There hasn’t been a high-stakes rivalry in college football since the 1970s.
This game will decide legacies, change coaches’ careers, and most likely decide the Big Ten race.
This season, the stars lined up for one of the greatest games of all time between Michigan State and Ohio State, with Michigan State winning 30-24 and sending the Wolverines on their way to the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season, and Ohio State.
This left State University at a disadvantage.
With the Big Ten dissolving divisions and expanding to 18 teams next season, a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State in the conference championship game could become a reality.
The new 12-team College Football Playoff allows both teams to participate, making regular season play less important.
In this new world, it’s hard to imagine the Michigan vs.
Ohio State game being as important as it is.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was asked Monday about the excitement surrounding the rivalry, and said he believes it’s basically out of control.
Harbaugh said the problem isn’t the rivalry itself, but everything surrounding it: the hype, the nastiness, the media attention, the endless pressure.
“I think this is very relevant to the type of television that people watch and want to watch,” Harbaugh said.
“It’s not healthy for student-athletes on either side to try to put that much (pressure) on and for someone to essentially think it’s a matter of life or death.
” There were many reasons for this, and it was particularly stressful.
He had to watch it on his couch at home.
The animosity between the two programs, fueled by relentless media attention, culminated in Harbaugh’s three-game suspension from the Big Ten for Michigan’s spying and sign-stealing scandal.
There’s no need to rehash the drama surrounding both programs leading up to the game.
Anyone who spends a few minutes reading message boards or comment sections will notice this.
This season has been a perfect storm of ridiculously high stakes, incendiary storylines, and moral outrage on both sides.
It’s hard to tell fans to pay attention to the games when each program’s daily life revolves around defeating the other program.
