The Ohio State Buckeyes have several more important matchups in the Big Ten than "The Game" against the Wolverines, which will return to the "Shoe" for the 2026 season. At least according to CBS Sports' Brad Crawford, who ranked OSU-TTUN as the No. 9 most meaningful game of the season.
That puts "The Game" behind a road matchup with the defending champion Indiana Hoosiers, a home matchup against the Oregon Ducks, and even a non-conference matchup with the SEC's Texas Longhorns in Austin in terms of importance.
"Conference realignment hasn't changed The Game. Playoff expansion hasn't changed it. NIL hasn't changed it. Michigan and Ohio State still represent college football's greatest rivalry. The stakes fluctuate from season to season, but the significance never does. In 2026, this matchup could determine Big Ten Championship Game participation, playoff seeding, and national championship paths," Crawford wrote.
We've come a long way from Ohio State and TTUN battling for the Big Ten's one playoff spot from the conference. Even when both teams qualified in the second-to-last field back in 2022 feels like a lifetime ago.
Ryan Day isn't at fault. He never let OSU slip during his seven years at the helm. It's not even Sherrone Moore's fault, though certainly he didn't uphold the standard in Ann Arbor that the Maize and Blue expect. Frankly, he did plenty of damage, too. Just not the worst of it.
It's very clearly someone on that side's fault that "The Game" isn't seen as the most special, consequential matchup in the sport.
Jim Harbaugh ruined 'The Game' for Ohio State fans
If you're looking for someone to blame for why "The Game" has lost its juice, look no further than Jim Harbaugh, who left the Wolverines hanging out to dry with no true succession plan. Harbaugh left after a title, but also after the Connor Stalions scandal left the program penalized and punished, with scholarships being pulled. To make matters even worse, Harbaugh brought many of his assistants to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wouldn't you know it, TTUN immediately went 6-6 in 2024 in Moore's first season, and if not for Day trying to outrun a team he should've never tried to win in the trenches against, the Wolverines would've had a losing record.
Things got better in 2025, with nine wins, but now the whole process is being restarted after the Moore disaster. Kyle Whittingham is a respected coach, but he took over so late in the hiring cycle that he had to scramble to put together a respectable product. And respectable it should be, since "The Game" didn't drop completely off in importance. Still, with the changes to the CFB schedule increasingly downplaying rivalry matchups, it's disheartening to see one team not hold up its end of the bargain.
Harbaugh is a Maize and Blue legend, and quite frankly, he owned the Scarlet and Gray in the latter half of his career in the Great Lakes State. He also helped ruin "The Game," to the point where other Big Ten games on OSU's schedule mean more, just three years removed from his TTUN departure.
Add us as a preferred source on Google