Mich-OSU, Schembechler-Woody, etc...

[SentToStud]

Unless you are from Michigan or Ohio, well into your 40's or a big time college football history fan, the significance of Schembechler's passing and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry may not resonate as it does with some of us. Some random thoughts...

Schembechler, an Ohio native, coached Michigan for 20 years. Won or shared 13 Big10 titles.

Schembechler vs Woody Hayes was one of the most competitive rivalries ever. Schembechler played for Woody at Miami-Ohio and coached under him at Ohio State. All of the stuff of legends you can read about Woody and Bo are true, and then some. Before Schembechler got the Mich job, OSU and Woody pretty much dominated the rivalry. Bo was obsessed about beating Woody and went 5-4-1 in their 10 years of coaching against each other.

Hayes hated, absolutely hated Michigan, For years he would only refer to Michigan as "that school up north."

Once with OSU ahead by 34 points against Michigan, Hayes went for a 2-point conversion. When asked why he went for two he replied, "They wouldn't let me go for three."

I also remember reading that Hayes, well after his coaching days were over and despite being very sick, insisted on attending and speaking at an awards ceremony honoring Schembechler. He insisted on attending, he said, "Only because it was being held in Ohio."

Hayes attended and spoke for about 30 minutes. He died the next day.

I once had a 10 minute conversation with Schembechler. I was and am very good friends with one of his players who I lived next door to in Ann Arbor. At my friend's wedding, I introduced myself to Schembechler who asked me, "What makes you worthy of being Mark's friend?" He spent the next several minutes lecturing me about the virtues of his former player, none of them having to do with football. I don't think I was the first --nor last-- to get the lecture.

I saw a quote in today's Detroit Free Press from Dan Dierdorf, a former player who said the big game today will be known as, "Just the game they played the day after Bo died."

There are tons of great Schembechler stories out there and if you're a fan of this kind of stuff, they're great reads.