One of the lasting images from Michigan’s victory over Ohio State in Ohio Stadium last season came courtesy of Wolverines cornerback Mike Sainristil.
After the Wolverines’ 45-23 win on the Buckeyes’ home turf last November, it was Sainristil who planted a Michigan flag in the middle of the Block O at the 50-yard line to celebrate the Wolverines’ first victory in Columbus since 2000.
Flag planted. pic.twitter.com/vBHd0ICliQ
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) November 26, 2022
Following the game, Sainristil told reporters he had been thinking about planting the flag in Ohio Stadium all year.
“I was thinking about that since January,” Sainrstil said after the game. “Just coming down here and having the opportunity to win this game at this stadium, the first time since 2000, just even last year, the only thing I was thinking about was fans rushing the field. This year I was thinking about planting the flag and just speaking it into existence.”
Sainristil on planting the Michigan flag in the Block O at midfield pic.twitter.com/4JjHW5xdpF
— angelique (@chengelis) November 26, 2022
Asked about the flag plant at Thursday’s Big Ten Media Days, however, Sainristil said the flag plant was a spur-of-the-moment celebration that wasn’t intended to be disrespectful to Ohio State.
“It was just one of those things that happened in the moment,” Sainristil said. “Would I do it again? I don’t know. It was just one of those things. I was excited. I was happy. And it just happened.
“It wasn't anything to disrespect Ohio State or anything like that. It was just, like I said, I was happy to have went down there and did what we did with my teammates, and it just happened.”
While the flag plant certainly was perceived as disrespectful by many associated with Ohio State, it was symbolic of how the state of the rivalry has flipped over the past two years, as Michigan went from losing eight straight games against the Buckeyes to winning two in a row.
Sainristil has seen both sides of that coin, as the fifth-year senior was a freshman at Michigan for the Wolverines’ eighth straight loss to the Buckeyes in 2019. What’s allowed the Wolverines to turn the rivalry around in their favor since then? Sainristil believes it’s the way they’ve worked to get better daily.
“Just the change of culture and how we attack things,” Sainristil said. “The way we handle our business now, and that’s just a big credit to (director of strength and conditioning Ben Herbert). He made sure that we're not letting any opportunity slip away from us, and we're making sure that we do everything to maximize every single day and preparation for big games, little games. Making sure that there's no complacency and just having the mindset of we have to go out there and take in order to get what we want.”
Jim Harbaugh gave a similar answer during his own interview session Thursday afternoon.
“A lot of little things that people think are little things or the minutiae,” Harbaugh said when asked what he thinks has allowed Michigan to have more success against Ohio State over the past two years. “I mean, it's really 1,000 little things. It's the work. If you ever analyzed it or took it apart, you'd understand that it's the work, the compiled work.”
