The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW recalled. "They didn't have the equipment they have today. "The varsity went in to watch film, while we cleared this field. We were freezing to death. We're in our cleats, which had no abil- ity to take the chill off our feet. It's a horrible day. "The whole time, we're thinking they'll let us go in and get warmed up when we get this field cleared. We get the field cleared and out runs the varsity. We go right into practice. All of us can remember that feeling of getting hit, and your body is completely frozen to begin with." Things heated up quickly when the Buck- eyes prepared to roll into town. It's safe to say Michigan's confidence wasn't shared by all, versus the defending national champions and No. 1-ranked Ohio State squad. The Buck- eyes had won their last 22 contests at a time when they played nine regular-season games. "I don't think people realize how good they were," Dierdorf said. "Their average mar- gin of victory was in the 30s [37.75 points a game]. They were never even tested." Some observers said the Buckeyes, 17-point favorites, would be better served taking on the Minnesota Vikings. The Wol- verines weren't listening. "It's the confidence we had that we were going to win," Brandstatter said. "You just got the sense, walking around campus that week. "Everybody was like, 'Can you keep it close? Can you stay with them until the fourth quarter?' We were saying, 'We're going to win.' And they'd look at you like, I know you've got to say that, but … "Our belief, collectively, was that we were going to win the game." Pierson — who pulled in three of Mich- igan's six interceptions in the Wolverines' earth-shaker of a 24-12 victory — remembers very well one strategic point he insists swung the game to the winged helmets. "Michigan was running the same offense that Ohio State was running," Pierson said. "We knew everything that was going to hap- pen. Then they picked up a little tendency that Ohio State had. Every time they sent a player in motion, they were going to pitch the ball. They weren't going to give it to [All- American running back] Jim Otis. "So when the back didn't go in motion, they were going to give it to Jim Otis. Half- way through the game, we were all saying to ourselves, 'This is working perfect.' Sure enough, that was the case. "That's what beat them, the fact that we picked up on that. They didn't have a chance." The Buckeyes cracked the goal line first, but missed the extra point, taking a 6-0 lead. Michigan fullback Garvie Craw answered that touchdown with one of his two rushing TDs, the Wolverines leading 7-6 after a quar- ter. It was the first time the Buckeyes trailed since the second quarter of the prior season's Rose Bowl. OSU took the lead on the first play of the second quarter, grabbing a 12-7 advantage. Michigan's Mike Keller sacked Buckeyes quarterback Rex Kern on a two-point conver- sion attempt, following a penalty. Hayes' powerhouse team never scored again. Billy Taylor's 28-yard breakaway run set up a six-yard Craw TD burst. Tim Killian's extra point made it 14-12 Michigan. Pierson then cut loose on a 60-yard punt return, all the way to OSU's 3-yard line. U-M quarterback Don Moorhead scored on a sneak, Killian added a 25-yard field goal before the half and Michigan's defense did the rest. Nobody scored in the second half, the Wol- verines picking off Kern right and left, while stuffing the runs into which they enjoyed special insight. "We didn't win that game offensively," Dierdorf said. "We won that game by our de- No. 12 Michigan's 24-12 win over defending national champion and No. 1 Ohio State was called "the upset of the century" on the TV broadcast by Bill Flemming. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS "Bo's arrival changed everything. From the sellouts, to the importance of what he accomplished over the next 20 years … everything was different after 1969." ALL-AMERICAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN DAN DIERDORF