end-of-season games

[franksolich]

Louisiana State 20, Arkansas 13, final.

Was expected, but it wasn't expected to be quite that close.

[franksolich]

Georgia Tech 3, Georgia 21, second quarter.

Illinois 7, Northwestern 17, second quarter.

Connecticut 3, Louisville 0, second quarter.

--I see Massachusetts plays football too.

Since when have puny-assed northeastern states ever played big-league big-time college football?

Michigan 7, Ohio State 10, second quarter.

Rutgers 0, Pittsburgh 7, second quarter.

Virginia 0, Virginia Tech 7, second quarter.

--at least one of my techs is winning, for now.

Indiana 7, Purdue 14, second quarter.

Kentucky 7, Tennessee 14, first quarter.

[franksolich]

Oooops.

Michigan 14, Ohio State 10, second quarter.

[franksolich]

Oh now, this is getting scary.

Georgia Tech 3, Georgia 42, third quarter.

<<has always liked college football teams whose last name is "Tech."

And this too:

Michigan 21, Ohio State 23, third quarter.

Come on, Ohio State, widen that margin.

[franksolich]

Illinois 14, Northwestern 48, third quarter.

Probably no one here's old enough to remember when Northwestern was the perennial cellar-dweller.

For decades.

Rutgers 6, Pittsburgh 24, third quarter.

Virginia 14, Virginia Tech 7, third quarter.

Ooops, there goes another one of franksolich's "Tech"s.

Indiana 21, Purdue 35, third quarter.

Tulsa 6, Southern Methodist 28, third quarter.

Kentucky 17, Tennessee 20, third quarter.

[franksolich]

Virginia 14, Virginia Tech 14, third quarter.

[franksolich]

Indiana 28, Purdue 35, third quarter.

[franksolich]

Baylor 0, Texas Tech 0, first quarter.

[franksolich]

Kentucky 17, Tennessee 27, third quarter.

Whew.

[franksolich]

Baylor 0, Texas Tech 7, first quarter.

[franksolich]

Whew.

Michigan 21, Ohio State 26, final.  Close call.

[franksolich]

Georgia Tech 10, Georgia 42, final.

Illinois 14, Northwestern 50, final.

Virginia 14, Virginia Tech 17, final.  One of my Techs made it.

Kentucky 17, Tennessee 37, final.

--the honor of Tennessee has been salvaged.

[franksolich]

Baylor 14, Texas Tech 21, half-time.

Boston College 3, North Carolina State 7, second quarter.

Maryland 14, North Carolina 14, second quarter.

--one wonders why North Carolina and North Carolina State never belonged to the Southeastern Conference.

Oregon 20, Oregon State 7, second quarter.....zzzzzzzzzzz.

[franksolich]

Florida 3, Florida State 0, second quarter.

Michigan State 6, Minnesota 7, second quarter.

Oklahoma State 14, Oklahoma 3, second quarter.

^^^WTF?

Wisconsin 14, Penn State 7, second quarter.

Keep going, Badgers.

Auburn 0, Alabama 14, second quarter.

<<always roots for Auburn excepting when they play Alabama.

<<other than that, in Auburn's corner.

[franksolich]

Indiana 35, Purdue 56, final.

San Diego State 7, Wyoming 7, second quarter.

^^^an ancient small-time college football rivalry; always roots for Wyoming, of course.

[GOBUCKS]

Notre Dame-Southern California; nobody, but nobody, could ever cheer for Notre Dame other than their alumni.

I always cheer for Notre Dame when they play Michigan and Southern California.

Even when Charlie Weis was there.

[franksolich]

Oh my.

I didn't know this.

Ohio State's 44-58-6 against Michigan.

Growing up when Ohio State was premier, I'd just naturally assumed Ohio State led the series.

<<doesn't always check up on things when assumes.

One of the more famous games in the rivalry is the 1950 contest, colloquially known as the Snow Bowl.
Eighth-ranked Ohio State, coached by Wes Fesler, was scheduled to host the game on November 25 in Columbus amidst one of the worst blizzards on Ohio record. The Buckeyes, who led the Big Ten, were granted the option to cancel the game against Michigan, which would have, by default, given the Buckeyes the Big Ten title outright and won them a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.

Ohio State refused, and the game was set to be played. Amid howling snow and wind, in what was probably the most literal example of a "field position" game, the teams exchanged 45 punts, often on first down, in hopes that the other team would fumble the ball near or into their own end zone. Ohio State's Vic Janowicz, who would claim the Heisman Trophy that year, punted 21 times for 685 yards and also kicked a field goal in the first quarter for the Buckeyes' only points. Michigan capitalized on two blocked punts, booting one out of the back of the end zone for a safety and recovering another one in the end zone for a touchdown just before halftime.

