What often takes rivalries from great to epic are the personalities that are a part of them. In college, that often has to do with the guys patrolling the sidelines as head coaches. When you talk Ohio State vs. Michigan on the gridiron, that of course means you have to think about Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler.
OSU vs. Michigan has been one of the best rivalries in sports before those two glared at each other across the field, but the ten years they coached against each other made the game — well — “The Game.” During that “ten-year war,” Woody and Bo were fierce competitors on the field and had a palpable dislike for each other.
After the two were removed from the fire and drive of fierce competitors going at it, there was mutual respect and friendship that won out, but during those battles on the field, it was a rivalry for the ages.
And it wasn’t just in Columbus or Ann Arbor that noticed, but in the national media as well, still to this day. In fact, USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg just released his top ten college football coaching rivalries (subscription may be required), and Woody and Bo were a part of all the fun — as they should be.
“Ohio State beat Michigan 50-14 in 1968 and went for the two-point conversion on the game’s final touchdown, and only because the Buckeyes “‘couldn’t go for three,'” Hayes said postgame,” wrote Myerberg. “Schembechler evened the score over the next decade, compiling a 5-4-1 mark against OSU and Hayes, his coaching mentor. Schembechler played for Hayes at Miami (Ohio) and would later be one of his assistants with the Buckeyes, but any friendship between the pair evaporated once he took over with the Wolverines.”
Ohio State vs. Michigan has always had its moments on and off the football field, but it would be hard to imagine two coaches having more of a rivalry than Woody and Bo.
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