There have been no shortage of gut punches in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, but a few still sting more than the rest for Wolverine fans.
With the Buckeyes having won last season in the Big House, the rivalry has felt like it might be tilting their way. Michigan will need to answer soon - this year or next - if it wants to stop that momentum.
Winning in Columbus won’t be simple, even with two straight victories in the series. And with a playoff spot possibly hanging in the balance, just as it did a year ago, the stakes could be enormous again.
That sets the stage for a rivalry that has produced plenty of unforgettable games. From Michigan’s perspective, though, some of the most memorable finishes are the ones fans would rather erase.
One of the most painful came in 1973, when Michigan and Ohio State played to a 10-10 tie that still left Bo Schembechler furious. The Big Ten athletic directors voted to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl over Michigan, even though the teams shared the conference title. Dennis Franklin led a second-half touchdown drive to pull the Wolverines even, but Michigan missed two field goals in the fourth quarter and settled for the tie.
There were rumors that Franklin was not fully healthy. At the time, the Big Ten allowed only one team to go to a bowl, and Michigan’s 10-0-1 season ended with the Wolverines ranked sixth.
Ohio State went on to win the Rose Bowl. A win in “The Game,” followed by a Rose Bowl victory, might have put Michigan in position for a national championship or even a shared title with Notre Dame, which finished unbeaten that year.
Michigan entered the Ohio State game ranked No. 4, while the Buckeyes were No. 1, so the Wolverines may have been headed into bowl season at the top of the polls, just as they were in 1997 when they won the AP National Championship.
A missed field goal kept Bo from winning it all.
Then there was the 2006 classic, remembered in Michigan circles for the Shawn Crable penalty. Ohio State came in ranked No. 1 and Michigan No. 2, and the Wolverines nearly erased a huge deficit before falling 42-39.
Late in the fourth quarter, with Ohio State leading by three, Troy Smith threw an incompletion on third and long. Michigan was ready to get the ball back - until a flag changed everything.
Crable was called for a roughing the passer penalty that many still question.
Ohio State cashed in with a touchdown to stretch the lead back to 10. Michigan answered on its next possession, but instead of driving for the lead, the Wolverines were only able to trim the margin to three. They never got another chance to take control before time ran out.
The 10-10 tie in 1973 and the three-point loss in 2006 are two results that will always sit heavy with Michigan fans.
And then there was 2016, the one that still feels especially cruel.
Urban Meyer’s 7-0 record against Michigan would not have stood if officials had ruled JT Barrett short on fourth down in overtime. But the play before that is the one that lingers even more. Jabrill Peppers missed a sack attempt on third-and-long, which let Barrett escape and turn what could have been fourth-and-20 into fourth-and-short.
That sequence changed everything. Peppers had an interception in the game, and if he had made that open-field tackle, the rivalry might have taken a different turn. Jim Harbaugh would have beaten Urban Meyer, Michigan would have won the Big Ten title and reached the College Football Playoff, and the eventual national title won by Harbaugh might have come earlier.
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