November 24, 2018 – Michigan vs Ohio State Football Game

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Barry Gallagher

Just in case you didn’t know, today is another chapter in the Michigan vs Ohio State football tradition. In fact, it is Chapter 115 between these two intense rivals. The Michigan vs Ohio State game is so famous that it is now just referred to as The Game. Yes, The Game is the showcase for the greatest rivalry is all of sports – period!

(Note-The 1990 Michigan Football team shown above was the last Wolverine team to defeat Ohio State in Columbus on November 24th. Photo Courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library at The University of Michigan.)

Michigan vs Ohio State Football 2018

The good news is that the Wolverines still own the overall advantage in the Michigan vs Ohio State football series. The bad news is that they have lost the last six games. To make matters worse, the Wolverines are in another Big Ten title “drought” that is sitting at fourteen years. It happened once before and Bump Elliott’s team ended that drought in 1964. Jim Harbaugh’s team is on track to end Drought II, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Time to get focused on the 2018 version of The Game. Of course, we need to look at the history of Michigan Football on November 24^th before we take a closer look at The Game.

Calendar History:

So far, the Wolverines have played seventeen games on the twenty-fourth day of November. Nine of those games have been against the Buckeyes. Michigan’s record on November 24^th is 10 wins and 5 losses which works out to a winning percentage of almost sixty-five percent (.647). However, they have not done as well in conference play. Check out the numbers below:

The Wolverines have played nine home games on this date and seven road games. One game, in 1894, was played at a neutral site. Michigan’s home record is pretty good at 5-2-2. The Maize and Blue footballers also have a winning road record on this day of 4 wins and 3 losses.

The numbers on this page absolutely make November 24^th a good day for Michigan football, but not a great one! History is on the side of the Maize and Blue today, but not by much! Here is a little more history about Michigan Football on November 24^th:

• 1887 – Michigan’s first game on this date took place in Boston. The Wolverines played the Harvard Club team, not the varsity. However, the Maize and Blue men won by a final score of 26-0. I am sure that it was a nice trip home!
• 1888 – The Wolverines posted their largest victory margin ever on this day against Albion. Michigan blasted their guests by a score of 76-4 – ouch!
• 1894 – Michigan played their only game on a neutral site (Detroit) and won by a score of 12-4. The most significant thing about this game was that it was Michigan’s first win over an Eastern power team, not a club team!
• 1898 – This is the day/date that Michigan won the Western Conference title for the very first time. Gustave Ferbert’s footballers defeated Chicago by a score of 12-11. Yes, it is still a very BIG event in Wolverine football history. It was so BIG that a UM student named Louis Elbel wrote a famous fight song that you may have heard a few times!

• 1900 – After defeating the Buckeyes for the first time in 1897, Michigan and OSU did not play again until the turn of the century. Game number two of this series ended in a scoreless tie. Then, Fielding Yost took the Wolverines on a nine-game winning streak against the Buckeyes until they tied again in 1910. Yost’s footballers won the next three games to run the undefeated streak to thirteen games. Ah, the good old days!
• 1956 – Michigan posted their biggest conference win on this date against the Buckeyes 19-0.
• 1962 – Michigan’s biggest loss on this date happened at OSU – 0-28.
• 2012 – Last game played on this day was a 21-26 loss at The Horseshoe.

Notable Wolverine Performances on November 24th:

• 1898 – Running back Charles Widman scored two touchdowns and Neil Snow kicked two extra points as Michigan defeated Chicago on Thanksgiving Day in the Windy City. The 12-11 win gave the Wolverines their first Western Conference Championship!
• 1923 – Tad Rockwell scored the only touchdown of the game on a pass from Richard Vick. Harry Kipke added a 37-yard field goal and Michigan defeated Minnesota to end a perfect season. The 8-0-0 Wolverines were named National Champions in 1923.
• 1951 – Halfback Don Peterson turned 19 carries into 70-yards and the only touchdown of the game. Michigan defeated OSU by a score of 7-0 in The Big House!
• 1956 – Jim VanPelt threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Terry Barr. Jim Maddock ran for a touchdown and Barr rushed for another. Hard-running Jim Pace logged 16 carries for 92-yards. Michigan posted a very convincing 19-0 win over the Buckeyes in Columbus.
• 1990 – Desmond Howard scored the only touchdown of the game on a pass from Elvis Grbac. However, the hero of the game was kicker J. D. Carlson who kicked three field goals in a 16-13 win. His game-winning kick came on the last play of the game. He nailed a 37-yard beauty to steal a win in Columbus! In fact, this is Michigan’s last win on November 24^th in Ohio! Gotta get that fixed today!

In 1990, J. D. Carlson kicked the Wolverines to their last victory over OSU on November 24th. Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library at The University of Michigan.

Series History:

Today’s game is the one-hundred-fifteenth game in the series between Michigan and Ohio State. Today’s contest is the tenth game between these bitter rivals on November 24^th. Let’s take a closer look at some of the historic games in this series.

