It has been debated that Michigan and Ohio have one of the biggest rivalries in college football. On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 13-10 making the Buckeyes record 10-2, while the Wolverines were 7-5.
After the game ended, a Michigan player ran around the field showing off his pride with the Michigan flag. The player attempted to plant the flag in the middle of the field but this didn’t go over well with Ohio State fans. This sparked tension between the two teams as Ohio State defensive player, Jack Sawyer snatched the flag.
After this, players on both teams began to get into a brawl with each other causing extreme panic. As hundreds of officers were present, it took the majority of officers to break up the ongoing fight. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “In one video online, a Michigan officer is seen directing pepper spray at OSU players and then a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy sprayed into the air toward Michigan players as they shout at players to get back. The two teams then went back to their locker rooms. The whole incident lasted less than four minutes.” The universities would have to pay $100,000 each in fines.
As both Michigan and Ohio are a part of the Big Ten football league, the teams have been rivals since the making of college football in the late 1800s.
During the Snow Bowl in 1950, Ohio State canceled the game against Michigan due to ‘weather conditions.’ In reality, Ohio State didn’t want to take a chance of losing against Michigan. Canceling the game would mean Ohio State would be granted the Big Ten title.
According to the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, “The ongoing rivalry between The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan was established the first time the teams went head-to-head in 1897. Since that game, an enduring battle of athleticism has grown to form one of college football’s greatest rivalries. The pendulum swings of victory and defeat between the two teams has created high anticipation for each year’s matchup. When the game date moved to the end of the season in 1935, the rivalry became even more intense as if often determined conference championships, trips to bowl games, and national rankings.” The anticipation of Michigan’s winning streak continues to unravel each year.
Since Michigan and Ohio are fairly good teams, there is no real prediction of who the winner of the game is each year. Most of the time it seems unpredictable as five out of the 6 announcers before the game started favored Ohio State to win over Michigan. Statistics show that Ohio State should have won this game, however, they did not. Even with Ohio State’s exceptional record, Michigan still pulled off another big season win.
With most people not expecting Michigan to win against Ohio State in the 2024 season, Michigan has defeated Ohio State for four years in a row which is Michigan’s second-longest winning streak against Ohio since 1901-1909.
