“Michigan-Ohio State Football Is the Greatest Rivalry”: College Football Analyst Lists Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes Rivalry As Top Rivalry In College Football

The Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes game is a game that college football fans look forward to every single year. It is always played the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

For the last four years, Michigan has defeated Ohio State. These two football programs have won the last two national titles. It will be interesting to see how this rivalry will reach another level in 2025. The game in 2025 will be played in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Wolverines are looking to make it five straight wins against the Buckeyes.

College Football Analyst Believes Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes Is the Top Rivalry In College Football

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic wrote about the Top 100 rivalries in the sport of college football. To no surprise, he listed the Buckeyes and the Wolverines as the biggest rivalry in college football. Michigan leads Ohio State 62-52-6. There have been 120 total meetings, and the first meeting was on October 16, 1897. Dochterman said,

“What to know: Arguably, Michigan-Ohio State football is the greatest rivalry in American sports. It unquestionably holds that status in college athletics. Their co-dependence deepens the intensity, both in victory and in defeat. There’s history from the territorial conflict over Toledo in 1835-36 that led to Ohioans referring to Michiganders as “Wolverines.” There’s proximity, prominence, moments, stakes, frequency and longevity. There is nothing like it.

1. One cannot name every great moment in this series, but there’s the 10-year war (1969-78) between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, the 1950 Snow Bowl, the Buckeyes losing four years in a row while ranked No. 2 (2021-24) and Hayes going for a 2-point conversion while up 48-14 in 1968. Then there’s “The Spot” in 2016, flag-planting in 2024 and “Tiebreaker” in 1973. That’s just a start.
2. No teams have engaged in as many ranked matchups (49), top-10 clashes (26) or top-5 showdowns (13). Michigan owns a 23-22-4 advantage in ranked duels, the teams are tied in top-10 showdowns (12-12-2) and Ohio State has the edge in top-five (7-5-1) matchups. At least one team has been ranked in 79 of 88 games since the AP poll debuted in 1936.
3. The teams have met in the regular-season finale every year since 1943, save for 2020 when Michigan’s high COVID-19 numbers forced a cancellation. Michigan-Ohio State has aired 68 times on TV, including the past 57 seasons.”

Many are also wondering what the biggest game in history was between Ohio State and Michigan. Dochterman added,

“Biggest game: In the second No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in Big Ten history, top-ranked Ohio State hosted fellow unbeaten Michigan in the 2006 regular-season finale, and “The Game” exceeded the massive hype. Great players traded blows all game, led by Ohio State’s Heisman-winning QB Troy Smith and Michigan RB Mike Hart. A controversial late hit on third down kept a pivotal Buckeyes’ drive alive, and the Buckeyes held on for a 42-39 legacy-defining win.”

During that same season, the Buckeyes went onto the national championship game, but they lost to Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. Ohio State and Michigan always have meaningful matchups no matter what the records are. It will be another meaningful matchup in 2025 when the Buckeyes face the Wolverines and there is a chance that it could have major college football playoff implications once again.

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