Ohio State football is sitting right on the edge of making huge college football history, and the timing could not annoy Michigan fans more. By the end of the 2026 season, the Wolverines may no longer be the only team with bragging rights in the famous 1,000-win club.

Right now, the Buckeyes have exactly 990 all-time wins. That means Ryan Day and Ohio State are only about 10 victories away from joining the super-exclusive 1,000-win club.

Ever since the Wolverines hit that mark in 2019, it has become Michigan football’s biggest bragging point: the winningest program in college football history. Wolverine fans proudly use this phrase “First to 1,000” anytime they have to cope. It has basically been their favorite comeback whenever Ohio State dominated them on the field or won in other areas.

Michigan still leads overall with 1,021 total wins, but they have to be looking directly over their shoulder with a serious amount of anxiety right now.. The scary part for Wolverines fans is not just Ohio State getting close to the milestone, but how quickly the Buckeyes are catching up to them.

Under Ryan Day, the Buckeyes have operated like an absolute machine, winning over 87% of their games and locking in 11 or 12 wins every single year without a miss. Since they are moving at a much faster pace than almost any other team in the country, it’s fair to assume they’d reach such a milestone by Week 12.

Imagine if they reach the 1,000 club on rivalry week against the Michigan Wolverines. That would be a sight to see. Some Buckeyes fans are ready to see that come into fruition, even if they drop two games, as long as the natty is locked in.

Nonetheless, since Ohio State is moving at such a diabolical pace, Michigan has left themselves with absolutely zero room for error over the next few years. If the Wolverines’ Kyle Whittingham regime doesn’t work like it didn’t with Sherrone Moore, and they drop 4 or 3 games, the Buckeyes will be right there to capitalize. At this rate, Ohio State is realistically on track to catch up and steal the number-one spot for all-time wins within the next decade.

When exactly can Ohio State realistically catch Michigan?

Based on the current math, if both teams continue running at their exact current paces, the earliest Ohio State could realistically catch and pass Michigan in total wins would be around 2031 or 2032.

Michigan currently holds a 31-win advantage. Even though the gap is 31, catching up is a slow process because both schools are elite and win most of their games every single autumn. To actually close that distance, Ohio State needs to out-win Michigan by an average of about 5 to 6 games per season.

If Ryan Day maintains his blistering average of roughly 11.5 wins per season, and Michigan averages a steady but slightly lower 6 to 7 wins per year during their current stretch, Ohio State chips away at the lead by about 5 wins a year. At that speed, it will take about 6 full seasons of football to wipe out the 31-win gap entirely.

However, if Kyle Whittingham finds the same success at Michigan that he had at Utah, there’s a good chance the Michigan Wolverines stays the sole owners of this title, maybe for until 2038.