November 25, 1950: The Michigan-Ohio State "Snow Bowl"

November 25, 1950: Although they'd been playing each other since 1897, this was the game that set the course for turning the University of Michigan and the Ohio State University into the Midwest's  -- some would even say America's -- greatest college football rivalry.

Despite Ohio State winning a National Championship in 1942, and having another undefeated season in 1944, Michigan had dominated the rivalry. Michigan had won the National Championship in 1947 and 1948.

In 1950, they were set to play each other at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State, defending Big Ten Champions, coached by Wes Fesler, came in 6-2, and ranked Number 8 in the country; while Michigan, coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, came in at 4-3-1. Each head coach was a star player for his school in the 1920s, but neither played in the pros.

The Big Ten title was on the line, so the Buckeyes were going for back-to-back titles. However, until 1975, the Big Ten had 2 dumb rules: That the Rose Bowl was the only bowl game to which any of their teams could accept bids; and that no team could go to it in back-to-back years. In other words, if a team won back-to-back titles, in the 2nd year, the 2nd place team could accept the Rose Bowl bid. The Wolverines had to win in order to accept that bid. In the event of their defeat, they would have fallen behind Wisconsin in the league standings, and Wisconsin would have been offered the bid.

Columbus is 185 miles south of Ann Arbor, and as far south as Philadelphia. And it was the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. It was a little early for them to get hit with a snowstorm. But they got hit with one. It remains the worst weather this rivalry has ever had: A temperature of 10 degrees, wind gusts up to 28 miles per hour, and snow falling at 2 inches per hour. The snow was falling so hard, neither set of goalposts could be seen from midfield. 

There was a meeting before the game. Oosterbaan and Fesler agreed that the game should not be played. Oosterbaan's predecessor as Michigan's head coach, now their athletic director, Herbert "Fritz" Crisler, was willing to forfeit and not reschedule the game. But Ohio State A.D. Dick Larkins would not accept the forfeit: He was willing to postpone only, not cancel.

The fans were not willing to postpone: A crowd of 79,868 filled Ohio Stadium to what was then its capacity. Eyewitness reporters said that some fans built small bonfires to keep warm, and others put boxes over the heads as protection from the cold, with eyeholes cut out. This was before fans began wearing paper bags over their heads to show that they didn't want their faces shown at games played by their bad teams. Local Boy Scouts helped the grounds crew remove the snow from the tarp, and then remove the tarp from the field.

It's worth noting that this rivalry wouldn't really be possible if Michigan hadn't spent the last 100+ years recruiting players from Ohio. There have been brothers on both sides, and even fathers and sons. In this game, Bob Momsen played for Ohio State, and his brother Tony Momsen played for Michigan. Good thing for the Momsen household that this game was being played 2 days after, rather than on, Thanksgiving.

In the 1st quarter, Michigan's Chuck Ortmann tried to punt, but Bob Momsen blocked his kick, then recovered the punt on the 8-yard line. Three straight Buckeye run plays lost yardage. Running back Vic Janowicz, soon to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, attempted a 38-yard field goal in the horrible weather, and made it. The Buckeyes led, 3-0, and, at the time, it was easy to believe that the score would hold for the rest of the game.

But Janowicz, the beneficiary of the blocked punt, had his own punt blocked deep in his own territory, by Al Wahl. The ball went through the end zone, and Michigan closed to within 3-2 with the safety. That swung the momentum, and, with 20 seconds left in the 1st half, Janowicz attempted to punt again. But his kick was blocked by Tony Momsen, who fell on the ball as it drifted into the end zone. The extra point was good, and it was 9-3 Wolverines.

That would be the final score. Michigan won without ever getting a first down in the slippery conditions; Ohio State got only 3 first downs. The Buckeyes had 4 out of 21 punts blocked, the Wolverines 1 of 24, punting for 1,408 yards between them. The Buckeyes attempted 9 passes, completing none of them.

