‘I see incredible respect’: What Urban Meyer thinks when he sees the Michigan logo

Urban Meyer doesn’t ever refer to the university in Ann Arbor as “Michigan.” Instead, the former Ohio State head coach uses terms like “That Team Up North,” “our rivals” or “the Wolverines” when talking about the Buckeyes’ biggest rival.

So, when you ask him about what he thinks about when he sees the team’s logo, you might expect a snarky or humorous response. Nobody would have anything to say about it, either. After all, Meyer finished with a perfect 7-0 record against Michigan while he was at Ohio State, winning every game from 2012-18.

But tasked with answering the question of what he sees when his eyes hit that “Block M” logo, Meyer provided an interesting answer.

“I see incredible respect,” Meyer said on Big Noon Kickoff. ““I didn’t say ‘like.’ But incredible respect. You better tie your shoes real tight and strap it up because you’re getting ready for something that’s coming at you. I would imagine it would be the same thing if you said USC-Notre Dame. I see incredible respect. Once again, there’s a big difference between respect and like. There’s a lot of dislike and a lot of respect.”

Meyer has said on multiple occasions that, while he was the coach at Ohio State, the focus on the rivalry game was something the program lived every day. Nobody was permitted to wear blue inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. You won’t find as much as a blue pen in the building.

It’s that focus and attention to detail on “The Game” that helped Meyer’s squad grab seven wins in seven seasons over Michigan. Ohio State improved its winning streak to eight games in 2019, defeating the Wolverines 56-27 in Ann Arbor on its way to a third-straight B1G title.

Following in Meyer’s footsteps, head coach Ryan Day is now 1-0 against Michigan.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB