2023 Rivalry Edition

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More than just a moment:: Mike moment Sainristil''s Sainristil lasting impact on Michigan TESS CROWLEY/Daily

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ike Sainristil can vividly remember every detail of the play that he’s best known for.

More than his multiple pick-sixes or his many pass break-ups, or even his three career sacks, one play against Ohio State — above all else — defines the graduate cornerback to those outside of the No. 3 Michigan football program.

And if you ask him to describe that play on a crucial third-and-4 late in the fourth quarter — he’ll give you the unabridged version.

“I was man on Cade Stover,” Sainristil told The Michigan Daily. “When the ball got snapped, I kind of took my eyes off of him, I was looking in the backfield a little bit. And then out of the corner of my eye I saw him releasing on an over route, or kind of like a tight end bluff. I was like damn, I know I’m behind, so as I’m running I saw the ball get thrown. It was floated, but the only reason it was floated was because of the pressure from the d-line. … (Graduate defensive tackle Kris Jenkins) forced Stroud to throw an off-timing ball, but it was also on time in a sense.

He threw it off of his back foot, but the way he threw it allowed me to catch up.

“Stover put his hands up and I was able to get back in phase and not panic, and just reach the glove hand out there. And I got a piece of the ball. And I got just enough to poke it out.”

That moment, with the drama of a touchdown forced in-and-out of Stover’s hands — and the chance of an Ohio State comeback slipping with it — has garnered headlines for a reason. It was massive.

Sainristil’s calm and delayed flick of the ball was one the most impactful plays of The Game in 2022. And due to the nature and the importance placed upon that one game, it has become the shining emblem of Sainristil’s career thus far.

But if you were to ask Sainristil’s cornerbacks coach Steve Clinkscale, or Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, or especially his teammates about what comes to mind when they think of Sainris-

til, it’s almost never explicitly related to football.

Outside of the program, Sanristil is known for his play on the field. Inside of it, he’s known as the premier leader of the defense.

But if you were to ask Sainristil about what defines him, above all else, he’d focus on his family. For Sainristil, family, football and the work ethic that he feels he owes both of them, are deeply, deeply intertwined.

And that combination has culminated in the leader that he has become. *** Another football moment that Mike Sainristil can vividly remember is the moment that he fell in love with it.

“When I was 10 years old, I had a pop warner game on the day of my birthday, October 3, 2010,” Sainristil said. “And I had a really good game. On the last touchdown I scored in that game, and I still have the video to this day, my mom got everybody in the stands to start singing happy birthday. And it was the coolest thing to me. … Just understanding at a very young age the family feeling that football creates, the bond that football creates.”

That feeling Sainristil loves about football — the family aspect — is key to understanding who he has become for Michigan. Because Sainristil is someone who does not take family lightly. For him, family ties are not broad, loosely defined bonds. They boil down to being willing to genuinely give everything for another.

And Sainristil knows exactly how much his parents have sacrificed. He knows the story of why his parents fled Haiti when he was just a newborn well. His father, working at a radio station, saw an impending crackdown on journalists on the horizon, and chose to leave for his family’s sake.

But on a day-to-day basis, Sainristil has seen the work ethic his family has given him and his siblings, and his intrinsic response has been to place an expectation of that level of commitment upon himself. He feels that he owes his family for the sacrifices they have made for him, and he repays them with how hard he works.

“What I saw daily from my parents, they work hard — very hard,” Sainristil said. “Even to

this day they’re working very hard. So it’s like, my parents are doing that at their age, I’m much younger, I have more physical capabilities, I’m gifted talent. Like, I have all the tools. Why would I ever not want to work hard? Why would I ever go a day and waste time when I could use the gifts that I have to one day help them stop working?”

Along every step of his journey, his family was at the top of his mind. When he fell in love with football, it was because of his family. When he chose to decommit from Virginia Tech and commit to Michigan, it was chiefly because he saw how much his parents loved the school.

And now, in his fifth year with the Wolverines, a large part of his motivation is the family that he one day hopes to have.

He feels like those within the football program have become his family, and with that feeling, he feels that he owes them all that he has. Because if Sainristil treats you like family, he demands the work ethic from himself that he saw demonstrated by his parents — and that mantra has seeped into every aspect of the Wolverines’ defense.

“In my opinion, you have followers, you have leaders and you have influencers — I think Mike is an influencer,” Clinkscale said. “I think Mike has changed the mindset of everybody on our team, not just the defensive backs. … Like he never stops.”

But work ethic alone isn’t why Sainristil has become such a potent motivator. Rather, it’s that he has figured out how to motivate by using empathy. He doesn’t bark or demand; he makes himself available to listen and calmly explains.

He reaches out to the freshmen first, and he’s willing to use his own past frustrations and his struggles for playing time as examples of why he does what he does.

And this embrace of patience, and being comfortable with things not necessarily working out as expected and even having to change plans or positions isn’t something Sainristil learned from the team’s stars — but rather, its walk-ons.

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From the desk OF president santa ono Thanksgiving weekend is a time for traditions, gratitude and togetherness.

For many, it’s about gathering with family and friends and sharing a fantastic meal. For others, it’s a time to engage in charitable work and give back to the community. Still others like to complete a Turkey Trot, attend a parade, or start their holiday shopping.

But at the University of Michigan, the final weekend in November has a significance second to none. It’s the time of year that we join with our fierce competitors at Ohio State University in our annual football game – an unmatched rivalry, and one of the greatest matchups in collegiate competition.

But this tradition is even more – it’s a chance to celebrate our shared values and priorities as two of the nation’s leading research universities. Together, U-M and OSU are creating knowledge, fostering service and edu-

cating the next generation of leaders who will address our world’s greatest challenges.

Nearly two decades ago, Ohio State invested $100 million in a number of research efforts in high-impact areas with the bold goal of improving the quality of human life. The work focused on areas such as climate change, sustaining the fresh water needed to maintain the world’s population, public health preparedness and the future availability of energy sources.

This important work furthered our understanding on some of our most significant regional and global challenges.

U-M is making similar strides through our Bold Challenges program, a research initiative that aligns our internal strengths across multiple disciplines with national and global priorities. Recent areas of focus include improving election security, making water

and power sources more efficient and resilient and integrating public health priorities into town and city planning.

Our universities’ combined research expenditures top $3 billion annually, fueling innovation and life-changing discoveries.

Together, we’re making an impact; together we’re changing the world.

And as a president who just completed his first year leading U-M, I want to extend a warm welcome to OSU’s incoming president, Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. Ted is a longtime colleague, and I look forward to our further work together in the years to come.

The Game is upon us.

One unrivaled rivalry. Two exceptional universities. Joined on the gridiron, united in excellence, achievement and community.

Let’s enjoy this great tradition together … and Go Blue!

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, November 16, 2023 — 3

From the Big Game to The Game, the rivalry imprint stuck on Drake Nugent JOHN TONDORA Daily Sports Editor

S

tanford took the lead early and had answered at every turn. As California attempted to rally, the Cardinal parried at each point. Kicking a field goal to go up three with just over two minutes left in the 2019 iteration of the rivalry game, Stanford had victory in

its sights as things were growing desperate for the Golden Bears.

Then, Cal quarterback Chase Garbers shed a tackle in the backfield, scampered for a touchdown and ensnared the Bears’ first lead of the game with just over a minute to go. And as the clock hit triple zeros, Cal had captured its first win in the rivalry known as the Big Game in over a decade.

The Bears’ students, fans and alumni alike

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poured over the stanchion. In a moment of elation, joy and a decade of pent-up rivalry loss, the rowdy Cal crowd stormed the field with gusto.

There was only one slight wrinkle though.

It was in Stanford Stadium.

As graduate center Drake Nugent — a recent Cardinal transfer to the Michigan football team — remembers it, the rivalry loss was stunning. To lose after 10 years of victory was hard enough.

To lose at home, even worse. As Bears swirled on Stanford turf, Cardinal faithful and players alike could muster little response. It was heartbreaking, it was soul-crushing, it was more than a bitter taste.

And then it happened again.

Two years later, losing again at home, Cal students rushed Stanford’s field again, leaving a nasty mark on an already vitriolic rivalry. In Nugent’s four years with the Cardinal, he lost three of four Big Games. He saw upset wins against Notre Dame in 2022, along with then-No. 3 Oregon and then-No. 14 USC in 2021. But in that elusive Big Game, the wins never came easy.

