November 18, 2006: Ohio State University hosts its arch-rival, the University of Michigan, in what Midwestern college football fans call "The Game." This time, it was labeled "The Game of the Century" -- even though the previous season's National Championship Game, a Texas win over the University of Southern California (USC), had already been called that.
Michigan had dominated the rivalry in recent years, going 10-2-1 from 1988 to 2000. But when Jim Tressel was hired away from NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS, Football Championship Subdivision) power Youngstown State, also in Ohio, to run the Ohio State program, he vowed to beat Michigan. He did, winning 4 of his 1st 5 games against the school that Woody Hayes, the most successful of all Buckeye coaches, derisively called "That School Up North."
He took his Buckeyes into his 6th game against the Wolverines with an 11-0 record. They had been ranked Number 1 from the start of the season and all the way through it to this point. They didn't come by that record cheaply, either: They had already beaten a team ranked Number 2 that season, beating Texas in Austin. They beat Number 24 Penn State at home, and Number 13 Iowa away.
Quarterback Troy Smith was the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, and did go on to win it. He and his top receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., were considered big NFL prospects. James Laurinaitis would receive the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the best defensive player in the country.
Michigan, coached by Lloyd Carr, were also 11-0. They began the season ranked Number 14, and had only beaten 1 ranked team, but it was Number 2 Notre Dame, in South Bend. They slowly climbed in the rankings, including beating their other main rival, Michigan State, and then beating Penn State away. By the time they came back from beating Indiana away on November 11, they were the Number 2 team in the country. Their own quarterback, Chad Henne, and top receiver, Mario Manningham, were highly regarded.
There had been many games in which both Ohio State and Michigan were highly ranked going into The Game, but this would be the 1st time it was ever Number 1 vs. Number 2 -- regardless of which one was which. It was the 1st time since the infamous 1973 tie game that both teams came in undefeated.
The game was endlessly hyped, and why not: The winner would win the Big Ten Conference Championship (which has been the case many, many times), and would secure a place in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game. And, unlike that 1973 tie, it would be the loser who went to the Rose Bowl -- the bowls' "Granddaddy of Them All" in the increasingly common situation, in this era of definitive National Championship Games, of being a consolation prize.
Woody Hayes arrived in Columbus in 1951, and made beating Michigan a priority. Up until 1968, a season in which he won his 4th National Championship at Ohio State, he usually did. The season before he got there, he coached at Miami University of Ohio, and one of his players was Bo Schembechler. He named Bo one of his assistants at Ohio State. Bo left to become head coach at Miami, and then, in 1969, at Michigan. He made beating Ohio State a priority, and, the 1st time out, did, ruining Woody's chance at back-to-back National Championships and "greatest team ever" status.
That started what is retroactively known as "The Ten-Year War." The men were very much alike, both heavily favoring the running game over passing, and adopting a my-way-or-the-highway approach. In 10 seasons, Bo won 5 games, Woody 4, and there was that tie in 1973. After the 1978 season, Woody was fired for punching an opposing player during a bowl game, and died in 1987. Bo remained Michigan's head coach through the 1989 season.
Through the tenures of his former assistants Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, Bo was invited to speak before the Michigan players on the Thursday before the Ohio State game. But in 2006, at age 77, his heart condition had gotten worse, and he'd had a pacemaker installed. The Thursday before the game, he attended the funeral of Tom Slade, his 1971 quarterback, who became his dentist, and who had just died of leukemia at age 54. That night, he talked to the players not about the tradition of the Ohio State game, or about what they could win, but about how they should be like Slade, who, he said, embodied what it meant to be Bo's three favorite words: "A Michigan man."
The next day, Bo was at WXYZ-Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, where, as usual, he was going to tape that week's installment of Big Ten Ticket, which discussed Big Ten football, particularly Michigan and Michigan State. But he had another heart attack, and died, just 30 hours before the biggest game in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.
A crowd of 105,708 plowed into Ohio Stadium -- or, as the recently-retired ABC college football master Keith Jackson called it, "The Big Horseshoe On the Olentangy" (River). ABC would do the game as usual, with Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit (a former Ohio State quarterback, but one often critical of his Alma Mater) announcing. The Buckeyes were favored by 7 points. Before the game, in recognition of the great mutual respect between the rivals, a video tribute to Schembechler was played on the scoreboard, and received a standing ovation.
