Michigan leads the all time series against Ohio State, and has for over a century. Ohio State has spent most of the modern era closing the gap. The Buckeyes won 17 of 19 meetings between 2001 and 2019, then lost four straight, then won again in 2025. The Game has never been decided by anything as simple as which program is better.
| All time series | Michigan 62, Ohio State 52, 6 ties |
| First meeting | 1897, a 34 to 0 Michigan win |
| Ohio State’s first win | 1919, in the 16th meeting |
| Longest Ohio State streak | Eight straight, 2012 to 2019 |
| Longest Michigan streak | Fifteen straight, 1897 to 1918, with two ties |
| Only overtime game | 2016, Ohio State 30 to 27 in double overtime |
| Most recent | Ohio State won in 2025, ending a four game Michigan run |
Why Michigan Leads
The series margin was built before Ohio State was a serious program. Michigan won the first 13 meetings outright and did not lose to Ohio State until 1919, by which point the lead was 13 with two ties. The Buckeyes have been chipping away ever since, and in the 75 years since Woody Hayes arrived the series is close to even.
The Coaching Matchups
| Ohio State coach | Record vs Michigan |
|---|---|
| Woody Hayes, 1951 to 1978 | 16 wins, 11 losses, 1 tie |
| Earle Bruce, 1979 to 1987 | 5 wins, 4 losses |
| John Cooper, 1988 to 2000 | 2 wins, 10 losses, 1 tie |
| Jim Tressel, 2001 to 2010 | 9 wins, 1 loss |
| Urban Meyer, 2012 to 2018 | 7 wins, 0 losses |
| Ryan Day, 2019 to present | 2 wins, 4 losses |
John Cooper won 111 games at Ohio State and was fired largely because of the middle row. Tressel and Meyer were 16 and 1 combined. Ryan Day lost four straight from 2021 to 2024, as many losses as Tressel, Meyer and Luke Fickell suffered in 18 seasons combined, before winning in 2025.
The Ten Year War
From 1969 to 1978, Woody Hayes coached against his former assistant Bo Schembechler, and the two split the decade almost evenly. Schembechler finished 5 and 4 with a tie against his old boss. The Big Ten title came down to the game in nearly every one of those years, and the two schools shared it four times in five seasons between 1972 and 1976.
It began with a shock. Michigan, in Schembechler’s first year, beat a top ranked Ohio State team 24 to 12 in 1969, a year after Hayes had beaten Michigan 50 to 14 and gone for two late in the game. Asked why, Hayes reportedly said he couldn’t go for three.
The Games That Defined It
1973. A 10 to 10 tie left the two as Big Ten co champions with identical records. The conference athletic directors voted to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, and an unbeaten Michigan stayed home. The Big Ten changed its rules afterwards.
2006. The only meeting of No. 1 and No. 2 in the history of the series. Ohio State won 42 to 39 in Columbus with a national championship game place on the line.
2016. The only overtime game. Ohio State won 30 to 27 in double overtime in front of 110,045, the largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history, on a fourth down spot that Michigan still disputes.
2025. Ohio State ended Michigan’s four game winning streak, its longest since the Cooper years, on the way to a 12 and 0 regular season.
The Modern Balance
Between 2001 and 2019 Ohio State went 17 and 2 against Michigan, the most one sided stretch in the rivalry’s history. Michigan responded with four straight from 2021 to 2024, winning the national championship in 2023. Ohio State won the national title in 2024 despite losing The Game that season, then beat Michigan in 2025.
The past five years have produced two national champions, one from each school, and the rivalry is closer to even than at any point since the Ten Year War.
The Bottom Line
Michigan leads Ohio State 62 to 52 with 6 ties across 121 games, a margin built almost entirely before 1919. Ohio State dominated the first two decades of this century, Michigan won four straight in the early 2020s, and Ohio State took the most recent game in 2025. Our Michigan vs Ohio State page covers the series from Ann Arbor’s side.