Michigan Football: Wolverines Favored Over Ohio State Buckeyes as ‘The Game’ Approaches
By Joel Greer
A Loss Could Cause a Coach’s Nightmare
Winning the Michigan-Ohio State game on a regular basis has been a requisite for coaching success.
John Cooper accumulated a respectable 113-43-4 record in 13 years as the Ohio State coach. Unfortunately, he was fired in 2000 because he was only able to beat Michigan twice in 13 tries.
Bump Elliott, who posted a 51-42-2 record at Michigan from 1959 through 1968 , lost seven of his 10 tries to Ohio State.
His 50-14 loss to the Buckeyes in 1968 paved the way for Athletic Director Don Canham to hire Bo Schembechler prior to the 1969 season.
More recently, Rich Rodriguez was also shown the door after being crushed three straight times from 2008 to 2010. Brady Hoke’s Michigan teams played well against the Buckeyes, but his 1-3 mark against Ohio State wasn’t enough to keep his job.
Woody Hayes was handed the Ohio State coaching job after the Buckeyes lost the 1950 “Snow Bowl”, 9-3, to a group of Wolverines who failed to make a first down.
Hayes went on to win five national titles and 13 Big Tens crowns. His epic battles with Michigan coach Schembechler helped make the UM-OSU rivalry what it is today.
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