“Those were tough losses for sure,” Nugent told The Michigan Daily. “Especially my last year there. You can make as many excuses as you want. We had injuries and stuff, but at the end of the day, you still got to win the game. Those are some tough pills to swallow, especially out there, not many people care about football, but when it comes to that game, they do care.”

So as a Bears victory ensured another field rush — the moment stuck with Nugent. The sting of a rivalry loss stuck with Nugent.

And it isn’t going away anytime soon. *** Transferring to Michigan prior to the 2023 season, Nugent sought a fresh beginning. For a center criticized for his size but lauded for the effort he brings to every moment, a shift to the Wolverines’ consecutive Big Ten titles brought a new perspective after going 14-30 with the Cardinal.

One thing did stay the same though. Nugent may have left the animosity of the Big Game, but he found a rivalry by a similar title — and just as much, if not more, hatred.

The Game.

In a move that could have felt entirely differ-

GRACE BEAL/Daily

ent, from uprooting life in gorgeous Palo Alto to settling down in a quintessential college town in the Midwest, Nugent learned one thing quickly.

He might’ve packed his bags with all the essentials of a cross-country move, but he need not bring a rivalry — there was already one waiting.

“These clubs, they can’t stand each other,” Drake’s father, Terry Nugent, told The Michigan Daily. “Cal-Stanford can’t stand each other. …

(And) I don’t care if you live in Colorado or California or live down the street here in (State College). Everybody knows the dislike between Ohio State and Michigan.”

Now, Nugent has one chance to make a first impression — and a last one.

Even with another year of eligibility technically remaining, Drake’s future plans lay elsewhere.

Mimicking the process of former one-year transfer Olu Oluwatimi, Drake hopes to spend a year with the Wolverines before jumping to the NFL. As a starting center, Drake captains an offensive line that has been hailed as a main driver of Michigan’s return to success over the Buckeyes. There’s much riding on The Game itself, as always, but there’s pressure on Drake too.

“I knew it was a big rivalry, but I kind of felt that more throughout the course of the year,” Drake said. “Even not being in football season, you can still feel it. And guys like (graduate guard Trevor Keegan) and them explain to me like, ‘You walk around on campus on that week and it just feels different.’ ” It’s an interesting position. Unlike many players in the locker room, Drake hasn’t spent four years in Ann Arbor. He didn’t grow up in Michigan or Ohio, or even near it — he’s from Colorado.

He hasn’t seen The Game in its entirety.

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4 — Thursday, November 16, 2023

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FOR TWO-SPORT ATHLETE JOEY VELAZQUEZ,,MICHIGAN WAS HIS BIGGEST SWING CONNOR EAREGOOD Managing Sports Editor

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oey Velazquez stormed down the tunnel at Ohio Stadium last November, taking the field for warmups as a linebacker for the Michigan football team. The scarlet-andgrey crowd around him rained down cheers, if you can believe it, as Columbus’ own came home.

Regardless of his affiliation with That Team Up North, they were just happy to see him.

Or at least, that’s what he thought.

“Everybody started cheering, but obviously Ohio State was running out on their side of the tunnel too,” Velazquez told The Michigan Daily.

“But like, I thought they were cheering for me. …

I realized they weren’t cheering for us, but that’s how I thought about it.”

In another world, maybe the Buckeyes faithful really would’ve been cheering for him.

One of the best baseball prospects in his state, Velazquez committed to play baseball for Ohio State his sophomore year of high school. But he didn’t just want to play baseball — he wanted to play college football, too. So six years later, Velazquez is doing both. But instead of with the Buckeyes, he’s with archrival Michigan.

“There’s always that feeling where you want to give it a shot,” Velazquez said. “And I didn’t want to have a ‘what if’ if I was able to play football. And once I was able to get the offers for football, (I was) able to chase that dream.”

Signing Velazquez was a dream come true for the Wolverines, too — especially on the diamond. He was a prolific player who batted over .500 for St. Francis De Sales High School — just six miles from Ohio Stadium. He won three All-

Ohio titles and was arguably the top prospect in his state. Paired up with a talented best friend in Caden Kaiser, the duo tried to recruit a big class to join them with the Buckeyes.

So at first, then-Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich wasn’t even interested in Velazquez.

There’s a handshake agreement in baseball not to chase committed recruits, and Bakich wasn’t one to go back on tradition.

But Jim Harbaugh isn’t a baseball coach — he’s a football coach. With that, he had a wild pitch for Velazquez: He could play both sports for the Wolverines, and he could even play his favorite position at Michigan: linebacker.

It was a curveball in everyone’s plans.

So instead of a trip across town, the nine-member Velazquez family took the 190-mile trip to Ann Arbor to visit for both sports. They made a lasting impression, so Bakich checked one last

box in his recruiting process. He went down to Columbus and watched Velazquez play.

“He hit two home runs the day I watched him with a wood bat,” Bakich told The Daily.

“I mean, he’s just a phenomenal player. … More importantly, the thing that I just kept going back to being so impressed with was just the discipline, the structure, the organization and the intangible skills that the family was raising their children with.”

Discipline also helped Velazquez understand what he wanted to do. He had professional baseball prospects and a future playing alongside his childhood friends at Ohio State. But with Harbaugh and Bakich, he had a chance to reach for his dreams of playing football and baseball together.

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‘You just can't describe it’: Revisiting the 2011 Michigan--Ohio State Game

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 5 — Thursday, November 16, 2023

FILE PHOTO/Daily

PAUL NASR

Managing Sports Editor

T

here were plenty of signs that it was business as usual ahead of the Michigan football team’s 2011 matchup with archrival Ohio State.

Being a noon kickoff time, there were glazed donuts for the players at the team hotel, per usual during the Hoke era. Being a gameday, then-Michigan coach Brady Hoke didn’t have anything to eat ahead of time, per usual.

But as much as routines stay the same, no matter the opponent, this wasn’t business as usual. The Wolverines were facing a seven-game losing streak against the Buckeyes, but they seemed to have caught Ohio State at the right time — in a downturn and unranked.

Michigan also boasted a first-year head coach eager to revive a slipping program.

So on that late-November day in 2011, Hoke had a nine-win Michigan team feeling different. After saying he would have walked to Ann Arbor from San Diego in his introductory press conference to take the job because, “This is Michigan for God’s sake,” he spent his first year installing countdown clocks for The Game, referring to Ohio State simply as Ohio and having every meeting all season end with saying, “Beat Ohio.”

“Everybody likes to say it’s just another game,” Hoke told The Michigan Daily, reminiscing on an afternoon from 13 years ago. “It’s just another game. Well that isn’t another game.

“That is The Game.”

Bragy Hoke faces the right and looks up at the OSU game in 2011.

And it’s one that anyone involved with can’t forget, even all these years later. For a 16 game stretch between 2004 and 2019, the 2011 installment of The Game was the Wolverines’ only win, a lone happy memory nestled within years of torment and anguish.

That lone memory was nearly just another sour note, as the game came down to the wire.

No matter how much it looked like it might’ve been the year for Michigan going into it — the

Wolverines ranked No. 15 in the country at 9-2, the Buckeyes unranked at 6-5 — this was still Ohio State after all.

“There was certainly (the feeling that) this was the opportunity,” Stephen Nesbitt told The Daily. He covered the game for The Daily and now covers the MLB for The Athletic. “… A Michigan team at 9-2 entering this game seemed to have the upper hand, but can you really have the upper hand when you have lost seven games in a row and most of the time gotten destroyed in this rivalry?”

Early in the game, Ohio State didn’t leave that up to debate. The Buckeyes got the upper hand right away, with a 54-yard touchdown strike to wide open receiver Corey Brown down the field. It spelled the start of the same story for yet another year in a row.

played in the game, it wasn’t their first time.”

Quarterback Denard Robinson sat chiefly among the non-first timers. He’d been there before, and the dual-threat speedster at the helm made Ohio State’s opening strike a distant memory.

Because Robinson himself became the memory. He passed for three touchdowns and ran for two, accounting for 337 total yards and creating a nightmare for the Buckeyes’ defense. Whenever Michigan needed an answer — and it needed plenty in a game with five lead changes — Robinson had it.

