Michigan football aims for the unthinkable at Ohio State

On December 1, 2024By Littum

So here we are again, eating leftovers from a turkey most of us never wanted in the first place, ready to settle into another episode of “The Game.” I would welcome ham, but then nobody asked me; the world is cold that way.

It will be especially cold in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday — about 10 degrees colder than normal, for which we can thank Siberia, where this bitter blast came from. (But then we can’t blame the Russians for everything. I hear it’s even hip to credit them these days. For what, we’ll see.)

In the meantime, we have a game to play, or more precisely, clockas Ohio State hosts Michigan football for the annual right to ... boast?

Serve sentence?

Does Ryan Day enjoy writhing?

No doubt maize-and-blue admirers would revel in the discomfort of the oh-so-humble Ohio State coach. And for that, today’s edition of “The Game” is worth the viewership.

Beat it Buckeyes and not only would Michigan fans soak in the misery of its main rival, but would quickly forget what has come before “The Game” this season – except, of course, for the latest news about a certain local quarterback who reversed his commitment.

Landing Belleville super-prospect Bryce Underwood was the best news Ann Arbor has had all fall. Knocking off No. 2 Ohio State might top it. Or come close.

First, it would test the theory that a team can lose any game, or even most of its games, and save its season (not to mention the offseason) simply by beating its most heated rival. Second, it would appease, at least momentarily, the Sherrone Moore skeptics.

UM’s head coach took over a program that lost 18 of 22 starters and then intensified the struggle by muting the quarterback transition: first by not finding a reliable starter in the portal, and second by juggling the existing quarterbacks on the team.

Fortunately, Moore and Co. re-anointed. Davis Warren the starter a few weeks ago, and Warren is taking advantage of the second chance. Without it Wolverines would have no chance at Ohio Stadium today. Then again, they have next to no chance as it is.

But they have one, despite the three-touchdown underdog status that certain speculators have thrust upon them.

OSU may very well beat UM by more than three touchdowns — or more.

But it just hasn’t worked that way lately, no matter how much Day has tried to talk it into existence. A few years ago, you remember, Day said his Buckeyes would hang 100 on the Wolverines. He was annoyed that Jim Harbaugh had accused him of holding back against-the-rules practices in the summer of 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Day left a coaches’ conference — where Harbaugh had barked at him — telling his team that UM had better hope “the Big Ten had a mercy rule” because the Buckeyes would hang 100 on the Wolverines.

“The Game” was canceled later that fall because of the pandemic — or because Harbaugh wanted no part of that crackdown, say those who love the Buckeyes. Whatever the motivation — or the potential conspiracy behind it — the “hang-100” comment didn’t sit well with Day.

He hasn’t beaten UM since he said that. That’s three losses in a row. At least last year’s was relatively close, I guess, and the folks at Ohio State can take solace in that.

They can take solace in that, too: On Saturday, when the Buckeyes leave the field, Day wants them to have left no doubt.

It might not take 100 points — it might not even take 30 points, given the state of UM’s offense for most of this season. But Day’s point was more that he didn’t want his team to worry about a single play deciding the game.

Or a single moment. As it did last year.

OSU’s coach talked about this in the summer during Big Ten media days. And when he did, it was clear that the previous Michigan-Ohio State game had been on his mind for oh … probably every second since he lost in Ann Arbor last November.

The Buckeyes had the ball late in the game, with the chance to win. They obviously didn’t, and Ohio State rushed back south.

This weekend, it’s Michigan’s turn to take the field. They will arrive unranked and largely unabashed, though hardly unbound from all tradition.

The Wolverines may not be playing for a playoff spot or chasing a national championship, but they know they’re playing for more than a single game; a win, or perhaps just a competitive game, would signal that the program is ready to regain its footing.

As Moore said earlier this week: the records, the spread, none of that matters. As players and coaches, they think about “The Game” all year long.

“As soon as you walk into the building, you see the pictures (of UM-OSU games),” he said. “As soon as you put on the blue, you hear about that game.”

Which is now “The Game”, and has been forever, and while Saturday’s matchup isn’t a contest between title chasers as it so often is, it still offers plenty of stakes.

“It’s something you think about all year,” Moore said.

Dag would say the same (and often has enough). Lose a fourth in a row, and it’s hard to imagine what his program’s faithful — and its string-pullers — will do. In fact, it’s not that hard to imagine, just as it’s not that hard to imagine how an upset might change the perception of Moore.

At least for a moment. Or until next November.

But by then the stories will have changed again. No doubt what happens on Saturday will help change them.

Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.