Michigan won the first conference game between the schools in 1918, but Ohio State then ran off three consecutive wins as Coach Wilce took the measure of Fielding Yost. Michigan responded with a five game winning streak before Ohio State closed the twenties with two victories. Michigan had a 7-5 advantage in the first 12 years of conference play.
Michigan held the edge at the beginning and end of the thirties, but Ohio State thoroughly dominated the middle years. Michigan was 3-1 against Ohio State enroute to claiming four conference titles and two national championships from 1930 to 1933. Ohio State then reeled off four consecutive shutouts, outscoring the Wolverines 114-0. Tom Harmon and Forrest Evashevski led a revived Michigan program to victories in 1938 and 1939. Harmon closed his career with a brilliant performance – rushing for 2 touchdowns, throwing for two, returning an interception for a score and converting 4 extra-points – in Michigan’s 40-0 victory at Columbus in 1940.
Ohio State’s 1942 national champions defeated Michigan 21-7, but the Buckeyes managed only one more series win during the forties as UM compiled a 6-2-2 advantage. Michigan opened the 1950s with an upset victory in the “Snow Bowl” and defeated Woody Hayes’ in his first UM-OSU game in 1951. Over the next eighteen years, teams led by Hayes posted a 12-6 record in the big game. “Bo” and Woody were close to even over the next ten years and then Earl Bruce posted a 5-4 record against Schembechler to complete a 20-year stretch in which only once was a team able to win three games in a row. (UM, 1976-1978). Beginning with Bo’s last season, Michigan entered a period of dominance, posting a 9-2-1 record for 1989-2000. Jim Tressel revived the Buckeye’s fortunes with wins in 2001 and 2002, becoming the second Ohio State coach to go 2-0 against the Wolverines. With his win in 2009 Tressel became the first coach to win six in a row since Fielding Yost won nine from 1901-1909. The last time a team won six games in succession was Michigan’s streak of six wins, 1922-1927 under coaches Yost, Little and Wieman. With the 2009 loss, Rich Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to go 0-2 against the Buckeyes.
In a match up of a first year coaches in 2011, Brady Hoke and the surprising Wolverines defeated interim coach Luke Fickell’s Buckeyes 40-34. The following year started a new Ohio State streak, with Urban Meyer winning six in a row, including a 42-13 win in Jim Harbaugh’s series debut in 2015.
In the first overtime game in series history, Meyer extended his streak in 2016 with a 30-27 double overtime win. He joined Fielding Yost as the only coaches to win their first five rivalry games. Meyer continued his mastery over the Wolverines with a 31-20 victory en route to an undisputed division title and conference championship. Both teams brought 10-1 records to the 2018 showdown for the Eastern Division title. The 4th ranked Wolverines were undefeated in conference play while the #10 Buckeyes had one loss. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins led the Buckeyes to a dominant 62-39 win, extending Meyer’s unbeaten streak to seven games. Ryan Day succeeded Urban Meyer as head coach in 2019 and kept the OSU streak going, leading the #2 ranked Buckeyes to a 56-27 victory at Michigan Stadium. The 2020 game fell victim to the Covid epidemic when Michigan was forced to cancel its final three games.
After stumbling to a 2-4 record in the shortened 2020 season, Michigan was unranked entering 2021, while the Buckeyes were expected to compete for the national title. The Eastern Division title was at stake when the #6 ranked Wolverines (7-1 in conference play) met #2 Ohio State (8-0) in Ann Arbor. Michigan thoroughly dominated the game en route to a 42-27 win, with Hassan Haksins scoring a series record five touchdowns. The Wolverines defeated Iowa in the Conference title game to claim their first Big Ten crown since 2004. In 2022 it was #2 vs #3 in Columbus, with the Buckeyes a slight favorite. Michigan rode second-half TD runs of 75 and 85-yards by Donavan Edwards to a convincing 45-23 win, giving the Wolverine’s their first back-to-back series victories since 1997. It was once again #2 vs. #3 in 2023. Assistant coach Sherrone Moore led Michigan as coach Jim Harbaugh completed a three-game suspension. Blake Corum set the Michigan season rushing TD record with 1 and 22-yard scoring runs. Marvin Harrison, Jr. (5 catches for 118 yards) scored on a 14-yard pass midway through the 4th quarter to bring Ohio State within three. James Turner’s third field goal gave the Wolverines a six point lead with a minute left in the game. Ohio was marching down the field when Rod Moore’s interception on Michigan’s 21-yard line sealed the win.
Ohio State entered the 2024 game with a 10-1 record, a #2 national ranking and a chance to secure the top seed in the College Football Playoffs. Michigan stunned the Buckeyes 13-10, holding the explosive Ohio offense to just 252 yards total offense, including only ten yards and one first down in the 4th quarter. Kalel Mullings scored on a 1-yard run following an interception by Aamir Hall in the second quarter and Dominic Zvada added a 54-yard field goal. OSU tied the scored at 10 with 30 seconds left in the half. The second half was scoreless until Zvada’s winning 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left
Undefeated and top ranked OSU entered the 2025 game looking to break a four game losing streak. Two Dominic Zvada field goals gave U-M a 6-3 first quarter lead. From thereon the Buckeyes dominated, holding Michigan to 163 yards total offense. The 27-9 win earned the Buckeyes a tie for the conference title Indiana.
