ANN ARBOR, MI — The Game. What is usually revered by many as the most storied rivalry in perhaps all of sports, has become reduced to a yearly exhibition of utter domination by the Ohio State Buckeyes over their hated rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.
In what was billed as what was supposed to been a competitive game with then-ranked No.14 Michigan traveling down into Columbus with the nation’s top defense, the third-ranked Buckeyes hung 62 points on the Wolverines thanks to future Washington Redskins first round pick in QB Dwayne Haskins five touchdowns and 396 passing along with the Buckeyes shredding the vaunted Michigan defense to the tune of 567 total yards.
In what was the Buckeyes seventh straight win, and 14th in the last 16 games vs. That Team Up North, Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh dropped to 0-4 vs. that team from Ohio.
While Michigan still retains the series lead at 58-50-3, Ohio State has dominated the series since 2000 with a record of 16-3. Michigan has had the talent and been competitive in their matchups with Ohio State, but they just haven’t been able to close the deal vs. the Buckeyes.
And now, this year may be their best shot in recent memory. No more Urban Meyer, a first-time head coach in Ryan Day and a first year quarterback in former Georgia transfer Justin Fields and a more seasoned Shea Patterson along with a very motivated Wolverines team eager to atone for the debacle down in The Horseshoe, that HAS to be Michigan’s year right?
Picked to be the conference champion and the likely B1G representative in the College Football Playoff, there is NO MORE excuses for the Maize and Blue–specifically Harbaugh–if they fail to beat a young and reloading Buckeyes team in the Big House this November.
And if they lose to Ohio State again, don’t be shocked if Harbaugh begins updating his resume as soon as the game is over.
Because, this is Michigan, and the one thing every coach in Ann Arbor has done since the days of Field Yost to Bo Schembeclher is beat Ohio State and sing “Hail To The Victors”, If neither happens, then it’ll be the end of a sad and underachieving era at Michigan.