The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 43 even 2014 (42-28, with the game knotted at 21 midway through the third quarter). The bottom line, though, involves the "O" in Ohio representing more than the start of a cheer Michigan fans find obnoxious. Falk recalled: "Bo asked me when I first came here, 'What do you know about Michi- gan?' I said, 'I only know three things about Michigan. Bo Schembechler is the football coach, they play Ohio State every year for the Big Ten championship and everybody at Ohio hates Michigan.' He said, 'That pretty much sums it up.' "That's the way it is. When you go down there, you can't believe it. Once you cross over from Findlay and get to 23, it's amazing how many people honk their horns, how many people give you a couple of gestures." Jansen insisted thoughts of The Game begin long before crossing the border. "You don't have to wait to get on the bus to feel it," he said. "As soon as the game before is over, you start focusing on Ohio State. You know they're a good program. They've got a lot of talent — they always do. "You know it's probably going to be the most physical game you play all season long. It's one of those games where you have to be ready mentally. Can you handle the pressure? Can you handle the boos? Can you handle all the peripheral stuff that goes into that game? "When you get into it, and you get hit in the mouth by your opponent, what's your reac- tion? You'd better make sure you're hitting them just as hard, if not harder." Jansen admitted to getting worked up as he talked about the game. The Michigan radio commentator and 10-year veteran of NFL wars began tensing up, feeling emotions that surged through him for five years. He acknowledged an utter lack of dispas- sionate evaluation regarding this particular game. "There's nothing like it," he explained. "I played a lot of games in the NFL. Washington and Dallas had a great rivalry, and there was some buildup to that. But in your lifetime, you will never experience anything like a Michi- gan-Ohio State rivalry. It's something that will stick with you forever." Series Swing: Dangerous To Downhearted Jansen played near the end of an era in which Michigan proved the dominant crew. Beginning in 1988, the Wolverines went 10- 2-1 against the Buckeyes, OSU fans experi- encing what U-M diehards have over the past decade-plus. One of Jansen's greatest memories involved the 1996 game, when Griese entered for an injured Scott Dreisbach with the Wolverines trailing 9-0. Griese led the comeback for a 13-9 win in Ohio Stadium, including a drive gracing an offensive lineman's memory Hall of Fame. The Wolverines showed life on a 68-yard Griese-to-Tai Streets touchdown pass just one minute into the second half, when OSU defen- sive back Shawn Springs slipped to the turf and watched helplessly as Streets sailed away. A 43-yard Remy Hamilton field goal as time expired in the third quarter put Michigan on top, 10-9, but the Wolverines remained up by only a single point with 6:52 left to play. U-M took possession on its own 12 and proceeded to crunch downfield 67 yards on 11 plays, without ever throwing the football. "We handed the ball off the same play, all the way down the field," Jansen recalled. "It was either counter right, counter left. They had the great Andy Katzenmoyer at linebacker. "I just remember pulling around every time. I was zeroing in. I could see nothing but his numbers. Just the feeling of coming around the edge and pulling up in the hole, making good contact, was incredible." Ohio State knew what was coming, and couldn't do anything to stop it. "You could feel that running back getting five or six yards," Jansen said. "You go back in the huddle and they call the same play, and you do the same thing. You're marching right down the field, first down after first down. "You see that clock ticking down. You know there were a lot of things that happened up to that point to give you the lead … but to be the ones called upon, especially our offensive line, to ride down the field. We didn't have to throw the ball and take a risk at an interception or an incomplete pass and stopping the clock. "Just to roll down the field as road graders, moving everybody out of the way, was just a tremendous feeling." The drive took all but 1:19 off the clock, and Hamilton's 39-yard field goal, combined with safety Marcus Ray's game-ending in- terception, sealed yet another year of OSU frustration. Two years later, the Buckeyes broke through at home in a 31-16 win. To say the fans vented After starting quarterback Scott Dreisbach got hurt with the Wolverines trailing 9-0 at Ohio State in 1996, backup Brian Griese tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to Tai Streets (pictured) one minute into the second half to start a comeback that resulted in a 13-9 U-M victory. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN