45 years ago, Archie Griffin and the Buckeyes made sure that the 1974 version of The Game did not end in a tie. The Heisman Trophy winner rushed for 111 yards and Tom Klaban kicked four field goals in the 12-10 victory.
Ohio State On This Date is a weekly look at Ohio State's record on the date of each game day. Today, we delve into the Buckeyes' performance on November 23rd.
FIVE THINGS 11/23
- This is the 18th time (8–9) Ohio State has played on November 23rd.
- The first game played on 11/23 was in 1895. The Buckeyes traveled to Marietta and lost 24-0.
- Ohio State's largest margin of victory on this date was the 38 point mauling of Michigan in 1935.
- The Buckeyes have a two-game winning streak on November 23rd and are 5–3 when ranked on this date.
- The last time OSU was not ranked when playing on the 23rd of November was 1946.
Many legendary Ohio State victories have occurred on this date, the 2002 win over Michigan, Francis Schmidt's squad running roughshod in a 38-0 whooping in The Game and the '74 team making amends for the tie in '73. It was a hard choice, but let's go back in time 45 years.
November 23rd, 1974 • No. 4 Michigan • Ohio Stadium
No. 4 Michigan (8–1) dropped its first game of the season against California but rebounded and won its next eight. The Wolverines knew a win over No. 2 Ohio State (8–0) would send them to the Rose Bowl and give them another Big Ten title.
On this 55-degree day, Michigan won the toss and chose to receive. The Wolverines made the record crowd of 85,371 nervous when they methodically marched 84 yards in 17 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Concerning for Ohio State's defense was that 15 of Michigan's 17 plays were runs.
The fears turned out to be unfounded as the Buckeyes responded and secured one of the more lopsided wins in The Game. Ohio State dominated the stats, out gaining the Wolverines, 421 to 140 in rushing yards. The Buckeyes' secondary also came down with three interceptions in the fourth quarter.
This is the game in which Hayes went for two after taking a 50-14 lead with 1:23 left in the game. Long's pass fell incomplete, however.
Ohio State's 11th undisputed Big Ten title ended a brief championship hiatus for Hayes. The Buckeyes won the league title in 1961, but faculty denied them a Rose Bowl trip. This time, the team knew it earned its way to Pasadena to play No. 2 USC for a possible national championship...you know the rest of this story.
| YEAR | OHIO STATE'S RANK | OPPONENT | LOCATION | SCORE | B1G FINISH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | No. 3 | INDIANA | H | 42–14 | 1st |
| 2002 | No. 2 | No. 12 MICHIGAN | H | 14–9 | 1st |
| 1996 | No. 2 | No. 21 MICHIGAN | H | 9–13 | 1st |
| 1991 | No. 18 | No. 4 MICHIGAN | A | 3–31 | 3rd |
| 1985 | No. 12 | No. 6 MICHIGAN | A | 17–27 | 4th |
| 1974 | No. 4 | No. 3 MICHIGAN | H | 12–10 | 1st |
| 1968 | No. 2 | No. 4 MICHIGAN | H | 50–14 | 1st |
| 1957 | No. 3 | No. 19 MICHIGAN | A | 31–14 | 1st |
| 1946 | No. 8 MICHIGAN | H | 6–58 | 6th | |
| 1940 | No. 7 MICHIGAN | H | 0–40 | 4th | |
| 1935 | MICHIGAN | A | 38–0 | 1st | |
| 1929 | ILLINOIS | H | 0–27 | 5th | |
| 1918 | WISCONSIN | H | 3–14 | 8th | |
| 1912 | OHIO WESLEYAN | A | 36–6 | ||
| 1907 | HEIDELBERG | H | 23–0 | ||
| 1901 | INDIANA | H | 6–18 | ||
| 1895 | MARIETTA | A | 0–24 |
| RECORD | WIN & | POINTS | AVG. SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL | 8–9 | .471 | 290–319 | 17–19 |
| HOME | 5–6 | .455 | 165–217 | 15–20 |
| AWAY | 3–3 | .500 | 125–102 | 21–17 |
| RECORD | WIN & | POINTS | AVG. SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL | 5–3 | .625 | 178–132 | 22–17 |
| HOME | 4–1 | .800 | 127–60 | 25–12 |
| AWAY | 1–2 | .333 | 51–72 | 17–24 |
Want to watch the last waning moments of the 2002 Game?
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