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Instead of breaking down what he expects from Michigan and Ohio State on Saturday, former Buckeyes quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit waxed poetic about The Game — arguably the biggest rivalry in all of sports.
On his weekly appearance with Matt Barrie on the ‘ESPN College Football Podcast,’ Herbstreit shared his perspective on the rivalry, as the Wolverines and Buckeyes are set to have yet another one of their biggest matchups ever, with the winner advancing to the Big Ten championship game with a College Football Playoff berth on the line, while the other has to wait at home until bowl season.
It’s been a long time since these two storied programs have had a game of this magnitude in Ann Arbor — in 2006, 2016, and 2018, The Game was in Columbus — and, as Jim Harbaugh said this week, ‘it’s for all the marbles.’
Here is what Herbstreit had to say about the storied rivalry.
“Well, my son’s on the team right now and he’s a freshman, and he’s been sending me pictures,” Herbstreit said. “He’s like, ‘Dad, I grew up in our house, I’ve always had an appreciation for this game.’ And he goes, ‘One day into the week, and I already have a new appreciation.’ He said, ‘You should see the facility and the locker room and everything that’s going on, the signs, the clocks, everywhere you look, it’s something.’ His helmet on the scout team has been taped blue with maize wings. The helmet, it’s just a way of life in Columbus, not just for the fans. Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel took that rivalry and made it sacred. And it’s always been sacred to every coach, especially Woody Hayes when he was going head-to-head with Bo. And that’s when I grew up, in the middle of that 10 year war. I have such an appreciation for those uniforms getting on the same field together and it seemed like in that era it was back and forth and back and forth. And then when Jon Cooper was there it was one-sided and actually an advantage for Michigan. And they had some unbelievable talent come through Ann Arbor.
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“After Jon Cooper, Jim Tressel came in and he just found a way — he had the right formula, and he didn’t hide from how important that game was. The Game itself, once you get through the hype and the noise, The Game itself is the hardest hitting but cleanest game that you typically play in. Sometimes you play teams and you study film and you draw plays, and based on the coverage, this guy’s supposed to go here but there’s a bust and he didn’t go there, so you’re kind of improvising. ‘That safety was supposed — but that didn’t happen,’ and that happens throughout the year. All of a sudden, you get to the Michigan game and everything, the way it’s supposed to go, is exactly the way it goes. Both schools are so well-coached. That’s what I mean the cleanest. Cleanest as far as the reads. People are where they’re supposed to be, it’s that kind of clean. It’s nasty, don’t get me wrong, but that’s what I mean when it’s clean. And then the game itself, man, it’s like you feel the tradition when you’re playing, the stadium is electric. There’s something about certain games, like for me, USC-UCLA. It’s not a game for today’s generation, but for you and I, there’s something about when you see those uniforms on the field together, it just brings back memories for you. That’s how it is for Ohio State and Michigan. You see Ohio State, in this case, come out with their white tops and their silver pants you just get this feeling of just, ‘Wow, here they are, on the road. Here comes Michigan, they hit the banner. Fight song (sings).’ It’s like, ‘Here we go!’
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“I grew up, my dad coached with Woody, he coached with Bo. Both were family friends. And my dad trained me to always cheer for Michigan except for one Saturday out of the year and we’re gonna go kick the hell out of them for those 60 minutes. So, for me, it can’t get any better than ‘06 when it was No. 1 against No. 2, or 2021 when — ‘07 was Beanie Wells, ‘06 was when Bo Schembechler died the day before. It was a shootout. Mike Hart had a big game, Teddy Ginn, Troy Smith. But this game, because it’s not just Ohio State and the playoff, Michigan! Michigan and Jim Harbaugh at home, despite that he hadn’t beaten Ohio State yet as the head coach, forget all that — it’s right now, it’s this year. If Michigan wins, they’re going to Indianapolis. They haven’t been to Indianapolis yet since we’ve done this division thing. They’ve not been to play for the Big Ten Championship! So, they have so much at stake as well, and if they win against Ohio State, they go to the playoff, potentially, if they can beat Wisconsin. So this is why all — you’re sitting around, gamble, playing blackjack or something, you’re putting all your chips in the middle of the table, and both teams are doing that. So that’s what makes this rivalry so great, when both teams are playing to get to a championship. That’s the way this tradition was built on, and we’re gonna get a chance to see that this Saturday.”
Michigan and Ohio State will kick off at noon EST at The Big House. The game will be broadcast on Fox, but both ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ and ESPN ‘College GameDay’ will be in Ann Arbor.
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