The multipurpose quarterback didn’t do all the work in clawing back to edge the Wolverines, though, and Ray Griffin’s late interception and return to the 3-yard line helped set up the go-ahead score and clinch a Big Ten title.
1972: Ohio State 14, Michigan 11
In another low-scoring slugfest, an Ohio State defense that bent for most of the game refused to break near the end zone, and some clutch defensive stands tipped the scales for Woody Hayes, clinching a share of the Big Ten title and keeping Michigan out of the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes were outgained by more than 150 yards by the Wolverines, but when what appeared to be a fourth-quarter touchdown for Harry Banks was ruled short of the goal line, and a run of rattling off at least a piece of six consecutive conference championships began.
Continue reading this article at ESPN: All in ‘The Game:’ Top OSU moments
