The Ohio State Michigan Game 2009: Looking Back To Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler
Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009
by Edward Rhymes
Once upon of the time this game was the crown jewel of
Big Ten competition. Bo Schembechler was 18 years old when he first met Hayes,
as a freshman football player at Miami of Ohio where Woody was the head coach.
Over the next 40 years their lives and careers was inextricably connected ---
besides playing for him, Schembechler would coach under him and coach against
him as the coach of Michigan.
No one sat on the fence when it came to Woody Hayes. Even
in Columbus where he won five national championships, everyone seemed to have
an opinion about Hayes. On the field he ruled with efficiency and precision.
His offense was dubbed "three yards and a cloud of dust," which suited Hayes
fine as it was a personification of the attributes he held in the highest
esteem --- strength, power, courage and consistency.
Bo Schembechler referred to their ten career meetings as
the "Ten-Year War." Of those 10 meetings between these coaching legends, Michigan
won five, Ohio State won four and they tied once. During that period, Michigan and
Ohio State shared six Big Ten titles, won two each outright and split 10 Rose
Bowl appearances.
As one who grew up in
Big Ten country, Illinois, these two teams have caused me a great deal of
consternation over the years. Nevertheless, when Woody and Bo where at the helm of Ohio
State and Michigan respectively, they never failed to provide dynamic football theater when
they met.
