It is all over the internet, how many days has it been since Michigan beat The Ohio State Football Program. It has become its own website, memes, Twitter page, and so on. Since 2011 the Buckeyes have won, and really, before that, it was 2003 when the Wolverines last beat Ohio State. For being THE Game, one team has not been THE rival.
No, over the past two decades the real rival has been Penn State. While Ohio State has won most of the matchups, the games have been closer and more competitive. To be fair to the Wolverines they have been ranked in the top 25 more, but when they play the Buckeyes, those rankings just don’t seem to matter much.
Penn State has quietly become the game on the calendar Ohio State football fans might take a peek at. Sure, we wait to see the Michigan game on there, but timidly we look to see when we play the Nittany Lions and wonder if this will be a year they upend our push to the College Football Playoff.
A contest against the Wolverines will always stand out, but even the most passionate Buckeye supporter has to admit the traditional and historic rivalry has lost a little luster. No one really admits it out loud, but the game against Penn state hides there and festers like a two-month-old sour cream tub that got lost in the back of the fridge.
This is a good story from Ethan. Puts the UM-OSU rivalry into perspective.
However…Purdue, Iowa, Penn State and Michigan State have found ways to beat Ohio State in the last 5 years. Not often, but once. So it is kind of a Jim Harbaugh problem. https://t.co/Q8bFZzKSnP
— Dustin Schutte (@SchutteCFB) December 3, 2019
The rivalry has taken on its own life with the teams as well. The Nittany Lions started their “White Out” in 2004, but it would not become official until their upset of the Buckeyes in 2005. For years Penn State would advertise a “White Out” whenever Ohio State came to town. In 2015 Ohio State Football would finally answer back with a “Black Out” for the Penn State game.
The game was on, well maybe not THE game, but the GAME. Or perhaps, it is now THE game, or is it THE GAME? Oh, I don’t know, but it is fun, and wait for it … competitive. You can’t say that about a tussle with the Maize and Blue as of late.
So while “The Team Up North” circles, stars, and highlights December 12th on its calendars and Ohio State fans will throw out how many days it has been, October 31 looms large, and a little scary. That game is now the rivalry game, at least until Michigan returns, and yells out after a bowl game “We’re Back”. Until further notice, Penn State has become the rivalry everyone thinks Michigan is.
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