“For Denard that’s kind of a ho-hum game,” Tim Rohan told The Daily. He covered the game for The Daily before joining the New York Times. “300 total yards and five touchdowns, he just kind of did that stuff regularly.”

Because at the end of the day, that’s why football players join the rivalry to begin with — to win it.

All the preparation, all the hype, all the anticipation, and all of it only to see Ohio State score an easy one. After all the talk, that was far from the ideal start — and far from pointing how this game would go. Despite evidence of years past, this Wolverines team wasn’t ready to get bowled over just because the Buckeyes had a dream start.

Too much was different for things to keep going the same way.

“You try to stay in the moment and not get caught up in the moment, because there’s a lot of build up to it,” Curt Mallory told The Daily.

He was Michigan’s defensive backs coach in the game and is now Indiana State’s head coach. “…

We had a good amount of guys from Ohio, we had a good amount of guys from Michigan, and they were an older group too. It wasn’t hard to get them ready. They hadn’t beaten Ohio State, they knew what the rivalry was about, they had

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WHERE SUCCESS LEADS

Denard Robinson runs with the ball and he is swarmed by OSU players.

File Photo/Daily. Buy this photo.

While Robinson’s performance may have been average to his standards, it was an electrifying way to keep Michigan at pace. But even then, there looked to be trouble.

Up 30-24 late in the third quarter, the Wolverines’ punter muffed the snap and couldn’t get the punt off, setting up an easy Buckeyes field goal to bring the score within three in the fourth quarter. Once again, Michigan needed a response.

Robinson led the Wolverines’ offense back down the field, but on a third-and-1 from the Buckeyes’ 5-yard line, then-tight end Kevin Koger wasn’t initially bought-in on the play call.

Michigan was moving on the ground, and Koger thought there was no reason it needed to get cheeky with a play action rollout pass on the third-and-short situation. But after discussing it in the timeout, he was sold.

So there it was, a heavy formation, a hard play fake and a roll out, where Koger was wide open in the back of the endzone and caught what turned out to be Michigan’s last touchdown of the game to give it a 37-27 lead.

“That touchdown for me was pretty cool,” Koger, an Ohio native who now serves as the Los Angeles Chargers’ tight ends coach, told The Daily. “You grow up and always imagine scoring a touchdown in the Michigan-Ohio State game.”

A couple days before the touchdown, Koger celebrated Thanksgiving with his dad’s side of the family in Detroit. At dinner, his uncle told him to throw up two peace signs as a celebration if he scored a touchdown. Koger didn’t think much of it after only scoring three in the season to that point, and he even thought he missed an opportunity to do it on a first-down catch earlier in the game.

When he hauled in the score, Koger remembered. He held up two peace signs, taking pauses to embrace teammates before holding them up again.

“I got back to the sideline and my teammates were giving me a hard time about it like, ‘What in the world was that celebration,’ ” Koger said. “(I said) ‘Don’t worry about it, it was a family thing, you guys wouldn’t understand.’ They still give me a hard time about it to this day, but it was well worth it.”

Kevin Koger runs down the sideline with the ball and OSU players chase behind him.

That’s what the rivalry is all about. For a guy who crossed the Toledo Strip to play at Michigan, he was able to do a celebration that honored his family at a key moment on the grandest stage.

His touchdown eventually turned out to be the difference, but Ohio State did have one last chance, down 40-34, for a game-winning drive.

Cornerback Courtney Avery, another Ohio native, made sure it stayed just a chance. Despite spraining his thumb during practice that week and having a cast wrapped around it, he came up with a fourth-down interception in the final minute to seal the deal.

“Being from Ohio, it’s a super important game and even a little bit more personal for me,” Avery told The Daily. “… It’s funny, people reach out and say, ‘Hey you know it was fourth down you could have batted it down.’ I’m like nah, being able to pick it and have an interception was a much sweeter point.”

After the interception, there were 39 seconds left and Ohio State had no timeouts, but even then breaking such a long streak is hard to fathom. Hoke looked over to the sideline ref to figure out if that had actually happened.

“I looked at the umpire to make sure,” Hoke said. “He kind of shook his head at me and had a little smile, that the game was over.”

Robinson, who was so hard to bring down all game, took a knee on his own accord to end it as pandemonium ensued. Hoke was drenched with a Gatorade jug as he headed to shake interim coach Luke Fickell’s hand, and Robinson sprinted toward the student section to jump in even as fans were spilling onto the field.

Koger remembers turning around as he headed to the locker room, seeing fans take over the field and thinking, “I have class with that person,” as the mob grew. Everyone came together, as Michigan finally got it done.

“Just the look on everyone’s face spoke volumes, you just can’t describe it,” Mallory said.

“When you don’t win that game for so long, it’s hard. But those seniors and those guys on that team, they never gave up; they kept fighting.”

Seniors like Koger were what it was all about.

Running the risk of going an entire Michigan career without beating Ohio State, they stepped up.

Because at the end of the day, that’s why football players join the rivalry to begin with — to win it.

“There’s no question about it, that was a lot of fun,” Hoke said. “And any time you’re at Michigan and you can beat Ohio State, you’ll take it.”

After losing seven in a row, the Wolverines won in 2011, only to lose the next eight matchups after that. For a 16 year stretch of the storied rivalry, business as usual was Ohio State beating Michigan.

But a few hours in 2011 are etched in memory forever, because for once things weren’t business as usual.

6 — Thursday, November 16, 2023

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

In a rivalry that comes down to recruiting, recruiting, Chris Partridge knows how to sell a vision stop recruiting race against programs like archrival Ohio State: A guy who knows how to sell a vision and get people along for the ride. *** Long before Partridge was selling visions, he was a player watching cassette after cassette of film, learning how to see them.

“He was kind of like a coach on the field as both an offensive lineman and a linebacker,” Jim Avitable, Paramus Catholic offensive line coach in the ‘90s, told The Daily. “So it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, looking back, that he would be a coach in college. I know he also wanted that. Now, would I have thought he would be a defensive coordinator at Ole Miss or (coach) at Michigan? I didn’t see that.”

PAUL NASR

Managing Sports Editor

T

here was a new head football coach on the sidelines of New Jersey high schools turning some heads.

It was 2010, and Chris Partridge had taken over his alma mater’s struggling football program as Paramus Catholic High School’s new head coach. And instead of being concerned with what everyone else was doing, the now-Michigan linebackers coach was concerned with being himself.

If you were to have caught him on the sidelines during a game, he’d be in a black hooded sweatshirt instead of a typical coach’s polo fit.

“A lot of people weren’t doing that,” Greg Russo, Partridge’s offensive coordinator at the time and now head coach at Paramus Catholic, told The Michigan Daily.

He’d also have his visor on backwards.

“People didn’t like that,” Russo said.

And he’d be listening to Madonna pregame.

“That’s a weird thing,” Russo admitted.

Whatever the outside perception was about Partridge, it didn’t matter to him. He was focused on getting players where they wanted to go, not wearing the latest coaching fashion. He was preoccupied with turning the football program around, not turning his visor the “right” way. And he was all-in on listening to the top players in New Jersey decide to come to Paramus Catholic — he couldn’t care less what people thought of him listening to Madonna.

Because Partridge knew if he was going to build something, he’d need to build it with people. To get the right people, they had to buy into his vision. And no one could buy a vision if they weren’t seeing the real him — all the time.

“Everything with him was always him, like there was no act of any kind,” Russo said. “He was just himself. … Something he said to me was, ‘If you’re not yourself they’re gonna know.’ ” Always being himself makes it easy to see who Partridge is. A coach who brings the energy on the field, but perhaps more importantly in an era of transfers, talent gaps and — for Michigan — a non-

Because Partridge knew if he was going to build something, he’d need to build it with people. To get the right people, they had to buy into his vision.

And no one could buy a vision if they weren’t seeing the real him — all the time.

It’s understandable, as making it that far in the coaching world is hard to see early on, but the “coach on the field” was already making headway even before his playing days were over. So when he took what Avitable describes as an underdog mentality to play linebacker at the next level, he took his coaching instincts with him too.

As a linebacker at Lafayette College, Partridge was catching rival Lehigh’s attention for more than just his on-field play. He was leaving an impression by how he carried himself, and that character stuck with Isaac Collins — a Lehigh assistant coach when Partridge played for Lafayette — who was named defensive coordinator at

The Citadel in 2006. Collins hired Partridge as his defensive line and special teams coach, accelerating his eventual growth into a program visionary.

