Our Honor Defend

The Michigan game is nigh and in anticipation of Michigan — the very mention of whom makes me want to vomit my gizzards out in an unbridled rage — I have uploaded the 2002 Ohio State v. Michigan game (which I was at FTW) for the weekly, opponent-appropriate Drive-Thru YouTubery clip.

Mind you, I also uploaded the 1984 Michigan game that sent the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl… something that I hope the 2008 game does as well.  So this clip, far from a necessity, is just charity.

You’re welcome.

Anyways, I was at the game, front row as a freshman in Block O in the South End, but I never really watched the ABC presentation until a month or two ago when I uploaded a few clips to YouTube.  Even then, I didn’t watch the game very closely until compiling this clip.  Suffice to say, it’s always fun to re-watch these games when you know the story has a happy ending.

Entering the game, I remember the goal for the Buckeyes was to force Michigan into field goals.  The kicking game for Michigan was a sore spot all season.  It got so bad that Carr had to resort to the third option kicker, Adam Finley.  Finley himself was no saviour for the special teams, as he was just 50 percent on FGs entering the season.  If Michigan were held out of the end zone, they probably would be denied points altogether.

Yet, in spite of the obvious logic to this game plan, Adam Finley converted on all 3 of his field goals attempt.  Coincidentally, all 3 came in the first half and came at the conclusion of Michigan’s 3 first half drives.  Though they were kept out of the end zone, Michigan had driven the ball with relative ease throughout the first half.  This was most obvious in Michigan’s final drive, where, starting from their own 8 yard line, the Wolverines closed out the half with a late field goal to take a 9-7 lead.  The most important play of the first half came on this drive, as a Braylon Edwards touchdown grab was nullified by his offensive pass interference penalty on Chris Gamble.  Instead of six points, the Wolverines got 2nd and goal from around the 20.  They settled for 3 and a halftime lead over the #2 team in the country.

The second half belonged to the defenses, as neither Michigan nor Ohio State accomplished much.  Ohio State had a drive that started off well with freshman tailback Maurice Clarett securing the all-time freshman rushing record.  Yet, it too stalled.  Crunch time came as Michigan was punting out of the deep end of their own side of the field with under 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter.  Ohio State was guaranteed great field position, but got even better field position for a violation of the halo rule on the punt.  The first play of the Buckeyes’ 4th second half drive was a Brandon Schnittker interception of a pass intended for Michael Jenkins, good for first down yardage.  After moving the sticks, a 3rd and 7 scramble by Craig Krenzel set up a 4th and inches QB sneak, good for a first down.  After moving the chains again, Craig Krenzel hooked up with Maurice Clarett out of the split-back shotgun formation for a first and goal within the Michigan 5.  I remember that play fondly because, though we couldn’t see it particularly well from the South End, the playcall was more than amusing because none of us really saw it coming.

The drive resulted in the go-ahead touchdown, but I’ll remember fondly — at least until I get Alzheimers — how that play unfolded.  Block O was particularly quiet as the formation shifted and the play clock winded down.  We all watched with baited breath, mostly due to the anxiety but also partly due to the fact that the ball was on the opposite side of the field and we really couldn’t see.  When the ball was snapped, I was the only one in the area that was totally shocked by the playcall.  An audibly perplexed “OPTION?!” escaped my mouth, especially as they not only ran the option, but also ran it to the weak side of the line.  It took us all a little bit longer to realize he scored.  But when we realized Mo Hall made it in, we went ballistic.  Granted, I haven’t been to a Buckeye game since the 2005 season, but the bedlam that ensued from Hall’s touchdown remains the second loudest moment in my experience with Ohio Stadium.  In terms of sheer pandemonium, Gamble’s pick-six against Penn State will probably never be beaten.

Michigan, now behind in the ball game for the first time since the second quarter, mounted a drive with about 4 minutes left in the game.  It ended in a fumble and, at least I thought, the game-sealer.  Without 2:02 left, it was unfathomable to me that Michigan would get the ball back when all Ohio State needed was a first down to ice the game away.  Still, they did get the ball back at around their own 20 yard line with 58 seconds left and no timeouts.  Much to my chagrin, and to the worst anxieties of the more seasoned Buckeye fans around me, the ghosts of Ohio State-Michigan games past started to haunt them.  The clock would never strike zero, it seemed.  But when it came down to one second left, and one final heave for John Navarre, most of the people around me (myself included) seemed to choke on the moment… even in spite of the noise we tried to make.  When Will Allen intercepted the pass to provide the game just closure, we all went nuts.  Given my position in the south end of the stadium, my friends and I were some of the first to storm the pitch after the game.

Of course, my personal story doesn’t end there.  After we all got on the field, a vortex seemed to develop that sucked me in from the middle of the field toward the south end goalposts.  In spite of having no intention for misdeed, only to consume every bit of the moment, I got to the front of the line right as the cops lost their patience.  Fortunately, the glasses took most of the pepper spray, but would I do it all again?

You bet I would.

On that note, I keep looking for myself in the crowd in Block O but can’t make myself out.  If you have this game, or just have an amazing memory, I was front row with the other Block O types in that section because I helped distribute those little chip hats earlier in the day.  I was wearing a very distinctive beanie, one my dad gave me and one that kept him warm when he was a student in the mid-to-late 1970s.  The beanie itself came from Korea, where my dad was stationed while in the Army.  It’s definitely an older looking beanie, a brown one with a white and red stripe.  See if you can find me.

Anywho, the clip is displayed below.  In spirit of the occasion, I’m also wanting to upload another Michigan clip, but I don’t know which one to go for.  You have an option here, if you so choose: 1970, 1974, 1987 or 1994.