CFB: Two Sides to One Story
Dark to light, redcoats to revolutionists, and heaven to hell all have similarities in common and those are that they might not like each other and they are opposite of one another. Michigan and Ohio State are in comparison, those things. With The Game less than a day away between these two, this is not a declaration for who is the better side. Like everyone else who devotes a caring amount of time every Saturday to college football, that is up for own opinion on which side is heaven and which side is the deep depth below it.
Michigan (8-3, 5-3): The Michigan Wolverines, who hail from the beautiful city of Ann Arbor, play in the largest stadium in the country nicknamed “The Big House” which has capacity of 107,601 people but routinely exceeds that number. Michigan Stadium has had the privilege of yelling “Go Blue” and seeing the streaks of maize and blue and winged helmets compete in a hard, Midwestern, Big Ten football way. Their fight song is named “Hail to the Victors” and is played routinely on fall Saturdays having been written in an intimidating, militaristic format. With 100,000 plus cheering them on to will the Wolverines, they have not seen a need for another in a mascot. They did originally have one named Biff, which was later renamed Blue, during the 1920’s and 1930’s but has since scraped the idea of having the once live Wolverine on the field during games. Something that is done before games is one of their biggest traditions, and that is when the team runs out of the tunnel and touches a banner that reads “Go Blue, M Club Supports You." Now statistically, Michigan ranks just as good as anybody in the country all-time. They boast three Heisman winners, a 943-337-36 record (which is the most wins by any program ever), 42 conference titles, and most importantly, 11 national championships.
Ohio State (9-2, 6-2): Now 189 miles south of Ann Arbor in Columbus, reign the state of Ohio’s pride and joy with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Seas of scarlet and grey wash into Ohio Stadium, which holds 104,944 people and often exceeds that, cheer on their beloved bucks. Their mascot is named Brutus and he has helped rally fans into saying their famed “O-H … I-O” chant since he was introduced in 1965. They have three fight songs named Carmen Ohio, Across the Field, and Buckeye Battle Cry which all have their distinct roles depending of the situation the Buckeyes are in on that given fall Saturday. One of their biggest traditions is, like Michigan, a pregame ritual where the marching band spells out Ohio in cursive and one last member of the band trots out there and dots the i. Brining statistics into all of this, Ohio State ranks up there with Michigan and everybody else boasting a 895-324-53 record, tied for the record with seven Heisman winners, 37 conference titles, and eight national titles.
In conclusion, statistically Michigan has ruled the series. They lead the all-time record with a 58-48-6 stat line, have the biggest victory with a 168-0 win and have the longest win streak which was 17. They always play once a year and on the final game of the regular season which is such a meaningful and timeless tradition. Whether you are a fan of one of these teams or not, one thing we can all agree on is that every last Saturday of November is always a good one.
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.
