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LGHL Burning Question: Has the Ohio State-Michigan game lost some of its importance?
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Burning Question: Has the Ohio State-Michigan game lost some of its importance?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
SetNumber: X53979
While The Game is still a big deal to the fans of the programs, it doesn’t mean nearly as much in the grand scheme of the college football season.
Ohio State football is coming off a national championship season, and for some that still isn’t good enough.
Despite a magical four-game run in the College Football Playoff, the main thing that some will remember about last season is the Buckeyes falling 13-10 to the Wolverines in Columbus, marking their fourth straight loss to Michigan. While many have come to grips with the fact that a loss to That Team Up North doesn’t define a season, there are others who still think that the only thing that matters is beating Michigan.
I’m not saying that the Michigan game isn’t the most important game on Ohio State’s schedule each year, it just doesn’t have the same juice as it used to in college football. Prior to the College Football Playoff, The Game used to be massive since the Buckeyes and Wolverines were often battling for the Big Ten title, as well as to stay in the hunt for a national championship.
Now that the playoff has expanded to 12 teams, as well as the Big Ten eliminating divisions, there are more opportunities for the programs to meet after the final game of the regular season, which has never happened before.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26044465/2188513131.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 07 Big Ten Championship Game - Penn State vs Oregon")
Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Of course, right now Ohio State fans can’t stand Michigan since the Wolverines have won each of the four games since 2021. Despite the Buckeyes missing out on chances to play in the Big Ten Championship Game in each of those seasons, Ohio State has made the playoff in two of the last four years, so it’s not like falling to Michigan has been as detrimental as it used to be.
Even though the results have been tough for Buckeye Nation to stomach, the losses have actually helped Ohio State in the years they made the playoff following a loss to Michigan. Ryan Day put together an outstanding game plan in 2022 that almost led to the Buckeyes upsetting Georgia in the Peach Bowl.
Last year’s loss left a bitter taste in the mouths of Jack Sawyer and a number of other seniors, resulting in Ohio State rallying in the playoff to win it all.
What has made the losses sting so much over the last four years is how they have happened. In 2021, Jim Harbaugh finally was able to beat Ohio State after years of trying as Michigan’s head coach. Not only did the Buckeyes lose in Columbus in 2022 for the first time since 2000, who knows how much of the loss can be credited to the cheating Connor Stalions did for the Wolverines.
Then last year felt like the time to snap the losing streak with Sherrone Moore bringing in a mediocre Michigan team into Ohio Stadium yet somehow broke Ryan Day’s brain and made Ohio State play the game Michigan wanted them to play.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26044468/2187613068.jpg "Michigan v Ohio State")
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Is the rivalry still one of the most intense in all of sports? There is no doubt about it. Ohio State fans hate Michigan, and Michigan fans hate Ohio State. Maybe I’m just getting older and softer since I don’t get quite as broken up about the Wolverines beating the Buckeyes these days.
Last year is a perfect example why, since Ohio State still had a bigger goal left to accomplish. Had the loss to Michigan kept the Buckeyes out of the playoff, then we would have been having a different conversation on what should be done with Ryan Day and the football program.
I have seen a number of people saying that Ohio State’s national championship last year is a “Mickey Mouse title” because they didn’t beat Michigan. If that’s the case then I’m happy to book my tickets to Disneyland. I’m sure if you ask any Buckeye player, they’ll gladly take a national championship ring over a pair of gold pants. Despite wins over Michigan being memorable, they raise banners at Ohio Stadium for national titles, not wins over the Wolverines.
What will be interesting to see is when the teams end up playing more than once in a season. We almost saw it in 2006 when there was the possibility the teams could meet in the BCS National Championship Game after the 42-39 win by the Buckeyes in the memorable battle between the teams. 2022 also gave us a shot at a rematch had both teams won their CFP semifinal games.
Inevitably we are going to see a Big Ten Championship Game or a College Football Playoff game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Just imagine if they do match up in the Big Ten Championship Game where fans will be at full tilt in back-to-back weeks.
The Game still has plenty of importance when it comes to pride for both players and fans on both sides, we just have to start wrapping our heads around the fact that when it comes to the college football landscape it doesn’t mean as much as it used to. If we’re being honest, all the big rivalries have been diminished by the expansion of the College Football Playoff.
There is still massive demand for the Ohio State-Michigan game, as evidenced by the huge ratings it does every year, it’s just not the eliminator game that it has been in the past.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
SetNumber: X53979
While The Game is still a big deal to the fans of the programs, it doesn’t mean nearly as much in the grand scheme of the college football season.
