I actually don't mind Charles Woodson all that much.
An Ohio guy, it still stings that he chose to take his talents up north but I've always respected his contributions to the rivalry; he was a hell of a player and as intense a competitor as you'll find.
Just like Buckeyes gone by, Woodson still has a deep affinity for his university and as you've read by now, recently noted his disdain for what he believes is Michigan's lack of emphasis on The Game compared to back in his day.
“To be quite honest I really feel like over the years, in recent years, there hasn’t been the emphasis that I’m used to being put on that game,” Woodson said.
“Every game has been out on the same level of that game and that’s not the way we were brought up, that’s not the way we were raised around here. And we had no shame in saying it.”
...
"It's not for a lack of player or talent or coaching, you've got to be able to finish. In my opinion, it's the focus you put on that game that allows you to finish. We've got to get back to that."
Woodson himself enjoyed some stellar times against the Buckeyes under Lloyd Carr and I'm sure loyalty to his old coach kept him from feeling like Carr's 1-6 record against Jim Tressel had anything to do with fire in the ole belly.
No matter, you get the feeling Woodson's comments were directed toward either Jim Harbaugh's regime, or just as likely, the trifecta of Rich Rodriguez, Brady Hoke and Harbaugh considering their combined nine losses in 10 tries since Carr hung up his whistle (6-7 overall).
So, how much was emphasis really a factor in those nine losses over the last 10 years? It's impossible to know but looking inside the numbers suggests a talent disparity is the chief culprit.
Picking out a handful of key metrics, I took a look at each individual edition of the game since 2008 and the notables, by coaching era, look like this:
| YEAR | OSU TOT YDS | UM TOT YDS | OSU RUSH YPC | UM RUSH YPC | OSU 3RD DOWN | UM 3RD DOWN | OSU FORCED TO | UM FORCED TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 416 | 198 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 6/14 | 1/17 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 | 318 | 309 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 4/15 | 6/18 | 5 | 1 |
| 2010 | 478 | 351 | 5.7 | 4.4 | 10/18 | 5/15 | 3 | 1 |
| totals | 1,212 | 858 | 741 | 373 | 20/47 | 12/50 | 10 | 3 |
| avg/g | 404 | 286 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 43% | 24% | 3.3 | 1.0 |
During Rich Rod's tenure, Ohio State outgained Michigan three straight times, averaged 2.0 more yards per carry, owned third down and won the turnover battle with a combined +7 mark.
With those lopsided stats, the scores followed suit as the Buckeyes won 42-7, 21-10 and 37-7 to post a combined 100-24 edge in total points.
The 42-7 win in 2008 marked the biggest blowout in the last 40 editions of The Game dating back to Woody's 50-14 victory in 1968 in which he couldn't go for three. The 2009 version saw Tate Forcier throw four picks and fumble in the end zone while the 2010 swan song marked Ohio State's seventh-straight win in the series, served as the second-biggest blowout since 1968 and helped the Buckeyes to a sixth-straight Big Ten title.
To be fair, it wasn't just Ohio State owning Michigan during that three-year period as Rodriguez led the Wolverines to six wins in 24 Big Ten games and 15 wins in 37 overall contests including one bowl appearance; a 52-14 loss to an 8-4 Mississippi State Bulldog squad.
But yeah, maybe they just didn't emphasize The Game enough.
Either way, that was it for Rodriguez as Dave Brandon ushered in a Michigan Man by the name of Brady Hoke to right the ship.
| YEAR | OSU TOT YDS | UM TOT YDS | OSU RUSH YPC | UM RUSH YPC | OSU 3RD DOWN | UM 3RD DOWN | OSU FORCED TO | UM FORCED TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 372 | 444 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5/12 | 5/11 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 396 | 279 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4/13 | 4/10 | 4 | 2 |
| 2013 | 526 | 603 | 8.5 | 4.3 | 3/8 | 8/14 | 1 | 2 |
| 2014 | 416 | 372 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 7/13 | 6/12 | 2 | 0 |
| totals | 1,710 | 1,698 | 970 | 658 | 19/46 | 23/47 | 8 | 5 |
| avg/g | 428 | 425 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 41% | 49% | 2.7 | 1.7 |
Hoke still stands as Michigan's maize standard since Jim Tressel arrived in Columbus with one win in four tries against the Buckeyes. His lone win came against Ohio State's shell of a team during Luke Fickell's one and only year guiding the program though it should be noted Michigan went 11-2 in that 2011 season.
