The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry has always been a bubbling cauldron of antagonism, bitterness and dislike — maybe even hate.
The Game’s iconic and enduring moments include but certainly are not limited to Ohio State pulling down Michigan’s beloved “Go Blue” banner in 1973; a shoving match between David Boston and Charles Woodson in 1997; and Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes going for two at the end of blowout in 1968 because he couldn’t go for three. (To be fair, it’s unclear Hayes actually said that.)
This year, with scandal swirling around the third-ranked Wolverines and the second-ranked Buckeyes being blamed by many Michigan fans for their team’s predicament, all the negative feelings seem to be amplified heading into Saturday’s showdown in Ann Arbor.
The mutual respect that has been a pillar of what is arguably college football’s greatest rivalry appears to be lacking these days — even among the coaches.
“People in Michigan think Ohio State is behind it, but what facts do they have? They don’t. On the other side, Ohio State is trying to diminish what Michigan has done the last two years by saying Michigan cheated,” Woodson told AP. “There are just a lot of insults being hurled back and forth as there always have been — and sometimes blows.”
To suggest any Michigan-Ohio State game is the biggest or most consequential in the history of the 118-game rivalry is a stretch.
“It’s not a big week. It’s not a big month. It’s not a big game. It’s a way of life,” was how former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer explained Ohio State-Michigan on the Big Ten Network this week.
The Game almost always settles the Big Ten, often has national championship implications and because of the storied histories of its competitors is routinely dripping with storylines.
In 2006, No. 1 Ohio State played No. 2 Michigan in Ohio Stadium for a spot in the BCS title game. The day before the game, Bo Schembechler, the Hall of Fame coach who embodied Michigan football, died at 77. Schembechler’s passing turned a classic game into a tribute to one of the rivalry’s forefathers.
Bruce Madej was Michigan’s sports information director for 34 years before retiring in 2014. Madej remembers rocks being thrown at Michigan buses and hotels in Columbus where the Wolverines would stay that suddenly had no running water the night before the game.
He also remembered the admiration Schembechler and Hayes had for one another and how after Earle Bruce was fired by Ohio State in 1987 the week before the Michigan game the ex-Buckeyes coach spent enough time around the Michigan football offices that Madej offered him a role as an honorary SID.
“The word that I think should be banned from sports is the word hate,” Madej said “Do I want to see Michigan beat Ohio State? Yes, I do. Do I hate Ohio State? No.”
Heading into the the 119th meeting, college football’s version of Spygate has only served to ramp up the animosity.
“It’s allowed people to make accusations on either side that are probably unfair and unfounded,” said former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry, who now works as an analyst for NBC Sports.
The NCAA is investigating an in-person scouting and sign-stealing operation a llegedly run by a low-level Michigan staffer who has since resigned. The Big Ten, in position to act more quickly than the NCAA, determined Michigan had violated the conference’s sportsmanship policy and punished the program by banning head coach Jim Harbaugh from the stadium for three games — including this one.
