THE OHIO State Buckeyes have scored another win against the Michigan Wolverines, but it wasn’t on the playing field at the ‘Shoe or The Big House at Ann Arbor.

However, it was in the stadium where the Buckeyes broke a Wolverine record.

It was the fans garbed in scarlet and gray, not the players, who outdistanced those favoring maize and blue.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame recently reported that OSU in 2014 averaged 106,296 fans per home game, and this ended Michigan’s 16-year run atop the attendance charts.

Michigan’s average total was 104,909, and it was one of five college teams watched by more than 100,000. Ohio State was not alone in having greater average attendance than Michigan as the Wolverines also were surpassed by Texas A&M with an average of 105,123.

Also in the top five were LSU, Penn State and Alabama.

Seven other teams averaged more than 85,000 fans at home games, including Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Nebraska, Auburn, Florida and Oklahoma.

The NFF noted how the attendance figures emphasize the strong popularity of college football among millions of fans throughout the nation. It appears there’s more to come.

“The already intense interest in college football continues to grow,” said NFF President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Hatchell. “Embracing ever-changing technology, the leaders of our sport have done a spectacular job in ensuring that the fan experience not only keeps pace but sets the standard in innovation.

“We are grateful to conferences, bowl games and the media for their creativity and commitment in delivering a first-class product that allows fans to experience the game in every imaginable way.”

OSU also was involved in another record breaker, according the NFF. The inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game featuring the Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks drew an average 33.4 million viewers and an 18.2 U.S. household rating for ESPN, giving the game the largest audience rating in cable history.

The Buckeyes in last year’s game compiled some other noteworthy records, including the fact that they led all teams with 1,304,138 fans attending 15 games. Alabama was next with 1,268,385.

It doesn’t take Nostradamus to predict that Ohio State fans are looking forward to Sept. 7 when they can see the Buckeyes vs. Virginia Tech.

The 2015 game with Michigan will be Nov. 28 at Ann Arbor.

OSU head football coach Urban Meyer has a spotless record against the Wolverines. During his first year as Buckeye coach in 2012, the Buckeyes defeated Michigan, 26-21, then 42-41 in 2013 and 42-28 in 2014.

Former OSU coach Jim Tressel has the best winning percentage for any coach involved in multiple Ohio State-Michigan games, according to Rich Exner, writing for the Northeast Ohio Media Group in 2013.

Exner, a Bellaire High School graduate, also pointed out that Meyer and two coaches from years before the Great Depression share a distinction all their own as they’re the only coaches in the history of The Game with perfect records.

Tressel missed that distinction with a 9-1 mark or 8-1 if the 2010 game is removed because of NCAA rules violations.

It was previously announced that Tressel and Bellaire High School graduate Joey Galloway, considered one of the great receivers in OSU history with 108 receptions for 1,894 yards and 19 touchdowns, are in the 2015 class to be enshrined in the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame Sept. 18 at a dinner.

The honorees will be introduced at halftime of the Sept. 19 home game with Northern Illinois.

BETTY’S BANTER

IT WASN’T the Ohio State cheerleaders who recently led the “O-H!” chant with the crowd in the Horseshoe responding.

Instead, it was Mick Jagger during an appearance by the Rolling Stones in the grand stadium.

Someone in the Jagger contingent did well in doing their homework. Later in the recent program, one of the songs was “Hang On Sloopy,” Ohio’s official rock song. Sloopy was the nickname for Dorothy Sloop, a Steubenville native, considered to be “a terrific musician.”

The Rolling Stones concert is just part of the stadium’s new musical era designed to make greater use of the ‘Shoe.

Stadium audiences are able to see the first-ever Buckeye Country Superfest today and Sunday, and it features stars such as Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban.

Another type of music is planned for Aug. 18 with the appearance of the British boy-band One Direction in the stadium.

These famed music groups will be popular, but football fans know it’ll definitely be music to their ears when The Ohio State University Marching Band, also known as The Best Damn Band in the Land, marches into the ‘Shoe before a game.

Pokas can be reached at bettypokas@yahoo.com.