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College Football

Big Ten Spotlight: Once again, it’s all about Michigan and Ohio State

Tom Brew

By Tom Brew

Published:

For years and years, the jokes about the Big Two and Little However Many in the Big Ten really hurt all the other schools, but it was hard getting past the fact that Ohio State and Michigan dominate this league.

This year, with a week to go in the regular season, the same thing is happening again. Michigan is the best team in the league once again and Ohio State is its lone remaining challenger. They settle the Big Ten East title Saturday (Noon ET; TV: FOX) in Columbus.

A brief history lesson. No one has won more Big Ten football titles than Michigan (42). Ohio State is second with 36. Minnesota is next with just 18, and they haven’t won a title in more than 50 years. This really is a two-team league at the top. Other teams have won their occasional titles, but these are the two bell cows.

Except for one thing. Michigan hasn’t held up their end of the deal for a while. The Wolverines’ last Big Ten crown came in 2004. During that time, it’s been Ohio State that has taken advantage of Michigan’s downward swirl, winning seven of the last 13 conference titles.

Jim Harbaugh came to Michigan four years ago with an edict to change that dominance. It hasn’t happened yet. Harbaugh is 26-8 in the Big Ten since 2015, but three of those losses have come to Ohio State.

Finally, it looks like that’s supposed to change.

Michigan has won 10 straight games after a season-opening loss to still-unbeaten Notre Dame, and they’ve looked good doing it almost all of the time, especially on defense. Ohio State has struggled in the past month despite their 10-1 record, so it’s very rare that Ohio State is an underdog at home.

But there are good reasons why. First off, Michigan clearly looks like the better team. And, frankly, they’re due. It’s time to win a game in this rivalry. Once since 2004 is not enough.

Michigan running back Karan Higdon even went so far as to guarantee a victory on Monday, something his coach did once back in the 1980s when Harbaugh was Michigan’s quarterback. That guarantee worked, by the way. Higdon’s better, too.

“Yeah, I do. I do,” Higdon said after briefly contemplating the guarantee question. “That’s how I feel. I believe firmly in my brothers, this team and this coaching staff. As a captain, I’ll take that stand. Why not?”

No. 4 Michigan has never won the Big Ten East since the switch to divisions. They want that to end, and they’ve built to this moment. They have the No. 1 ranked defense in the country and an offense that gets better and better each week led by quarterback Shea Patterson. They seemed primed to win a conference title, finally.

Ohio State is 10-1 but the Buckeyes have really been struggling on defense this past month or so. Even on the road, Michigan seems primed to score a bunch of points against the Buckeyes.

It’s time.

“It’s a must-win,” Higdon said. “We’ve got some lofty goals we set for ourselves early on and they’re a team that’s standing in our way to achieve them. This isn’t a typical regular season game. This is a game that tunes everything up to a different level.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.