Michigan outgained and outrushed (277 to 137) the Buckeyes in the 2011 tilt marking the only time that's happened in the last 10 years. Braxton Miller went for 335 total yards but his deep ball incompletion to DeVier Posey late in the game for what could've been the game-winner helped Denard Robinson and his five touchdowns to the winner's circle.
Of course, Urban Meyer strolled into town the following season and kicked things off with a 26-21 win as Carlos Hyde rushed for 146 and the defense held Michigan to 279 yards with four turnovers.
Braxton Miller accounted for five touchdowns and completed just six passes in the 2013 victory.
Things got a little more dicey during a 2013 trip to the Big House but a Tyvis Powell interception of a two-point conversion pass sealed a 42-41 win as Miller accounted for five touchdowns while completing six passes. Michigan's 20-point fourth quarter wasn't fun to watch but the 16.5-point underdogs still couldn't pull off back-to-back wins for what would've been the first time since the 1999 and 2000 editions of The Game.
The Hoke era would end one year later as Ohio State put up 42 points for the second-straight year in a 14-point win behind 121 yards and two scores from Ezekiel Elliott and three touchdowns from J.T. Barrett before his ankle injury set the stage for an improbable national title run.
Again, I'm not sure a Michigan Man like Hoke failed to properly emphasize The Game. He just didn't have enough horses or luck to make a run toward at least a .500 mark against "Ohio".
During his four-year tenure, Hoke's squad did post a better third down conversion mark and played the Buckeyes to about even in yardage output but Ohio State's ground game and ability to win or stay even in turnover margin helped out. Cumulative points show the Buckeyes with a 144-130 edge while winning three of four matchups.
Enter Jim Harbaugh.
| YEAR | OSU TOT YDS | UM TOT YDS | OSU RUSH YPC | UM RUSH YPC | OSU 3RD DOWN | UM 3RD DOWN | OSU FORCED TO | UM FORCED TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 482 | 364 | 6.8 | 2.3 | 7/13 | 9/18 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 330 | 310 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 3/16 | 9/19 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017 | 350 | 295 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 8/16 | 5/15 | 3 | 1 |
| totals | 1,162 | 969 | 801 | 248 | 18/45 | 27/54 | 5 | 1 |
| avg/g | 387 | 323 | 5.3 | 2.4 | 40% | 50% | 1.7 | 0.3 |
Harbaugh shook up the college football world when he arrived ahead of the 2015 campaign and while he won 10 games in each of his first two seasons, his program sits at 28-11 through three years including 18-8 in the Big Ten, 1-2 in bowl games, and 0-3 against Ohio State.
Meyer welcomed Jim to the rivalry with a 42-13 thumping in 2015 behind 369 yards rushing on 6.8 per carry as Zeke got loose for 214 and two touchdowns.
Michigan actually entered the game with a No. 10 ranking but the Buckeye defense held the Wolverines to 57 rushing yards on 2.3 per carry while Jabrill Peppers tallied 54 total yards in Harbaugh's gimmick offense.
The following season saw Ohio State post win 30-27 double-overtime thriller keyed by a perfect spot from the officials on a J.T. Barrett fourth-down plunge and a 15-yard touchdown jaunt from Curtis Samuel to seal the deal.
Again, Michigan couldn't run the football averaging 2.1 yards per carry with three turnovers.
Curtis Samuel capped the 2016 Game in style. (Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports)
Last season, Meyer made it three-straight over Harbaugh with a 31-20 win in which the Wolverines again failed to reach at least 3.0 yards per carry. Michigan's defense again held Ohio State to under 351 yards but couldn't turn the Buckeyes over.
At 0-3 against Ohio State entering his fourth season, Harbaugh has yet to win the turnover margin, total rushing yards or average yards per carry battle in any of the three contests. As such, Meyer's Buckeyes have outscored the Wolverines 103-60.
While Harbaugh thus far has proven worse than Hoke at fielding a competitive team in The Game, I'd argue he gets the rivalry as much as anyone.
The reality is that more often than not (while hard for Cooper era survivors to believe), emphasizing importance of The Game and even the X's and the O's will struggle to defeat a definitive edge in the Jimmy's and the Joe's.
