I would not call myself a Buckeye enthusiast, but I would say that I stand behind Ohio State and want them to win Conference and National Championships as many others do around Ohio.
As a youngster I was raised to hate the Wolverines and although I travel quite a bit for work and vacation, to this day I have never been to the state of Michigan. I don’t think I have intentionally tried to stay away, but subconsciously I think there is some kind of weird avoidance that stems from the Buckeye-Wolverines rivalry.
On second thought, I guess I could be an enthusiast or fanatic, who knows …
There have always been long stretches where one side has beaten the other for consecutive years dating back to the start of the series. So why does this stretch feel so different?
Maybe it’s due to the 24-hour sports cycle of analysts and pundits or it could be our large social media consumption.
Either way, this stretch has caused me to take a small step back from my fandom and try to see a bigger picture.
The first thing that I noticed is the absolute ridiculousness of how we expect the Buckeye players to approach the game and the entire Rivalry. Now, I was raised here in Ohio and I get it, the whole thing is baked in, but lately I listen to how some recruits come in saying “I came here to beat that Team up North” like it’s some kind of admissions requirement.
Back in the Jim Tressel days when the overwhelming majority of players were from Ohio, that really meant something and the Rivalry was at its absolute best in my eyes. But now, I hear some our players saying we cannot stand “TTUN”…
Are you kidding me? YOU’RE FROM CALIFORNIA!!
In-season dominance and especially after the recent beatdown of Tennessee, I think even the most avid Michigan fan would tell you that Ohio State is a better team this year. In fact, I would say that within the last four losses to the Wolverines, only Michigan’s (2023) National Championship team was better than the Buckeyes … Maybe.
The fact is that, trying to maintain the same level of localized, high school pettiness when it comes to this rivalry is not resonating with the players and/or the coaches that we have at this moment. And the result has been consecutive losses to a rival team with less talent.
If your answer is to fire the coach, then I will tell you good luck finding a better one than Ryan Day. He gets nothing but the best talent in America, he’s an excellent CEO and spokesperson for the program and outside of Michigan he is a proven winner.
Good luck with that.
While you’re mulling over candidates remember that Jim Harbaugh lost five consecutive times to OSU before a “Stallion” rode in to save the day.
But seriously, through the years that Harbaugh struggled against the Bucks, he faced criticism, and I always remember leading up to the game, players and coaches from Michigan acknowledging it as an important game and as a huge rivalry, but I never got the since that their every waking breath depended on the outcome.
Yes, they talked trash and they wanted it bad, but I always felt they moved on after losses much better than our team.
I joked about Conner Stallions and the advanced scouting or “cheating” scandal but in the end, I think it was coach Harbaugh and Michigan’s way of understanding that there needs to be a cultural shift in how they approach “The Game.”
Now personally, I think that if you can devise a way to figure out what your opponent is doing by simply scouting their games and stealing their calls and signs; good for you.
I’ve done it for years as a high school basketball coach. But unfortunately, it’s illegal in the eyes of the NCAA.
The big picture is that the Michigan staff understood they needed to adjust their approach and now the Buckeyes need to find their “Conner Stallions.”
Of course not literally, but just meaning that they need to adjust their entire approach to the game. It is clear that they have the superior talent, especially recently, so it must be about their mental approach and preparation for this particular opponent.
Tips
Here are my tips for the new and improved approach the rivalry:
#1- Start saying the name Michigan
Not saying “Michigan” is a tradition that has a great founding principle, in that if we don’t give them even the respect to speak their name out loud it somehow empowers us over them.
Many may not agree, but this is one of the largest elements of the rivalry that has worked against the players. Imagine having something looming over so big that you can't even call it by name. But what if when you finally meet, it’s a little fluffy poodle (see this year’s Michigan football team) and by not being able to call it by name you have empowered it and made it larger than it really is.
#2- Stop crossing out the M during the week of the Game
Many fans and local Ohio businesses cross out the M during the week of the game, again in efforts to disrespect the opponent. My advice is to enlarge all the M’s during the week and put all capital M’s in scarlet outlined in grey. This says that we acknowledge that it is a big game against our rival, but we support our Buckeyes either way.
#3 – Start Recruiting the state of Michigan
I don’t know the exact numbers of recruits that we have from Michigan, but I know that there can’t be many. On the other hand, Michigan’s roster is and has always been littered with Ohio talent. In fact, their most prolific players in the school’s history are from Ohio. Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard are both Ohio high school athletes.
In fact, even the Wolverines’ most esteemed and hallowed coach Bo Schembechler was raised in Barberton. So we need to stop letting that border open only one way.
I understand that I am having a little fun with a sensitive issue is an era of sensitivity, but as a fan I will continue to support the Buckeyes.
Most of us are the same, we will complain about the coaching, the officiating and the bad plays but in the end it’s healthy to take a step back and look at the game for what it is, a test of will and competitiveness among young people representing the University that resides within our borders.
I have a feeling that as time goes on and NIL and money continues to flow in college sports we will lose more of the foundational principles that college sports were built on.
So enjoy our rivalry and cheer like crazy for our team to win, instead of acting crazy because we don’t. I plan to start this new outlook by planning my first trip to Michigan next spring.
I’ll be going to northern Toledo and taking a step over the line … You gotta start somewhere.
Stay Blessed