Ohio State Football: Could the tides be turning in The Game?

The Ohio State football program was stunned and their season was more or less ended on Saturday after they were embarrassed by their arch-rivals by a final score of 42-27. This is the biggest loss the Buckeyes have taken in The Game since 1993 when Ohio State was shutout 28-0. This was a tough loss for both Buckeyes’ players and fans alike and a feeling they are not too familiar with.

It had become a yearly tradition to see the Buckeyes dominate the Wolverines every Thanksgiving weekend for years. However, this loss, it makes things very concerning for the Buckeyes. On one hand, you could believe that this was just a fluke win that Michigan pulls off every year and things will be back to normal next season.

However, as comforting as that thought is, it may not end up being the case. This is the first taste that the Wolverines and their fans have had at beating Ohio State in years and now that they know what that feeling is like, it may end up being much more difficult to take them down every year as Ohio State had done in the past.

While the Buckeyes will continue to have the Wolverines topped in terms of recruiting and the players they have coming in, that does not always translate to wins in rivalry games like this one. Take this year for instance.

Ohio State was coming off of their biggest win of the year against Michigan State, the team that defeated Michigan, in dominant fashion and many thought the concluding week of the regular season would be another cakewalk for the Buckeyes. However, when the fateful Saturday came around, the Buckeyes were outworked and outplayed by the Wolverines.

There were very simple things that the Wolverines were doing and simple improvements that the Ohio State football team had to make during the game, however, none of the necessary changes were made and the result ended up being what it was.

This loss can go one of two ways for Ohio State. They will luck out and Michigan becomes content with their one win a decade, a fire is lit in the Ohio State players and they continue to slaughter Michigan for years to come.

Or the opposite happens and this win revitalizes the entire Michigan football program and this game will once again become a rivalry after it was threatening not to be after Ohio State’s dominant run.