“One of the reasons why we hired him was probably what we saw on the other side of the field,” Collins told The Daily.

“He was a field general, a guy that was a coach on the field. He was able to get guys where they needed to be. He probably would hate to hear this: He didn’t have the fastest 40, but he made a lot of plays just because he understood the game, processed things and got where he needed to be for sure.”

Forty-yard dash be damned, because Partridge’s playing days were over. But just because he traded the cleats for the clipboard didn’t mean he stopped running. His football mind kept moving at a fast pace, absorbing everything like a sponge and figuring out what makes him special as a coach in the process.

TESS *** CROWLEY/Daily Paramus Catholic was a cellar-dweller in New Jersey when Partridge took the leap back to high school coaching in 2010. Yet by 2012, they won their first of a back-to-back state championships.

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, November 16, 2023 — 7

The stories told by Michigan football's tattoos GRACE LAHTI/Daily

GRACE BEAL/Daily

JEREMY WEINE/Daily

JULIANNE YOON/Daily

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GRACE BEAL/Daily

GRACE LAHTI/Daily

CONNOR EAREGOOD Managing Sports Editor

Away from the tackles and interceptions, touchdowns and receptions, the Michigan football team has a story to tell. They’re individual tales, patched together like pages of a book across players’ skin.

They’re tattoos — and they mean a lot to those who have them.

With all the cameras and TV crews covering games, these inked stories don’t always get told.

They poke out under jerseys and pads, teasing the audience with what makes these athletes so interesting. They’re tributes to faith and family, as well as the bond of sports. Especially in a sport as violent as football, these curated messages are a form of support, like emotional armor for players who have them.

These are the stories that Michigan’s tattoos tell.

Braiden McGregor There’s really no better place to start than with McGregor, who is Michigan’s walking Louvre.

There’s hardly an inch of the senior edge rusher that he hasn’t either gotten a tattoo on, or made a plan to cover up soon. Take the bye week, for example, when McGregor planned to finish a band of animals on his stomach. By the way, he noted how much that area hurts, in case you wanted to join him.

While the quantity would suggest otherwise, McGregor’s tattoos all have meaning. They strengthen him, mentally and physically.

Just one look at his right leg tells the story. When he was a high school senior, McGregor tore three of the four major ligaments in his right knee during a game. The injury set back his college career significantly, creating mental blocks and a physical recovery embodied best by a winding road.

So, McGregor made a decree: “I was like ‘I need to strengthen this leg with my people I looked up to,’ ” McGregor said. “… So I’ve got my grandpa on there, I’ve got Steve Yzerman.

My mom kinda helped me design it.”

Grandpa, Yzerman, and Muhammad Ali, to name a few. With them, inspirational quotes build him up, too. Every time McGregor steps on the field, his leg is wrapped in tattooed armor. It’s his inspiration to not only trust his leg, but remember the people who inspire him.

McGregor isn’t done writing his comeback, but he is actively chronicling it. His back is dedicated to his own life story, from his youth hockey rink to the I-94 sign that marks out Port Huron. The 810 area code ties it all together.

It’s a comeback story McGregor pens with every snap this season, and one that is making space a premium as he inks more pages to his skin.

Mike Barrett

Mike Barrett is old around these parts. He’s a sixth-year grad student who’s been around for the highs, lows and everything in between. He hails from Georgia, but his ink has ties to Florida and Michigan.

His tattoos include the classic such as his “23” jersey number that, in case you were wondering, is for neither Michael Jordan or LeBron James — “That’s Mike B,” he said. The curation also includes the avant garde, like a rose made of $100 bills.

But one has meaning above the rest. It’s an ape, screaming and defiant, that he got on his right arm early in his Wolverines career. Back before the spotlights and highlight reels, Barrett and his cousin, Kris Foster, were just two kids from southern Georgia. With their friends, they formed a group.

“It was the apes,” Barrett said. “And he kind of was the start of it. And then he ended up getting in a car crash when I first got up here. So that was for him right there, it’s one of my favorites.”

Barrett lost his cousin to that crash, but he honored his legacy through art. Having that ape with him reminds Barrett of his cousin and their memories together.

Family bonds matter for Barrett, who sees himself as a protector for his family, especially his three sisters. Even his tattoos meant to just fill space have a meaning, like the jumbo ‘229’ area code on his arm that brings a piece of Georgia with him.

Because while life has put Barrett far from home, he still takes pride in his home — both the physical ties and the emotional ones.

Mason Graham If the sophomore defensive tackle Graham wasn’t playing football in the summers growing up, there was a high chance that he was staying over at his grandparents’ house. Graham loved spending time with them — especially his grandpa, who took him to Los Angeles Angels games and played an active role in his upbringing.

“He was almost another father-like figure in my life,” Graham said. “He was kind of like a younger grandpa, so I’d always do stuff with him.”

And even when football season started and took so much of Graham’s time, their bond only strengthened.

“He would hold the chains and stuff like that,” Graham remembered. “He’d be on the sidelines trying to move the sticks, stuff like that. So it was always cool when he showed up to my games. I saw him so close to the field even though he was kind of old. He just wanted to be out there, wanted to watch me any chance he could.”

But in his junior year of high school, Graham’s grandpa died at 64 years old. So Graham got a tattoo at the core of his left arm sleeve inspired by his hope to one day see his grandpa again.

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.

This message reminds him of all the games his

grandpa stood watching him, as well as the greater plan that God and life follow.

Will Johnson Will Johnson is a local, growing up in Detroit and playing high school ball for Grosse Pointe South. Whereas a lot of top prospects globetrot to find better trainers, Johnson worked under the tutelage of his father, Michigan alumnus Deon Johnson, at Sound Mind Sound Body training camps.

The sophomore cornerback carries his roots with him everywhere — the metaphorical ones like his hometown spirit, and the physical ones like those tattooed on his arm sleeve. They connect images that link his faith and family, as well as his hometown pride through Motown and the Spirit of Detroit.

“That’s really just to represent my hometown, where I’m from in Detroit,” Johnson said. “So just giving praise to Detroit. … Just always having that with me is really the reason behind it.”

Every time he swats a ball or snags an interception, faith, family and Detroit are with him.

Semaj Morgan Though a newcomer to the Michigan program, freshman receiver Semaj Morgan already has multiple tattoos commemorating everything from his religion to his family.

Grind before you shine the tattoo reads, with the initials I.J.N. for “In Jesus’ Name.”

“That just means a lot to me because it really explains my journey,” Morgan said. “In high school, like coming up (as a recruit), I was grinding, grinding, grinding and looking for results and offers and things. Then when they finally came, I feel like I was grinding before I was shining.”

The quote comes from a song by Morgan’s cousin, rapper Sterlgotti, who sings “I was grinding, I was shining, then I turned out to be a diamond.”

And so far, Morgan has been that for Michigan. As a true freshman, he’s already the third wide receiver on the depth chart. He’s taken on punt return duties and even scored a couple touchdowns so far.

“I’m like ‘Damn,’ that really correlates to me. I feel like that’s something I’d be OK having on me for the rest of my life,” Morgan said.

Like so many of his teammates, his other tattoos center around family and faith, including his parents’ birth years and Bible verse James 1:12. Morgan offered a window into why these two facets of life matter so much to himself and other players.

“I’m for sure gonna be open with (my faith),” Morgan said. “It’s something big with me, I know it helps me go out there and play good.”

If you want to give Sterlgotti’s song a listen, though, you’ll have to get in line. He hasn’t released the song yet, and Morgan doesn’t know when it will be released.

Zak Zinter Everybody loves Zak Zinter’s tattoos. They

flow naturally together, weaving a story about the senior guard’s Floridian upbringing.

There’s the fishhook linking his Jacksonville birthplace to his Port St. Lucie hometown where he grew up until middle school. It commemorates his love of hunting and fishing. There’s also his “Product of the Trenches” tagline and the “Family over Everything” design he shares with his brother and soon his father, too. But at the center of it all, small across his inner elbow, connects one of his more recent tattoos: strength, laid out across a friendship bracelet.

“My grandma who passed away probably six months ago, she wore a bracelet after her first stroke that said strength on it,” Zinter said.

