Alabama and Auburn. Army and Navy. Texas and Oklahoma. College football is filled with dozens of iconic rivalries that span decades. But no matchup is as well-known and revered as Ohio State and Michigan.
Last year, Michigan won its first game of the rivalry since 2011, snapping an Ohio State eight-win streak. But this year will be much different – the game is on Ohio State’s own turf.
Whether you’re a diehard Buckeye fan or just enjoy the atmosphere of a big game, there are several things about the rivalry every spectator must know before the ball gets kicked off.
It’s one of America’s most popular college football rivalries
Last year’s contest drew a record 15.8 million viewers – the most in FOX’s most watched college football game ever, and the most viewed game of the entire 2021 regular season overall.
In an ESPN list of the 150 best college football games of all-time, curated by journalists, athletic administrators and former players and coaches, Ohio State vs. Michigan appears a whopping 7 times. So many of the rivalry’s games go down in the history books – with the 2006 matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan being labeled as “the game of the century.”
The stakes are always high
The matchup occurs as the final game of the regular season for both teams every year, which usually means there’s a lot on the line. A single loss in college football can take a team from competing for a playoff spot to settling for a bowl game – the former may lead to a national championship, the latter ends the season.
Both teams are also part of the Big Ten’s Eastern Division; the winner of each division go head-to-head after the end of the regular season to determine the winner of the entire conference. Since both teams are from the same division, the winner of the rivalry game oftentimes determines who will get the opportunity to play for a conference championship.
In the history the Big Ten East vs. West format, no team from the West has ever beaten their East opponent to win the title, so an East Division championship gives the winning team an inside track to the Big Ten crown.
And lastly, pride is on the line. As one of the biggest rivalries in college football – and all of sports, games like these shape legacies and careers. Players and coaches do not want to disappoint and be remembered for losing such a crucial matchup.
A century-long legacy
The Michigan – Ohio State rivalry began all the way back in 1897, when the Wolverines topped the Buckeyes in their first ever meeting 34-0. Since then, the teams have faced off 117 times, with Michigan winning 59 games to the Buckeyes 51. Six of the games have ended in ties, and no team has won more than nine matchups in a row.
In other words: the rivalry is fierce and competitive one with a storied history. As mentioned earlier, several of the matchups have gone down as all-time fan favorites, so be sure not to miss it; it’s much more than just another college football game – it’s a battle against “that team up north.”