This was Ohio State's 4th straight loss to Michigan. Fesler saw the writing on the wall, and resigned. Ohio State hired the head coach at nearby Miami University: Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes. As one of his assistants, he brought one of his Miami players: Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler.

Hayes turned Ohio State into one of the top programs in the country, based in part on making beating Michigan -- or, as he called it, "That School Up North" -- a must. Michigan won again in 1951, but, from 1952 to 1968, the Buckeyes went 12-4 against the Wolverines.

After a few years as Hayes' assistant, Schembechler returned to Miami University as their head coach. In 1969, he was hired as head coach at Michigan, and he used Hayes' tactics as well as he did, and made beating Ohio State Michigan Mission Number 1. Ohio State went into the 1969 Michigan game undefeated and defending National Champions, with a 22-game winning streak, but Michigan won, in a game nationally televised by ABC, starting what became known as "The Ten-Year War" between Woody and Bo, and making the rivalry one that takes on national attention every November.

Through the 2021 season, Michigan lead the rivalry, 59-51-6.

*

November 25, 1950 was a Saturday. Among the other college games played this day were the following:

* Not yet a big rivalry, but it would become one: Number 1 Oklahoma beat Number 16 Nebraska, 49-35 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma were awarded the National Championship, in an era when it was awarded before the bowl games. But they lost the Sugar Bowl to Kentucky.

* Number 2 Army were off. So were their arch-rivals, Navy. The following week, Nayv upset Army at Municipal Stadium (later John F. Kennedy Stadium) in Philadelphia.

* Rivalry: Number 3 Kentucky were upset by Number 9 Tennessee, 7-0 at Shields-Watkins Field (now Neyland Stadium) in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kentucky beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, which, given that Army didn't go to bowl games in those days, should have made Kentucky the National Champions. It would have been the 1st as a head coach for Paul "Bear" Bryant, later to win them at the University of Alabama. Tennessee went on to beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

* Rivalry: Number 4 University of California were held to a tie by Stanford, 7-7 at the old California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Cal went on to lose the Rose Bowl to Michigan.

* Rivalry: Number 6 Illinois were upset by Northwestern, 14-7 at Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field) in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

* Number 7 Princeton beat Dartmouth, 13-7 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

* Number 13 University of Pennsylvania were upset by Cornell, 13-6 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* Number 15 Southern Methodist University (SMU) were upset by Baylor, 3-0 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* Number 17 Alabama beat Florida, 41-13 at Florida Field in Gainesville.

* Rivalry: Number 18 Washington beat Washington State, 52-21 at Memorial Stadium (later Joe Albi Stadium) in Spokane, Washington.

* Number 20 Loyola University were upset by Santa Clara, 28-26 at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles. Now named Loyola Marymount, the school no longer plays football. This was the only game they lost that season.

* The night before, Number 14 University of Miami beat Iowa, 14-6 at Burdine Stadium (the stadium later known as the Orange Bowl) in Miami. Despite playing it on their home field, Miami ended up losing the Orange Bowl to Clemson.

* Rivalry: Fordham beat New York University, 13-0 at the Polo Grounds.

* Rivalry: Yale beat Harvard, 14-6 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Rivalry: George Washington University beat Georgetown, 7-6 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* Rivalry: Duke beat North Carolina, 7-0 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

* Rivalry: Penn State beat Pittsburgh, 21-20 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* Rivalry: Purdue beat Indiana, 13-0 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 14-0 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Rivalry: Colorado beat Colorado A&M (now Colorado State), 31-6 at Colorado Field in Fort Collins.

* Rivalry: Oregon State beat Oregon, 14-2 at Multnomah Stadium (now Providence Park) in Portland.

* Rivalry: UCLA beat USC, 39-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Rutgers had finished its season the week before, losing to Penn State, and finishing 4-4.

Baseball season was over. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Washington Capitols, 77-67 at the Uline Arena in Washington (now the Washington Coliseum).