So Zinter chose to honor her with a piece at the center of his arm. It’s small, but it connects him to her.

Like many of his teammates, he also has a selection of Bible verses. There’s Philippians 4:13 in a cross made up of the verse’s letters. He also has Luke 1:37. Those connect him to his faith, a reminder of his beliefs when he takes the field. Religious tattoos are some of the most common among Michigan’s players.

Trevor Keegan Between Chicago stars and card suits, Trevor Keegan’s left forearm features a massive picture of Heath Ledger’s Joker. The scarred lips create a snarl, mean and powerful, a credit to the countless times he and his father watched the Batman triology together growing up.

But the symbolism runs deeper than just a movie. It ties into his theme that life’s a gamble.

“For me, life’s a gamble,” Keegan said. “You take what you want with it. It’s really your own destiny.

And, you know, it could go either way. You can only control the controllables so like there’s so many things in life that are uncontrollable.”

So Keegan ran with the theme. He’s got a roulette table with his family’s birthdays on the slots.

The ball lies on his jersey number, lucky double sevens. Even on the Joker tattoo that commemorates his movie taste, a pair of cards pokes out from behind the Joker’s head to tie it back to gambling.

Nothing is guaranteed in life, especially not in football. One game, one snap can change the course of a season. But by handling what comes to him, Keegan has found success thus far.

For the Wolverines, their tattoos chronicle their individual stories. They’re messages they carry across the biggest stage of the sport, captured by all the lights and cameras that come with playing for a successful program. But they’re more than just decorations; they’re motivation too. And when they take the field — from spring games to The Game — it’s those messages that give them support.

They tell the off-field stories that have influenced everything on it.

8 — Thursday, November 16, 2023

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, November 16, 2023 — 9

A Presidential rivalry: Gerald Ford, Woody Hayes and foam bricks CHARLIE PAPPALARDO Daily Sports Editor

T

he Presidential election in 1976 marked the only time since 1948 when, contrary to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, Michigan went red, and Ohio went blue.

And while Gerald Ford’s political victory in Michigan, and his narrow 11,000 vote loss in Ohio likely was not substantively impacted by Ford’s vocal association with the Wolverines, one thing cannot be argued. The rivalry, and the trappings of it, were never far from President Ford’s mind — in both social and political contexts.

In fact, on the day after his Aug. 9, 1974 inauguration, among his first calls was a call to Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. Not as an advisor, or as a strategist, but as a football coach and a friend.

“I told him, ‘I’m going to support you the same way I supported President Nixon,’ ” Hayes said according to an Aug. 23, 1974 article in the Ann Arbor News. “You’re my President. And that’s hard for me to say to a man from Michigan.”

And for the rest of his life, whether in the White House or in his living room, or even on the phone in the Oval Office talking about The Game, the rivalry remained with President Ford. So much so that his family had to take precautions in case Michigan should lose.

“I had bought him a foam brick, and I had given one to my dad so that he could throw it at the T.V.,” Susan Ford, President Ford’s daughter, told The Michigan Daily. “He was very passionate about his Michigan, and so it was like OK, we need to give him something to throw and stop the cuss words coming out of his mouth.”

President Ford was passionate about “his

Michigan” for good reason. As a three-time varsity letterwinner, two-time national champion, and one-time team MVP, he was present for much of the Wolverines’ glory days. And more than just being present — he was good. He was invited to both the Chicago College All Star Game and the Shrine East-West Charity game in San Francisco (which he spent two days on a train to get to).

And even after college, he was offered professional contracts to play as a center from both the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions (who were prepared to pay him a hefty sum of $200 a week).

But over the years as Ford shifted from athletic prodigy to rising political star, his relationship with football changed. He wasn’t just a former player, or a fan, but someone who understood the interpersonal and political power that football could have.

On Nov. 24, 1975, President Ford received a memo from advisor Max Friedersdorf recommending he make a telephone call to Rep. John Buchanan of Alabama and a group he was meeting with called the Monday Morning Quarterback Club — a collection of influential Birmingham leaders engaged in charitable work related to disabilities.

And the purpose line of the memo was very simple: “Purpose: Football talk, particularly the Michigan-Ohio State game that was played Nov. 22 and the Nebraska-Oklahoma game, which determines which teams go to the Rose and Orange Bowls.”

One of the listed talking points found in the memo (obtained in the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library) hit close to home for President Ford. “(Talking point) 3. … “I’m still nursing my wounds from last Saturday’s game between Mich-

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From the Daily. Originally published September 16, 1976. igan and Ohio State,” Ford was to say. “I had a chance to watch part of that game — I watched Michigan score 14 points and happened to be out of the room when Ohio State was scoring 21” (Folder “Recreation and Sports – Football” box 42, GRFL).

Whether it was true self-deprecation or an attempt at political inroads through humor, President Ford was willing to use his association with the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry as a part of his presidency.

Through multiple calls with Hayes, or joking about The Game with potential political backers, or even having to address the elephant in the room any time he traveled to the state of Ohio, the rivalry wasn’t just something Ford had once engaged in on the field. But it was something he actively followed and continuously used as an icebreaker.

Even just 21 days into his already tumultuous presidency, Ford arrived in what would seem to be a hos- game between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines, tile environment — Ohio Stadium. and I said, ‘Henry, would you not like to join me?’

And as the first President to speak at an Ohio And he said, ‘Well, what time is it, or what is the State Commencement, it took him less than two date?” And I gave him the date. He looked sorely minutes to get through his thank yous and into disappointed. He said, ‘The Japanese have invitmaking jokes about losing to the Buckeyes his ed you to a Presidential visit to Japan during that senior year and being upstaged by Hayes. period of time.’

But more than just loose references to the rival“And I looked at Henry, and I said, ‘That is the ry, President Ford’s approach to being a former first mistake you have ever made.’ ” Wolverine star changed from state to state.

Jokes aside though, in Ohio, the rivalry was In Ohio, President Ford played on his roots something to address and revere, but also downwith either self-deprecation or by talking about play his partisanship regarding. As President, he his love for the rivalry without taking a specific wouldn’t publicly shame the Buckeyes or express side. In an Oct. 22 address in Cleveland, again just his undying love for Michigan in front of what two months into his Presidency, Ford toed the would quickly become a hostile crowd. political, and contentious line with humor (made Back in Michigan, however, he was more willavailable through UCSB’s American Presidency ing to make his partisan loyalties clear. The humor Project). was no longer self-deprecating about being from “I was down at Ohio State about a month ago,” Michigan, and the audience left knowing what Ford said. “(And Ohio State was) so kind to make side of the aisle he laid on. available two tickets to the Michigan-Ohio State But he also made sure that his audience knew game. … I went back to Washington … and I said to why he might have to enact some strategic ambi(Secretary of State Henry Kissinger), the people at guity when in Ohio.

Ohio State had been generous and invited me and READ MORE AT MICHIGANDAILY.COM given me two tickets to come out to that classic

John Tondora: No matter the ending, Michigan's legacy is already decided

GRACE BEAL/Daily

W

Lantern Reporters

CAMERON MOONE & LAURYN LUDERMAN

The document was obtained and shared by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports.

“Even if disciplinary action were permissible at this stage — which it is not — such action would be unjustifiably premature,” Manuel said in the document. “There is no reason to shortcut a full investigation in favor of summary punishment.”

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh already received a three-game suspension to start the season, a punishment

future Wolverine opponents, according to ESPN. Stalions resigned Nov. 3.

“For example, at this stage of the investigation, there remains major outstanding questions about the scope of Connor Stalions’s ‘scheme’ (to use your word),” Manuel said in the document. “As far as we are aware, there is no current evidence suggesting that Michigan coaching staff knew about or participated in the alleged offen-

Harbaugh suspended for sign-stealing allegations, Day denies any Ohio State involvement

KATIE GOOD/Lantern FILE PHOTO/Lantern

as they please with Michigan. They may have violated what many see as an important precedent, but they didn’t break a law.

Second, and more importantly, as the Michigan football team flew into Happy Valley and Tony Petitti delivered a striking blow to suspend Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season, the Big Ten delivered the verdict critics yearned for.

Michigan’s legacy was decided then and there.

