Urban Meyer is 5-for-5 against Michigan at this point in his career. Let's take a look back on those five games.
Thus far, Urban Meyer is 5-0 against the rivals from up north. There have been close calls, there have been blowouts, but the bottom line is that Meyer is 5-0 up to this point.
With that being said, it seems to be the appropriate time to revisit those five games and look at exactly how we got to the unblemished record that Buckeye fans have enjoyed for half a decade.
2012:
With the Buckeyes ineligible for any postseason games due to sanctions, the final game of the regular season was also the final game of the 2012 campaign for the No. 4 ranked local team.
An action packed first half featured five lead changes, and Michigan quarterback Denard "Shoelace" Robinson rushed 67 yards for a touchdown with 40 seconds before the conclusion of the half. Drew Basil nailed a 52-yard field goal at the horn however to cut the Michigan lead to 21-20.
The second half simply featured two field goals by Basil—a 28 yarder and a 26 yarder—and a C.J. Barnett intercepted pass on Michigan's final drive to end any threat and give Ohio State a 26-21 win.
Played before 105,899 fans, the 2012 contest featured the largest crowd ever to witness "The Game" in Columbus up to that point. Meyer opened his career 1-0 against the Wolverines.
2013:
One of the most entertaining games in rivalry history, this contest was action packed from the opening whistle until the final play. After a seesaw first half featuring two long rushing touchdowns by Braxton Miller of Ohio State and a touchdown each for Devin Gardner and Fitz Toussaint for Michigan, the score was tied 21-21 at the half.
A bigger story, however, was the extracurricular activity. After a Michigan kickoff in the second quarter, Ohio State freshman wide receiver Dontre Wilson and offensive lineman Marcus Hall were ejected, as well as Michigan backup linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone. Hall's "double bird salute" remains a rallying cry for many Buckeye fans during this week every year.
Ohio State pulled away slightly in the third quarter on yet another Miller rushing touchdown followed by a pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman, but the Wolverines scored twice in the fourth quarter to cut the Buckeye lead to 42-41.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke decided to go for the win at home, but the ensuing two-point try was intercepted by Tyvis Powell to secure the victory for the No. 3 ranked Buckeyes, who would go on to lose to Michigan State the following week. Meyer improved to 2-0 against the Wolverines.
2014:
The 2014 contest was another great one. Ohio State quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a J.T. Barrett pass to tight end Nick Vannett, but the Wolverines answered on a Jake Butt pass from Devin Gardner. After another Michigan score, Barrett ran it in from 25-yards out with seven seconds remaining in the first half to tie the score at 14-14.
The second half was just as eventful. The teams traded blows once again before Ezekiel Elliott punched in a two yard score to give the Buckeyes a 28-21 lead.
With Ohio State leading 28-21 early in the fourth, Barrett got twisted up and tackled on a second-down play and immediately stayed down on the field on his back. Cardale Jones entered the game at quarterback for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State got the ball back with 8:25 remaining in the game and a seven-point lead and Jones led the Buckeyes on an eight-play, 80-yard drive which was capped by a 44-yard touchdown run by Elliott on 4th-and-1 to give the Buckeyes a 35-21 lead. A Joey Bosa strip sack and Darron Lee recovery/runback gave the Buckeyes a 42-21 lead. Michigan would score a garbage time touchdown to get us to the final score, 42-28.
Jones would go on to lead the Buckeyes on an improbable run, eventually capturing the program's first national championship since 2002. Meyer improved to 3-0 against the Wolverines.
2015:
The first matchup between Meyer and Jim Harbaugh could not have gone worse for Khaki Jim. In front of 111,829 fans in Ann Arbor at the Big House, Michigan pulled an absolute stinker, falling to the Buckeyes 42-13. A week after publicly demanding the ball more after Ohio State's loss to Michigan State, Buckeye running back Ezekiel Elliott rolled for 214 yards on 30 carries.
J.T. Barrett carried the ball 19 times for 139 yards and three scores, and was also 9-15 passing for 115 more yards and another touchdown. Joshua Perry led the team with 10 tackles, and Joey Bosa notched his first career interception, returning it 29 yards. Urban Meyer improved to 4-0 against the Wolverines in dominating fashion.
2016:
The second matchup between the two polarizing coaches was certainly closer and had the "instant classic" feel. Trailing 17-7 early in the third quarter, linebacker Jerome Baker intercepted Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight to set up a Buckeyes score. Then, with 5:36 remaining in the game, walk-on kicker Tyler Durbin, who had missed two attempts earlier in the game, connected on a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime.
It took the Buckeyes just two plays to score in the first overtime. An 18-yard Curtis Samuel keeper set up quarterback J.T. Barrett for a 7-yard touchdown. Michigan answered, however, on a touchdown pass from Speight to Amara Darboh.
The second overtime kept the drama coming. After the Buckeyes held Michigan to a field goal, Ohio State went for it on fourth down and Barrett got the first down by inches after running into the backside of tight end A.J. Alexander, who was throwing a block.
The very next play, Samuel scampered in the end zone from 15 yards out to give Ohio State a 30-27 win. Meyer improved to 5-0 over the Wolverines.
