Michigan and Ohio State have one of the best rivalries in college football, and in the last three years, Michigan has beaten the Buckeyes. Still, before 2021, Ohio State owned the rivalry this century, winning 17 matchups since 2000, and with Michigan losing their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, and the best talent they will probably ever have, the Wolverines will be taking a step back. It’s not a good time in the Big Ten to look for yourself again because Oregon is coming to the conference this season, and they are not messing around.
Oregon Is Ready To Win In The Big Ten Now
Oregon is coached by Dan Lanning, who was the defensive coordinator at Georgia before taking over the Duck’s head coaching job in 2022. Lanning is building up his program like Georgia and a team from the Big Ten Ohio State.
Ohio State is one of the best recruiting teams, and they are always in it with schools like Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and Texas. The good news was that they were the only school in the Big Ten that felt like they were elite when it came to landing the five-star players; it never felt like Ohio State had a rival in their conference when it came to the top guys in their class, and even Michigan couldn’t compete with the Buckeyes in recruiting.
Michigan was able to take good players, and with how great of a coach Harbaugh is, he was able to develop them in three to five years and make them great players. With Harbaugh back in the NFL, who knows how these players will develop?
The Wolverines are not on the same level as Ohio State and Oregon regarding acquiring players, and they will fall back in the middle of the pack. You can even put USC at the top because they are also coming to the conference and landing big stars.
Oregon Will Take Michigan’s Place In The Big Ten
Oregon will take Michigan’s place as the team that competes with Ohio State every year. We have already seen it off the field in recruiting the past few days when the Ducks stole big-time players like cornerback Dorian Brew, running back Jordon Davison, and wide receiver Dakorien Moore, who all were believed to head to Ohio State. Sorry, Michigan isn’t stealing five-star recruits from the Buckeyes, but Oregon is, and they are ready to take over the conference.
If Harbaugh were still at Michigan, there would be no question that they could still compete with Oregon and Ohio State. However, new head coach Sherrone Moore is going to have to rebuild this program, and they will be watching the Buckeyes and Ducks run away with the Big Ten for quite a while.
Ohio State and Michigan will still hate each other on the field, but Ohio State fans need to realize that the Wolverines are not their number one enemy anymore in the Big Ten.
