Third-year wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) extends for the ball but the play was called incomplete. The Buckeyes beat the Golden Gophers 37-3 Saturday. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
When former Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins “dunked on” Michigan safety Josh Metellus into the end zone to cap off a 56-27 Buckeye win in 2019, it served as a microcosm for the rivalry in the 2010s. The Buckeyes owned the Wolverines. The only loss over that period came from a 2011 Ohio State squad dealing with the effects of a scandal. Then coach Urban Meyer came into town.
Dobbins’ slam dunk was the culmination of a decade that saw the Buckeyes rise to unprecedented heights on the national scale. It also left Michigan wondering if its prodigal son and Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh had a future in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
However, the 2020s would tell a different story.
It has been 1,452 days since Dobbins hit this dagger, which was also the last time the Buckeyes beat Michigan. In 2020, The Game’ was canceled due to a COVID-19 breakout within the Wolverines’ program. The following two years were versions of the rivalry that just felt different.
Whether Ohio State players had the flu or perhaps it was divine intervention— on those two Saturdays, something in the air felt like the universe was conspiring for Michigan to win. Recent developments suggest the possibility of foul play, but the exact extent of this remains unknown.
Reasoning aside, the current state of this rivalry is indisputable. Despite Buckeye head coach Ryan Day’s 2019 victory in Ann Arbor, questions have risen about his ability to win the big game. Harbaugh has been transformed from a scapegoat to an infallible figure. Ohio State has been labeled as “soft” while Michigan has become the consummate example of “doing more, with less.” These stereotypes were both popularized following the 2021 game in Ann Arbor.
It is called The Game because it stands apart from the rest, but this game will be different from all of its predecessors. The 2023 installment will be program-defining — perhaps the biggest in Ohio State history.
In June, junior wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said, “One moment that I’ve yet to get to is the Big Ten Championship.” This was initially a confounding moment, as most Buckeye fans had taken a Big Ten Championship for granted for the better part of a decade. However, most of the Ohio State current starters have not received a pair of Gold Pants —the award given to the players for beating Michigan — let alone a conference championship.
The self-proclaimed expectations of the Ohio State football program are to beat Michigan, win a Big Ten Championship and win a national championship. Former Buckeye quarterback and two-time Heisman candidate C.J. Stroud went 0-for-2 but is now taking the NFL by storm. Harrison is 0-for-2 in his time as a starter — he is currently staking his claim as the best receiver in Ohio State history.
In modern-day college football, the majority of any good football program’s starters are typically juniors. These juniors at Ohio State come from Day’s best recruiting class to date. The No. 2 class in the country was headlined by stars like defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson and the aforementioned Harrison. They will likely all be gone after this season.
Not to mention, they’re all 0-for-2 as starters, as well.
There is no need to beat a dead horse. The message is simple: for Ohio State to avoid being labeled as a program that wastes talent, doing “less with more,” the team needs to reach its own expectations. This starts by beating Michigan.
Beyond the obvious reasons, the significance of this version of The Game is hidden in the landscape of college football itself. Next year, the College Football Playoff will expand from four teams to 12. This will improve the likelihood that both Ohio State and Michigan make the playoffs, regardless of the result of the rivalry game.
Furthermore, the Big Ten will eliminate divisions in 2024, meaning Ohio State and Michigan will be able to play each other again in the conference championship if they are the two best teams in the league.
While still storied, The Game will be less unique. The absolutely existential stakes of that Saturday in late November will be lessened.
In 2023, all the chips will be laid on the table for the last time. In such a competitive field, it is likely that only the winner of The Game will make the playoffs, although both are legitimate championship contenders.
It will never get bigger than this.
Saturday will mark 1,452 days since Dobbins and the Buckeyes did what they viewed as the norm. The man who recruited Dobbins to Columbus, Meyer, coached in plenty of important games himself. Before the biggest ones, Meyer was known to say, “Careers are made. Legends are born.”
It is time to see if the 2023 Buckeyes can be legendary.