Ohio State football is coming off a national championship season, and for some that still isn’t good enough.
Despite a magical four-game run in the College Football Playoff, the main thing that some will remember about last season is the Buckeyes falling 13-10 to the Wolverines in Columbus, marking their fourth straight loss to Michigan. While many have come to grips with the fact that a loss to That Team Up North doesn’t define a season, there are others who still think that the only thing that matters is beating Michigan.
I’m not saying that the Michigan game isn’t the most important game on Ohio State’s schedule each year, it just doesn’t have the same juice as it used to in college football. Prior to the College Football Playoff, The Game used to be massive since the Buckeyes and Wolverines were often battling for the Big Ten title, as well as to stay in the hunt for a national championship.
Now that the playoff has expanded to 12 teams, as well as the Big Ten eliminating divisions, there are more opportunities for the programs to meet after the final game of the regular season, which has never happened before.
Of course, right now Ohio State fans can’t stand Michigan since the Wolverines have won each of the four games since 2021. Despite the Buckeyes missing out on chances to play in the Big Ten Championship Game in each of those seasons, Ohio State has made the playoff in two of the last four years, so it’s not like falling to Michigan has been as detrimental as it used to be.
Even though the results have been tough for Buckeye Nation to stomach, the losses have actually helped Ohio State in the years they made the playoff following a loss to Michigan. Ryan Day put together an outstanding game plan in 2022 that almost led to the Buckeyes upsetting Georgia in the Peach Bowl.
Last year’s loss left a bitter taste in the mouths of Jack Sawyer and a number of other seniors, resulting in Ohio State rallying in the playoff to win it all.
What has made the losses sting so much over the last four years is how they have happened. In 2021, Jim Harbaugh finally was able to beat Ohio State after years of trying as Michigan’s head coach. Not only did the Buckeyes lose in Columbus in 2022 for the first time since 2000, who knows how much of the loss can be credited to the cheating Connor Stalions did for the Wolverines.
Then last year felt like the time to snap the losing streak with Sherrone Moore bringing in a mediocre Michigan team into Ohio Stadium yet somehow broke Ryan Day’s brain and made Ohio State play the game Michigan wanted them to play.
Is the rivalry still one of the most intense in all of sports? There is no doubt about it. Ohio State fans hate Michigan, and Michigan fans hate Ohio State. Maybe I’m just getting older and softer since I don’t get quite as broken up about the Wolverines beating the Buckeyes these days.
Last year is a perfect example why, since Ohio State still had a bigger goal left to accomplish. Had the loss to Michigan kept the Buckeyes out of the playoff, then we would have been having a different conversation on what should be done with Ryan Day and the football program.
I have seen a number of people saying that Ohio State’s national championship last year is a “Mickey Mouse title” because they didn’t beat Michigan. If that’s the case then I’m happy to book my tickets to Disneyland. I’m sure if you ask any Buckeye player, they’ll gladly take a national championship ring over a pair of gold pants. Despite wins over Michigan being memorable, they raise banners at Ohio Stadium for national titles, not wins over the Wolverines.
What will be interesting to see is when the teams end up playing more than once in a season. We almost saw it in 2006 when there was the possibility the teams could meet in the BCS National Championship Game after the 42-39 win by the Buckeyes in the memorable battle between the teams. 2022 also gave us a shot at a rematch had both teams won their CFP semifinal games.
Inevitably we are going to see a Big Ten Championship Game or a College Football Playoff game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Just imagine if they do match up in the Big Ten Championship Game where fans will be at full tilt in back-to-back weeks.
The Game still has plenty of importance when it comes to pride for both players and fans on both sides, we just have to start wrapping our heads around the fact that when it comes to the college football landscape it doesn’t mean as much as it used to. If we’re being honest, all the big rivalries have been diminished by the expansion of the College Football Playoff.
There is still massive demand for the Ohio State-Michigan game, as evidenced by the huge ratings it does every year, it’s just not the eliminator game that it has been in the past.
Continue reading...
LGHL Jeremiah Smith promised Ohio State would beat Michigan the next two seasons
- News
- 0 Replies
Jeremiah Smith promised Ohio State would beat Michigan the next two seasons
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Four takeaways from college football video game team ratings release
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Ohio State has two preseason Walter Camp All-Americans
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
WR Jeremiah Smith promises not to lose to Michigan for next two years
Ehsan Kassim, USA Today Network
Burning Questions: How far can Jeremiah Smith really go?
Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State showing no championship hangover with productive, competitive summer
Austin Ward, Lettermen Row
Ohio State has two highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 26
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
Burning questions: Who becomes Ohio State’s WR2?
