Michigan looks to pull off big upset
Michigan ANN ARBOR, MICH. — feels overdue to upset Ohio State.
The Wolverines have lost five straight and 12 of 13 to the rival Buckeyes and even though Saturday’s game is at the Big House, they are double-digit underdogs.
Few outside Michigan expect No. 9 Ohio State to lose the 114th matchup in the rivalry known as The Game. But if Jim Harbaugh can help his program pull an upset and keep Urban Meyer’s team out of the playoff picture, it wouldn’t be the first time the unexpected happened in one of college football’s famed rivalries.
It just hasn’t happened much lately in what has become a predictable, lopsided series.
The favored team has won 12 straight games in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, according to Pregame.com, and the only double-digit underdog since 1980 to pull off an upset was the Wolverines in 1996 when the Buckeyes were favored to beat them by 17 and lost at home.
In that stunner, a seven-win Michigan beat undefeated and second-ranked Ohio State 13-9 during a stretch in which the maize and blue went 11-4-1 against the scarlet and gray. Brian Griese came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass and Charles Woodson led the Wolverines defense, much to the chagrin fans bitter that another of their own had left Ohio to play for “that school up north,” as Woody Hayes used to say.
The Buckeyes’ biggest upset in nearly four decades, according to Pregame.com, which provides odds to The Associated Press, was a 26-20 win in 2001 as an unranked team and eightplus point underdog against the 11th-ranked Wolverines.
Here’s a look at some of the other surprising results in other rivalries resuming this week:
Alabama-Auburn: One of the most notable upsets in Iron Bowl history came in 1972. No. 2 Alabama, undefeated and a two-touchdown favorite, led 16-0 in the fourth quarter. Bill Newton blocked two punts and David Langner returned both for touchdowns and a 17-16 victory.
Florida-Florida State: On a night in 2004 when Florida State named its playing field after coach Bobby Bowden, the unranked Gators spoiled the party with a 20-10 win that was their first on the road in the series since 1986 in coach Ron Zook’s final game in the rivalry. Chris Leak threw for 231 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Wisconsin-Minnesota: The rivals will meet for the 127th time Saturday, the most in a major college football series, and the biggest upsets were in consecutive years: 1993 and 1994. Wisconsin’s breakout season was 1993, reaching the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1962, but its unbeaten season came to end at the Metrodome, beaten 28-21 by a Gophers team that finished 4-7. Wisconsin could’ve been national champions since Florida State took the title with one loss. The following year, a Gophers team that finished 3-8 went to Madison and got to parade Paul Bunyan’s Axe around Camp Randall Stadium after a 17-14 victory.
Washington-Washington State: There have been plenty of memorable and surprising wins on both sides in the Apple Cup, but none tops Washington State’s 24-20 win over the Huskies in 1982. Washington entered the game ranked fifth in the country and 9-1 overall. The Cougars were 2-7-1 and hadn’t scored more than 17 points in eight of their 10 games entering the game. The Cougars led 21-20 late in the fourth quarter when Huskies kicker Chuck Nelson attempted a 33-yard field goal. Nelson had made an NCAA-record 30 straight field-goal attempts but this one with 4:35 left was wide right and the Cougars held on.