It didn’t matter that the investigation was still ongoing by the NCAA. It didn’t matter that reports at the time had found that the NCAA linked no evidence between Harbaugh and

“I can answer very strongly that that did not happen,” Day said.

now. It’s happening as Michigan has clawed its way back to the pinnacle of the sport. After two decades of mediocrity and defeat, the Wolverines have won back-to-back Big Ten Championships, made consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff and seemingly returned as a genuine player in college football.

And now that is marred — probably forever.

Whether one year or one decade from now, discussions around Michigan football’s success, at the very least in 2023, if not in ‘21 and ‘22 as well, will revolve around the buzzwords of today: Stalions, stealing, signs and suspensions.

Those words encapsulate what Michigan

Manuel said in the document.

The letter also highlighted the “regularity” of sign-stealing, as it is “not only perfectly legal under NCAA and Conference rules,” but also a “standard practice,” Manuel wrote in the document.

The investigation began Oct. 18, when the Big Ten Conference announced that the Wolverine football program was under investigation because of a violation of NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states, “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited,” as first reported by Yahoo Sports.

Friday, judgment day arrived. The Big Ten released a statement announcing Harbaugh is suspended for the rest of the 202324 regular season.

“As a penalty imposed on the institution, the University football team must compete without its Head Football Coach for the game remaining in the 2023 regular-season, effective immediately,” the release said.

Harbaugh’s penalty is due to the University of Michigan’s violation of “conducting impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition,” or the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Policy, according to the release.

Harbaugh will miss games against No. 10 Penn State Saturday, Maryland Nov. 18 and No. 1 Ohio State Nov. 25.

The court of public opinion ruled and Petitti slammed the gavel.

any connection to sign stealing. And it didn’t matter that Michigan attempted to unearth a legacy of sign stealing by Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers. Because by forgoing due process — whatever that truly means in this context — Petitti closed the case on the Wolverines.

For better or worse, Michigan and sign-stealing are forever intertwined. And Petitti signed the death warrant.

It could be tomorrow, or it could be a year from now, and Michigan could be completely cleared. But they probably won’t be. The NCAA informed the Big Ten that it had evidence of the scheme that — we as onlookers must presume — is serious enough to violate the gray area of sign stealing and come down with punishment.

But say they were cleared, and by some miracle for the Wolverines, they beat the case and every charge.

It wouldn’t matter.

By returning to the near top of the college football world, going undefeated in Big Ten play since 2021 and clashing with rivals along the way, Michigan already had a target on its back. And by falling into yet another scandal — whether it actually cheated or not — the target stumbled into its own missile.

The Wolverines marched into 2023 with everything going for them. Two straight years of immense success, a veteran roster and a head coach who had perhaps silenced the on-field critics for the first time in his Michigan career. But walking out, whether it’s a loss to Ohio State or a National Championship victory, Michigan will always have a new legacy attached to it: tainted with the sour taste of a bitter word — cheater.

The court of public opinion ruled and Petitti slammed the gavel.

sive conduct. Coach Harbaugh has denied any knowledge of Stalions’s conduct.”

The 10-page document enumerated Ohio State’s wrongdoings regarding sign stealing.

“For example, Exhibit 1 is a document sent from a former coach at Ohio State to a former coach at Michigan, which shows that Ohio State had extensively decoded Michigan’s defensive coordinator’s signals, apparently based on broadcast footage,”

Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong and now, the Michigan football program.

Though from different sports, contexts and generations, their legacies are now — or are soon to be — regarded as cheaters.

It doesn’t matter that Barry Bonds played during the ‘Steroid Era’ and that numerous other baseball players, famous or not, juiced as well. It doesn’t matter that Lance Armstrong was one of many (87% to be exact) Tour de France cyclists who doped in order to gain an advantage during his seven-championship run. Nevertheless, now too, it won’t matter who stole what college football signs or when.

Because regardless of guilt, or how widespread the problem is, Michigan was caught, caught first and caught while winning. And on Friday, by suspending Jim Harbaugh, Tony Petitti signed the death warrant on Michigan’s legacy.

Let’s go back for a moment. If a sign-stealing scandal had come out in say, 2017, as Michigan dropped its sixth consecutive game against Ohio State, punted away victory against Michigan State, ran into a brick wall called Penn State, and slipped against Wisconsin, all before losing in the ever-lauded Outback Bowl — face it, you wouldn’t particularly care. You really wouldn’t.

Nobody outside of the program would’ve called for Harbaugh’s head as vehemently.

Nobody would’ve cared as much that a lowly program got accused of stupidly trying to get ahead. And there would’ve been no rush for the

football’s perception has become, and it’ll stay that way in the public eye.

Now, maybe you don’t feel so harsh. Maybe, you want to counter my thoughts with the phrase that has become nauseatingly embedded in Maize and Blue thought. “Due Process!” many cried to Petitti and the NCAA, citing foundational principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of college football championships.

To that I say this: first, the NCAA and the Big Ten are not the government. Just as private institutions can limit what you and I say, so too are the NCAA and Big Ten allowed to do

levied regarding another ongoing investigation into Harbaugh and recruiting efforts during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

The focal part of the investigation revolves around former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, a United States Naval Academy graduate turned football assistant who, according to the investigation, bought tickets to more than 35 games at 17 stadiums around the country to scout

Daily Sports Editor

commissioner to come down this hard with a suspension.

Sure, the public perception would’ve been bad. The Wolverines would’ve been embarrassed. Perhaps Harbaugh would’ve been let go and the program would’ve gone through yet another reset. But nothing would’ve transpired as quickly, with suspensions carried out before the ink even dried. Nothing like this, at least.

It simply would’ve sparked ridicule and jeers as Michigan watched more games tick into the losing column.

But it didn’t happen then. It’s happening

ith tensions between Ohio State and Michigan heating up before The Game on Nov. 25, both universities have added animosity toward one another due to the ongoing investigation into Michigan’s football team stealing signs.

On Nov. 7, the Michigan football program sent documents to the Big Ten Conference that accused Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers of sharing Michigan’s signs.

Ahead of Purdue’s loss to Michigan in the 2022 Big Ten Championship game, it received Wolverine offensive signals from Ohio State and defensive signals from Rutgers, according to ESPN. The Ohio State football program did not have any involvement in the sign-sharing between the Big Ten Schools, head coach Ryan Day said Nov. 8 at a weekly meeting with the media.

“I can answer very strongly that that did not happen,” Day said.

On Nov. 8, University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel sent the conference a 10-page document urging the conference and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti to allow for “due process” as the school awaited a decision on the matter.

JOHN TONDORA

2 | The Lantern | Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023

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Recounting the Michigan rivalry with Gene Smith LAURYN LUDERMAN SPORTS EDITOR From the “Game of the Century” to the one he called “hell” to winning with a third-string quarterback or Dwayne Haskins spoiling Michigan’s “revenge tour,” Gene Smith remembers every iteration of The Game.

But one memory he’ll never let go of is the grass.

In 2006 — Smith’s second rivalry football game against the Wolverines and first in Columbus — No. 1 Ohio State left Ohio Stadium victorious after defeating No. 2 Michigan 42-39, led by Heisman-winning quarterback Troy Smith’s 316 yards and four touchdowns.

Gene Smith said Troy Smith’s performance was “phenomenal” and it was an “unbelievable experience,” but the first thing he recalled from that game was a fan taking home part of the Buckeye field, with likely intentions of planting it in his backyard.

“I remember being on the field after the game, there was some guy running off the field with grass in his pocket,” the Ohio State athletic director said.

Gene Smith grew up in Cleveland, Ohio — an area where many athletes have hailed from, like LeBron James and Jesse Owens. At Ohio State, Gene Smith is as legendary as it gets.

Now in his 19th year at Ohio State — his tenure began in April 2005 — and 34th overall in the collegiate athletic director role, Gene Smith has been privy to 17 rivalry games (14-3), one canceled contest in 2020 and four head coaches.

“They’ve [Gene Smith and his wife, Sheila] poured their heart and soul into Ohio State athletics and just the university in general,” head coach Ryan Day said. “What I owe and my family owes him, I can’t even really verbalize — [the] opportunity to be a first-time head coach at Ohio State, and he trusted in me, and our relationship is gonna go on forever.”

On Aug. 9, Gene Smith announced this would be his last year at the helm of Ohio State athletics as he plans to retire in June 2024, meaning Nov. 25 will be his final Ohio State-Michigan football game as athletic director.

