Michigan Football has a history of upsets against Ohio State

Michigan football takes on Ohio State in the 2019 version of The Game and with Ohio State ranked No.1, it’s worth noting the Wolverines history of upsets.

There is no doubt that Ohio State has become a boogeyman for Michigan football. Ever since the arrival of Jim Tressel, the rivalry has been very one-sided.

But it hasn’t always been that way. For a long time, it was Ohio State that sort of seemed cursed against Michigan, especially with some of the big-time upsets the Wolverines have pulled over the years.

The most famous, of course, came back in 1969, during the first season of Bo Schembechler. Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and Michigan came in No. 12. No one thought the Wolverines had a shot, but they ultimately pulled off the 24-12 upset.

That 1969 team was sort of like this year’s Buckeyes in that it was called maybe the greatest Ohio State team ever. It seemed destined to win the National Championship, sort of like this Ohio State team is one of the favorites along with LSU to reach the final game.

Standing in the way of the Buckeyes, though, is Michigan.

And if the Wolverines, who ranked 13th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, compared to No. 1 for Ohio State, pulled an upset, it wouldn’t be a first.

In fact, Michigan football has pulled a number of upsets over Ohio State teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 and on a number of occasions, spoiled their national title dreams.

The 1969 game is maybe the best example. It also was the start of the famed 10-year war. That was a great era for Michigan football. However, another was the mid-1990’s during the tenure of Lloyd Carr.

Carr became the coach in 1995 and in the last game of the regular season, No. 2 Ohio State, with Eddie George, Orlando Pace and a bunch of other NFL guys, came to the Big House, needing a win to get to the Rose Bowl and keep their national title hopes intact.

Instead, Ohio State got a rude awakening from Tim Biakabutuka who outplayed George, the eventual Heisman winner, by rushing for 313 yards and a touchdown in a 31-23 win. Ohio State finished 11-1 but missed out on the Rose Bowl and the national title again.

In 1996, Carr took the No. 21 Wolverines on the road to take on second-ranked and undefeated Ohio State and crazy as it might seem, lightning struck twice.

It was an ugly game, but thanks to a Tai Streets touchdown early in the third quarter from Brian Griese, Michigan football won 13-9 and wrecked any hopes Ohio State had of winning the national title.

The Buckeyes still went to the Rose Bowl and defeated Arizona State yet fell short of the national title thanks to maybe the worst loss of John Cooper’s Buckeye career.

Carr was actually 6-7 against the Buckeyes, mostly because he couldn’t beat Tressel.

Yet, Carr did beat him once and it was a win that cost Ohio State a chance at back-to-back BCS national titles. While Ohio State was No. 4 in the AP rankings heading into The Game in 2003, in the BCS rankings, the defending national champions were No. 2.

And back then, there was no Big Ten championship game, so if Ohio State had beaten Michigan, it would have been back in the title game, with a chance to defend its crown.

Only, Ohio State forgot to tell Braylon Edwards, John Navarre and Chris Perry about their coronation.

Navarre, who led fifth-ranked Michigan into the game, was 0-2 against Ohio State. He was part of the 2001 Wolverines that only needed to beat an unranked Buckeyes team to win the Big Ten and failed to do so.

This time around, Navarre and company wouldn’t be denied. Edwards set the tone with a long touchdown catch and the Wolverines won 35-21, clinching a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Since then, the Wolverines have struggled against Ohio State, regardless of where the Buckeyes have ranked.

But weird things happen when coaches change in this rivalry. The Wolverines seem due for an upset and by beating a team some don’t think can be beaten, they would follow in the footsteps of some other great Michigan football teams.