Contact/Follow Phil Harrison
It’s so true that these things can be cyclical. To think there are younger Ohio State fans that have no idea what it feels like to be on the “losing” end of the rivalry says all you need to know about where the two programs are (that and how old I am).
But there are real trouble signs if you are Michigan, and we’ll get into why in a moment. But at some point, the cyclical nature of things can become the new norm. Remember when Notre Dame was the winningest program in all of college football? What about Nebraska being a dominant program? It’s now been decades y’all. It’s no longer about a downturn, but a complete shift in program culture. And it might not be that easy to get back.
And I feel that’s where the Michigan program is now. Kids no longer see the Wolverines as one of the top destinations that can get them to the NFL. Also, the state of Michigan produces some decent football talent, but not as much as Ohio. Plus, there’s Michigan State to compete with when that talent is available.
The Wolverines have always been a program that recruits nationally, but now it has to go against many more programs that have the same if not more exposure than their program has. Unfortunately for Michigan, I think it started a bit of a downturn when the game was changing and evolving so much both on and off the field, that it was horribly bad timing.
Ohio State on the other hand, used its money, reach, and resources to rise up at the right time. It has all those advantages and is still in the collective conscience of national recruits because of it. When you have the recent success of sending a slew of kids to the NFL, have marketed yourself well, and continue to be one of the top three programs on the field, well — that’s why the recruiting continues to stay top notch.
I spent nearly 3 years working at Michigan…
After spending 12 hours inside OSU yesterday I have one thought…
Michigan is way behind.
— tR. (@_TyRogers_) December 18, 2019
I know I focused on Michigan there, but the same could be said for Penn State, Nebraska and any other Big Ten team you want to throw in that bucket. And unfortunately for those teams, it’s going to take some pretty monumental stuff to get back there.
Something will happen sometime to knock Ohio State back. Until then, that’s life in the big city for all the other teams.
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