The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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new head coach Bo Schembechler. Many players from that squad still reject the no- tion that the contest involved an upset at all. But such an idea couldn't be sold to anyone at the time, with the Buckeyes massive favorites, the No. 1-ranked team in the land riding a formidable 22-game winning streak. No matter that the teams were perform- ing before 103,588 mostly Michigan fans in Ann Arbor. This was, after all, an Ohio State crew that many boasted needed to take on a top NFL team to draw a real chal- lenge. Then Woody Hayes' crew stepped onto the field, and everything changed. Led by a scorchingly opportunistic defense — one that picked off 6 Ohio State passes — the Wolverines built a 24-12 halftime lead and made it stand up for an all-time shocker. U-M's Barry Pierson picked off 3 of those throws himself and returned a punt 60 yards to set up a touchdown. Ohio State quarterback Rex Kern threw 4 interceptions before getting pulled by Hayes. Pierson insisted Michigan knew the type of play the Buckeyes were going to run based on the motion (or lack thereof) of the wingback in the triple-option of- fense. That put the Buckeyes in a bind and gave players such as Michigan captain Jim Mandich a forever memory. "That was the signature event of my life," Mandich insisted. On the other side, Hayes lamented: "All good things must come to an end, and that's what happened today. They outplayed us, out-hustled us and out- coached us. Our defense didn't play well in the first half, and our offense was mis- erable in the second half. We made every mistake we could possibly make." Hayes told Schembechler he'd never win a bigger game at Michigan. Schem- bechler found it hard to disagree, noting it kicked off The Ten-Year War between him and his mentor, featuring a decade of nail-gnawing football. Schembechler wrote: "For one won- derful decade, I got to feel what deep, gut-twisting, all-you-got football was all about. Hey, if that was war, sign me up forever." 1 9 9 3 MICHIGAN 28, OHIO STATE 0 The Buckeyes entered Michigan Sta- dium 9-0-1 and ranked No. 5 in the land. eventual national champion Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, Michigan carries a 29- 27-2 edge in Columbus. That one proved the exception to what former OSU coach Earle Bruce once observed regarding the Buckeyes and this series. "If you don't win the Michigan-Ohio State game, that's a problem," Bruce said. "You're not going to be recognized for too much success. We've had 11-1 and 10-1 football teams that lost to Michigan, and they're not even mentioned in the second breath." Michigan, of course, would prefer victories over the Buckeyes in national championship seasons of their own. They held off the Buckeyes, 20-14, in 1997, on the strength of the nation's best defense and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson's 78-yard punt return for a touchdown. Woodson afterward strut- ted around the field at Michigan Stadium with a rose clenched in his teeth and shined again when the Wolverines capped off a 12-0 run to the national championship in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines took down the Buck- eyes, 30-24, at Michigan Stadium in 2023. That win added to arguably the greatest season in Michigan football history, a 15-0 run to the national title. But those other years, when everything looks to be soaked in scarlet and gray? The Wolverines have left the Buckeyes saturated in their own tears. Here are five examples of Ohio State being convinced that "we've got you guys this year," when all they got involved an L stamped to their helmets, amid the nut stickers. 1 9 6 9 MICHIGAN 24, OHIO STATE 12 This one still glimmers as the grand- daddy of all Michigan takedowns against the Buckeyes. Sure, the Wolverines featured a strong team, under DECEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27