Ohio State will tie the head to head record with Michigan
By Walter Sharp
Ohio State proves year in and year out that they are a step ahead of their rivals Michigan.
They have proven that Harbaugh was not the answer to Michigan’s problems against Ohio State. The hype around Michigan hiring Harbaugh was insane. Harbaugh came into Michigan and made everyone think that he was going to run the Big Ten, and dominate Ohio State.
This confidence carried over to Michigan fans and the students. Harbaugh has not delivered on his promises that he made when he announced that he was the new coach. The Buckeyes are seven games behind the Wolverines when it comes to the overall record. It looks like Harbaugh’s chances of beating the Buckeyes slipped through his hands back in 2016 when Curtis Samuel crossed the goal line to give the Buckeyes the victory in the third overtime.
Since that game, the Buckeyes have outscored the Wolverines 31-20, 62-39, and 56-27. The Buckeyes have survived the Revenge Tour, the Shae Patterson addition, and Michigan’s Playoff Prediction from last year.
Before coming to Michigan, Harbaugh got a lot of credit for Andrew Luck’s success, but could it be possible that Andrew Luck deserved the credit for Harbaugh’s success. The Wolverines have not won a Big Ten Championship in 16 years.
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The problem is it does not look like the Wolverines are going to make any trips to the Big Ten Championship as long as they’re in the same division as Penn State and Ohio State. The Buckeyes have proven to be a step or two ahead of the Big Ten when it comes to recruiting and talent.
The Buckeyes are loaded and ready to go for the season this year and are out to avenge their loss to Clemson last year. The Buckeyes will look to steamroll their opponents, but will also make sure that they are not looking past anyone. If Ryan Day and Ohio State continue to bring in the nation’s top athletes it would be easy for them to make a run that could potentially tie and surpass Michigan in the overall record between the schools.
There is always the chance of the Buckeyes having a hiccup and possibly losing a game to Michigan, but this happening while Jim Harbaugh is their coach is unlikely. Harbaugh is the kid in school that you pick first in sports because they talk about how good they are, but when the games start you realize you should’ve picked him last. Harbaugh is not a bad coach by no means, but he overloaded himself when he came to Michigan promising to win the big games.
Urban Meyer owned Michigan in his tenure at Ohio State, and Ryan Day is following in his footsteps. While watching the games against the Wolverines the past three years it just seemed that the Buckeyes wanted it more. Ohio States coaching staff wanted it more than the Michigan coaching staff.
The games were like a boxing match. The Wolverines were all hyped up walking to the ring, and maybe owned the first couple of drives. Once the other fighter came to their senses, and let the nerves out and threw a big right hook. When the right hook landed it took a lot of fight out of the Wolverines coaching staff.
The Michigan coaching staff failed to make the adjustments needed to beat the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes torched the Wolverines with speed and physicality.
If the Buckeyes are going to make a run at evening the overall record these next seven years are critical. They obviously have the talent to make this happen, and they have the coaching staff to make it happen. The best part about this rivalry nothing is a guarantee, but the Buckeyes are heavily favored for the next three years to beat the Wolverines.
The unknown from all of this is if Harbaugh will still be there when the Buckeyes tie the record. Michigan cannot keep being the team on the outside of the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoffs. Their fan base will only hold on a little bit longer until they start to turn their backs on the football team and the coaching staff at Michigan.
Ohio State's Demetrius Knox reflects on time in Columbus. dark. Next
Only time will tell how the overall record will pan out, but the future is looking bright for the Buckeyes and its fan base to erase the seven games there behind on the overall record against Michigan.