Ten years, to be exact.
No. 1 Ohio State’s 42-39 win over No. 2 Michigan in 2006 is the last time both teams were ranked in the top five, though such games were a fairly common occurrence during the youths of Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and his Michigan counterpart, Jim Harbaugh.
Both had been kicking around this earth for a little less than five years when the teams met in 1970 to decide who would be the Big Ten champion.
No. 5 Ohio State got the better of that one, beating No. 4 Michigan 20-9 to avenge a bitter 24-12 upset the Wolverines pulled off one year earlier.
Five times in the following seven years the teams were both ranked in the top five when they faced off.
Ohio State won in 1972, ’74 and ’75 while Michigan won in ’77. They tied in ’73.
All of those games were part of the famed 10-Year War between Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, his protégé and friend who took over in Ann Arbor in ’69.
They competed against each other with a ferocity and respect that left an indelible mark on Meyer.
“I just think that was the classiest,” Meyer said. “Both programs had a tremendous respect for each other, both coaches did, and they played so damn hard. So I just remember that. So I have a great appreciation for rivalries.”
Prior to the 10-Year War, Ohio State had won the only top-five matchups in the series.
Coach Paul Brown’s Buckeyes won 21-7 in 1942, and Hayes’ Buckeyes rolled to a 50-14 win in 1968. Both of those teams were named national champions after the season, as were the 1997 Wolverines who were ranked No. 1 when they beat No. 4 Ohio State 20-14 in 1997.
As for the ’06 game, some of the current Buckeyes recalled where they were when the top-ranked Buckeyes clinched a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.
Junior linebacker Chris Worley said he watched the game at Cleveland Glenville High School, his future alma mater and the program that produced the biggest star in that game, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.
“I want to say I was in middle school, but Glenville High School actually opened it up, opened up the gym area and had projectors showing the game throughout the gym,” Worley said. “It was an amazing feeling.”
Also watching as Smith threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns was Joe Burger, now a senior linebacker for the Buckeyes.
The Cincinnati native called getting to play in a similar game this time a dream come true.
“Ten years ago you remember watching it and to be able to have the opportunity to go out there and suit up and play in a game like this, that kind of magnitude, it really is something special,” Burger said. “You prepare the best way that you can so you can remember it the right way the rest of your life. That is hopefully what you are building towards.”
This time around, neither team will lock in a chance to play for the national title, but the Wolverines can clinch a spot in their first Big Ten championship game and keep hopes for a College Football Playoff berth alive.
Ohio State will need a win over Michigan and a Penn State loss to Michigan State to get to the Big Ten title game, but the Buckeyes could go to the playoff anyway if they take care of the Wolverines.
According to the Michigan sports information department, The Game has had potential for major impact on the final Big Ten standings 44 times since it was moved to the end of the regular season in 1935. That includes 22 times the teams decided the champion between themselves (most recently Ohio State’s 14-6 win over Michigan in 2007).
SATURDAY’S GAME
Michigan (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) at Ohio State (10-1, 7-1), noon, ABC
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