Jul. 14—With single-game tickets for Michigan football going on sale Tuesday, I decided to see for myself what the fuss wasn’t about, and maybe pick up some tickets to the Ohio State game for my neighbor … hood.
I was in luck.
As in recent years, the Ohio State-Michigan game is included in the Go Blue Pack, which gives Wolverines fans the chance to buy tickets to the marquee home contest of their choice if they take on two lesser games.
Used to be, Ohio State-Michigan was the hottest ticket in college football and seeing it live cost an arm, leg, and years on the season-ticket waiting list. Now, it costs you Rutgers and Northern Illinois.
So, how many tickets do you need?
Many hours after they went on sale, I checked the availability for the big rivalry game. (Marked-up prices started at $145, a relative bargain — I suppose — next to the $220 get-in cost when the teams meet in Columbus.)
Two tickets? No problem.
Four? Don’t mention it.
Six? Of course.
Eight? How does Section 32, Row 78, Seats 31 to 38 sound? They’re all yours.
Unfortunately, Michigan limits Ohio State tickets to eight per order or I would have kept going, but you get the idea.
Times have changed.
And so has the magic and magnetism of the greatest feud in sports.
I’m betting you sense the same.
The Game will never be just another one, our muscle memory is too strong.
But let me ask: While we all look forward to the return of college football as we know it this fall — with tailgates and bands and full stadiums — can anyone recall an Ohio State-Michigan game that was less anticipated before the season than this one?
I can’t, and I hate that.
One of the coolest things about living in northwest Ohio is not just how the last Saturday of the regular season brings our divided land to a stop but the way the rivalry defines the cultural conversation all year, with one side wielding bragging rights, the other firing back, “Just wait until next year,” and both fan bases consumed by the other.
That’s not the case this year.
With the gap between the schools approaching a distance that not even Evel Knievel would have dared to cross, the Ohio State fans I know remain devoted to the concept of beating the Wolverines but otherwise view them more as a curiosity than an obsession, while the Michigan fans I know are resigned to the fact that the rivalry may never be the same.
Not anytime soon, at least.
Not when Ohio State has won 15 of the last 16 meetings and, almost impossibly, continues to gain separation — a dynamic that distinguishes the present from past rivalry cycles, including Michigan’s dominance in the 1990s.
Think about that.
Twice in the last seven years, Michigan appeared in golden position to narrow the divide, first when it landed Jim Harbaugh — a walk-off grand slam of a hire — then when Ohio State transitioned from one of the greatest coaches in college football history (Urban Meyer) to a 39-year-old first timer (Ryan Day) after the 2018 season.
And yet both times, the Buckeyes only widened the margin, including under Day, who, if anything, has elevated Meyer’s national recruiting machine.
In 2020, Ohio State signed more top-100 prospects (nine) than the rest of the Big Ten combined (seven), per Rivals.com. (Michigan’s top prospect would have been OSU’s 10th-highest-rated recruit.) In 2021, the Buckeyes signed four of the top dozen players in the country and the No. 2 class overall. In 2022, they’re well on pace for No. 1, with their pile of blue chips topped by Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, the nation’s consensus top recruit.
Any way you slice it, Ohio State and Michigan may be rivals, but they’re no longer peers.
And, as the early promise of the Harbaugh era fades deeper into memory, the reality is sinking in.
After a recent wave of especially good recruiting fortune for the Buckeyes, I slipped on my Level A nuclear hazmat suit and visited the Michigan message board at MGoBlog.
“What are the chances we can eek out a win (against Ohio State) in the next 20 years?” one fan asked.
The first response: “The same as Blutarsky’s GPA.”
The second: “Survey says … not great, Bob.”
A sampling of other replies: “This is dumb. It’s like the Patriots getting the top 5 draft picks every year. College football just sucks.”
“As hopeless as I felt about OSU back in 2014, I would have never guessed that after 6 years of JIM [expletive] HARBAUGH, we would be even further removed and away from beating OSU. I mean [expletive], as incompetent and stubborn as [Brady] Hoke was, at least his teams always got up for OSU and made it a game. Now it’s just a hopeless exercise in futility.”
“Michigan should look to move the game into the middle of the season and replace the last game of the season with MSU. Call it loser’s mentality or whatever you want, but at least the team will stop always ending the season with 2 miserable losses (OSU+Bowl Game) leaving a disgusting taste in the fanbase’s mouth every season. Is it basketball season yet?”
OK, then.
Of course, now that I write this, maybe this is the year Michigan rises up and slays Ohio State. All it would take is Harbaugh elevating his team in a big game, not a miracle (wait a minute).
But as much as I itch for the days of old, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Nor will Vegas, which already has the Buckeyes as a two-touchdown favorite.
More and more, we’re in danger of a generation of Ohio State and Michigan fans growing up without knowing the full emotional stakes that make this the greatest rivalry in sports.
And that’s too bad.
First Published July 14, 2021, 1:49pm