The 1973 Ohio State vs. Michigan football game was one of the most controversial games in NCAA history. In this game, both teams were undefeated, with Ohio State ranked 1st, and Michigan ranked 4th. A conference championship, Rose Bowl appearance, and possible national championship was on the line in this monumental game, part of the hotly contested stretch of the rivalry known as The Ten Year War. A then-NCAA record crowd of 105,233 watched the game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
With heavy rain prior to the game, the battle was mostly fought on the ground. Michigan had 90 yards passing and Ohio State attempted only one passing play in a defensive contest. Ohio State failed to make a single first-down in the first quarter, but took an early 3-0 lead in the second quarter, with a 31 yard field goal by Blair Conway. Gil Chapman, Michigan's punt returner returned OSU's ensuing kick-off all the way to the OSU 27 yard line. A significant clipping penalty was called on Michigan which subsequently gave Michigan bad field position. With the way the game had gone, field position proved to be a huge advantage.
After a series of punts, Ohio State got the ball on their own 45 yard line. Back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin rushed for 41 yards on 5 carries, to get to 100 yards rushing, and OSU to the 5 yard line. Fullback Pete Johnson busted his way through the defense for a touchdown just before the half to extend OSU's lead to 10-0.
Michigan made defensive half-time adjustments in an attempt to crawl back into the game. The Wolverines outgained the Buckeyes 209-91 in total yardage in the 2nd half. Michigan took the 2nd half kick-off and marched all the way to the OSU 30 yard line. However, quarterback Dennis Franklin's pass was intercepted in the end zone ruining a productive drive. Midway through the third quarter, OSU faced a 4th and 2 on the Michigan 34 yard line, and decided to go for it. Their failed fourth down conversion gave Michigan new life, and lots of momentum. It is still looked on today as a controversial coaching call.
Michigan engineered an 11 play drive, using the rushing ability of fullback Ed Shuttlesworth. The Wolverines kicked a field goal to get on the board, and make the score 10-3. Midway through the fourth quarter, Michigan's defense held, and the offense was able to start the tying drive with great field position. Dennis Franklin threw a 35 yard post-out pattern to tight end Paul Seal to get inside the red zone. Three consecutive Michigan offensive plays failed to get them a first down, and they were now faced with a 4th and inches on the 10 yard line.
Ohio State loaded the box with 9 defensive players, and focused on stopping Shuttlesworth, who had burned them the entire game. Franklin faked the inside hand-off to Shuttlesworth, and then slipped through the tackles running 10 yards for a touchdown, to tie the score at 10-10. Michigan got the ball back with over six minutes to go for the game-winning drive, but had to start at their own 10 yard line. After a couple of completions to Clint Haslerig and some nice runs by Chapman and Shuttlesworth, Michigan made it into OSU territory.
Franklin then throws a seven yard pass play to Shuttlesworth and is injured, breaking his collar bone with 2:23 left in the game. Three plays later, Michigan kicker Mike Lantry attempted a 58 yard field goal, but it missed the left goal-post by a few inches. Ohio State took over, but their back-up quarterback, Greg Hare, threw an interception that was returned to the OSU 33 with 52 seconds left. Michigan moved the ball to the OSU 28, before settling for a field goal on 3 and 5 with 28 seconds to go. For the second consecutive try, the field goal was missed and the game ended in a 10-10 tie.
Read more about 1973 Ohio State Vs. Michigan Football Game: Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words ohio, state, football and/or game:
“All inquiry into antiquity, all curiosity respecting the Pyramids, the excavated cities, Stonehenge, the Ohio Circles, Mexico, Memphis,—is the desire to do away this wild, savage, and preposterous There and Then, and introduce in its place the Here and Now.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A perfect personality ... is only possible in a state of society where man is free to choose the mode of work, the conditions of work, and the freedom to work. One to whom the making of a table, the building of a house, or the tilling of the soil, is what the painting is to the artist and the discovery to the scientist,—the result of inspiration, of intense longing, and deep interest in work as a creative force.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“In this dream that dogs me I am part
Of a silent crowd walking under a wall,
Leaving a football match, perhaps, or a pit,
All moving the same way.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“The chess-board is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, just, and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)