* The Rochester Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 90-82 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rocheter, New York.

* The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Baltimore Bullets, 92-81 at the Butler Fieldhouse (now the Hinkle Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* And the Tri-Cities Blackhawks beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 85-71 at the Wheaton Field House in Moline, Illinois.

The NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action. The New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Boston Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat West London team Fulham, 5-1 at Highbury in North London. 

November 18, 2006: Ohio State vs. Michigan, "The Game of the Century"

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.

*

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.

November 2, 1935: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, "The Game of the Century"

November 2, 1935: For the 1st time, a college football game is given the label "The Game of the Century."

This may have been inspired by the trial, earlier in the year, of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, for kidnapping and killing Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 2-year-old son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. That trial, held in Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey from January 3 to February 13, was known as "The Trial of the Century."

Most college football games that have been called "The Game of the Century" were between the teams ranked Number 1 and Number 2 in the national polls. That was not possible this time: The 1st major poll, that of the Associated Press, did not begin until the next season.

At the time, Ohio State University was one of the better programs, having gone 7-1 in both 1933 and 1934. But they weren't yet an iconic team: That would come in the 1950s, under head coach Woody Hayes. For now, the Buckeyes were coached by Francis Schmidt. And they had begun the season by beating Kentucky, Drake (clobbering the Des Moines, Iowa school 85-7), Northwestern and Indiana.

In contrast, the University of Notre Dame, based in South Bend, Indiana, did already have a national following, thanks to their late coach Knute Rockne. They had won the National Championship in 1924, thanks to a backfield known as the Four Horsemen. Now, one of those Horsemen, Elmer Layden, was their head coach.

They had already become the unofficial Catholic university of America. (Not to be confused with The Catholic University of America, an actual school in Washington, D.C.) The a Irish opened their season 5-0, beating Kansas at home, Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) away, Wisconsin away, Pittsburgh at home, and Navy in Baltimore.

So these 2 big teams were ready to face each other on November 2, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Every major newspaper in the country sent a writer to cover it. It was broadcast on national radio, unusual even then. A crowd of 81,018 poured in, and some people had paid scalpers up to $50 for a ticket -- a little over $1,000 in today's money. And this was during the Great Depression.

Ohio State were heavily favored, and, at first, the game followed that script. Frank Antenucci intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Mike Layden (the coach's younger brother), and lateraled to Frank Boucher (no relation to the New York Rangers hockey star of the same name), resulting in a 65-yard return for a touchdown.

In the 2nd quarter, another interception set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Joe Williams. But, having kicked the extra point on the 1st touchdown, Dick Beltz missed on this one. Still, that 13-0 lead held into the 4th quarter. Notre Dame looked beaten.

Looks can be deceiving. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Andy Pilney returned a punt to the Ohio State 13-yard line. That led to, early in the 4th quarter, Steve Miller running the ball in from 1 yard. It was 13-6 Ohio State. Pilney later threw a touchdown pass to Mike Layden, making it 13-12. Both times, the extra point was missed.

Notre Dame had a legendary name in their backfield: William Shakespeare. Playing off his sharing of a name of the greatest writer in the English language, the New York native was known as the Bard of Staten Island, the Bard of South Bend, and the Merchant of Menace. He had already scored a touchdown for Notre Dame against Army the year before, at Yankee Stadium in his hometown.

Now, Ohio State tried to run out the clock, but fumbled, and the Irish recovered. With less than a minute to go, Pilney ran for 30 yards, getting the ball to the Buckeye 19. But he was injured on the play. Shakespeare entered the game. Once more unto the breach. He threw a pass, and an Ohio State player nearly intercepted it, but dropped it.

Finally, with time for perhaps one more play, fullback Jim McKenna took the snap, and handed it to Shakespeare, who threw an option pass. Wayne Millner, later to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame by catching passes from Sammy Baugh on the Washington Redskins, was down on his knees in the end zone, and caught the ball. Notre Dame had won, 18-13.

