Remembering The 'Ten Year War' - 1976 Edition

Every game in the Ten Year War set the table for future games, but there are a couple games that truly impacted the Ten Year War and the legacy that followed.  The 1969 and 1973 games were undoubtedly these types of games and the 1976 was as well.  If Woody Hayes had retired after the 1975 season, his legacy would have been unquestioned.  He would have just ended an undefeated season and would have left with a 4-2-1 record against Bo Schembechler.  Of course, he did no such thing and the tide would once against shift in the 1976 edition of "The Game" back towards Michigan.


Background:
Michigan's 1976 team was something to behold.  Not only did they storm through their first 8 games with a score of 352-58, but they also were ranked #1 through 8 games.  The 1976 defense was impeccable, holding 8 opponents to one score or less and really only allowing three teams to score anything significant.  Even in Michigan's only regular season loss on the road against Purdue, the Boilermakers only scored 16 points.  This loss was pretty important, as it truly removed Michigan from the national championship discussion.  Granted, the Wolverines lost the Rose Bowl to USC, but they probably would have entered that game ranked #1 instead of #2.


What also adds to this performance wass the fact that the 1976 version of "The Game" was the 7th straight time that Michigan entered the game against Ohio State ranked in the top 5.  That much consistency is simply astounding.  Compare it to some of the more modern dynasties.  Bob Stoops and Oklahoma were ranked #6 or higher for 5 straight years, Alabama has been ranked #10 or higher for 4 straight years, Florida was #13 or higher for 5 straight years, Jim Tressel had OSU ranked #9 or higher for 6 straight years.  In fact, the only recent dynasty that can really match Michigan's performance from 1970-1976 was USC.  Pete Carroll had the Trojans ranked #4 or higher for 7 straight years.  However, we all know about the sanctions that removed some of those records so in reality, not even USC could match Michigan's performance during the 1970-1976 period.