Michigan and Ohio State players reserve a special kind of hatred for each other. For both programs, the rivalry game matters more than anything else on their schedules. However, Michigan QB1 Bryce Underwood raised eyebrows when he said the Ohio State matchup was just another game. For former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, that’s not acceptable.
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“So, I’m a 19-year-old man. “I’m playing for Ohio State,” Meyer said during his The Triple Option podcast on August 24. “I want that person. I don’t know the physics of it, but I certainly know the mental piece of it. I’m going against a person that I’ve been trained and indoctrinated to dislike. I’m going to go much harder than hey, ‘that’s a good dude.'”
“Like Bryce Underwood. Now, Coach Whit, I get it. Bryce Underwood, that is incorrect. That’s not another team, and that’s not it. So, I don’t know what he was getting at by saying they’re just another team. I’m going to help them. No, it’s not. It’s not another team.”
Michigan sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood sparked massive blowback by downplaying the legendary Ohio State rivalry. During an August interview with NBC Sports, Underwood was asked how playing Ohio State compared to other matchups. The QB was reminded of Michigan’s brutal 27-9 loss to the Buckeyes last November.
“It’s just another game, just with guys in a different color,” Underwood stated. “That’s how I see it.”
By publicly dismissing the Buckeyes as just “guys in a different color,” Underwood has handed Ryan Day’s locker room the ultimate motivational weapon. Ohio State thrives on any perceived disrespect from Ann Arbor. Moreover, the next rivalry game is at Columbus, and Ohio State is anyway waiting to have redemption for its 2024 loss at home.
Meyer believes that treating the rivalry casually is a recipe for losing. During his seven years in Columbus, Meyer built his entire program around a 365-day-a-year obsession with beating Michigan. He famously banned the color blue in the football facility and refused even to say the word “Michigan.”
The Buckeyes explicitly design their entire football program, daily calendar, and training facility around defeating the Wolverines. The moment the game ends in late November, a massive digital countdown clock inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center immediately resets to 365 days.
Unlike Underwood, Buckeye QB Julian Sayin is fully aligned with Columbus’s traditional, high-intensity approach to the rivalry. When asked directly about the Michigan rivalry and the massive focus placed on it by the Buckeyes. Sayin didn’t filter his response. He stated clearly that beating Michigan “is something we all have in the back of our mind 24/7.”
We saw a glimpse of it last season when Sayin thoroughly outplayed Underwood in their first head-to-head meeting. Sayin sliced through the Wolverines’ defense. He threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a dominant 27-9 victory in Ann Arbor.
For a Michigan quarterback, legacy is built entirely on your record against Ohio State. Great stats against lesser opponents are forgotten if you fail to perform in “The Game.” Underwood’s comments aren’t isolated. They mirror a less aggressive culture being implemented by new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham.
The former Utah head coach drew heavy criticism at Big Ten Media Days for claiming that the rivalry does not need a “hatred factor.” This unified, relaxed stance from the head coach and starting quarterback has left Michigan fans terrified that the team lacks the fierce edge. Ironically, Whittingham’s approach to the rivalry is the exact opposite of how his former boss at Utah (Urban Meyer) treated the Michigan game.
On the other side, we have Jeremiah Smith, who made it his mission to beat Michigan after losing to the Wolverines in 2024. That was Michigan’s fourth straight win against a Ryan Day-led team. The wide receiver delivered on his promise to Ohio State fans last season, and he wants to add another feather to that cap this upcoming season.