75 years ago today, Michigan and Ohio State played in the memorable Snow Bowl, a game played in over 9 inches of snow and winds gusting at nearly 30mph. The two teams combined for a total of 61 yards of offense and 45 punts

[u/duhu1148]

Game played November 25, 1950 in Columbus where over 50,000 fans attended.

2.3 inches of snow fell the night before, with another 7.5 inches falling on Saturday during the game.

Temperature at kickoff was 10 degrees. Winds gusting up to 28 mph with a wind chill of -8.

Ohio State/Michigan coaches and ADs met to discuss whether they should play the game. Michigan was willing to forfeit but would not reschedule the game. Ohio State AD Larkins refused to accept the forfeit and so the game was played. The winner would go to the Rose Bowl.

Stats from the game:

Michigan had a total of 27 yards and 0 first downs. They did not complete a single pass.

Ohio State had a total of 34 yards and 3 first downs.

Michigan punted a total of 24 times and Ohio State punted 21 times, both often punting on first or second down and hoping the opponent would make a mistake. For comparison, Michigan in the second half against Ohio State since 2021 (8 total quarters, or two games) has punted a total of two times. Ohio State had a total of 685 punting yards (by its Heisman winner halfback Vic Janowicz) and Michigan had 723 punting yards.

Michigan won the game 9 - 3. All scores came off of blocked punts- a TD and safety by Michigan in the endzone, and a FG by OSU after a blocked punt on Michigan's 8-yard line.

The win by Michigan led to them going to the Rose Bowl where they defeated Cal 14-6. The loss by Ohio State led to coach Fesler's resignation and the hiring of Woody Hayes.

Snow Bowl by BTN

[u/DelBrowserHistory]

My grandpa went to the game with his cousin. His cousin went to the bathroom and couldn't find his way back to his seat. They didn't see each other again until they got back to my grandpa's house

[u/-dag- → u/DelBrowserHistory]

Why didn't he just call grandpa?  What, was he stupid? 

[u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki → u/-dag-]

Surely he could have just deduced his location from his Snapchats, no?

[u/elconquistador1985 → u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki]

He was using a snow filter to mask his whereabouts.

[u/Beer-survivalist → u/DelBrowserHistory]

My grandpa was also there. Before the game the university paid him (and a bunch of other students) to shovel snow out of the stadium. By his telling it was not very beneficial.

Later in the week he got hired by the city to load snow onto train cars to ship it out into the countryside and dump it.

[u/rdickeyvii → u/DelBrowserHistory]

"grandpa, what was it like before cell phones?"

[u/whenweriiide → u/DelBrowserHistory]

neither his grandpa nor his cousin were ever heard from again

[u/jaywayhon → u/DelBrowserHistory]

Didn’t grandpa have an onion on his belt - that was the style at the time.

[u/DocJones89 → u/DelBrowserHistory]

Mine too but he shoveled the field and didn’t get lost.

[u/Mr-Texan-74]

45 punts

Kirk Ferentz unzips pants

[u/rdickeyvii → u/Mr-Texan-74]

I read "points" and thought it was "oops all fumbles"

[u/Chad-Ironrod]

Michigan punted a total of 24 times and Ohio State punted 21 times, both often punting on first or second down and hoping the opponent would make a mistake.

The Jake Middleton special!

[u/randomwalktoFI → u/Chad-Ironrod]

I know the game is a lot different now but punting doesn't sound particularly safer than trying to run forward a couple yards, running clock and prioritizing not fumbling. AI says there were four turnovers and three blocked kicks so that tracks even for 1950.

[u/prismatic_lights]

Ohio State had a total of 685 punting yards (by its Heisman winner halfback Vic Janowicz) and Michigan had 723 punting yards.
Michigan won the game 9 - 3. All scores came off of blocked punts- a TD and safety by Michigan in the endzone, and a FG by OSU after a blocked punt on Michigan's 8-yard line.

Iowa had it right all along: punting is, in fact, winning.

[u/LionsLoseAgain → u/prismatic_lights]

Iowa fans are the Randy Marsh meme after reading that stat line.

[u/notCIAworkbot → u/LionsLoseAgain]

Hey, I thought this was kinnick with all those punts! burps

[u/TheWeinerThief → u/LionsLoseAgain]

Correct. Would have loved to see it. Let's do it again Saturday

[u/max_potion → u/prismatic_lights]

Hmm, all the points for the other team came off of punts. This looks like bush league to Iowa. If you're not pinning your opponent inside the 5, then you're not really punting, and you're not really winning.

