Michigan Recap

1. Before I get into The Game itself, I'd like to spend a few minutes talking about The Rivalry. Ohio State has now played Michigan 112 times since 1897. It is a long rivalry. It is a storied rivalry. It has often been a painful rivalry. Along the way, legends have been made, glory has been earned, perfect seasons have been dashed, championship hopes have been crushed. We have seen massive upsets, miraculous comebacks, record-setting performances, ten year wars, snow bowls, shanked field goals, banners torn down, double birds flipped, and so many other memorable moments. But that's all in the past now. It's time to move on.

I have heard so many Buckeye fans say that they want Michigan to be good again, "for the sake of The Rivalry." They say it with longing in their voices. Reverence even. Maybe a touch of pain, as if it really does hurt them that Michigan just isn't quite good enough to beat Ohio State. Quite frankly, I say that it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, wanting your rival to be good.

In the real world, do you really think that businesses and organizations want their competitors to be good? Does the Board of Directors of McDonalds get together and pray that Burger King will produce better burgers? Does Ford secretly hope that GM will produce better cars? Does Coke want Pepsi to win a few taste tests now and then? Will Hillary Clinton's team be upset if the Republicans nominate an unelectable candidate? Of course not!

Even in the world of sports, this love of your team's rivalry, as opposed to love of your team, seems to be unique to Ohio State fans. I have never heard a Pittsburgh Steelers fan wish that the Cleveland Browns would be good again for the sake of the rivalry. Same thing with Auburn-Alabama, Packers-Bears, Yankees-Red Sox, Harvard-Yale, and every other heated rivalry you can think of. Army-Navy might be the only exception, but those guys will eventually shed blood for each other, they're all part of the same team in the end.

I think that this perverse love of The Rivalry is some lingering mental disorder from the Cooper Era, a sort of Stockholm Syndrome response from some of us who survived those dismal years. Back then, when we could never beat Michigan, we at least had comfort in the fact that we were part of the greatest rivalry in sports - we could still share in the greatness of The Rivalry even if it wasn't great because of us. We were like France: "Yes we lost the War, but it was the greatest War of all time."

We don't need The Rivalry any more. We are great because we are great. Let Michigan fans bask in the glory of The Rivalry, hoping that some of our greatness will rub off on them. Get over your love for The Rivalry, and don't ever let it cloud your hate for Michigan.

2. Here's a breakdown of each team's performance in three segments:

Team	Years Analyzed	Overall Record	-Win Percent-	Record in Game	Big Ten Titles	Nat'l Champs
Michigan Wolverines	1879 to 1950	416-115-24	.771	29-12-4	20	8
Ohio State Buckeyes	1890 to 1950	328-157-38	.663	12-29-4	8	1

Team	Years Analyzed	Overall Record	-Win Percent-	Record in Game	Big Ten Titles	Nat'l Champs
Michigan Wolverines	1951 to 2000	389-147-12	.721	27-23-2	20	1
Ohio State Buckeyes	1951 to 2000	397-130-15	.746	23-27-2	20	5

Team	Years Analyzed	Overall Record	-Win Percent-	Record in Game	Big Ten Titles	Nat'l Champs
Michigan Wolverines	2001 to 2015	119-69-0	.633	2-13-0	2	0
Ohio State Buckeyes	2001 to 2015	161-33-0	.830	13-2-0	8	2

Michigan was clearly the better team back in the leather helmet days. During the latter half of the 20th Century, the two teams were fairly even. Since the dawn of the 21st Century, Ohio State is clearly the better team. Let Michigan fans live in the past, recalling faded glory that they never knew. I prefer to live in the present.

3. Ezekiel Elliott reached some milestones yesterday. Zeke had 30 carries for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, his 21st career 100-yard game (passing Eddie George for second place at OSU) and 5th career 200-yard game (tied with Eddie George for first place at OSU).

4. Zeke (3,812 yards) also moved past Eddie (3,768 yards) and into second place on the Buckeyes' list of career rushing leaders. With 39 career rushing touchdowns, Elliott is now in sole possession of 4th place at Ohio State.

5. For the season, Elliott has 1,672 yards rushing, which is already the 5th best single season in Ohio State history trailing only Archie Griffin (1,695 yards in 1974); Keith Byars (1,764 yards in 1984); himself (1,878 yards in 2014); and Eddie George (1,927 yards in 1995).