Alex Frank, Land-Grant Holy Land
What to Know About Revenue Sharing, Ohio State’s Approach As New Era of College Sports Begins
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
The first “Running Man” movie is unhinged and hilarious. I can’t wait for this:
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
For your Earholes...
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
On the Gridiron
Four takeaways from college football video game team ratings release
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Ohio State has two preseason Walter Camp All-Americans
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
WR Jeremiah Smith promises not to lose to Michigan for next two years
Ehsan Kassim, USA Today Network
Burning Questions: How far can Jeremiah Smith really go?
Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State showing no championship hangover with productive, competitive summer
Austin Ward, Lettermen Row
Ohio State has two highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 26
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
Burning questions: Who becomes Ohio State’s WR2?
Alex Frank, Land-Grant Holy Land
What to Know About Revenue Sharing, Ohio State’s Approach As New Era of College Sports Begins
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
And now for something completely different...
The first “Running Man” movie is unhinged and hilarious. I can’t wait for this:
Continue reading...
LGHL Burning Questions: Is Ryan Day finally going to get over his Michigan block?
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- 0 Replies
Burning Questions: Is Ryan Day finally going to get over his Michigan block?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Maybe its my scarlet and gray colored glasses, but I think this is the year that OSU gets back in the rivalry win column.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the most important questions yet unanswered for the season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content and our ”Burning Questions” articles here.
The final four games of Ohio State’s 2024-25 season were nothing short of magical. There may never have been a better run in Ohio State — and possibly college football — history. And at the center of that run was Ryan Day. There is no question that the once-embattled head coach deserves all of the flowers that have come his way for the latest national championship trophy that now resides in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Ryan Day is now a national championship coach, but more so, he is every bit one of the top two or three coaches in college football.
But I will not pretend that before that four-game run that I wasn’t ready for the end of the Ryan Day Era in Columbus. After tying myself in knots to defend him for years, the fourth-straight loss to Michigan, arguably the worst loss in program history, I felt that we had seen enough to know that Day didn’t have the constitution or mental and emotional makeup to get out of his own way and do what needed to be done. As I’ve written for years, I have never had any doubts about Day’s coaching abilities; in my mind, there is no one better at designing and coaching an offense, and very likely, few better human beings running major college football programs in the country.
However, it was always the intangibles that made me unsure of whether or not he could get his teams to their full potential... until, of course, he did just that.
Whether it was the shame of not beating his rival since 2019, the player-led meeting following The Game, the “lunatic fringe” calling for his job, or anything else, in last season’s College Football Playoff, he not only let the players on his inarguably stacked roster do their thing, but time and time again in the postseason, he put them in the exact right position to be successful. And in doing so, he proved everybody wrong who thought that he could not that he couldn’t win the big one.
So now that we know full well what kind of coaching magic Ryan Day is capable of, as he has crossed off a few major items on his career to-do list, it’s time to refocus on the Ohio State fundamentals, and none is more important than beating Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 12 noon ET in Ann Arbor.
In the past, Day has seemed obsessed with proving toughness through Woody Hayes-style football — and it cost him, repeatedly. Over the years, as this obsession with toughness led to loss after loss after loss after loss, he insisted on digging in and abandoning the things that his talent-laden team did best in order to attempt to win via a three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust philosophy.
But things have changed since the 2024 regular season finale. History and experience have shown the head coach that if he just trusts his players and his coaches to do what they do, great things can happen, and I have to believe that this very long, hard lesson has been learned. When Ryan Day’s Scarlet and Gray head north the weekend following Thanksgiving, I fully expect the Buckeyes — even if they aren’t as talented as last year’s team was — to play like they did during last year’s postseason.
On Tuesday, The Athletic published an interview with Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in which he said, “I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith said. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north. I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”
And you know what? I believe him. Not just because J.J. is a generational talent (in a position room that seemingly has a generational talent every year), but because I truly believe that Ryan Day has figured it out. It is easy to forget that the man’s first-ever head coaching job is the one he has now. So he has had to go through the growing pains that all new coaches go through on the largest stage in college football. And while that process has taken far longer than I think it needed to, I do believe that he has finally emerged on the other side of it, ready to be the coach that he was always capable of, and that his team, program, and fans deserve.
Admittedly, I have believed before that Day had turned a corner, only to have him pull the football away as I obliviously run to kick it. But this feels different. But if it’s not, woo boy, I don’t know that I have the fortitude to make it through for another December of that kind of soul-searching.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Maybe its my scarlet and gray colored glasses, but I think this is the year that OSU gets back in the rivalry win column.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the most important questions yet unanswered for the season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content and our ”Burning Questions” articles here.