Gene Smith said growing up in Northeast Ohio, he was familiar with the rivalry but had never been to The Game. Naturally, he was in for an intense treat in 2005 when the Buckeyes traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, ultimately taking the game 25-21.

The Lantern sports editors Lauryn Luderman and Jayla Vanhorn sat down with Gene Smith Sept. 28 to discuss his personal rivalry experiences.

What was your first Ohio State-Michigan experience like?

Nov. 19, 2005, at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State won 25-21.

“I had people telling me about it, but no, my first experience was being there,” Gene Smith said. “I had been in the Big House. When I went to Notre Dame I played against them, coached against them, so I knew what the Big House was like, but I hadn’t experienced the Ohio State experience.”

What do you remember from “The Game of the Century” and Troy Smith’s Heisman run?

Nov. 18, 2006, at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 42-39.

“Certainly Troy, he was phenomenal. He was really a great performer and Ted Ginn, Brian Robiskie, Roy Hall and Anthony Gonzalez, I mean it was an unbelievable experience. Beanie Wells,” Gene Smith said. “There were so many different parts of that game, but I tend to think about the individual players and not necessarily the plays. But there was a lot of moments in that game that were so exciting and, but also the fan part.”

Smith said although the fans rushing the field was fun to see, he had the duty of making sure they stayed safe jumping the wall and refrained from climbing the goal posts.

“It was so funny. People were literally cutting big swatches out, trying to carry it out, I was like, ‘This is so cute.’ I’m sure that grass is planted in somebody’s yard somewhere.”

Snapped win streak, Tressel fired. What do you remember from the 2011 game?

Nov. 26, 2011, at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 40-34.

“Not a lot. All I know is we lost it,” Gene Smith said. “You know, at that point, I had already shifted my thought process to trying to secure our replacement. I don’t remember much about that game, I really don’t. I just remember what I had to do the next morning. And, so, I had already shifted to what I had to do to take care of Luke [Fickell] and the staff, but also move on and get the next leader in here.”

Two days following The Game, Urban Meyer was hired as Ohio State’s next coach. Meyer went 7-0 against the Wolverines as Ohio State’s head coach.

What do you remember from the 2014 game when J.T. Barrett went down and Cardale Jones stepped in as the third-string quarterback?

Nov. 29, 2014, in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 42-28.

“I went to see [Barrett]. So I didn’t see Cardale get going, and so I knew he was going to be the guy because I know that, but I went straight to J.T., was in the room with him,” Gene Smith said. “Then when he kind of got comfortable to a point where I felt like he could go and watch the game — we have a TV in there, he could watch it on TV but — the training room is, you got the student section down here and the tunnel’s right

here. The training room is right by the locker room, so he could come out of the training room and sit in that corner and watch the game. So, I went out with him. I went first and got some ushers to protect him and then I brought him out. Then I went out and watched the game from the sideline. By that time, Cardale had already, I don’t know how many plays that he had been in, but I had confidence in him; he was an outstanding player.”

Led by Jones, Ohio State went on to win the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

How did you support the team after their win, but loss of their quarterback?

“I don’t talk,” Gene Smith said. “I’m in the room, but I don’t talk. But I hug them as they come in. I hugged Cardale, I hugged other guys that came into the room, Joey Bosa — so I just, that’s what I do. I stay out of the way. And that’s kind of what I do. So I didn’t have a message for Cardale or the team. It was more just being there.

And my presence means something to them.”

What do you remember about Dwayne Haskins putting an end to Michigan’s 2018 “Revenge Tour?”

Nov. 24, 2018, in Columbus. Ohio State won 62-39.

“Besides his athletic talent, he had a confidence about him that was really kind of special.

He wasn’t a quiet guy, but kinda quiet — he had a kinda quiet confidence. You look at all of his games you can see it, you can really see it. He commanded the offense, exceptionally talented, but he had a command of the offense. I thought that was really special,” Gene Smith said. “He just — at our level, I mean he was a beast. Not just against the team up north, but a lot of games.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Aside from Haskins ruining Michigan’s season, Parris Cambell’s 78-yard run up the sideline was one of Gene Smith’s greatest memories from 2018.

“I remember Parris [Campbell]. I remember that sweep run he had, he was running up the sideline,” Gene Smith said. “They all had angles on him and he just said “pshh” and then so usually when you get an angle on somebody, you’re gonna catch him, but they couldn’t get that angle. I remember we were — we were so good.

And what has happened over time, they just didn’t have the talent to be with us, they really didn’t, but they’ve changed that.”

After The Game was canceled in 2020 and Ohio State lost in 2021 and 2022, what were those conversations like?

Nov. 27, 2021, in Ann Arbor. Michigan won 42-27.

Nov. 26, 2022, in Columbus. Michigan won 45-23.

“My conversations are more with Ryan Day on Sunday after a game like that. You know, talking to him about certain things that happen in a game and then consoling him because he

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 | The Lantern | 3

and his family go through Buckeye Nation. Part of Buckeye Nation is venomous,” Gene Smith said. “My whole thing is about consoling and being there for him. You still got to win our next opportunity. Even though we lost to them, people forget we were in the CFP, so we gotta get ourselves off the ground. It’s the greatest thing about well, anybody in life, but certainly around athletics, when you get back down you gotta get right back up. So my whole deal is to be sensitive, consoling, okay and inspire. You gotta get back up. Now this year, we gotta get ‘em.”

Once you’re retired, will you continue to attend The Game and Ohio State games, in general?

“It’ll still be a part of my retirement life when it ended up there instead of here.

Next year when it’s here I’m gonna come back, but I’ll be a fan in the stands drinking beers, yelling at the officials,” Gene Smith said.

Gene Smith said he looks forward to his final rivalry game as athletic director — albeit in Ann Arbor — and that it’s always

been “Ohio against the world.”

And for curiosity’s sake, yes, Smith owns 14 pairs of gold pants that get dispersed to his wife and kids.

He’s hoping for one final pair come Nov. 25.

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Opinion: Ohio State will break its two-game losing streak against Michigan NOAH WEISKOPF LANTERN REPORTER Ohio State will head into the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for its 119th all-time meeting Nov. 25. However, this year is a different feel for college football fans around the country.

Not only is Michigan undefeated, but it’s relatively fresh off a top-10 win on the road at No. 10 Penn State, where the Wolverines bested the Nittany Lions 24-15. While Michigan came away victorious, there were several different key factors in that game that should give Ohio State promise heading into The Game.

First and most important, the Wolverines

totaled only 60 pass yards, the lowest total of the season by far for junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had just eight attempts through the air.

The Buckeyes need to slow down Michigan’s dominant rushing attack, led by senior running back Blake Corum and junior running back Donovan Edwards, in order to give themselves the best chance at escaping Ann Arbor with a victory.

The Wolverines had 227 total yards on the ground against a stout Nittany Lion defense.

Michigan was led by Corum, who finished the contest with 26 carriers for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards and McCarthy added 86 more yards behind him on the ground.

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If the Buckeye defense can contain its explosive run game and force McCarthy to use his arm, there’s no doubt Ohio State will be put in the best position possible to win.

Ohio State’s defense needs to be at its very best, specifically up front, the Buckeyes need to make it a priority to put pressure on McCarthy all game. Off the edge, Ohio State will lean upon junior defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, who have 60 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks for 44 yards.

On the offensive side of the ball for Ohio State, facing off against the nation’s top defense in Michigan, it’s imperative for the Buckeye offensive line to keep junior quarterback Kyle McCord clean in the pocket.

While under pressure, McCord has shown, on multiple occasions this season, that he tries too hard to make the big play, often resulting in turnovers. Between Wisconsin and Rutgers, McCord threw three interceptions and suffered a fumble when the pressure got hot.

If the Ohio State front is able to neutralize the Wolverine pass rush and give McCord a smooth go in the pocket, they will be able to expose Michigan’s defense and utilize the Buckeyes’

From rivals to cohosts,, 'Red Corner Blue Corner' LAURYN LUDERMAN SPORTS EDITOR

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offensive threats.

Ohio State will need to get junior running back TreVeyon Henderson going early. As he has continued to get healthier, Henderson has proved to be among the top running backs in the country with back-to-back 200-plus yard games in weeks eight and nine.

