The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541451
28 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2025 The Wolverines themselves — having won five straight Big Ten championships the previous handful of years — struggled that season, relatively speaking. They en- tered the game unranked, on the way to an 8-4 finish, and were decided underdogs against the visitors. Cleveland.com described the Buckeyes' stunning shutout loss this way: "Frustra- tion, disbelief and dismay — strangers to the fifth-ranked Buckeyes all year — this time rained down on OSU in the after- math of a 28-0 beating as crushing as it was shocking." The Wolverines built a 21-0 lead on the strength of 105 rushing yards by Tyrone Wheatley in the first half alone. The Wol- verines also secured 4 interceptions, two of them by All-American Ty Law. Ohio State never reached the Michi- gan red zone and wound up 2-for-12 in attempting to convert third-down situ- ations. The game featured the first Michi- gan shutout of the Buckeyes since 1976. "It's the most embarrassing game I think I've ever been associated with since I've been coaching college football," said Buckeyes coach John Cooper. "We got outplayed every way possible. "If they had played all season like they did today, maybe they would have won the championship again." Michigan head coach Gary Moeller found that last part tough to counter. "It was probably our lack of success during the season that helped in our vic- tory," he said. "We played like we should have all season — with emotion." 1 9 9 5 MICHIGAN 31, OHIO STATE 23 Only two years later, Michigan again found itself a major underdog, this time with a different head coach. Lloyd Carr liked to say upsets are in the mind of the favorite, and the Wolverines entered The Game 1995 with precisely that outlook. The Buckeyes rode into Michigan Sta- dium 11-0, against a U-M squad headed for a 9-4 finish. The Wolverines came into the game ranked No. 18, but like the press did two years earlier, most gave Carr's crew little chance to win. Tshimanga Biakabutuka and the Michi- gan offensive line had a little bit to say about that. All-America center Rod Payne insisted he knew from the very first snap that the Wolverines were going to domi- nate the OSU defensive front — and they did. Biakabutuka ran wild, racking up an unthinkable 313 yards on 37 carries to destroy OSU's Rose Bowl and national championship hopes. Cooper again found himself on the re- ceiving end of a Michigan spanking and once more plumbed the depths of college football emotion in describing his pain afterward. "I'm tremendously disappointed," he said. "I don't know if I've ever been this disappointed in my life. We've had a good year. "We won 11 games coming up here, but if you can't stop the run in this league and you can't run the football yourself, you're going to get beat. That's what happened to us today. They beat us up front unmerci- fully." Biakabutuka's total set an all-time re- cord by an opponent against the Buck- eyes. With his relentless rushing success in the game, he passed Jamie Morris for the Michigan regular-season rushing re- cord at 1,724 yards. Biakabutuka noted he enjoyed a clear path to his record-setting runs. "I've been playing football for six years, including high school, and I've never seen holes like that," Biakabutuka said. "Any one of you guys could have run through them." Michigan offensive lineman Joe Famous Quotes Involving 'The Game' The talk never ends, nor should it. Here are some all-time quotes from the Michigan-Ohio State football series, from the coaches and players. • "Damn you, Bo! You'll never win a bigger game!" — Woody Hayes, on Michigan's vic- tory in 1969 • "If you could play the greatest game of your life, you would play it that day." — Michigan running back Rob Lytle. • "You owe it to every man, woman and child in the state of Michigan to beat the Buckeyes and silence their fans! Now go out there and make it happen!" — Bo Schembechler. • "If you really care about the rivalry, you'll respect the opponent. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them, but I still don't like them." — OSU cornerback Chris Worley. • "We do not pull in and fill up. And I'll tell you why we don't. It's because I don't buy one **** drop of gas in the state of Michigan!" — Hayes, to an assistant on refusing to purchase gasoline until reaching the Ohio line. • "I was sent to beat one team and only one team. I only wanted Ohio State. That's the team I wanted to beat. Michigan could beat those other guys." — Schembechler. — John Borton Tshimanga Biakabutuka ran wild in 1995, finishing with 313 yards rushing and 1 touchdown on 37 carries in U-M's 31-23 win over previously undefeated Ohio State. PHOTO BY BARRY RANKIN