The final four games of Ohio State’s 2024-25 season were nothing short of magical. There may never have been a better run in Ohio State — and possibly college football — history. And at the center of that run was Ryan Day. There is no question that the once-embattled head coach deserves all of the flowers that have come his way for the latest national championship trophy that now resides in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Ryan Day is now a national championship coach, but more so, he is every bit one of the top two or three coaches in college football.
But I will not pretend that before that four-game run that I wasn’t ready for the end of the Ryan Day Era in Columbus. After tying myself in knots to defend him for years, the fourth-straight loss to Michigan, arguably the worst loss in program history, I felt that we had seen enough to know that Day didn’t have the constitution or mental and emotional makeup to get out of his own way and do what needed to be done. As I’ve written for years, I have never had any doubts about Day’s coaching abilities; in my mind, there is no one better at designing and coaching an offense, and very likely, few better human beings running major college football programs in the country.
However, it was always the intangibles that made me unsure of whether or not he could get his teams to their full potential... until, of course, he did just that.
Whether it was the shame of not beating his rival since 2019, the player-led meeting following The Game, the “lunatic fringe” calling for his job, or anything else, in last season’s College Football Playoff, he not only let the players on his inarguably stacked roster do their thing, but time and time again in the postseason, he put them in the exact right position to be successful. And in doing so, he proved everybody wrong who thought that he could not that he couldn’t win the big one.
So now that we know full well what kind of coaching magic Ryan Day is capable of, as he has crossed off a few major items on his career to-do list, it’s time to refocus on the Ohio State fundamentals, and none is more important than beating Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 12 noon ET in Ann Arbor.
In the past, Day has seemed obsessed with proving toughness through Woody Hayes-style football — and it cost him, repeatedly. Over the years, as this obsession with toughness led to loss after loss after loss after loss, he insisted on digging in and abandoning the things that his talent-laden team did best in order to attempt to win via a three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust philosophy.
But things have changed since the 2024 regular season finale. History and experience have shown the head coach that if he just trusts his players and his coaches to do what they do, great things can happen, and I have to believe that this very long, hard lesson has been learned. When Ryan Day’s Scarlet and Gray head north the weekend following Thanksgiving, I fully expect the Buckeyes — even if they aren’t as talented as last year’s team was — to play like they did during last year’s postseason.
On Tuesday, The Athletic published an interview with Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in which he said, “I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith said. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north. I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”
And you know what? I believe him. Not just because J.J. is a generational talent (in a position room that seemingly has a generational talent every year), but because I truly believe that Ryan Day has figured it out. It is easy to forget that the man’s first-ever head coaching job is the one he has now. So he has had to go through the growing pains that all new coaches go through on the largest stage in college football. And while that process has taken far longer than I think it needed to, I do believe that he has finally emerged on the other side of it, ready to be the coach that he was always capable of, and that his team, program, and fans deserve.
Admittedly, I have believed before that Day had turned a corner, only to have him pull the football away as I obliviously run to kick it. But this feels different. But if it’s not, woo boy, I don’t know that I have the fortitude to make it through for another December of that kind of soul-searching.
Continue reading...
LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land: Does Ohio State have a recruiting issue?
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- 0 Replies
Hangout in the Holy Land: Does Ohio State have a recruiting issue?
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes have missed out on some top targets recently, so who is to blame?
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join hosts Justin Golba and Alex Frank as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
We are back for episode seven of Hangout in the Holy Land, and we are discussing the elephant in the room: Does Ohio State have a recruiting issue?
The Buckeyes have missed out on some of their top targets on defense in the 2026 class, so who is to blame for the lack of momentum? What do we rate the class overall? Also, Five star offensive tackle Felix Ojo will announce his commitment on Friday.
After that, we dive into our theme this week of Burning Questions.
Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review!
Connect with the podcast:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Alex Frank:
Twitter: @frankie_nnati
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes have missed out on some top targets recently, so who is to blame?
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join hosts Justin Golba and Alex Frank as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
We are back for episode seven of Hangout in the Holy Land, and we are discussing the elephant in the room: Does Ohio State have a recruiting issue?
The Buckeyes have missed out on some of their top targets on defense in the 2026 class, so who is to blame for the lack of momentum? What do we rate the class overall? Also, Five star offensive tackle Felix Ojo will announce his commitment on Friday.
After that, we dive into our theme this week of Burning Questions.
Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review!
Connect with the podcast:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Alex Frank:
Twitter: @frankie_nnati
Continue reading...