Written by Ian Casselberry at The Comeback
The final outcome was ugly — surprisingly so, really. Going into this season, Michigan wasn’t expected to beat Ohio State. Even with college football and the national media getting swept up in the cult of Jim Harbaugh to nearly embarrassing lengths. (I mean, a bus outfitted in khakis? Come on.)
It was pretty well understood that a team that went 5-7 last year wasn’t going to turn around and beat the defending national champions the following season. Not when the Buckeyes were returning 15 starters and began the season ranked No. 1.
Yet going into last Saturday, Michigan fans thought they had a chance against Ohio State. Some experts were even picking the Wolverines to win, taking the further step of projecting them to win the Big Ten championship and go to the Rose Bowl. That wasn’t based entirely on belief in Harbaugh, of course. The Buckeyes looked bad in a 17-14 loss to Michigan State the previous week, and a similar performance would surely result in another defeat.
In light of Ohio State’s dominating 42-13 victory, those expectations look absolutely silly. The game was a definitive reminder that these two programs aren’t yet equal. One of college football’s biggest rivalries hasn’t been restored to the point where the outcome isn’t pre-determined. Not when one team has won 11 of the past 12 games, and 13 of the previous 15.
That was easy to overlook in the short-term, especially when the Buckeyes looked like a team in disarray following the loss to Michigan State. Several players tweeted that they’d played their final game in Columbus, with eyes on the NFL rather than the task directly ahead of them. Ezekiel Elliott criticized the coaching staff’s play-calling, lamenting that he wasn’t given the ball enough. Even if it was true, to voice that displeasure publicly was surprising. This wasn’t a team that appeared united in one direction. Many were paying more attention to their own agendas.
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