6. With one sack yesterday, Joey Bosa now has 26.0 for his Buckeye career. He is in third place at Ohio State, trailing only Jason Simmons (27.5 sacks) and Mike Vrabel (36.0 sacks). Bosa also had his first career interception in the game.

7. Urban Meyer becomes only the second Buckeye head coach to win his first four games against Michigan. The other was Francis Schmidt (1934 to 1937), who won all four games by shutout. Schmidt then lost three in a row (1938 to 1940) and was replaced by Paul Brown for the 1941 season.

8. It looks like The Agony in Ann Arbor will keep the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Conference Championship Game. I don't care - I still love that play. There will always be other CCGs, but there will never be a fail quite so epic as that one.

 

Damn!!

That's right. That was the beginning of those bastards stealing Ohioans. But in the name of "peace", we still put up with it and allow it.

Fuck Desmond Howard.

 

The more good teams you beat, the better your resume. It's not even really that complicated. They aren't "stealing" anything from you. Sheesh, it's not a war, it's a football game. Ohio State can't take every single Ohio football player for crying out loud. I don't foam at the mouth and start convulsing at the mere mention of Michigan, nor do I think my life is at stake when these football teams match up each November. I won't apologize for that, nor will I "self ban."

pretty sure you are the only person I've ever seen take the war metaphors literally

thanks for adding that unique perspective

 

pretty sure you are the only person I've ever seen take the war metaphors literally

thanks for adding that unique perspective

I think you really, really missed a point somewhere.

 

The more good teams you beat, the better your resume. It's not even really that complicated. They aren't "stealing" anything from you. Sheesh, it's not a war, it's a football game. Ohio State can't take every single Ohio football player for crying out loud. I don't foam at the mouth and start convulsing at the mere mention of Michigan, nor do I think my life is at stake when these football teams match up each November. I won't apologize for that, nor will I "self ban."

Are you trolling? What do you mean it's not war? Of course it's not war, but if we are talking about football, then this is the most important thing in ALL OF FOOTBALL. So yeah, if we are going to talk about football and the Buckeyes, then the simple, unwavering answer is that TTUN should never be good because it simply doesn't help us. If you don't foam at the mouth at the notion of TTUN winning, then you aren't very serious about Ohio State. And that's OK, if you aren't much of a fan...you can like MSU instead.

 

Are you trolling? What do you mean it's not war? Of course it's not war, but if we are talking about football, then this is the most important thing in ALL OF FOOTBALL. So yeah, if we are going to talk about football and the Buckeyes, then the simple, unwavering answer is that TTUN should never be good because it simply doesn't help us. If you don't foam at the mouth at the notion of TTUN winning, then you aren't very serious about Ohio State. And that's OK, if you aren't much of a fan...you can like MSU instead.

Michigan beating Ohio State makes me very upset in the world of sports. I might throw something, be mad for a couple days, post a few drunken and angry posts on a damn forum. That's about the extent of it. It doesn't ruin my life. How the heck is this some outrageous take? I've poured tens of thousands of dollars into Ohio State and countless hours watching and talking Buckeye football, and no, I dislike MSU almost as much as I do UM, so I won't "like" them instead. But if questioning peoples' fanhood like a twelve year old on a forum helps you validate yourself, go ahead.

I never judged anyone for wanting UM to stay horrendous for the entirety of history. I specifically said if you think OSU will be in the playoff every year even without beating a good UM team, so be it- and you might be right. I said that several posts up but it was ignored. I take a little bit of a different viewpoint on it, I get more satisfaction from beating good teams than shit teams. Sue me. If you want me to respect your view, please respect mine. Thanks.

PS: Here's another hot take for you. National Championships>Beating Michigan. Although, you must do the latter in order to do the former, usually. I dislike Michigan because I'm supposed to, as an Ohio State fan. Now I'll qualify this by saying I'm not a 60 year old dinosaur that has lived through periods of UM destroying OSU. If I had, I might see this differently. But that is why different people with different perspectives and different experiences have different opinions. Such is life.

