Not even the wildest of Michigan partisans foresaw a Wolverine triumph such as the Varsity produced against Ohio State. Buckeye adherents were not one whit reluctant in predicting a victory for their team. They knew Ohio’s inherent strength in spite of the several setbacks of the current season.
Their team was at nearly full strength for the first time since early in the fall. They felt sure that the Buckeyes would “click” in this all-important game of their schedule. The optimism of both camps was reflected in the capacity attendance, attained more than two weeks in advance of the game and in spite of the fact that neither team was a contender for the Big Ten title.
The Michigan victory was complete and impressive. After the initial exchange of punts in the opening quarter, there was no question of the result. Michigan completely dominated not only in the score but in the play. Ohio State penetrated Michigan territory just twice in the sixty minutes of play and on neither of these invasion trips got beyond the 40-yard line. Coach Schmidt threw 31 players into the battle in an attempt to stem the Wolverine onslaught. All were ineffective.
The Michigan attack was sustained at high tempo all the way. There was none of the old-time inclination to coast after the attainment of a comfortable winning margin. The score by periods indicates best how the Wolverines kept right at the business of making the afternoon a most uncomfortable one for the hapless Buckeyes. With startling regularity, the touchdowns were rung up, all of them, save Kromer’s, being the result of relentless and sustained drives from their own territory, across the midline and through the Ohio defense to the final goal line.
Down on the field, during all this time, an interesting thing was happening. The spectators who possessed field glasses were probably the only ones in the vast throng who witnessed it. The Wolverines were having the time of their lives, enjoying the game hugely and laughing and kidding each other from the second period on-after they had acquired their safe lead and their assurance of victory. Even Reuben Kelto, the quietest fellow on the whole squad, loosened up and proceeded to “have a time for himself.”
The result was a completely relaxed eleven Michigan men on the field and a consequent precision and deadliness in the play which swung the Wolverine machine along irresistibly. The pressure was off, and while the Varsity has been able to do more than well when said pressure was the toughest, the relaxation seemed to have a similar effect.
Captain Evashevski called everything in the Michigan repertoire and it all worked perfectly. Passes, spinners, reverses, double reverses, screened passes, fake place kicks, and straight bucks–all produced gains. Twice he tried passes on fourth down, thereby completely crossing up the opposition and making the necessary distance–and more. But it was the ever-present threat of either Harmon or Westfall that spelled the doom of the best efforts of the Buckeyes to defend successfully. Ingalls’ pass from center was generally to Westfall, just as it has been most of the season. But from that point on the defense was at sea. They never could figure out whether it was to be a buck by Westfall or a lateral to Harmon for an end run. If the linemen submarined in to stop Westfall, they generally would look up afterward to see the All-American Harmon disappearing in the distance. So both of them made many yards right through the Ohio defense.
Eight Seniors played their last game for Michigan on this November 23 afternoon. A ninth was back in Ann Arbor, lonesomely listening to the game over the radio from his bed in University Hospital; for Milo Sukup, veteran guard, has not been available for any of the three final games. The day’s three ends, Rogers, Frutig and Czak, are all Seniors. Fraumann, the other of the four men who played at the flanks for the Wolverines against Ohio, will be back for another season. Fritz has been in at guard for Line Coach Clarence Munn for the last time. Backfield Coach Earl Martineau has seen Captain Evashevski,,Harmon and Kromer in his lineup or the final game. Little Harry Kohl, the midget and. veteran quarterback, was sent in by Coach Fritz Crisler so be could play out his string for Michigan.
All of the others will be back, plus a more than satisfactory crop of Freshmen who showed their wares to the coaches last week in an inter-squad game which produced excellent tackling, blocking and charging.
Five minutes after the game started, Michigan started its first touchdown drive. A quick kick caught Kromer unprepared and Ohio State thereby extricated itself from a tough spot-and put Michigan on its own 20-yard line. Westfall proceeded to start the 80-yard drive with two of the total of eleven plays needed to score, by making sixteen yards in two charges into the Buckeye line. Harmon added seven and Westfall made it another first down by inches. By dint of dodging and squirming past six Ohio tacklers, each one of whom was sure he had the All-American shackled, Harmon made nine yards and Westfall took the ball deep into Ohio territory with an 11-yard smash for a first down.
Things looked dangerous momentarily at this point when Harmon fumbled the slippery ball, but Rogers recovered. As a reward, Evashevski signaled Rogers for a pass catch on the goal line, but Rogers could not connect with the Harmon toss–just as Frutig had failed about five minutes before. But a fourth down toss to Kromer netted a 22-yard advance and then, on the next play, Harmon romped over for the first score, with four minutes still to play in the quarter.
Just 90 seconds later Michigan had its second touchdown. It was the Kromer run. He grabbed Scott’s fine punt on his own 20-yard line, feinted to the left and then cut over toward the center of the field. Harmon spilled the nearest Buckeye with a strenuous block and Rogers put another one out of action. Kolesar swung into action and two more Buckeyes went out of action. Wistert disposed of another-and then it was just a case of Kromer’s outrunning the hopelessly pursuing remainder. Though lacking about fifty percent of his old speed and agility, Kromer sped down the side of the field and over for the score-the climax of his Varsity career. Harmon made good on the placement after having missed his first attempt.
The next Michigan touchdown drive started 77 yards away from the goal line but it never faltered until it reached the last chalk mark far down the field. Westfall again started it off with a 14-yard smash for a first down. Rogers and Harmon carried the ball for the next first down, and a Harmon-Rogers forward pass made it first down in Ohio territory. A screened pass made 13 and another first down. Westfall hit three times and the ball was on the 17-yard line with another first down chalked up. At this point Evashevski stepped into the scoring column, taking Harmon’s perfect pass for an easy score. That was all for the first half.
Twelve plays were needed to carry the ball another 77 yards and a touchdown to open the third quarter. Westfall and Harmon did all the heavy duty ball-toting until the ball rested on the Ohio 16-yard mark. Then Ed Frutig was called on to catch a Harmon pass in the end zone. He obeyed orders and the score was 26-0–rapidly getting much larger than the astounded spectators had dreamed of. But the boys in blue jerseys had decided by this time that they were having a glorious time, so they kept right on going.
A 52-yard march to a touchdown produced the next tally. Once more Westfall started the fireworks, intercepting a Scott pass just on the Ohio side of midfield. He and Harmon rolled back the Buckeyes and then Tom tossed to Frutig to put the ball on the 18-yard mark. From that point Harmon charged around end, galloping behind five Wolverine executioners and watching them mow down the opposition before he lunged over the goal line.
It looked for a while as though that were the end of scoring. According to the press men up on top of the stands it was enough to put Harmon out ahead of the record of total touchdowns made by the great Grange. But evidently his teammates wanted Tom to make just one more. Ohio grabbed a Michigan pass just when it appeared the Wolverines were underway, but Evashevski came right back and grabbed one of Scott’s heaves; and so the march started 52 yards up the field, just inside Michigan territory. Harmon’s toss to his Captain netted a first down. Call and Krejsa, in for Kromer and Westfall, would have made a first down but an offside penalty spoiled things. So Fraumann took a Harmon pass to negotiate the distance, and Call followed suit to take the ball to the 7-vard line. There was less than a minute left to play, but that was enough. Harmon went over on a plunging charge through the Ohio line-and everyone of the discomfited but sincerely admiring Ohio players grabbed his hand in congratulation. They must have known that Crisler was going to take Tom out of the game, for that is exactly what happened. That thoughtful act of the Coach gave the crowd an opportunity to give Harmon a thundering ovation, something that would not have been personal at all had Tom stayed for the full 60 minutes.
