Beat Michigan or win a national title? Ohio State can answer what means more in this College Football Playoff
Would you rather beat Michigan or win a national championship?
Outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the Ohio State-fan generated answer is probably at least 60% in favor of “Beat Michigan” at the bus stop, the dentist’s office or the local restaurant in central Ohio. The Buckeyes have not beaten the Wolverines since 2019, and the pain of a 13-10 loss on Nov. 30 – the fourth straight loss to Michigan – creates a seemingly distorted ethos in and around the outskirts of Interstate 270.
Some fan bases claim they’d be content with a 1-11 season as long as they beat their rival, but at Ohio State, that sentiment runs deep—perhaps too deep in the rapidly “NFL-ified” era of college football. Would winning a national championship in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff—the program’s first since 2014—be enough to overshadow a loss to their bitter rival?
This dynamic adds an intriguing layer to the high-stakes clash between No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) and No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) in the playoff’s opening round on Saturday.
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Other fan bases can say they will go 1-11 as long as they beat their rival. At Ohio State, it is a genuine sentiment. Maybe too genuine in the new era of college football that is suffering from rapid “NFL-ification.” Would a national championship in the first 12-team College Football Playoff – the program’s first since 2014 – offset that loss to a bitter rival?
That narrative is what makes the boom-or-bust nature of the matchup between No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) and No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday so interesting.
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Win, and the Buckeyes get a rematch with No. 1 Oregon (13-0) in the quarterfinals. Ohio State is equipped to win a national championship – and that would solidify Ryan Day as the long-term coach of the Buckeyes.
Lose, and this is a loosely based repeat of the 1995 season when the Buckeyes were 11-0 before losses to Michigan in the regular-season finale and Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. Only this team has a $20 million receipt in the Name, Image and Likeness department.
This is the challenge facing Ohio State players and coaches at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: it’s no longer just “beat Michigan or bust,” but how many playoff wins would it take to refocus the program?
“It hurts, man,” Ohio State quarterback Will Howard admitted Monday when asked about the loss to Michigan, even weeks later. “I’m not going to lie. We all still feel it, but we’ve moved on. We’re moved on now.”
But has Ohio State truly moved on from Michigan? Senior receiver Emeka Egbuka, who opted to forgo the 2024 NFL Draft for another shot at the Wolverines, had four catches for 51 yards in the defeat. “We’ve cultivated a really good culture here where we can have tough conversations and hold each other accountable—not just coaches to players, but players to coaches,” Egbuka said.
Those conversations likely included hard truths. The Buckeyes struggled to impose their will in the trenches, managing just 17 carries for 41 yards between the tackles against Michigan’s stout defensive front led by Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. The game plan faltered against a heavy underdog, and tensions boiled over into an ugly postgame brawl when Michigan players attempted to plant a flag at midfield. On and off the field, it was a disastrous showing for Ohio State.
How intense were those meetings? “No,” Howard began, before correcting himself. “Yes. It was tough. It sucked, yeah.”
Head coach Ryan Day now holds a 1-4 record—a 20% winning rate—against Michigan since succeeding Urban Meyer, compared to a 65-6 record (91.5%) against all other opponents. Yet the math is unforgiving at Ohio State: a 91.5% overall win rate doesn’t outweigh a 20% rate against Michigan. A loss to Tennessee could even jeopardize Day’s job security heading into 2025.
“If we’re going to move forward, there has to be accountability between the players and the coaches,” Day said Wednesday. “That’s about trust. There’s been open dialogue, with both sides understanding that we’re all working toward the same goal.”
