This week is something that Ohio State football fans look forward to every year. The Buckeyes are taking on TTUN in a game that will have a lot of CFP implications. These two teams absolutely hate each other, and it's the greatest rivalry in all of college football.
For decades, a beloved tradition took place on the campus of The Ohio State University. Every Tuesday during the week of The Game, the Mirror Lake jump took place. Students would congregate near the South Oval to jump into a dirty pond at night to celebrate the butt-kicking of Michigan that was about to happen.
I was able to participate in the tradition all four years, and it was glorious. College kids made sure to consume enough libations so that the cold water would not bother them. In 2013, it even snowed. Unfortunately, this is a tradition that students no longer get to enjoy.
Reflecting on a decade without the Mirror Lake jump before the Ohio State vs Michigan game
This past Tuesday marked a full decade since the tradition was unceremoniously shut down. 2015, which happened to be my senior year, was the last season that this tradition occurred. Take a look at some video from the 2012 jump, which was Urban Meyer's first as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Pure art, from the 2012 Mirror Lake Jump. pic.twitter.com/KdwqZUzCnG
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) November 25, 2024
Unfortunately, the jump ended after that season. After that season, the university started to drain the lake during the week of The Game, preventing students from completing the jump. Now, the lake has been completely transformed, and the area looks much different than it did the last time the jump took place.
As a former student and four-time jumper, it makes me incredibly sad that students no longer get to partake in this tradition. It was something that my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, and I got to share together. It was a fantastic time.
Ryan Day seems confident that the Buckeyes will be able to end the losing streak this year. That's a tradition that Ohio State fans would love to see come back; kicking the crap out of TTUN.