I 4 4 HISTO L~ ..~ ~~Q' .3; - ..~ .. -~ ~ -~ ,~. .~- ~'% .,.. ~. 4 ~ .;- ;W 4~,, .;,, ~. ~ Rivalries are what make colle e football what it is. For one Saturday out of the ear, your team becomes that much better and our season that much more unportant. With Michigan and Ohio State, the extreme that this rivalr oes to is in itself an unspeakable event. Colegiate careers are defined by this game. Coaches are made into legends and images become as beaut as Rembrandt. The Michigan Daily gives its best games and individual performances from this game. The Michiqan Daily's Top 10 games 10. 1897, Michigan 36-0: Every story must have a beinng, and while a 36-0 trouncing by the vrines hardly defines this rivalry today, it began what is the greatest rivalry in all of sports. 9. 1968, Ohio State 50-14: If there was ever a defining moment before 2002's national championship season, this was it for Ohio State. The second-ranked Buckeyes, though falling behind early to the fourth- ranke Wolverines, went on a scoring splurge to give Michigan its biggest embarassment of this nvalry. The Wolverines had lost 11 of the past 15 games against the Buckeyes. 8. 1986, Michigan 26-24; 1997, Michigan 20-14: In the Guarantee Games, Michigan came out on top twice. In 1986, followingJim Iarbaugh's claim that Michigan would win, the Wolverines overcame Chris Spielman's 29 tackles for the victory. "I said, 'Harbaugh you keep your mouth shut from now on. But we wil have to back you up on this. We'll just have to win the game, that's al " Schembechler said this week. Ohio State wide receiver David Boston made the guarantee, but couldn't live up to it, as it was Michigan coming out of the Big House with a 20-14 win. 7. 1978, Michigan 14-3: This would be Wood Hayes' final game against Michigan and would be all Bo Schembechler needed to gain a 5-4-1 career record against his former teacher. 6. 1989, Michigan 28-18: The pupil ot the better end result than the professor in this one. Schembechler, 11 years removed from his mentor's retirement, fared much better in his final Michi an-Ohio State game. In fact it was an unsun hero in ~fth-string defensive back Todd Platt that had interceptions late in the game to set up Michigan's two final scores. B zurus' besT 5. 2002, Ohio State 14-9: It hadn't been since 1968 that Ohio State fans had so much to cheer about. After holding off a late charge by quarterbackJohn Navarre and the rest of the Wolvennes, the Buckeyes enjoyed their second straight win over Michigan - Ohio State's first back-to-back wins since 1982. 4. 1972 and 1974, Ohio State 14-11 and 12-10; 1976 and 1977, Michigan 22-0 and 14-6: These four games defined the Woody/Bo rivalry as it began the "Big Two/Little Eight" era. First place in the Big Ten was on the line each tune and neither team was outside of the top 10 when the November classic rolled around. 3. 2001, Ohio State 26-20: All good things must come to end, and in 2001, the fun john Cooper days of Michigan lore did just that. With a slow start from the Wolverines - including a safety on a misread shotn snap and a 4th-and-1 touchdown run from 44 yards out byJonathan Wells - the Buckeyes jumped out to a 23-0 lead over Michigan. Bythe end, the scarlet-and-gray covered fans from Columbus had taken over the Big House and began the Jim Tressel era with a bang. 2. 1973, Tie 10-10: This was arguably the most contro- versial game in history. With the tie, there had to be a decision made by the Big Ten athletic directors about which team would go to the Rose Bowl. It was believed by Michigan sup orters Hayes did some unfair lobby- ing, and the Buckeyes were sent to Pasadena. 171969, Michigan 24-12: After being throttled by Ohio State the year before in a game where Hayes tried to run up the score as much as he could the first-year Michi ancoach Schembechler defended Ann Arbor from the No. 1 Buckeyes thanks to six interceptions from his defense. The win marked the turnng point in Ohio State's dominance of the rivalry in the '60s. Micbiqan men 5. Tshimanga Biakabutuka: Living in the shadow of Michigan great Tyrone Wheatley, Biakabutuka broke onto the national scene with a stellar 313 yards in 1995 to help propel the 18th-ranked Wolverines past No. 2 Ohio State. 4. Barry Pierson: A year after being trounced by Ohio State, Pierson turned in an incredible three-intercep- tion performance and one 60-yard punt return to set up a touchdown in Michigan's 24-12 win over No. 1 Ohio State in 1969. 3. Desmond Howard/Charles Woodson: Both these Heisman Trophy winners put exclamation points on their award-win- ning seasons with punt returns for touchdowns. 2. 1950 special teams: In the Snow Bowl, Michigan punted the ball 24 times as the Wolverines were orced to run the ball on every down. The Wolverines also blocked four punts en route to a 9-3 win. 1. Tom Harmon: Easily the geatest player of the pre- Woody/Bo era, Harmon still olds the record for most points by a Wolverine in this rivalry. The first Michigan man to win the Heisman Trophy, Harmon was primarily responsible for the turnaround at Michigan from 1938-40. In the four years preceding his arrival, the Wolverines were 0-4 against the Buckeyes and placed no better than fourth in the league. 5. David Boston: One year after eating crow for his claim that the s Buckeyes would beat the eventual national ions, Boston blew up against the defending champs for 217 yards against a vulnerable - and harles Woodson-less - 1998 Michigan secondary. 4. Chris Spielman: Sometimes there are victones in defeat. Spielman, in 1986 had his own personal win against the Wolverines when he recorded an unheard of 29 tackles in the 26-24 loss. Spielman even knocked down a two- oint conversion attempt by c cgan to kee the game within a field goal MICHIGAN DAILYa FILE PHOTOS AND COURTESY OF THE BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY 3.Joe Germaine: While he was overshadowed by Boston in 1998, Germaine stopped Michigan's three- game winning streak over the Buckeyes with 330 yards and three touchdowns through the air - a feat not equaled by any Ohio State quarterback against the Wolverines. 2. Tom Klaban: Third-ranked Michigan vs. fourth- ranked Ohio State was the matchup in 1974. When all was said and done, it came down to the leg of Klaban, who delivered four field goals in the 12-10 win. 1. Jim Otis: In 1968, Ohio State capped offman amazing 15'year, 11-4 stretch against Michigan. Leading the charge was Otis, who delivered four scores into the end- zone for the Buckeyes - no other running back in Ohio State history has rushed for four touchdowns against Michigan. Ay , . :F, k