Michigan had dominated The Game for more than a decade when Jim Tressel arrived at Ohio State in January 2001.
At halftime of the Buckeyes’ next basketball game (against Michigan, of course) Tressel was introduced to a cheering crowd.
He immediately made his famous proclamation that Buckeye fans would be proud of their team in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the football field.
And then he and his team backed it up, jumping out to a 23-0 halftime lead en route to a 26-20 victory in a place the Buckeyes hadn’t won in 14 years.
One year later, The Ozone started taking photos on the sidelines at Buckeye games.
Our first edition of The Game was an all-timer, as Will Allen sealed a 14-9 OSU win. One game later, the Buckeyes had their first national championship in more than 30 years.
We’ve been there on the sidelines for every Ohio State – Michigan game since.
Here’s a look through the years at The Game, told through one iconic shot per season from our photographers.
2002
The Buckeyes entered The Game 12-0 and needing just one more win for a chance to play for the national title.
Of course, they’d been in this position before. OSU blew unbeaten seasons against the Wolverines in 1993, 1995, and 1996, and for a while it looked like it might happen again.
Michigan kicked three first-half field goals to take a 9-7 lead into the locker room.
The Wolverines were still clinging to that lead at the midway point of the fourth quarter.
That’s when Craig Krenzel connected with Maurice Clarett on a wheel route for a huge gain down to the Michigan 6.
That set up an option play. Krenzel pitched it to Maurice Hall, who beat the Michigan defenders to the corner for a 14-9 OSU lead.
But it came down to the very last play.
The Wolverines drove down to the OSU 24, and had one final chance to spoil the Buckeyes’ season.
With 0:01 left on the clock, quarterback John Navarre dropped back and threw one down to the goal line, but Allen stepped in front of it for the interception to seal the win as Brent Musberger screamed, “Let’s party, Columbus!”
The photo above shows Allen falling to the ground just as that party got started.
See the complete 2002 OSU – Michigan photo gallery here.
2003
The Buckeyes came into Ann Arbor No. 2 in the nation, and needing just one more win to get a chance to defend their national championship in the BCS title game.
No. 9 Michigan had other ideas.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 21-0 lead, leaving the Buckeyes and their fans stunned.
It was 28-7 Michigan in the third quarter when Navarre connected with Braylon Edwards on what looked to be a back-breaking 87-yard touchdown pass. But it came back on a holding call. Michigan was forced to punt and then it was the Buckeyes who came back.
Krenzel hit Santonio Holmes for a 14-yard score to make it 28-14 Wolverines.
Then, with backup quarterback Scott McMullen in for an injured Krenzel, the Buckeyes went 93 yards on 10 plays, capped off with a Lydell Ross touchdown run.
When Chris Gamble picked off a pass from Navarre on the Wolverines’ next possession, it seemed like the Buckeyes were destined to win. But it wasn’t to be.
OSU went three-and-out, and then Michigan answered with an 87-yard touchdown drive to make it 35-21.
The Buckeyes had one final chance to come back. They drove into Michigan territory with less than two minutes to play. But when McMullen’s pass attempt to Bam Childress got knocked up into the air, it fell straight to Wolverine safety Ernest Shazor for a game-clinching interception.
The photo above shows that pass to Childress bouncing up and on its way to Shazor.
See the complete 2003 OSU – Michigan photo gallery here.
2004
After winning the national title in 2002 and falling just one win short in 2003, the Buckeyes took a big step back the following year.
With most of the stars who won that championship gone, Ohio State was starting over in 2004.
OSU entered The Game just 7-4, with a 4-4 record in conference play. Meanwhile, Michigan seemed poised to reassert itself as the league’s dominant program.
They came in ranked No. 7 in the nation, 9-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play.
But from the beginning, The Game didn’t go the way the Wolverines expected.
Troy Smith hit Anthony Gonzalez on a 68-yard touchdown just 1:03 into the action.
Lloyd Carr’s team came back, and seemed to regain control with a pair of touchdowns to close the first quarter.
Smith answered with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie it at 14, and then Mike Nugent added a pair of field goals to send the Buckeyes to the locker room with a 20-14 lead.
After the break came the game-changing play OSU fans had been waiting for.
Ted Ginn fielded a punt in a crowd at his own 18. He made one Wolverine miss, paused as another over-ran him, and then turned on the jets. He raced 82 yards up the left sideline for a touchdown.
Smith connected with Holmes on another score late in the third to basically put the game out of reach.
Michigan had to settle for a share of the Big Ten championship with Iowa.
The photo above shows Ginn on his way to the end zone, as he passed in front of Michigan unamused backup quarterbacks. The Wolverine on the left is Clayton Richard, who went on to a long career as a pitcher in Major League Baseball.
See the complete 2004 OSU – Michigan photo gallery here.
2005
After that one down season, the Buckeyes were back in the top 10 the following year.
The 2005 team lost a classic to Vince Young and Texas early, and then struggled to a 17-10 loss at Penn State later in the season. But they were perfect otherwise and came in as the nation’s 9th-best team. Michigan entered ranked No. 17.
For about 50 minutes, it appeared the Wolverines were about to ruin another OSU season in Ann Arbor.
They had a 6-point lead and the ball inside the OSU 5 with about 8 minutes to play. But Lloyd Carr settled for a 19-yard field goal instead of going for the kill.
Michigan led it 21-12 after that kick, but Troy Smith was waiting on the other sideline.
He led a scoring drive that took just 1:09, and was capped off with a 26-yard pass to Holmes. That made it 21-19.
After another empty Michigan drive, Smith took over with 4:05 left and the ball at his own 12.
He went 7-for-8 on the ensuing drive. The last completion came on a play where Smith dodged a blitzing defender, scrambled out of the pocket and hit a flying Gonzalez down to the Michigan 4.
Then, Antonio Pittman drove the final nail into Michigan’s coffin, going off left tackle for the winning score.
The photo above shows Pittman on his way in for that winning score.
See the complete 2005 OSU – Michigan photo gallery here.
2006
It’s not easy for something dubbed as The Game of the Century to live up to that billing, but the 2006 edition of The Game did that and more.
No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan battled through an epic and unexpected 60-minute shootout.
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the Buckeyes quickly answered with a 21-0 burst.
Beanie Wells raced 52 yards to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 edge early in the second quarter, and then Smith pulled off one of the greatest play-action fakes in memory before hitting Ginn for a 39-yard touchdown to make it 21-7.
Michigan ran off a 17-7 streak of its own, spanning halftime, to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 28-24 in the third quarter.
But 37 seconds later, Ohio State answered right back. Pittman raced 56 yards to the end zone, with seemingly the entire Wolverine defense chasing helplessly behind. Just like that, it was 35-24 Buckeyes.
Michigan managed to cut it to 35-31 early in the fourth quarter, but Smith answered the bell one final time.
His pass to Brian Robiskie gave the Bucks a 42-31 lead with a little more than five minutes to play.
Michigan got it back to 42-39, but Pittman and the Buckeyes ran out the clock to lock up their second straight Big Ten championship.
The photo above shows Pittman’s 56-yard third quarter touchdown run that broke Michigan’s momentum and gave OSU a 35-24 lead.
See the complete 2006 OSU – Michigan photo gallery here.