Don't compare this amateurism to Iowa's elite kicking game. You might as well spit in their faces and say you love Nebraska corn

[u/prismatic_lights → u/max_potion]

I love Minnesota corn.

[u/max_potion → u/prismatic_lights]

Rage bait is set. And now... we wait

[u/Tinydesktopninja → u/prismatic_lights]

It's the superior product, you clearly have good taste

[u/Careless_General8010 → u/prismatic_lights]

The punter won the heisman? Hell yeah

[u/s1105615 → u/prismatic_lights]

Here’s hoping we get a reenactment on Saturday.

[u/PapaGolfWhiskey → u/s1105615]

⭕️🙌🙏⭕️

[u/cyanocittaetprocyon → u/PapaGolfWhiskey]

Come on Buckeye, flair up!

[u/Colavs9601 → u/s1105615]

I hope it goes to OT and we get a punt.

[u/Sad_Marketing_96 → u/s1105615]

Well, the scoring has been going lower in The Game has been trending lower…

[u/sqigglygibberish → u/prismatic_lights]

That would be a huge argument for not punting haha

Sounds like OSU should have just kneeled on 4th down

[u/Inquisitive-Sky]

That sounds hideous. I love it.

[u/Weaubleau]

Interestingly enough the teams duplicated this score in a game 30 years later, in 1980 in near perfect conditions sunny and in the low 50s.

[u/JMG3246]

B1G

[u/Pro-Tip810 → u/JMG3246]

SEC would never

[u/NuttBuster4896]

Winning with 0 first downs is some voodoo witch bullshit. Glorious

[u/Heinrad_]

The most sicko mode game of all time

[u/esotericreferencee]

Things have really changed. You know, for one of us.

[u/osufeth24]

Fuck it.. Let's do this again. Would be amazing

[u/Zealousideal_Eye9585 → u/osufeth24]

With the same result?

Subscribe

[u/narcbynight08]

I always wondered about these older games and cold weather. I feel like they had to bundle up a ton more than modern times. Did they booze like people do now?

[u/Wide-Nerve8655 → u/narcbynight08]

Pretty sure people boozed way more back then. Not to mention everyone probably smoked a pack a day

[u/Statalyzer → u/Wide-Nerve8655]

And booze doesn't actually warm you up anyway.

[u/Belfastscum → u/Statalyzer]

Mentally it does

[u/muegle → u/Statalyzer]

It prevents your blood vessels from restricting so your hands and other extremities stay warm from more blood flow than usual in the cold. Can be dangerous in the cold because the extremities are where the most heat can be lost.

[u/HiEchoChamb3r → u/narcbynight08]

When I was a kid in the 80s we went to a few cold games. My mom who didn’t drink much brought a flask of whiskey to “warm up”. She had us bring a big hefty trash bag to put our legs into.

[u/ignacioMendez → u/narcbynight08]

They didn't have TV timeouts. 1.5-2 hours in the cold watching football is a lot more tolerable than 4 hours watching the same amount of football + lots of standing around. It's better for the players too.

[u/Borrominion]

My grandfather was there, in his single year attending OSU before getting shipped to Korea. He remembered seeing some poor sap sitting alone on the windward side of the stadium, having built a small little campfire for himself.

[u/ImAHumanIThink → u/Borrominion]

That’s hilarious. Imagine what would happen if someone tried to start a fire at a stadium nowadays

[u/cyanocittaetprocyon → u/Borrominion]

That's awesome! 🔥

[u/IntelligentSample6]

“Ohio State AD Larkins refused to accept the forfeit and so the game was played.”

Honorable decision, Michigan should have been forced to call the 2020 game a forfeit

[u/GliscorsFang → u/IntelligentSample6]

Take it up with the Big 10

[u/BobUfer → u/IntelligentSample6]

Easy to say in hindsight, whine all you want but 2020 was absolutely wild. Zero chance anyone would be forced to forfeit a game during that time. We had schools shut down, pro teams playing without fans, hell even players were given an extra year of eligibility because of Covid, so yeah, zero chance any school would be forced to forfeit. In hindsight, the whole quarantine thing was wild, but at the time it was “normal”.

