The state of Michigan is striving to achieve a feat not witnessed in a century.

Jason Jones

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Michigan aims to accomplish something that has not been seen in 100 years image

TL;DR

  • The Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines rivalry spans over 120 years with a historical Michigan advantage.
  • Michigan leads the series 62-51-6, but neither team has consistently dominated over their entire history.
  • Michigan has won the last four matchups, aiming for a fifth consecutive win this Saturday.
  • Both teams have significant stakes: Ohio State seeks an undefeated season, Michigan aims for playoff contention.

It's rivalry week, and few matchups this week will carry the historical weight of the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Michigan Wolverines contest. Only a select few teams boast a rivalry that stretches back 120 years, as is the case with Michigan and Ohio State. This is a competition where planting flags and deliberately avoiding the opponent's team name are common practices.

Michigan holds the historical advantage in their matchups, with a record of 62 wins, 51 losses, and 6 ties. While Michigan has a lead in the overall series, neither side has consistently dominated the other across their entire history. Furthermore, Michigan has outperformed Ohio State in the past four seasons, a fact that doesn't sit well with fans of the Buckeyes.

Similar to any strong competition where both participants achieve victories, each side emphasizes the point that benefits their narrative. Although Michigan enjoys pointing out to Ohio State that their losing streak against Michigan exceeds 2,000 days, Ohio State prefers to remind Michigan of their dominance from 2001 to 2021, winning 17 out of 19 contests.

Michigan has the opportunity to make history this Saturday.

Although 2001-2019's claim that Ohio State thoroughly defeated Michigan might be an exaggeration, such prolonged dominance is uncommon in this particular rivalry. In over 120 years of competition, neither team has managed to best the other by more than ten wins more than once. Regardless of whether the coaches were Hayes and Schembechler, Carr and Tressel, or Day and Moore, there's consistently been a degree of parity between these two programs.

Should Michigan defeat Ohio State this Saturday, it would mark their fifth consecutive victory. Setting aside the present run, Michigan hasn't achieved four straight wins over Ohio State since the 1988-1991 period. One must look back as far as 1922 to discover a winning streak for Michigan longer than four consecutive contests.

From 1922 onward, Michigan maintained a six-year winning streak against Ohio State. 1922-1926 represents five consecutive years, and Michigan's losing streak to Ohio State didn't begin until 1928. Before 1922, the Wolverines had a 13-year period without a loss to the Buckeyes. From 1901-1918, Michigan held an undefeated record against Ohio State, with 12 wins and 1 tie.

Both teams have something to play for in this game if beating the other team wasn’t enough. Ohio State is entering the final game of the season with an unblemished record and a clear path to the Big Ten championship game. Michigan is 9-2 (7-1 in conference) and has played their way back into the college football playoff conversation. A win over Ohio State would introduce chaos into the Big Ten conference title chase and college football playoff seeding.

Ohio State is heading to Ann Arbor to face off against Michigan on Saturday. The contest is scheduled to begin at 12:00 PM Eastern Time and will be televised on Fox.

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Staff Writer