You’ve probably heard Bob Ufer’s famous rant about wanting to “scalp those Buckeyes” after Ohio State had the “unmitigated gall” to tear down Michigan’s M Club banner before the 1973 edition of The Game in Ann Arbor. The longtime Michigan radio commentator was nearly as apoplectic just one year earlier when the Buckeyes made what would prove to be a game-winning goal-line stand against the Wolverines.
With the Wolverines trailing by three points early in the fourth quarter against the Buckeyes, Michigan’s Harry Banks was stopped just short of the goal line on a 3rd-and-goal run from the 1-yard line. The officials determined that Ohio State’s Doug Plank and Mike Scannell had stopped Banks’ forward progress before he broke the plane of the end zone, but Ufer was convinced the fix was in against the maize and blue, calling back to another goal-line stand Ohio State made in its 21-7 win over Michigan in 1954.
“Aren’t they going to raise their hands?” Ufer yelled. “He was into the end zone! It’s just like 1954! I can see Dave Hill of Ypsilanti taking the handoff from Lou Baldacci at the same end of the field and he went into that end zone and they’re claiming he didn’t, and he didn’t now 18 years later. Goddarnit, what have you gotta do down here to score a touchdown?
“It’s like a pane of glass: All you gotta do is be on, over or above that line. And Banks was in over that line and doggone it, they’re so intimidated by Woody Hayes, every official looked at each other, nobody had the guts (to overturn the call).”
The enraged commentator predicted the officials would give Michigan a touchdown if it got even close to the goal line on 4th-and-goal.
“Now you watch, if we get near it they’ll call it this time, that’s the way they do it,” Ufer declared.
That prediction would prove to be incorrect. As quarterback Dennis Franklin attempted to sneak the ball into the end zone, soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar led a swarm of Ohio State defenders who slammed the door to the end zone shut, forcing a turnover on downs to preserve a 14-11 lead that would hold for the game’s remaining eight minutes and 53 seconds.
Ufer continued his efforts to discredit Ohio State’s defensive stand, calling it “the rottenest deal I’ve ever seen in football.”
“I cannot believe that they wouldn’t give them a touchdown. Twice, they were in over that glass white line,” Ufer said. “I know we’re supposed to be impartial. But doggone it, all you gotta be is on, over or above (the goal line).”
Michigan would get the ball back two more times after that goal-line stop, but Ohio State wouldn’t allow the Wolverines to get closer than the 37-yard line. When Franklin ran into the arms of OSU defensive tackle George Hasenhorl on 4th-and-10 with six seconds remaining, Ohio State fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts, forcing officials to clear the field so the Buckeyes could take one more snap to run out the clock before the celebration could fully begin in Columbus.
The fourth-quarter goal-line stand was one of two in the game for the Buckeyes. Michigan had 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the final minute of the first half, but Ohio State’s defense stopped the Wolverines on four straight plays, culminating with a Franklin fumble on fourth down that allowed Ohio State to take a 7-3 lead into halftime at Ohio Stadium.
Had Michigan settled for a short field goal rather than going for it on fourth down in either of those sequences, the Wolverines could have been Rose Bowl-bound. Entering The Game with a 10-0 record, Michigan needed only a tie to clinch the Big Ten championship and a trip to Pasadena. But Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said the Wolverines “never considered” taking the three points in those situations.
“I didn't want a tie. We wanted to win,” Schembechler said after the game.
Even though Michigan ended the day with 344 yards on 83 plays compared to just 192 yards on 44 plays for Ohio State, the Buckeyes came out on top thanks to allowing only one touchdown in five trips to the red zone. Michigan’s Mike Lantry missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right in the first quarter, and Ohio State‘s Rick Middleton made a 4th-and-1 stop at the 20-yard line on the Michigan possession before the second goal-line stand. Archie Griffin and Champ Henson each ran for touchdowns for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State and Michigan finished the season as Big Ten co-champions with 9-1 records, but the Buckeyes were selected to play in the Rose Bowl – where they lost to would-be national champions USC – thanks to their head-to-head win over the Wolverines. Since the Big Ten did not permit its teams to play in other bowl games at the time, Michigan’s season ended with its loss in Columbus.
