Archie Griffin remembers physicality and intensity of Ohio State vs. Michigan game
Colin GayEven though he was from Columbus, Ohio, Michigan football made their pitch to recruit Archie Griffin to become a Wolverine.
"When Coach (Woody) Hayes recruited me, he talked about this game," the two-time Heisman Trophy winner said on ESPN's "College GameDay." "When Bo recruited me at Michigan, he talked about this game. So this game is huge, and those guys are fierce rivals."
Griffin chose to stay at home, becoming the first back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner in college football history, while recording 5,939 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns in four years with the Buckeyes.
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"When you come to Ohio State, this is what you come for: to play the Team Up North," Griffin said.
In four meetings with Michigan, Griffin never lost, beating the Wolverines in 1972, 1974 and 1975 along with one tie in 1973.
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Griffin remembered the physicality and intensity of the Michigan game, saying it was a game coach Woody Hayes prepared for all season long.
"The intensity of the game comes to mind," Griffin said. "Let me tell you, it was the most physical game that I ever played in. We didn't have the Big Ten championship afterwards. I got to tell you, two of those games, after the Ohio State Michigan game, I might not have been able to play in the Big Ten championship because it was just that physical and I was hurting quite a bit afterwards.
ESPN analyst Desmond Howard, who played at Michigan, remembers a level of mutual respect between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes.
"We didn't hate you. We respected you," Howard said. "We knew you were going to bring the best out of us and I think you thought the same way. it was like Ali and Frazier."
College football rankings 2022
Here's a look at the College Football Playoff's fourth ranking of the 2022 season.
- Georgia (11-0)
- Ohio State (11-0)
- Michigan (11-0)
- TCU (11-0)
- LSU (9-2)
- USC (10-1)
- Alabama (9-2)
- Clemson (10-1)
- Oregon (9-2)
- Tennessee (9-2)
- Penn State (9-2)
- Kansas State (8-3)
- Washington (9-2)
- Utah (8-3)
- Notre Dame 8-3)
- Florida State (8-3)
- North Carolina (9-2)
- UCLA (8-3)
- Tulane (9-2)
- Ole Miss (8-3)
- Oregon State (8-3)
- UCF (8-3)
- Texas (7-4)
- Cincinnati (9-2)
- Louisville (7-4)
Ohio State football's 2022 schedule
- Sept. 3:Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 10
- Sept. 10:Ohio State 45, Arkansas State 12
- Sept. 17:Ohio State 77, Toledo 21
- Sept. 24:Ohio State 52, Wisconsin 21
- Oct. 1: Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10
- Oct. 8:Ohio State 49, Michigan State 20
- Oct. 22: Ohio State 54, Iowa 10
- Oct. 29:Ohio State 44, Penn State 31
- Nov. 5: Ohio State 21, Northwestern 7
- Nov. 12: Ohio State 56, Indiana 14
- Nov. 19: Ohio State 43, Maryland 30
- Nov. 26: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Columbus, Ohio, noon, FOX
Michigan football's 2022 schedule
- Sept. 3: Michigan 51, Colorado State 7
- Sept. 10: Michigan 56, Hawaii 10
- Sept. 17: Michigan 59, UConn 0
- Sept. 24: Michigan 34, Maryland 27
- Oct. 1: Michigan 27, Iowa 14
- Oct. 8: Michigan 31, Indiana 10
- Oct. 15: Michigan 41, Penn State 17
- Oct. 29: Michigan 29, Michigan State 7
- Nov. 5: Michigan 52, Rutgers 17
- Nov. 12: Michigan 34, Nebraska 3
- Nov. 19: Michigan 19, Illinois 17
- Nov. 26: Michigan vs. Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, noon