Grantland Rice, his column in The New York Herald Tribune syndicated throughout the land, wrote of the game, "This was one of the finest things I've ever seen in football."

But the glory did not last. Just 7 days later, at home no less, Notre Dame lost to Northwestern. Then they went to New York, to again play Army at Yankee Stadium, and only came away with a 6-6 tie. They closed the season at home, beating USC, finishing 7-1-1.

Ohio State bounced back, beating the University of Chicago away, Illinois at home, and Michigan in Ann Arbor. But they didn't play Minnesota. Ohio State and Minnesota were declared Co-Champions of the Big Ten Conference, but it was Minnesota, 8-0, who were named National Champions by most organizations then deciding the thing.

There have been a few "Games of the Century" since, some involving Notre Dame. One in 1993 followed this pattern: Notre Dame stunned Florida State, then blew the National Championship the following week by losing, in that case to Boston College.

Aside from Millner, most of the players on both sides did not play professional football. Shakespeare was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but made more money than he could have in football at the time by signing with the Cincinnati Rubber Company. He became an executive with them, and still was one when he died in 1974.

Elmer Layden remained at Notre Dame until 1941, when he was offered the job of NFL Commissioner. He held that job for 5 seasons, guiding the League through the difficult days of World War II. He died in 1973.

Francis Schmidt stayed at Ohio State through the 1940 season, winning another Big Ten title in 1939. He was succeeded by Paul Brown, who began his legend by leading the Buckeyes to the 1942 National Championship. Schmidt became head coach at the University of Idaho, but his health began to fail, and he died in 1944.

*

November 2, 1935 was a Saturday. There were a few other big college football games that day.

One was in New York. Fordham University -- coached by another of Notre Dame's former Four Horsemen, Jim Crowley -- played the University of Pittsburgh at the Polo Grounds, and it ended 0-0. Fordham finished 6-1-2 on the year, Pitt 7-1-2. They would play each other at the Polo Grounds again in 1936 and 1937, and those games would also end scoreless. Finally, in 1938, Fordham went to Pitt Stadium, and the Panthers emerged victorious, 24-13.

Manhattan College beat City College (CCNY), 65-0 at Ebbets Field. New York University beat Bucknell, 14-0 at Yankee Stadium. One of NYU's players, Ed Smith, had done some modeling work, and was a high school teammate of sculptor Frank Eliscu. Eliscu asked Smith to pose in his football uniform. In 1982, someone called Smith up and asked him what it was like being the model for the Heisman Trophy, which Eliscu had designed. Smith said he did know he was the model for the Heisman. The Downtown Athletic Club, caretakers of the Trophy, gave him a copy.

Among New Jersey's teams: Rutgers beat Lafayette, 31-6 at Fisher Field in Easton, Pennsylvania; and Princeton beat Navy, 26-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

The aforementioned Minnesota beat Purdue, 29-7 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Nebraska beat Missouri, 19-6 at Memorial Stadium (now Faurot Field) in Columbia, and went on to win the Big Six Conference, which later became the Big Eight and formed the bulk of the Big Twelve.

Stanford beat Santa Clara, 9-6 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, between San Francisco and San Jose. By beating the University of California 3 weeks later, they won the Pacific Coast Conference, the precursor to today's Pac-12.

Louisiana State beat Auburn, 6-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and went on to win the Southeastern Conference title. Southern Methodist (SMU) beat Texas, 20-0 at Ownby Stadium in Dallas, and went on to win the Southwest Conference title.

There were no scores in the other sports. The NHL hadn't yet started their season. The NBA hadn't yet started at all. Baseball was done until April. And the NFL waited until the next day, Sunday, to play.    

October 7, 1922: Ohio Stadium Opens

October 7, 1922: Ohio Stadium opens in Columbus. Ohio State University had outgrown the 14,000-seat Ohio Field, but people laughed when they built a 66,210-seat stadium. They got over 71,000 fans for the opening game, a 5-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan.