 

For my part, I could give a fuck less if scUM is 11-0 or 0-11 going into The Game. When Ohio State beat them in 2006, I was thrilled. When Ohio State beat that hapless Rich Rod bunch 42-7 in 2008 I was equally thrilled. I certainly can appreciate the sentiment that one of those two games had more meaning in the big picture, but as for my ability to enjoy it? Beating them is satisfaction in and of itself. As for the whole war metaphor.... It's true, I think, that there is such thing as football hate and actual hate. I football hate scUM, but I don't actually hate everything associated with it - hell, look at the LLLLLLLoyd Carr thread and read about this board's sentiment for Chad Carr. No one here actually hates Carr and wishes him pain and suffering up to and including the loss of his grandson.

Now... Penn State, on the other hand..... I actually hate those fuckers.

 

For my part, I could give a fuck less if scUM is 11-0 or 0-11 going into The Game. When Ohio State beat them in 2006, I was thrilled. When Ohio State beat that hapless Rich Rod bunch 42-7 in 2008 I was equally thrilled. I certainly can appreciate the sentiment that one of those two games had more meaning in the big picture, but as for my ability to enjoy it? Beating them is satisfaction in and of itself. As for the whole war metaphor.... It's true, I think, that there is such thing as football hate and actual hate. I football hate scUM, but I don't actually hate everything associated with it - hell, look at the LLLLLLLoyd Carr thread and read about this board's sentiment for Chad Carr. No one here actually hates Carr and wishes him pain and suffering up to and including the loss of his grandson.

Now... Penn State, on the other hand..... I actually hate those fuckers.

This is really all I am saying...and if that is your opinion that is perfectly cool. Like I said I was simply providing a different perspective. I expected to be told to go root for Penn State, go root for MSU, etc so I'm not surprised by the reaction I got, if a little dismayed. As someone who has hardly seen any losses to Michigan during my fandom, I have more reason to dislike MSU than Michigan. MSU are the assholes that ruined our title defense this year. MSU are the assholes that ruined my trip to Indy two years ago. Etc... But I have a strong disdain for Michigan because, well, they're our historic rival and I'm supposed to.

 

Your perspective is wrong. TTUN being good has never helped us. I offer a few examples including 2014, 1996, 1995, and 2006. In three of those years, they had a quality team and it did not help us one iota...even when we beat them. Last year they sucked, just as they always should suck, and somehow we got to the promised land. TTUN should always be poor, It can only help us so that those lazy bastards don't steal anyone we want on our team. If you want to watch a good, close, tight ball game, there are other teams we can match up with.

 

I wish no physical harm to befall anyone from M*ch*g*n. I just want their souls. I hope they all live long and healthy lives as soulless shells.

Better?

 

Your perspective is wrong. TTUN being good has never helped us. I offer a few examples including 2014, 1996, 1995, and 2006. In three of those years, they had a quality team and it did not help us one iota...even when we beat them. Last year they sucked, just as they always should suck, and somehow we got to the promised land. TTUN should always be poor, It can only help us so that those lazy bastards don't steal anyone we want on our team. If you want to watch a good, close, tight ball game, there are other teams we can match up with.

It's an opinion, so it can't be "wrong." I said I garner more satisfaction from beating them when they are highly ranked, and the viewpoint you just expressed is one I already addressed and pretty much agreed with several times already. But it doesn't change that this year was probably my favorite win over Michigan since 2006. They have the shiny new coach, they were ranked pretty high, they had all the hopes and dreams, and we went in and stole their souls, much to @Saw31 's delight.

Plus, with this wacky new playoff system, you never know. That game could come in handy. But with Ohio State's brand power, I don't see how the committee ever passes us over if we are undefeated. Maybe The Game could help us get in on a year where we have 1 loss? For example, we still have a shot this year, right? If Michigan had been unranked when we demolished them Saturday...would we still have a shot?

I'd wager no.

 

It's an opinion, so it can't be "wrong." I said I garner more satisfaction from beating them when they are highly ranked, and the viewpoint you just expressed is one I already addressed and pretty much agreed with several times already. But it doesn't change that this year was probably my favorite win over Michigan since 2006. They have the shiny new coach, they were ranked pretty high, they had all the hopes and dreams, and we went in and stole their souls, much to @Saw31 's delight.

Plus, with this wacky new playoff system, you never know. That game could come in handy. But with Ohio State's brand power, I don't see how the committee ever passes us over if we are undefeated. Maybe The Game could help us get in on a year where we have 1 loss? For example, we still have a shot this year, right? If Michigan had been unranked when we demolished them Saturday...would we still have a shot?

I'd wager no.

