My introduction to this storied rivalry began in 1970 with my trip up the tunnel, following the two football icons, Bo Schembechler and Duffy Daugherty. The date was October 17, 1970 and Duffy’s Spartans had dominated the series from 1950-1969, with a record of 14-4-2.

Following Bo’s inaugural season with the wolverines, which included a trip to the Rose Bowl, the tide of the series significantly changed. His dominating victory over MSU to the tune of 34-20, started a streak in which UM won thirty times during the period from 1970-2007. Although their teams faced each other only five times and Bo won four times, their competition changed the face of their respective programs forever.

Prior to his retirement as head coach of the Spartans at the end of the 1972 season, Duffy’s teams had won two national championships. His composite record was 109-69-5. He was the winningest coach in Spartan Football History. He won National Coach of the Year honors in 1965.

His program produced the likes of NFL stars, Brad Van Pelt, George Webster, Earl Morrall and Bubba Smith. In his honor, MSU completed renovations to the Duffy Daugherty Building in 2008 at a cost of fifteen million dollars. It became one the nation’s finest football facilities. In one of his most famous speeches, he decried “When you play for the national championship, it’s not a matter of life or death. It’s more important than that.”

His nemesis, Bo Schembechler, compiled a record of 194-48-5 as the head coach of Michigan. Although his teams never won a national championship, they won or shared in 13 Big Ten Titles and finished in the final top ten of both football polls, sixteen times. Bo became the winningest football coach of the winningest college football team in NCAA history.

His program produced NFL stars, Jim Mandich, Dan Dierdorf, Reggie McKenzie and Anthony Carter. In 2012, the Michigan Board of Regents, approved a nine million dollar renovation to Schembechler Hall. This project adds a seven thousand square feet addition to the home of Michigan Football and renovation of another seven thousand square feet to the existing building.

In his famous “team” speech, he exclaimed, “No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. The team. The team. The team.”

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Written by GBMWolverine Writer — William Kennedy

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