Graduate quarterback Will Howard (18) takes a snap during the Buckeyes 35-7 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
It was early January, and frigid temperatures filled the air when Will Howard arrived in Columbus for his first official visit to Ohio State.
“I had, like, a Rhoback blue hoodie on,” Howard said. “I didn’t even really think about it. It was one of the only things I had brought on my visit.”
Then, realization set in: Blue and scarlet don’t get along. So, Howard took off the hoodie. But he quickly learned the cold wasn’t for him, as a T-shirt in the middle of winter just wasn’t going to cut it.
“I finally was like, ‘Screw it, I’m cold. I’m gonna put it on,’” Howard said.
But inside the walls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, that wasn’t acceptable.
“Within five minutes, someone was like, ‘You got blue on?’” Howard said.
Back off it went.
“I didn’t realize how truly hated ‘The Team Up North’ is here,” Howard said. “That s*** runs deep.”
That was the first time the rivalry set in for Howard and the last time he wore blue — the color of his room at home and his favorite color growing up. Since that moment, he said he and his teammates are reminded of their hatred for The Team Up North daily.
Howard said his initial visit also overlapped with now-starting center Seth McLaughlin’s, who transferred from Alabama.
The night of their visit, Howard said he and his family, McLaughlin, McLaughlin’s mother Suzy and girlfriend Sara Skoglund, head coach Ryan Day and offensive line coach Justin Frye all went out to dinner.
McLaughlin had lost to the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl just days before.
Even at dinner, it was unacceptable to say “The ‘M’ word.”
“My girlfriend was like, ‘Yeah, after the Michigan game,’ and Coach Day was like, ‘Team Up North,’” McLaughlin said. “She was like, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’”
Dinner continued.
“Later on, she did it again,” McLaughlin said. “She was like, ‘Yeah, it’s been the Michigan game,’ and [Day] was like, ahem, ‘Team Up North, we say Team Up North here.’”
Just two days after officially committing to the Buckeyes, Howard watched Michigan beat Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
“Even me at the time, I didn’t really know much about the rivalry, but I was already pissed off,” Howard said. “I was like, ‘Man, I just wanna go out there and see those guys and take them down.’”
Then, once Howard stepped foot on campus, he unlocked a whole other level of the historic rivalry.
The team does one rep of “Team Up North abs” for each day there is until “The Game.”
“I remember it being in January, and it was like 290-something days away from The Team Up North game,” McLaughlin said. “We’re having to do almost 300 reps of abs for that game. It’s definitely different, and there’s a constant, year-round focus on that game.”
Not to mention, multiple countdown clocks around the athletic center remind everyone how many days there are leading up to The Game.
It’s impossible to forget, “it’s everywhere,” Howard said.
Outside of the athletic center’s walls, it’s the same all throughout campus.
“I saw the ‘X’s over the ‘M’s on campus, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is a little more than I thought,’” Howard said.
The atmosphere in Ohio Stadium is electric for any game, but for The Game, Howard knows it will be intensified.
“I know that one’s just gonna be different,” Howard said. “Late November, it’s gonna be cold. It’s gonna be a battle.”
Laying eyes on an Ohio State-Michigan matchup, even if only from the stands, was an item on Howard’s bucket list growing up, he said.
“I remember always saying to my family and friends, ‘Bucket list: I’d love to go to a Michigan-Ohio State game at some point in my life,’” Howard said. “Here I am; I’m gonna be the quarterback for Ohio State. It’s wild, man. A year ago, I was telling my family that it’s just crazy how things happen.”
Now that Howard understands the rivalry on a personal level, he’s left with no choice but to win The Game.
“You can feel the hunger, that the fan base is starving for this win,” Howard said “It’s been a while. We’re tired of hearing the Up North fans and all the BS that they’ve been saying.”
He can’t wait for The Game to come – especially a hopeful win.
“This city is gonna go crazy, I know,” Howard said. “It’s gonna be a fun day. We’re going to have to take care of business, but with a win, this town is gonna erupt. I know it’s gonna be a hell of a day for us.”