• 1897 – The first game between Michigan and Ohio State was played in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won the game, before it was “The Game,” by a score of 34-0.
• 1902 – The biggest series win belongs to Michigan. Fielding Yost’s footballers blasted the Buckeyes by a score of 86-0 in Ann Arbor!
• 1935 – Michigan’s biggest loss to the Buckeyes took place in Ann Arbor. Ohio State beat Michigan by a score of 38-0. Ugh!
• 2000 – The last time Michigan won in Columbus was in 2000. Drew Henson led the Wolverines to a big win (38-26) and clinched a tie for the Big Ten Championship. Unfortunately, that was a very, very, long time ago.
• 2017 – The last game between these two Big Ten rivals was played in Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines had the passion, but not the players. Ohio State won by a score of 20-31.

The Game’s history still favors Michigan, but not the recent history. Michigan has lost six straight games to the team down south and thirteen of the last fourteen. The good news is that Michigan still holds the overall advantage in the series – 58 wins, 50 losses and 6 ties. Check out the series numbers below:

Yes, history is still on Michigan’s side in this series. They have also played very well in Columbus where they are even against the Buckeyes.

Notable Wolverine Performances  – Michigan vs Ohio State in Columbus:

In addition to fifty-eight wins over the Buckeyes, Michigan players have had some memorable  performances against Ohio State in Columbus. Here are some of the best Wolverine performances against the Buckeyes in enemy territory!

• 1946 – Quarterback Bob Chappuis threw three touchdown passes. Michigan blasted the Buckeyes by a score of 58-6.
• 1964 – All-American quarterback to be, Bob Timberlake, threw a 17-yard scoring pass to Jim Detwiler and kicked a 27-yard field goal. The Wolverine defense did the rest and Michigan clinched the Big Ten Championship with a beautiful 10-0 victory.
• 1976 – Russell Davis ran for two touchdowns. Rob Lytle led a 366-yard rushing offense with 165-yaards and one touchdown. Bo’s first win in the Horseshoe was special and so was the score – 22-0!
• 1986 – Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a victory at Ohio State. Then, the talkative quarterbacked backed it up with 261-passing yards. Michigan’s rushing attack totaled 268-yards. Jamie Morris led the way with 210-rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. The Wolverines defeated OSU 26-24 and made Bo Schembechler the winningest coach in the history of Michigan Football.
• 1990 – J. D. Carlson kicked three field goals – the last one was the game winner on the last play of the game. Wolverines won – 16-13.
• 2000 – Drew Henson had a hand in three offensive touchdowns. He tossed two scoring passes and ran for another. Leroy Hoard rushed for two more scores. Michigan won a shootout (38-26) in the Horseshoe. Unfortunately, that’s the last win in Columbus for our beloved Wolverines! That will get fixed today!

In 2000, Drew Henson led Michigan to their last victory in Columbus. Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library at The University of Michigan.

Yes, many Wolverines have stepped up BIG in The Game when it was played in Columbus. I am completely confident that many more Michigan Men will do great things today for the Maize and Blue Football program.

Today.

Today will be another great game in the Michigan vs Ohio State football series. Fourth-ranked Michigan is 10-1 and looking to win the BIG East Division title. They are also in the hunt for the college football playoff. Michigan is looking to get to their first BIG Championship Game. Michigan is a four-point favorite in The Horseshow which hasn’t happened in a very long time. The tenth-ranked Buckeyes (10-1) are also fighting for the division title. This game is one of the biggest games that the Michigan vs Ohio State football series has seen in many years.

There are a ton of numbers that apply to this game, but you can throw most of them out because of the intensity of this rivalry. However, I did look at what both teams did so far in Big Ten play. Michigan and Ohio State have both scored 292-points in 8 conference games so far. That averages out to 36.5 points per game.

Michigan has allowed 102-points in eight games, but the Buckeye defense has given up 206. That averages out to 12.75 points per game against the Wolverine defense and 25.75 for the Buckeye defenders.

The old football adage tells us that “defense wins championships.” With that said, Michigan’s defense gives them a thirteen-point advantage in the most important stat for this showdown.

There is no doubt about it – today’s game is the biggest game in Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan coaching career so far. Today will be the measuring stick for how far Coach Harbaugh has brought his Wolverines in four seasons.

On paper, I believe that Michigan is truly the better team. Their defense will hold down the high-scoring Buckeye offense and Dwayne Haskins will not have his best day. Shea Patterson, and the Michigan offense, will score a lot of points. Bottom line –  the last stop on the “Revenge Tour” will be a fun day for our Wolverines!

I think Michigan’s stars will outshine Ohio State’s best today. It will be a great college football game. However, the Wolverines will be better on offense, defense and special teams. Go Blue, Beat OSU!

My Prediction:

I think this game will be a lot like the 2000 game. The defenses will be challenged, but OSU’s defenders will not stand as strong as Michigans. The Wolverines open up the play book and run up a very nice point total. Final score: Michigan 38 and OSU 25.