TTUN special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs is, like Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham, trying to take the edge off of their rivalry with Ohio State. At best, it sounds like they're shook about the Buckeyes. At worst, TTUN might know that their own dark days of this rivalry might be upon them.
Coombs shared an important caveat, unlike his boss, but just as Whittingham did, he downplayed the "hate" of "The Game."
“It is the greatest rivalry in sports, and it’s not just a rivalry between the two football teams,” Coombs said Thursday. ”It’s a rivalry between the universities. It’s a rivalry between the states. It’s people that live there, I live there, people that live here. It’s real. We don’t discount that at all.
“One of the reasons why I’m a football coach is because I grew up with Woody and Bo. There’s no reason for any of it to be nasty. It doesn’t have to be hateful. It doesn’t have to be unnecessarily violent. Violence between the lines during the game, that’s what we do. But it doesn’t have to be.”
Let's not forget that Whittingham dropped this passive-unaggressive banger recently, reinforcing that he respects Ryan Day and doesn't have any strong feelings about the Buckeyes ahead of his Maize and Blue debut:
“I’ve learned how intense that rivalry is and how important the game is,” Whittingham said. “Hate is a strong word, but I want to win that game as badly as anybody in Ann Arbor. ... I just think a rivalry can be intense and emotional without the hatred factor. I don’t think there’s any place for that personally. I think Ryan Day is a good person. To sit here and say I hate Ryan Day, I’d be making crap up because that’s not true.”
Kerry Coombs joined TTUN at peak of the rivalry for Wolverines
Whittingham has Coombs drinking the Kool-Aid. It comes off as strange after Coombs was hired by Sherrone Moore and certainly wasn't trained to say anything like that last year. Things are different now in Ann Arbor, though.
Will it translate to the field in a positive way for Ohio State? Hate has driven many great teams on both sides throughout the years, so you wonder if it being one-sided this coming season will be a boon for the Buckeyes.
There's no reason to assume it wouldn't be. Football is a violent sport. It's good to trick yourself into hating a team until the final whistle, but even more so when it's your blood rival. Only one team will be partaking in "The Game" in the Whittingham era.
After joining at the peak of the Wolverines' side of the rivalry, the tide may be about to turn for Coombs and Co.
Kyle Whittingham doesn't get 'The Game'
Whittingham having Coombs do some dirty work for him is laughable. He doesn't need to be doing any of this. He can think it, but saying the things he's said is just making Wolverines fans work overtime to defend the coach's attitude and convince themselves that mediocrity isn't in the program's immediate future.
There's a certain edge rivalry games at this level are supposed to have. No one wants legitimately nasty, but the messaging should be strong. Whittingham's words come off as anything but these days.
Again, awesome for Ohio State. The Buckeyes may be on the right side of a 2,191-day (or more) winning streak this time.
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