November 22, 2003
Ohio State at Michigan
The 5th ranked, 9-2 Michigan Wolverines of coach Lloyd Carr welcomed the 4th ranked, 10-1 Ohio State Buckeyes of coach Jim Tressel for their annual showdown. Ohio State held The Belt earlier in the season losing it to Wisconsin. The Buckeyes had never lost a Belt title game to Michigan posting wins in 1972, 1975, & 1981 but Tressel had never coached a Belt win in a road Belt game. With All-American RB Chris Perry & All-Big Ten WR Braylon Edwards leading the way, Michigan overcame Belt history to claim a 35-21 win. The Wolverines’ defense held Ohio State to 54 yards rushing & 5 of 14 on third down conversions in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Michigan scored at the end of the 1st quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by WR Steve Breaston but it was the 2nd quarter that did in the Buckeyes. Wolverines’ All-Big Ten QB John Navarre connected on a 64-yard touchdown pass with Edwards & on the next drive, Navarre again hit Edwards, this time for a 23-yard touchdown pass as Michigan took a 21-0 lead. The Buckeyes scored just before half when QB Craig Krenzel hit WR Santonio Holmes on an 8-yard touchdown pass capping a 12-play, 81-yard drive. The drive was indicative of the Buckeyes’ problems on offense as Krenzel threw 9 times & scrambled the other 3 plays. Michigan opened the 3rd quarter with a 5-play, 62-yard drive with Perry breaking loose for a 30-yard touchdown run as the Wolverines’ lead went to 28-7. Krenzel hit Holmes for a 13-yard touchdown pass to get the Buckeyes within striking distance at 28-14 as the 4th quarter started. Ohio State’s RB Lydell Ross scored on a 2-yard touchdown run early in the quarter as the Buckeyes got within 28-21 but Perry capped an 8-play, 88-yard drive, in which he accounted for 53 of the yards, with a 15-yard touchdown run. Ohio State could not move the ball again & when Michigan’s LB Ernest Shazor intercepted Buckeyes’ QB Scott McMullen’s final pass, the Wolverines had the win; taking The Belt to the Rose Bowl. Navarre finished with 278 yards passing with 2 touchdowns, Perry added 154 yards to his 2 touchdowns, & Edwards had 7 catches for 130 yards with his 2 scores. For the Buckeyes, Krenzel threw for 221 yards with 2 touchdowns, Holmes had 8 catches for 121 yards with his 2 touchdowns, & WR Michael Jenkins had 9 catches for 132 yards. Michigan finished the season 10-3; Big Ten Champions, ranked 6th nationally while the Buckeyes finished 11-2 & ranked 4th nationally. Ohio State would play for The Belt again in 2006.
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