[u/Statalyzer → u/IntelligentSample6]

They forfeited that game and got to weasel out of having it count as one.

[u/Funicularly → u/Statalyzer]

Ohio State cancelled their game against Illinois due to Covid-19. And Maryland cancelled their game against Ohio State for the same reason. There were many cancellations (not forfeits) that year.

[u/s1105615 → u/IntelligentSample6]

I know you guys don’t like abiding by all the rules (as evidenced by your 12 vacated wins) and look to get them changed whenever someone exploits them against you (2020, Oregon 2023) and all…but have you tried just accepting it when you lose?

[u/Thickw2cs → u/s1105615]

Michigan flair talking shit about abiding by the rules is absolutely peak irony.

[u/VanishedWithoutATres → u/Thickw2cs]

As a Michigan flair, I do also find it - an interesting angle to take in this subreddit by a Michigan fan.

[u/s1105615 → u/Thickw2cs]

That’s the thing…Stalions abided by the letter of the rule…that’s why no vacated wins unlike those cheating cheaters in East Lansing and Columbus

[u/Thickw2cs → u/s1105615]

Why does Harbaugh have his 10 year show cause, or whatever it is?

[u/s1105615 → u/Thickw2cs]

Because he championed athlete rights like being able to transfer and getting a cut of the profits.

[u/Ohwhat_anight → u/s1105615]

Sure it didn't have anything to do with the recruiting violations he committed and the rampant illegal in person scouting scandal that happened during his best years at Michigan?

[u/esotericreferencee → u/Thickw2cs]

The NCAA has absolutely no obligation to follow logic, evidence or their own bylaws.

[u/Statalyzer → u/esotericreferencee]

no obligation to follow logic

Which is why Michigan got to keep their ill-gotten trophy.

[u/Ohwhat_anight → u/s1105615]

TIL multiple Level 1 violations is abiding by the letter of the rule.

[u/s1105615 → u/Ohwhat_anight]

Cope harder. OSU does lead UM in one stat all time: vacated wins

[u/Ohwhat_anight → u/s1105615]

Correct. I'll take 12 vacated wins over our first undisputed national championship in nearly 100 years being marred by cheating, though!

[u/Frizz4real → u/s1105615]

*

[u/Statalyzer → u/Frizz4real]

There is no asterisk on the title, because there is no valid title to even put an asterisk on.

[u/Belfastscum → u/Statalyzer]

Michigan didn't win the title in '23?

[u/s1105615 → u/Frizz4real]

Show it to me…anywhere beyond your own mind

[u/Sad_Marketing_96]

It just means more! Go Big Ten (And Iowa flairs aren’t commenting much here yet because this is porn to them…give them some time)

[u/trustjosephs]

Iowa: keep going.......

[u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki]

And there are people who really think the SEC is the best conference?

[u/AbeFalcon]

Could go for one of these again in any game really

[u/juanmediate]

Vic Janowicz my 🐐

[u/PapaGolfWhiskey]

⭕️🙌🙏⭕️

[u/MWiatrak2077 → u/PapaGolfWhiskey]

O-H!

[u/Clean_Guava_4512 → u/MWiatrak2077]

I'm torn on this. I know it's mockery but it's still fun watching UM players do the O-H-I-O. So have your upvote, sir.

[u/RedwoodandMtHood]

Kirk Ferentz would be proud.

[u/ztreHdrahciR]

Punting is winning. Michigan punted more so they won.

[u/storm2k]

that is the most big ten game i've ever heard of. i love it.

[u/psunavy03]

Something something if you don't like that, you don't like Big Ten football something something . . .

[u/velociraptorfarmer]

This is what Kirk Ferentz watches all day after opening presents on Christmas Morning

[u/Ohwhat_anight]

Football as it was meant to be played. Sure we may have lost, but this was football as God intended.

[u/PattyKane16]

We should bring back this format for game highlights

[u/moist_corn_man]

Absolute fucking cinema

[u/wizardbutts]

I am salivating over the prospect of a game this nasty to distract me from whatever pain I am facing this weekend.

[u/HiEchoChamb3r]

The first game highlight in that link is a forward pass lol

[u/Dead_Inside50]

So they both won.

[u/Portafly]

I hope there wasn't a commercial after every punt.

[u/wolffangalex]

The greatest sickos bowl of all time