Joel Klatt was asked a historical question on his podcast, and addressed it in the context of the previous “10-year War” between Michigan and Ohio State, which he estimated was between 1969 and 1978. That was when Ohio State won a national championship, and then Bo Schembechler was hired at Michigan.

He called it a mythical period in college football.

“Nothing lasts for 20 years in college football, and in particular in this day and age,” Klatt said. “The sport is moving way too fast.”

Klatt even said he’d be surprised if there’s 10 straight years of the coaching matchup between Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day.

“Let’s just start with that, college football moves way to fast to get something similar to what we got from Bo and Woody from 1969 to 1978,” Klatt said.

However, even in the period where the Michigan and Ohio State fans like to point to as a time when they dominated the sport, Klatt said, “It wasn’t necessarily true.”

The reason is there was only 1 national championship between the programs, and it was shared.

“Now, the rivalry was incredible during that time and at times even before and after,” he said. “But this notion that these 2 were winning many national championships during this time is false.”

As for the new 10-year War, Klatt said it likely started in 2021 with Michigan’s unexpected win, and that kickstarted a new era of the rivalry with subtext and undertones.

Here’s the video with all of his comments: