RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 29: Isaiah West #32 of the Ohio State Buckeyes carries the ball through the snow against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about taking stock of where the Buckeyes are compared to where they were. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Then vs. Now” articles here .
Growing up in an Ohio State household, we were hard-wired to hate Michigan. There was really no reason for my family to be Buckeye fans—I grew up in a small town outside Chicago, where Northwestern, Illinois, or even Wisconsin or Purdue would have been more likely teams of choice.
But my dad, who went on to play DII college football himself, was just nine when Bo Schembechler took the head coaching job at Michigan, and he found himself both drawn to the rivalry and sitting on the right side of it.
On one side of my family, the cousins I was closest in age to—and as a result, closest to in general—were Michigan fans. Their uncle on the other side of the family had played there in the 80s, and so, the trash talk picked up around the Thanksgiving table every year.
As a result, so many of my formative sports memories revolve around The Game.
Perhaps this would have been true even if I were growing up today, but the reality is, prior to the playoff extension, The Game felt heightened because conference titles and bowl game berths often hinged on its results.
It’s a bit of a chicken and an egg scenario: Did the rivalry make the stakes feel higher or did the stakes fuel the hatred? (The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle).
The success of a season often felt like it boiled down to one Saturday in November—and in many years, it actually did. When both teams were good, The Game was often the determining factor in Rose Bowl berths in the classic bowl era and, later, BCS title hopes or CFP berths in the four-team playoff system. It factored into post-season accolades like Coach of the Year and helped players build Heisman momentum.
And while it feels like those things are still true to an extent, you can also win a National Championship without having to go through your rival in the modern era.
In the Jim Tressel era, most memorably was the 2006 matchup between then-No. 1 Ohio State and then No. 2 Michigan, the first time the two teams met as the top two teams in the country. The Buckeyes won by just four points to clinch an outright Big Ten title and secure a BCS National Championship berth in what was widely dubbed the “Game of the Century.”
Quarterback Troy Smith entered the game as the Heisman favorite but after the offensive shootout against the Wolverines, going 29 of 41 for 316 yards and four touchdowns through the air, his Heisman was all but being engraved.
Many felt that despite the outcome of The Game, Michigan should have remained in the No. 2 spot, setting up a rematch in the BCS National Championship game, but they were leapfrogged by Florida to finish No. 3 and rob the country of the rematch.
Though they did ultimately receive the Rose Bowl berth for the Big Ten as the Buckeyes prepped for the title game, their near-perfect season (they entered The Game just 0.003 points behind OSU in the BCS rankings) came to a crashing halt after their loss in Columbus.
We saw similar outcomes in 2016 and 2018 under Urban Meyer. In 2016, the classic double-overtime thriller, No. 2 OSU defeated No. 3 Michigan, 30-27. The 2016 Game really had everything: extra time, a controversial call (J.T. Barrett earned the first down), and stakes so high it added extra fuel to the rivalry’s fire.
The playoffs were on the line—the Buckeyes got in as the No. 3 seed. The Wolverines fell apart, going from playoff potential to playing in—and losing—the Orange Bowl in a few hours on one Saturday.
Compare these classic matchups to 2024, when Ohio State won the National Championship without beating Michigan or winning their conference. Interestingly enough, Ryan Day, who has coached the team on both sides of the playoff expansion, came under a lot of fire for his struggles to beat Michigan, which indicates the Game holds just as much weight to fans as it once did.
But how can it be equal when the outcome doesn’t matter for more than pride and bragging rights? A loss no longer precludes a team from making the playoffs or even receiving a first-round bye. It has shifted how we measure the success of a season, in some ways.
Growing up, a successful boiled down to two questions: Did we beat Michigan? And did we win the Rose Bowl? In my early adulthood, it became Did we beat Michigan? And did we make the playoffs?
Now, it’s championship or bust. And while I think most fans, certainly myself included, would say we have to have both (beat Michigan AND win a title), if we had to choose one over the other, I think most of us would choose the National Championship.
Would anyone truly say the 2025 season was more successful than the 2024 National Championship season? In 2024, Day and the Buckeyes lost to Michigan but won it all (and oh boy, the Wolverine fans in my life will never let me forget that blemish on that year’s record). The next year, they got the job done against their rivals but fell apart in the Big Ten title game and subsequent playoffs.
It’s a mindset shift, and one that, like it or not, has implications for the strength of the rivalry. Psychologically, players used to enter The Game knowing they would be remembered largely for what happened on the field in the next few hours. Now, it’s no longer a “win and you’re in” situation. It merely impacts seeding.
To be clear, there’s still a tactical reason to win: With more teams in contention deeper into the s...
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