Snow Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=The Snow Bowl
Date=November 25 1950
Visitor School=University of Michigan
Visitor Name Short=Michigan
Visitor Nickname=Wolverines
Visitor Record= 4-3-1
Visitor

Visitor Coaches =
Visitor Coach=Bennie Oosterbaan
Visitor1=2
Visitor2=7
Visitor3=0
Visitor4=0
Visitor Total=9
Home School=Ohio State University
Home Name Short=Ohio State
Home Nickname=Buckeyes
Home Record= 6-2
Home

Home Coaches =
Home Coach=Wes Fesler
Home1=3
Home2=0
Home3=0
Home4=0
Home Total=3
Type=Big Ten Conference game
Stadium=Ohio Stadium
City=Columbus, Ohio
Attendance=50,503

The Snow Bowl is the nickname given to a game of American football played on November 25, 1950, between the college teams of the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 9-3, earning the Big Ten conference championship and a berth in the 1951 Rose Bowl game. It is part of the lore of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

What was at stake

The Big Ten Conference football championship in the 1950 college football season was on the line. The Wolverines were playing also for a berth in the 1951 Rose Bowl game. Ohio State had gone the previous year. If Michigan had lost this game, the likely Rose Bowl representative would have been second place Wisconsin, which finished with a 5-2 record. The Big Ten Conference had a no-repeat rule regarding the Rose Bowl representative at that time. If the game had not been played, which was a proposal put forth at game time, Ohio State would have been the Big Ten champion. [ [http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/OSUvsMichigan/snowbowl.htm The Snow Bowl: The Ohio State University Archives] ]

Game summary

The game was played at Ohio Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio, under severe winter conditions including snow and wind, that altered the normal playing of the game dramatically. Michigan won the game, 9-3, despite never getting a first down and failing on all nine pass attempts. The teams punted 45 times, sometimes on first down, which is highly unusual in football. The strategy was based on the weather in that both teams felt it better to have the ball in the hands of their opponents near the end zone and hope for a fumble of the slippery ball. The game became famous because of the weather and the difficulty of playing football when the players can't see the lines on the field; film of the game is often shown during television coverage of their annual meeting or when histories of either team are compiled.

During the Snow Bowl, two brothers, Robert Momsen, from Ohio State, and Tony Momsen, from the University of Michigan, were facing off in college football for the first time.

The Buckeyes' first and only score was Vic Janowicz kicking a field goal, after Robert Momsen recovered a blocked Wolverine kick. Michigan scored on a blocked kick that rolled out of the end zone for a safety. With 47 seconds remaining in the first half, Tony Momsen of Michigan blocked a Buckeye punt and fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown and the final score of 9-3.

Other uses

The nickname has also been more recently used to refer to various other games, including the 2000 Independence Bowl, a 43-41 overtime win by Mississippi State over Texas A&M. The 1992 meeting of Penn State and Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium is also sometimes referred to as the "Snow Bowl." Heavy snow slowed both teams, with Notre Dame coming from behind to win 17-16.

References

* [http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/OSUvsMichigan/snowbowl.htm The Snow Bowl: The Ohio State University Archives]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/football/ncaa/11/21/10.biggames.ap/ "Ten memorable Michigan-Ohio State games in a rivalry for the ages" from SI.com (Snow Bowl is first one)]
* [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2099 Snow Bowl (with film)]
* [http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090706aab.html Notre Dame - Penn State, 1992...The Snow Bowl]