INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — While Michigan football is finally giving Ohio State a little more credence than ‘it’s another championship-type game, like any game on our schedule,’ the Buckeyes have long treated the rivalry with the Wolverines like it actually is the championship game — regardless of whether or not OSU was a College Football Playoff-caliber team or not.
It’s not that Michigan has downplayed the rivalry as much as Ohio State has put it squarely in its sights, making it an everyday affair, starting with the ‘team up north’ drills that take place in the offseason and beyond.
At Big Ten media days, not only did Jim Harbaugh emphasize the urgency for the maize and blue in The Game, but the players shared how they’ve taken things up a notch.
Perhaps it’s finally matching Ohio State’s intensity in that regard, though at this stage, it’s not certain that will pay any sort of dividends.
Though you’d think a hated rival would draw the ire of one of the Ohio State players, given how seriously they take it in Columbus, at Big Ten media days, the foremost word elicited when it comes to Michigan is ‘respect.’
“I see it as one of the greatest rivalries, if not the greatest rivalries in all of sports,” Buckeyes tight end Jeremy Ruckert said. “I respect the rivalry, we all expect the rivalry. We live it and train for it. I’m excited to get to be able to play them again this year. We go up there, so it’s gonna be a tough game and we’re excited for that.”
Of course, the Ohio State contingent heard about Michigan’s comments on Thursday — not that anything said was remotely inflammatory. Ruckert doesn’t necessarily echo former QB Justin Fields’ comments when the now-Chicago Bears signal-caller said that the Buckeyes take the rivalry more seriously. Instead, Ruckert says that inflaming the rivalry in any way is part of the territory.
“Yeah, we heard about it, but like I said before, we respect the rivalry,” Ruckert said. “So whatever comes with it, we respect it, we live it and we work for it every day. It’s the greatest rivalry, so you’re gonna hear things, you’re gonna say things. But, at the end of the day, it’s just two great programs, two traditional programs just going at it in one of the biggest games in all of sports. So we’re excited to get out there up north and hopefully come home with another win.”
That said, Michigan hasn’t held up its end of the bargain in a decade.
2011 was the last time the Wolverines emerged victorious, and while The Game was generally a close affair, thrice in the Jim Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor Michigan was blown out by the rival Buckeyes.
It would be easy for the OSU contingent to let their guard down a bit, but as Ruckert says, that’s not happening anytime soon.
“I think the culture of our program — we know what’s asked of us, we know what’s expected of us,” Ruckert said. “We live it every day, like I said. I think everybody in the building, like I said before, we really respect the rivalry. We don’t take anything for granted. Anybody could win any given moment, so — especially in games like that with highly competitive teams, two traditional teams that go way back hundreds of years. So it’s really important to focus on respect and knowing what it comes down to in an actual rivalry game like that. So we don’t look past that, we don’t look past any game and it’s definitely important to realize it’s about respect.”
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Recruiting
In recent years, Michigan and Ohio State haven’t quite tangled as they used to on the recruiting trail, but there still have been some pivotal battles.
Michigan most recently won over grad transfer wide receiver Daylen Baldwin, who grew up an OSU fan and had received an offer from Ryan Day before Jim Harbaugh & co. had offered. But often, we’ve seen the Buckeyes get who they want, from QB C.J. Stroud to WR Chris Olave — two players that the Wolverines appeared to be the leader for before Ohio State swooped in to secure their pledge.
Perhaps the most notable of all was Columbus (OH) Olentangy Orange five-star defensive end Zach Harrison, who appeared to be a Michigan lean before the coaching change in Columbus. Word was that Harrison preferred Ryan Day over Urban Meyer, and that if Meyer had remained the Buckeyes head coach, Harrison was Ann Arbor-bound.
At Big Ten media days, Harrison was quite mum when asked about his recruitment, simply noting, “They were pretty close,” talking about Michigan.
But, when it comes down to the wire and you’re choosing between two rivals, how do you flip that switch?
For Harrison, he says he never really had any intercollegiate allegiances before committing, so it’s easier for him to embrace the OSU side of the rivalry now compared to if he actually had a favorite childhood school.
“It wasn’t really weird for me, because I wasn’t really an Ohio State fan in high school,” Harrison said. “My parents didn’t grow up Ohio State fans. For me, it was all blank canvases. I just had to pick the best school for me.”
Ruckert’s recruitment wasn’t quite as contentious, but there was a feeling in Ann Arbor that the Wolverines could reel in the New Yorker. However, in June 2018, Ruckert opted to play on the southern end of the rivalry, and he hasn’t looked back.
Speaking with Ruckert, he doesn’t harbor any kind of bad blood when it comes to Michigan football, noting that when it came to picking a school, it wasn’t about wanting to play against the maize and blue as much as it was making the right decision for him.
“Throughout my recruiting process, my dad made it a point to me not to waste anybody’s time when it’s time,” Ruckert said. “Obviously, it came down to the end, but I made sure to call every school that I was getting recruited by to let them know I appreciated it but I was going a different direction and there was no hard feelings anywhere. I didn’t have any bad blood anywhere, so it made the transition easier, not leaving without saying anything or just going one way. I think that had a part in my decision, but that was a long time ago — it was a long time ago, so I haven’t really thought about that.”
List
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