RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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"The Game." There has been much written about the Ohio State vs. Michigan football rivalry, and there will be plenty written about it in the future as well. There is also ink dedicated to one of the best rivalries in all of sports in the present as well, because of where things stand between the two ancient rivals and because of the changing of the guard at the head coaching position at Michigan.
New head coach Kyle Whittingham raised a lot of eyebrows by saying that there doesn't need to be hate between the two schools in order to win the annual grudge match, and now his quarterback, Bryce Underwood, is getting lit up for his comments about all things scarlet and gray.
While appearing in an interview with NBC Sports’ John Fanta , Underwood, who had a very uninspiring game against the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor last season, was asked what makes 'The Game' different than any other. His answer -- well, it was a bit peculiar, seeing how many coaches have been fired on both sides because of the inability to do well on a Saturday in late November.
“It's just another game with guys in a different color,” Underwood said. “That's how I see it.”
Unfortunately for Underwood, that's not how most everyone else sees it. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh nearly lost his job for his shortcomings against Urban Meyer and famously said the program "would die trying" to beat the Buckeyes, then turned it around (ahem -- in one way or another) to be glorified by Michigan fans. John Cooper, who had a stellar record otherwise, lost his job, by and large, for his 2-10-1 performance against the maize and blue. Guys have won the Heisman off the back of "The game," and fights have broken out, most famously at the end of the 2024 game in Columbus after an unranked Michigan team knocked off a heavily favored Ohio State squad that went on to win the College Football Playoff national championship.
Underwood went on to give plenty of other answers that seemed to downplay what a win against the Buckeyes means to many, saying that he just wants to be "1-0 every day" no matter who they are playing, and that "I lost, that's all it is" when asked about what went wrong against OSU last season. He also called it "a blessing" to play in The Game, and called it a "very physical" game earlier in the interview, but that won't play to anyone with a maize and blue wardrobe if Michigan and Underwood fail to deliver again this fall.
In some ways, it makes sense to downplay the biggest game of the year based on Underwood's 8-of-18 performance for just 63 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. I'm no psychologist, but making things out to be not as important likely plays into a mindset for this year. However, with his comments and with what Whittingham said, it definitely feels like a different way of doing things for the cold, gray game against Michigan and Ohio State moving forward.
We'll see how it all plays out on November 28 in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood downplays Ohio State rivalry
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