Michigan scored first, but Ohio State took charge after that, and led 28-14 at halftime. By the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, the Wolverines had closed to within 28-24. Smith took control of the game, and with 5 minutes left, the Buckeyes led, 42-31. But with 2 minutes left, Henne led the Wolverines to a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. It was 42-39. But the Wolverines were unable to recover the onside kick, and the Buckeyes ran out the clock.
Antonio Pittman rushed for 139 yards for Ohio State. Mike ran for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns for Michigan, but it wasn't enough.
Many fans hoped for a rematch in the BCS National Championship Game. But when the University of Florida beat arch-rival Florida State the following week, and beat Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game the week after that, they became the consensus Number 2 team in the country, setting up the definitive title game with the Buckeyes.
Neither Big Ten team closed their season with a win. Michigan lost the Rose Bowl to USC on New Year's Day 2007, 32-18. Seven days later, at what's now named State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburbs, Ohio State were defeated by Florida, 41-14. A season full of bangs for both teams ended with whimpers for both.
Troy Smith played 3 seasons for the Baltimore Ravens, and 1 for the San Francisco 49ers. Ted Ginn Jr. had a much more successful pro career, playing 14 seasons, and reaching Super Bowls (but not winning them) with the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. James Laurinaitis played 8 seasons, and never reached a Super Bowl, but led the NFL in solo tackles with the St. Louis Rams in 2012.
Chad Henne has played 13 seasons in the NFL, but only started 54 games. He won a Super Bowl ring as Patrick Mahomes' backup on the Kansas City Chiefs. Mario Manningham played 6 seasons, winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants, and was a teammate of Smith on the team that lost a Super Bowl.
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November 18, 2006 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played that day were these:
* Number 3 Florida beat Western Carolina, 62-0 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
* Number 4 University of Southern California (USC) beat Number 17 University of California, 23-9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
* Number 5 Arkansas beat Mississippi State, 28-14 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
* Number 6 Notre Dame beat Army, 41-9 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
* Number 7 Rutgers were upset by the University of Cincinnati, 30-11, costing the Scarlet Knights the Big East Conference title.
* Two days earlier, in a rivalry game, Number 8 West Virginia beat the University of Pittsburgh, 45-27.
* Number 9 Louisiana State (LSU) beat Mississippi (Ole Miss), 23-20 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
* Number 10 Louisville beat South Florida, 31-8 at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.
* Number 14 Wake Forest were mildly upset by Number 19 Virginia Tech, 27-6 at Groves Stadium (now Truist Field) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
* Rivalry: Number 15 Auburn beat Alabama, 22-15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
* Number 20 Boston College beat Number 21 Maryland, 38-16 in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
* Rivalry: Number 22 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt, 39-10 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now First Bank Stadium) in Nashville.
* Rivalry: Yale beat Harvard, 34-13 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.
* Navy beat Temple, 42-6 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
* Rivalry: Purdue beat Indiana, 28-19 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
* Rivalry: Northwestern beat Illinois, 27-16 at Ryan Field in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.
* Rivalry: Minnesota beat Iowa, 34-24 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* Rivalry: Kansas beat Kansas State, 39-20 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
* Rivalry: Washington beat Washington State, 35-32 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.
There were 13 games in the NBA that day:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 122-118 at Madison Square Garden. Paul Pierce scored 39 points.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 86-68 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-99 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Gilbert Arenas led all players on the day with 45 points.
* The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks, 93-88 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta. Dwyane Wade scored 37 points.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 97-83 at the Amway Arena in Orlando.
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 89-84 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Houston Rockets, 104-92 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Yao Ming scored 33 points in defeat.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-100 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 99-96 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Chris Paul scored 35 points for the Hornets.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors, 117-109 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Nuggets.
* The Utah Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, 120-117 in overtime at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (then named the EnergySolutions Arena). Shawn Marion scored 35 points in defeat.
* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-97 in overtime at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 107-95 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena). Ray Allen scored 34 points in defeat.
There were 12 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh.
* The New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers, 4-1 at the BankAtlantic Center in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden (now just the TD Garden) in Boston. Glenn Murray scored the game-winner with 2:54 left in overtime.
* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Dallas Stars, 5-4 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.
* The Ottawa Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.
* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 in a shootout at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known).
* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-3 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
* The San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (now the SAP Center).
* And the Chicago Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues, the Vancouver Canucks, the Calgary Flames, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Anaheim Ducks were not scheduled.
And in English soccer, Arsenal played North-East team Newcastle United to a draw, 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.
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