Ohio State Gains Ascendancy: 1950 to 2009
In 1951, Ohio State hired Woody Hayes to be its nineteenth head football coach, and that single decision led to the ascendancy of Ohio State in its rivalry with Michigan. While the Wolverines struggled during the decade of the 1950's, posting an overall record of just 52-36-3 (a .588 winning percentage) with only a single conference co-championship (1950) and no major award winners, the Buckeyes became the undisputed kings of the Big Ten. During that decade, Ohio State went 63-24-5 (.712 winning percentage), with three outright conference titles (1954, 1955, and 1957), two national championships (1954 and 1957), two Rose Bowl victories (1954 and 1957), two Heisman Trophy winners (Vic Janowicz in 1950 and Hopalong Cassady in 1955), a Maxwell Award winner (Hopalong Cassady in 1955), an Outland Trophy winner (Jim Parker in 1956), and an AFCA Coach of the Year (Woody Hayes in 1957).
Ohio State continued its run into the early 1960's, with another national championship (1961), another Maxwell Award winner (Bob Ferguson in 1961), and a 50-20 hammering of Michigan in the 1961 version of The Game. After that point, however, Ohio State's production fell off somewhat, while Michigan's program nearly fell off the map altogether. From 1962 to 1967, the Buckeyes posted a record of 35-18-1 (.657 winning percentage) with no conference championships; and during the same period, Michigan was just 28-28-2 (.500 winning percentage) with one conference title (1964) and four losing seasons (1962, 1963, 1965, and 1967).
Ohio State broke out of its slump in 1968, with a perfect 10-0-0 season, a 50-14 annihilation of Michigan in The Game, and a solid 27-16 victory over #2 Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. In the process, the Buckeyes earned an undisputed Big Ten title and a unanimous national championship.
Although Ohio State had the far more impressive season in 1968, Michigan still finished with a record of 8-2-0 that year, which was a marked improvement over much of the previous two decades. In 1969, the Wolverines, under rookie head coach Bo Schembechler, got their revenge, as their 24-12 victory over Ohio State broke the Buckeyes' 22-game winning streak and cost them the opportunity to repeat as national champions. That edition of The Game began the Ten Year War between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, and for most of that decade, The Game had national title implications. Although neither team won a national championship during the Ten Year War, each team played the role of spoiler for the other, with Michigan halting Ohio State's title run in 1969; with Ohio State ruining Michigan's perfect seasons in 1970, 1972, and 1974; and with both teams losing a chance at perfection after the 10-10 tie in the 1973 Game. The end result of the Ten Year War: Bo 5, Woody 4, with one tie.
Ohio State made another serious national title run in 1979, when an 18-15 victory in The Game gave the Buckeyes a perfect 11-0-0 regular season and a #1 ranking in both major polls; however, the Buckeyes' season of dreams would end with a one-point loss to #3 Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. Throughout the decade of the 1980's, neither team accomplished very much on the national stage, and it wasn't until the mid-1990's that the programs re-emerged as legitimate national title contenders. Ohio State entered The Game undefeated in 1993, 1995, and 1996, but in each of those years the Wolverines spoiled the Buckeyes' national championship hopes with an upset victory. Ohio State failed to return the favor in 1997, when Michigan gained a narrow 20-14 victory in The Game on route to its first national championship in fifty years.
The Buckeyes finally won The Game in 1998, and finished the season at 11-1-0 and a #2 ranking in both major polls. However, after that season, the bottom fell out of the Ohio State program both on and off of the field, which ultimately led to the ouster of head football coach John Cooper. Although Coop had re-established Ohio State as a national football powerhouse, he simply could not beat Michigan on a regular basis, even with clearly superior teams, and he left Columbus with an appalling 2-10-1 record in The Game.
To replace John Cooper, Ohio State hired a relatively unknown head coach named Jim Tressel, who had guided Youngstown State to four Division I-AA national championships. Tressel put renewed emphasis on the Michigan rivalry, and he is currently riding a six-game winning streak in The Game with an overall record of 8 and 1 in the annual tilt. Ohio State's thrilling 14-9 victory in the 2002 installment of The Game propelled the Buckeyes' to their seventh national championship. On the other hand, Michigan is mired in one of its worst down cycles in the history of its storied program.
To recap: Since 1950, the two teams have been fairly equal on the conference level, with Ohio State claiming 27 Big Ten titles (12 outright), and Michigan claiming 24 (11 outright). Ohio State also owns a slight advantage in the game, with a 31-27-3.
However, on the national stage, Ohio State has been the clearly superior program. Over the past 61 seasons, Michigan has won just a single national championship, that being the AP title that they earned in 1997 after completing their only perfect season since 1948. Ohio State, on the other hand, has won six national titles during the same time span: 1954; 1957; 1961; 1968; 1970; and 2002. Furthermore, Michigan has just nine major bowl victories since 1950, while Ohio State has racked up nearly twice as many (fourteen) during that time. Finally, Ohio State has had the decided advantage in individual honors, leading in Heisman Trophy winners (6 to 2), Maxwell Award winners (4 to 1), Outland Trophy winners (4 to 0), Lombardi Award winners (6 to 1), Walter Camp All Americans (56 to 46), and College Football Hall of Famers (16 to 10).
Ohio State 1950 to 2014
Overall record: 553-165-15
Win differential: +48
Winning percentage: .765
Winning percentage differential: +.068
National championships: seven (1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014)
Big Ten Titles: 27 (1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014)
Overall bowl record: 20-23-0 (.465)
Major Bowl record: 15-12-0 (.556)
Record in The Game: 35-28-2 (.554)
Heisman winners: six (Vic Janowicz, 1950; Hopalong Cassady, 1955; Archie Griffin, 1974 & 1975; Eddie George, 1995; Troy Smith, 2006)
Maxwell winners: four (Hopalong Cassady, 1955; Bob Ferguson, 1961; Archie Griffin, 1975; Eddie George, 1995)
Outland winners: four (Jim Parker, 1956; Jim Stillwagon, 1970; John Hicks, 1973; Orlando Pace, 1996)
Lombardi winners: six (Jim Stillwagon, 1970; John Hicks, 1973; Chris Spielman, 1987; Orlando Pace, 1995 & 1996; A.J. Hawk, 2005)
AFCA-COY winners: three (Woody Hayes, 1957; Earle Bruce, 1979; Jim Tressel, 2002)
Walter Camp All Americans: 57
College Football Hall of Famers: 17
Michigan 1950 to 2014
Overall record: 505-216-13
Win differential: -48
Winning percentage: .697
Winning percentage differential: -.068
National championships: one (1997)
Big Ten titles: 23 (1950, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004)
Overall bowl record: 18-23-0 (.439)
Major bowl record: 9-14-0 (.391)
Record in The Game: 28-35-2 (.446)
Heisman winners: two (Desmond Howard, 1991; Charles Woodson, 1997)
Maxwell winners: one (Desmond Howard, 1991)
Outland winners: zero
Lombardi winners: one (LaMarr Woodley, 2006)
AFCA-COY winners: two (Bo Schembechler, 1969; Lloyd Carr, 1997)
Walter Camp All Americans: 46
College Football Hall of Famers: 10