Once again you're mistaken. Opinions are something everyone is entitled to, but they can absolutely be wrong. You may have the opinion that O.J. Simpson was just a good guy and was misunderstood. That would be an opinion, and it would be wrong just like your opinion on this rivalry.

And last year proved your last paragraph moot. That team sucked and we got in and we won. It's not about them, it's about us. Can you name a single time when them being good has helped us? I'll give you a pro tip, it has never happened.

 

Once again you're mistaken. Opinions are something everyone is entitled to, but they can absolutely be wrong. You may have the opinion that O.J. Simpson was just a good guy and was misunderstood. That would be an opinion, and it would be wrong just like your opinion on this rivalry.

And last year proved your last paragraph moot. That team sucked and we got in and we won. It's not about them, it's about us. Can you name a single time when them being good has helped us? I'll give you a pro tip, it has never happened.

This is a subjective matter. I gain more satisfaction from beating them when they are good. Explain to me how that is "wrong." Or how it can be wrong. How can you tell me what I gain more satisfaction from?

As for the latter point, it's been addressed about four times now. I said I agreed we don't need them to be good as long as we win all our games, we will be in the playoff regardless. I say again, though, would we have a shot if Michigan was garbage this year? I know it's a long shot, but we have a chance...because Michigan was solid this year and we trucked them. Simple. Ohio State losing a game early last year is not comparable to losing your second to last game of the season this year. If UM sucked, we'd have ZERO wins against ranked teams...pretty pathetic, and we'd have no shot at the playoff, however slim.

 

This is a subjective matter. I gain more satisfaction from beating them when they are good. Explain to me how that is "wrong." Or how it can be wrong. How can you tell me what I gain more satisfaction from?

As for the latter point, it's been addressed about four times now. I said I agreed we don't need them to be good as long as we win all our games, we will be in the playoff regardless. I say again, though, would we have a shot if Michigan was garbage this year? I know it's a long shot, but we have a chance...because Michigan was solid this year and we trucked them. Simple. Ohio State losing a game early last year is not comparable to losing your second to last game of the season this year. If UM sucked, we'd have ZERO wins against ranked teams...pretty pathetic, and we'd have no shot at the playoff, however slim.

nobody cares what you get satisfaction out of. The opinion that that team being a quality opponent is good for Ohio State is absolutely wrong and it is not a subjective item. If you get more satisfaction out of beating them when they are good, then that's your own choice. But what you're forgetting is all the satisfaction that you should be receiving with every single loss they have during the season. If they lost every game up until The Game there should be an enormous amount of satisfaction with each of those losses. And that would most certainly outweigh beating them because they were "good".

If you weigh all those losses, against the satisfaction of us beating them with a bunch of wins, it's hard to see how anyone could ever want them to win another game.

 

nobody cares what you get satisfaction out of. The opinion that that team being a quality opponent is good for Ohio State is absolutely wrong and it is not a subjective item. If you get more satisfaction out of beating them when they are good, then that's your own choice. But what you're forgetting is all the satisfaction that you should be receiving with every single loss they have during the season. If they lost every game up until The Game there should be an enormous amount of satisfaction with each of those losses. And that would most certainly outweigh beating them because they were "good".

If you weigh all those losses, against the satisfaction of us beating them with a bunch of wins, it's hard to see how anyone could ever want them to win another game.

"Nobody cares." Yet you are here replying, and proceeding to type an entire paragraph about why I should get more satisfaction out of every loss Michigan accrues during the regular season. So obviously, you actually do care, you care enough to try to tell me how I should feel. I gave you an opinion on the rivalry, didn't force it down anybody's throat...you can take it or leave it, as you yourself told me everybody is entitled to an opinion. If you disagree and prefer Michigan be awful all the time, that's fantastic and I have no qualms. We're all Buckeye fans, and it's really a silly thing to argue about anyways because at the end of the day all of us want to beat Michigan, regardless of the qualifications and stipulations.

 

You are again mistaken. I really don't care. But your original statements are absolutely false. TTUN should never be good an no true fan should hope for them to win, because it hurts us. And it's been covered about a dozen times on this board. It's not up for debate, it is an absolute truism.

You seem to be calling me on the carpet for arguing but here you are doing the same. But I agree, we are done with this because the point is been made that TTUN being a quality opponent isn't something a true Buckeye fan should ever be happy about. Since it appears we are in agreement there, I think this issue is settled.