Despite failing to gain a single first down or complete a single forward pass, Michigan gained a 9–3 victory, securing the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth. Heavy criticism of Fesler's play calling led to his resignation and the hiring of Woody Hayes as his successor.

[franksolich]

Between 1951 and 1968 under Hayes, the Buckeyes won 12 of 18 contests, including a 1957 victory in Michigan Stadium, the first game in the series attended by over 100,000 fans. In 1958, Ohio State had a 20–14 lead towards the end of the game. On the final play, Michigan fullback Gene Sisinyak ran the ball from the one-yard line for what might have been a game winning touchdown, but Ohio State defensive tackle Dick Schafrath hit Sisinyak, forcing a fumble. In the 1968 game, Ohio State won 50–14, outscoring its foe 29–0 in the second half and attempting an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt on its final touchdown.

When asked why he went for two points with an already insurmountable 50–14 lead, Woody Hayes is rumored to have said, "Because I couldn't go for three." The victory gave top-ranked Ohio State the Big Ten title for the first time in seven years en route to an AP national championship. The Buckeyes had also narrowed the series margin to 37–24–4.

Woody Hayes.  Admirable.  Only Bear Bryant was a greater college football coach.

[franksolich]

Wolverines coach Bump Elliott resigned after the 1968 loss and Michigan hired Miami (Ohio) head coach Bo Schembechler, who had previously been an assistant at Ohio State under Hayes, to revitalize its football program.

On November 22, 1969, Hayes led his top-ranked Buckeyes into Michigan Stadium to face Schembechler's Wolverines in the first matchup between two coaches who would come to define the rivalry between the two programs.

The Buckeyes brought a 22-game winning streak into Ann Arbor, but behind an inspiring 60-yard punt return by Barry Pierson that set up a Wolverine touchdown in the second quarter, and a defense that intercepted Ohio State six times (three by Pierson), the Wolverines won a defensive battle (both teams were scoreless in the second half) for a 24–12 upset.

The contest was the first in the famous "Ten-Year War" between Hayes and Schembechler, which pitted some of OSU's and UM's strongest teams against one another. Four times between 1970 and 1975, Ohio State and Michigan were both ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their matchup.

The Wolverines entered every game during those years undefeated and won only once, a 10–7 victory in Ann Arbor on November 20, 1971. The Michigan graduating class of 1975 shared or won the Big Ten championship every season, yet went to the Rose Bowl only once, in 1972. They only lost or tied with Ohio State during the regular season in that period.

In 1973, both teams entered undefeated, with the winner guaranteed a trip to the Rose Bowl. The rivals played to a 10–10 tie in Ann Arbor on November 24, and the athletic directors of the other Big Ten institutions were forced to vote on the Big Ten representative for the bowl game.

In a secret ballot, Ohio State won the vote, to the outrage of Michigan athletic officials and fans. Schembechler argued that Michigan was robbed of its on-field achievements, and for months afterward, Ohio State newspapers were flooded with angry Wolverine letters and threats of lawsuits.

^^^does anybody remember that?

Woody coined the phrase "That state up north" and "That team up north", so he would not have to say the word "Michigan". He was famous for his intense hatred of all things Michigan and according to legend, once refused to get gas in an empty tank, saying: "No, goddammit! We do NOT pull in and fill up. And I'll tell you exactly why we don't. It's because I don't buy one goddam drop of gas in the state of Michigan! We'll coast and PUSH this goddam car to the Ohio line before I give this state a nickel of my money!"[

During the "Ten-Year War," Ohio State and Michigan shared the Big Ten title six times. Between 1976 and 1978, Michigan won the game each year, and Ohio State failed to score a touchdown in each of those contests. Woody Hayes was fired at the end of the 1978 season after punching an opposing player during the Gator Bowl, which ended the "War." The 1978 game was won by Michigan, 14–3, giving Schembechler a record of 5–4–1 against Hayes. At the end of the Hayes tenure, the series stood at 42–28–5.

^^^Yeah, that was too bad.  Woody Hayes was getting pretty old, and probably on all sorts of pharmaceuticals to help his blood pressure, his heart, his stomach, &c., &c., &c., and the chemical combination caused him to lose it, hitting that player.

[franksolich]

Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 30, fourth quarter.

Damn.

Just damn.

[franksolich]

Ooops, that's the third quarter in that game.

[franksolich]

No, damn it, it's the fourth quarter.

The guy in the cubicle keeps changing the scoreboard.

Must have had too much Jack Daniels or Colombian Gold this afternoon.

[franksolich]

Wisconsin 14, Penn State 21, fourth quarter.

Come on, Wisconsin.....

[franksolich]

Baylor 52, Texas Tech 45, final.

[franksolich]

Florida 13, Florida State 20, fourth quarter.

Come on, Florida.....