Saturday, at Michigan's annual spring game in the tradition-rich Big House, there were many familiar sights. The maize and blue uniforms, the classic winged helmets, and also picking up right where he left off in 2013, Devin Gardner threw an interception on the first play. But there was one new sight that stood out like a sore thumb. Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press sniped this picture of what appears to be a new "GO BLUE, M Club Supports You" banner. Started in 1962, Michigan's "touch the banner" tradition is one of the sport's most iconic. Why they would switch it is beyond me; the possibility exists that it's a temporary banner for the spring game. REGARDLESS, it gives us an excuse to rewind to 1973 at the peak of The Ten Year War between Woody Hayes' Buckeyes and Bo Schembechler's Wolverines. Ohio State entered the Big House undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation to take on the also unbeaten, #4 ranked Wolverines. This was the second time in the '70s that both entered the season-finale undefeated. But before they could kickoff the unofficial Big Ten Championship, the Buckeyes gave us a scene of rivalry in its purest form:
The game ended in a 10-10 tie, but it was Ohio State that was controversially awarded the invitation to the Rose Bowl. The unbeaten, #4 Wolverines not only lost a trip to Pasadena, but were actually given no bowl game! What a testament to how bowl season has grown in the past 40 years.
Ohio State would go on to destroy the hometown USC Trojans (42-21), a feat that the Buckeyes later had trouble repeating when National Championships were on the line. |
THROWBACK
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