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The Game: Ohio State vs Michigan, College Football’s Greatest Rivalry
- The Ohio State and Michigan rivalry has seen players and coaches move on, but the game is still a massive deal in the Big Ten and the nation.
- The Buckeyes are the early favorite to win back-to-back national titles.
- Michigan has won the last four meetings with Ohio State and is also leading the series.
Even when Michigan has taken a step back from the program that had just won the national title, there is something special when the Wolverines play against Ohio State. Michigan went into Columbus and came away with a 13-10 win against an Ohio State team that would win the national title. It was the latest chapter in the Ohio State vs Michigan rivalry.
Michigan and Ohio State have combined to win 21 national titles and 84 Big Ten championships. Each team has won nine Rose Bowl titles, and 10 Heisman Trophy winners have played for the programs. When the talk turns to the best college football rivalries, this one usually comes out on top. However, some in SEC land are partial to one of the most fierce rivalries in American sports—Alabama vs Auburn.
There’s no better way for Michigan and Ohio State to wrap up the regular season than adding another chapter to perhaps the best rivalry in college football. Ohio State has the shortest odds of winning the national title during the 2025 season, while Michigan tied for 13th in the championship odds. We’ll see what those odds look like when the teams meet in Ann Arbor on Nov. 29.
Keep reading to learn more about the Ohio State vs Michigan rivalry.
The Michigan vs Ohio State Rivalry Is One For The Ages
A Look At The Rivalry
Michigan held a 19-3-2 advantage in the series in the first 24 meetings. The rivalry began to feel more like a rivalry in 1928 when the Buckeyes started a run with seven wins in 10 games against the Wolverines. Four wins in five games in Ann Arbor changed how the Michigan vs Ohio State rivalry was perceived.
In recent times, both programs have taken turns dominating the series. Michigan was 10-2-1 from 1988 to 2000, followed by Ohio State, which won 17 of the next 19 meetings.
With Ohio State vacating the 2010 win and that game not counting in the series history, Michigan leads the series 62-51-6. Michigan has a winning record both in Ann Arbor and in Columbus.
The Big Ten play has a much closer split, with Michigan leading 51-50-4.
Plenty of Top 5 Matchups Between Michigan and Ohio State
There have been 14 meetings when both Michigan and Ohio State were ranked in the top five in the national polls. The first came in 1942 when Ohio State won 21-14.
The only time it was a matchup between teams ranked first and second in the polls was in 2006 when Ohio State won 42-39.
Why Are Michigan and Ohio State Such Big Rivals?
There was a time when it was pretty clear what was at stake when Michigan played Ohio State.
Only one of those teams could make it to the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champion. More often than not, the winner of the Michigan vs Ohio State game would earn the Rose Bowl bid, while the loser of the game would be relegated to a lesser bowl.
When the national title was decided by the results of the national poll, the loser of the Michigan vs Ohio State game would be out of contention.
When the College Football Playoff bracket was limited to four teams, Michigan or Ohio State made it into the field five times in the first eight CFP brackets.
Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes played their way into the CFP in 2022. However, both teams lost in the semifinals.
Now that there are 12 teams in the College Football Playoff field, the loser of the Ohio State vs Michigan matchup won’t necessarily be knocked out of title contention.
How Does Conference Realignment Impact the Rivalry
Oregon and Southern California were among the former Pac-12 teams to join the Big Ten after the 2023 season, which has caused some changes in the Big Ten.
Michigan and Ohio State were in the same division as Penn State, so the top three teams in the conference usually played in the East Division. The winner would usually have little trouble with the West Division champion.
The two-division format was disbanded, so perhaps Ohio State and Michigan will meet in the Big Ten title game down the road. That would be something new in one of the epic college football rivalries we can look forward to.
Oregon’s presence, as well as what is going on at Penn State, could keep the Big Ten from simply being a case of Michigan and Ohio State battling it out for conference supremacy. The Oregon vs Oregon State football rivalry might suffer a bit now that Oregon and Oregon State are no longer conference rivals.
What Is The Best Michigan-Ohio State Game?
If you ask those who follow the Michigan vs Ohio State rivalry which game is best in the bitter rivalry’s history, the answer is usually the 1969 contest.
The 1969 Ohio State team had a chance to be in the conversation as the best team in the history of college football. Ohio State was pursuing a second straight national title before falling to Michigan 24-12. Woody Hayes coached Ohio State, and one of his former assistant coaches (Bo Schembechler) was the Michigan head coach.
Some—especially those not born in 1969—tend to favor the classic showdown in 2006. Ohio State won 42-39 to earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Why Was There A Fight In the 2024 Ohio State-Michigan Matchup?
Jim Harbaugh was not shy about poking the bear when he was the head coach at Michigan. However, it was the year after he left for the NFL when things got out of control.
When Michigan won 13-10 in Columbus in 2024, some Michigan players went to plant the Michigan flag on the Ohio State logo at midfield. A brawl ensued, with law enforcement officers using mace to get things under control.
Fines were levied after the event, and both universities will certainly do what they can to prevent that from happening in future Ohio State vs. Michigan football games.
