Last time Ohio State lost to Michigan at home: Revisiting the Wolverines' 2000 win at The Shoe

Bill Bender

Last time Ohio State lost to Michigan at home: Revisiting the Wolverines' 2000 win at The Shoe image

No. 3 Michigan meets No. 2 Ohio State in a much-anticipated installment of The Game on Saturday, and it's another chance for the Wolverines to break a 22-year drought at Ohio Stadium. 

That is right, The Shoe has been a house of horrors for Michigan in the 21st century. The Buckeyes have won the last nine home meetings against the rival Wolverines, and that includes the legendary No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in 2006 and game that featured "The Spot" in 2016. 

There is a lot of history for Michigan to overcome when it faces Ohio State on Saturday. When was the last time the Wolverines left Ohio Stadium singing "The Victors?" 

BENDER: Will more of The Game be a good thing?

A look at inside at that streak in The Game: 

Michigan's last victory at Ohio Stadium 

Rewind to Nov. 18, 2000. No. 19 Michigan faced No. 12 Ohio State in a battle of 8-3 teams. This is the "Drew Henson" game as far as both sides would remember it. 

Ohio State jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but Henson, the prized recruit who split time with Tom Brady the previous season, got Lloyd Carr off the hot seat. Henson hit Anthony Thomas for a 70-yard touchdown. The Wolverines scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter with the help of a 50-yard interception return by Julius Curry. 

The Buckeyes rallied with two fourth-quarter TDs, but Henson capped a TD drive with a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal that sealed a 38-26 victory. Henson finished with 303 yards and three TDs in the victory. 

John Cooper's last game 

This was the Ohio State coach's last chance at the Wolverines. Cooper was a highly-successful coach with a 111-43-4 record with the Buckeyes, but the loss dropped him to 2-10-1 against Michigan. South Carolina beat the Buckeyes 24-7 in the Outback Bowl, and Cooper was dismissed the following day. 

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Ohio State dominance since 2000

Jim Tressel was hired after the 2000 season, and he flipped the script on the rival. Tressel (5-0) and Urban Meyer (4-0) have combined to lead the Buckeyes to a perfect 9-0 record at home against the Wolverines. 

The Buckeyes have won those games by an average of 14.9 points per game. 

Michigan 

YEAR WINNER SCORE LOSER SCORE
2002 No. 2 Ohio State 14 No. 12 Michigan 9
2004 Ohio State  37 No. 7 Michigan 21
2006 No. 1 Ohio State 42 No. 2 Michigan  39
2008 No. 10 Ohio State 42 Michigan 7
2010 No. 8 Ohio State 37 Michigan 7
2012 No. 4 Ohio State 26 No. 20 Michigan 21
2014 No. 7 Ohio State 42 Michigan 28
2016 No. 2 Ohio State  30 No. 3 Michigan 27
2018 No. 10 Ohio State 62 No. 4 Michigan 39

Tressel's signature victory was the 42-39 victory in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in 2006 when both teams were 11-0. Meyer led Ohio State to a 30-27 double-overtime victory in 2016 that put the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff. 

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Jim Harbaugh at The Shoe 

Harbaugh beat Ohio State as a player in 1986 after he famously guaranteed a victory for the Wolverines. Harbaugh hit 19 of 29 passes for 261 yards in Michigan's 26-24 victory on Nov. 22, 1986. 

Harbaugh, however, is 0-2 at Ohio Stadium as a head coach. Michigan also lost 62-39 on Nov. 24, 2018 in Meyer's final regular-season game as the Buckeyes head coach. This will be the third straight time Harbaugh has brought a top 5 team into Ohio Stadium. 

What's at stake in 2022?

The schools' game at Ohio Stadium was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19. 

This will be Ryan Day's first home game against the Wolverines as a head coach. Day is 1-1, and Ohio State has not lost a Big Ten home game since a 17-14 loss to Michigan State on Nov. 22, 2015. 

Michigan also is looking for back-to-back victories in the rivalry for the first time since 1999-2000. The Wolverines beat Ohio State 42-27 last season. This could be a potential turning point in what has been a one-sided rivalry since that last victory at Ohio Stadium. 

Both teams are 11-0 again, and this will decide who travels to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 3. 

What happened to Drew Henson? 

Henson led Michigan to a 31-28 victory against Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, but instead of returning for his senior season he opted to sign a lucrative contract with the New York Yankees. 

Henson played in eight major-league games with the Yankees from 2002-03 then returned to football, where he played in nine NFL games from 2004-08. Henson made one start for the Cowboys in 2004.

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.