NOTE: New York University, oddly, also played football at a facility named Ohio Field, from 1901 until they dropped their program after the 1952 season.

Seating capacity was raised to 78,000 in 1948, 81,000 in 1962, 83,000 in 1974, 85,000 in 1982, 91,000 in 1991, and it broke the 100,000-seat barrier in 2001. Officially, since 2019, the seating capacity of what ABC Sports college football master Keith Jackson labeled "The Big Horseshoe on the Olentangy" has been 102,780, but they've topped out at 110,045, in their 2016 win over arch-rival Michigan. The field was switched to AstroTurf in 1971, back to natural grass in 1990, and to FieldTurf in 2007.

Since moving in, the Buckeyes have won 34 Big Ten Conference Championships, and claim 8 National Championships: 1942, under head coach Paul Brown; 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968 and 1970, under Woody Hayes; 2002, under Jim Tressel; and 2014, under Urban Meyer. Ohio Stadium has been home to 6 Heisman Trophy winners, including Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975, the only 2-time winner. The others have been Les Horvath in 1944, Vic Janowicz in 1950, Howard Cassady in 1955, Eddie George in 1995, and Troy Smith in 2006. Smith was a quarterback, the rest were running backs.

Ohio Stadium was also home to the Ohio Glory of the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1992, and to the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from their 1996 founding until 1998. The Columbus Bullies, winners of the only titles in the 1940 and 1941 edition of the American Football League, played at Red Bird Stadium, later Cooper Stadium, the city's minor-league ballpark from 1931 to 2008.

*

October 7, 1922 was a Saturday. These other notable college football games were played:

* Army beat Kansas, 13-0 on The Plain in West Point, New York.

* Navy beat Western Reserve, 71-0 at Worden Field in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Columbia beat Amherst, 43-6 at South Field in Upper Manhattan.

* Rutgers beat Fordham, 20-15 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

* Princeton beat Virginia, 5-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.

* Syracuse beat New York University (NYU), 34-0 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Harvard beat Holy Cross, 20-0 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Yale beat North Carolina, 18-0 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

* Alabama beat Oglethorpe, 41-0 at Denny Field in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* Notre Dame beat Saint Louis University, 26-0 at Cartier Field in South Bend, Indiana.

* Michigan beat Case -- an Ohio school, if not Ohio State -- 48-0 at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1970, Case and Western Reserve merged, forming Case Western Reserve University.

* The University of Chicago beat the University of Georgia, 20-0 at Stagg Field in Chicago.

There was also a World Series game played. With the questionable calling of Game 2 due to "darkness" in mind, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis insists that Game 4 be played, despite a heavy rain. Again, one big inning, a 4-run 4th off Yankee pitcher Carl Mays, is enough for Hugh McQuillan of the Giants to squeeze out a 4-3 win. Aaron Ward's 2nd homer of the Series is all the long-ball clout the Yankees will display.

Mays' brief collapse today‚ coupled with his 2 losses in the 1921 Series‚ and with the 1919 Series still fresh in fans' memories, leads to rumors that he took money to throw the games. The accusations will persist for decades. As with the claim that his pitch that killed Ray Chapman of Cleveland in 1920 was on purpose, Mays goes to his grave in 1971 insisting that it wasn't true.

Also on this day, Grady Edgebert Hatton Jr. is born in Beaumont, Texas. A 3rd baseman, he played from 1946 to 1960, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds, and was an All-Star in 1952. He later managed the Houston Astros from 1966 to 1968, remained with them as a scout and a coach, and died in 2013.

Also on this day, for the 1st time, a member of the British royal family speaks during a radio broadcast. It is Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. In early 1936, upon the death of his father, King George V, he became King Edward VIII. In late 1936, he used another radio broadcast to to explain his decision to abdicate the throne, and became the Duke of Windsor.