As the rushing attack continues to improve from each week, it will open up the downfield passing attack. Ohio State has the most formidable duo of wide receivers in all of college football in junior wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

With the alleged sign-stealing investigation ongoing, and no Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines for Michigan, Ohio State has a legit chance to go into Ann Arbor and snap its two-game losing streak against the Wolverines.

With all the pressure mounting on Michigan to prove to the nation that it doesn’t cheat to win games, Ohio State will come away with a massive win in the Big House to advance it into the Big Ten Championship and further its case to not only be the best team in college football but also win its first College Football Championship since 2014.

Imagine this: a Wolverine and a Buckeye come together to form a college football show.

Welcome to “Red Corner Blue Corner.”

Co-hosted by former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry, 2012-15, and former Michigan tight end Jake Butt, 2013-17, fans of The Game and others alike can find camaraderie in their rivalry-friendly show in its inaugural season.

Stadium, an interactive platform that produces a multitude of sport-based shows, was looking to add a Big Ten football show, Perry said, which was right in his wheelhouse. Nothing makes it more interesting than adding a Wolverine into the mix.

“We had been marinating on it for a little while,” Perry said. “It was trying to find the balance of what we were going to do personality-wise if Jake was even a possibility, which I’m glad he was.”

Both hailing from Central Ohio, Perry and Butt always knew of each other. Their mutual awareness escalated when the pair became rivals lining up against one another at the college level.

Perry said they’ve always had an admiration for each other, but their friendship blossomed after both of their NFL careers were cut short due to injury and they entered the world of sports media — their paths crossing on the way to “Red Corner Blue Corner.”

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Peter J. Mohler PhD

Acting President, The Ohio State University Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge The football rivalry between Ohio State and Xichigan is a tradition like no other dating back to 1897, when the first game between our storied programs took place. Although that first competition would hardly be recognizable by today’s standards of play, the seeds of this historic contest were sown. Since that first game, and in every game that has taken place 118 times since, pride, bragging rights and often championships are on the line for each university and our millions of supporters from around the world.

Although this rivalry is known most prominently through xthroughthe the football game each November, the heated matchup between our schools has grown well beyond the football stadiums. Whether it is the extra motivation for all our student-athletes to best their Wolverine foes throughout the year, or a friendly clash between neighbors who display their block ‘O’ or ‘M’ flag each Saturday in the fall, the struggle between Buckeyes and Wolverines has become a part of who we are, and it helps drive us to achieve more in all that we do.

As we prepare for the 119th meeting between our teams, I am proud of the efforts of our student-athletes, and I am proud that the enthusiasm for this rivalry is helping to support the communities we serve. A powerful example of this is the annual Blood Battle. Through this friendly competition, we have collectively donated thousands of pints of blood that have saved countless lives. Our universities set aside the competitiveness we have on the field to do great things together, including as founding members of the Midwest Semiconductor Network, where we are training the next generation of workers in the semiconductor industry as well as providing valuable research to promote economic growth and protect national security interests.

We have accomplished much together, and there is more to come in the years ahead. But despite this collaboration, for a few hours on Saturday our competitive spirit will be abundant as the scarlet and gray battle the maize and blue in yet another historic game with championships and pride on the line. May the best team win, and Go Bucks!

“We weren’t like ‘boys’ in high school or anything. So it was always in a friendly rivalry, I guess. We had respect for one another, but we also wanted to kick each other’s behind once we – once I — was done playing ball,” Perry said.

“I was fortunate that we were able to work together for a year crossing over at Big Ten Network. Now we get to work together again at Stadium.”

When Butt was approached to do the show, he said there was one main factor in his decision: Perry.

Butt said their chemistry was something almost magical.

“Immediately, I was like, ‘OK, this is good,’” Butt said. “The way Joshua sees the game, the way he speaks, the way he can lead a conversation. It was just instant, kind of like magic it felt like.”

Perry said their goal was to launch the show in time for 2023 Big Ten Conference play, which came to fruition Sept. 25 when episode one aired.

“It’s been great,” Butt said. “It’s been just about as expected. It’s never easy starting a new show from scratch. Like there’s some little wrinkles you have to work out. But we were both willing to come in early, like we did a couple mock shows, we tested some of our software and kind of got a lot of that done ahead of time. And it’s been phenomenal.”

Four days a week, Perry and Butt take a seat in their “armchair” inside their “college dorm” set. Perry said he and Butt are able to speak more freely and express some of their alumni pride on the show.

The pair can wear hoodies and get loose, and hope to bring in some of their Ohio State and Michigan memorabilia to decorate with.

“It’s casual, and there’s no sponsor reads and it’s not like super buttoned up,” Perry said. “I

think it’s great because it’s allowed me to stretch my legs in a very different way in the space. And I think I get to show a different side of my personality during the show like this.”

Compared to Perry’s NBC studio analyst job and Butt’s role with Big Ten Network, “Red Corner Blue Corner” is interactive and “looser,” Butt said.

Every show has a chat where fans can chime in and share their opinions. Similarly, Perry and Butt can pose questions in which fans answer.

“It’s similar to a podcast except it’s on TV so everyone can watch it, right?” Butt said. “So that’s what’s cool is — is if a fan wants to participate, basically they’re on TV, and we get to help steer that guide.”

Perry said he makes a comment every day that fans disagree with — and that’s the idea.

“Hey, you know, Mr.Buckeye614 says that ‘Jake Butt doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

And Joshua Perry’s right about this topic,’ and it’s, ‘WolverineMan says Joshua Perry couldn’t spell football,’” Perry said. “These are the things that people are saying at home, and now we can bring it into the show and add that flavor.”

Butt said he’s seen support from Ohio State fans toward Michigan and vice versa in the interactive chat.

“What was beautiful is Ohio State fans would say, ‘Wow, Jake, like you know, for a Michigan guy I really appreciate his opinion,” Butt said.

“And for Joshua, say, you know, ‘For an Ohio State guy, he’s really good.”

Perry and Butt said they’re proud to be graduates and alumni of their respective schools and football programs. For Butt, he said he was drawn to be a part of Michigan’s history as a recruit and wears the maize and blue with pride today.

On Perry’s side, he said he wants to be the next Kirk Herbstreit and carry on the Buckeye legacy through the media industry for years to come.

“There’s part of me now that attaches to this like it’s like I’m a player still, and so to see people who appreciate the work that I put in is awesome,” Perry said. “To represent a brand as big as Ohio State and as proud as Ohio State, I think is awesome, as well.”

“Red Corner Blue Corner” will run through the College Football Playoff National Championship Jan. 8, 2024, and after that, Perry said he hopes they can continue “rockin’ and rollin’” into a second season.

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Cheerleaders: Preparing for The Game

LANTERN REPORTER As it is every year with Ohio State and Michigan in the annual rivalry matchup, a lot is on the line. The winner of The Game will make it to the Big Ten Championship and essentially punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Leading the teams are Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who could each have their Heisman moment in the biggest rivalry in college football.

The two have guided their respective teams to undefeated 10-0 records, placing Ohio State at No. 1 and Michigan at No. 2 in week two of the CFP rankings.

The case for McCarthy has been the dominance of Michigan so far this season on top of his impressive efficiency. McCarthy ranks second nationally in completion percentage, 76.2, and second in passer rating among qualified players.

“He’s a once-in-a-generational type of quarterback at Michigan, and his progress continues to grow, daily, he’s at the top of his game right

now, really in all aspects,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Day July 27.

However, McCarthy is seemingly more focused on his goal of winning a championship rather than individual accolades.

“It’s a tremendous honor, but at the end of the day, I could [not] care less about that,” McCarthy said after Michigan’s 49-0 victory over Michigan State Oct. 21. “I don’t really care about trophies, I care about championships. That’s the same thing this entire team cares about.”

McCarthy pointed to Michigan running back Blake Corum and former defensive end Aidan Hutchinson as his blueprint for success.

“They were just so focused on getting better every day, and you wouldn’t even know that they were up for the Heisman,” McCarthy said.

“Nothing changed in their day-to-day routine; nothing changed in their work ethic and their motivation going into every day. I’m just going to do the same.”

McCarthy’s eight passing attempts and 94 yards in Michigan’s biggest game to date against No. 10 Penn State leaves him eighth in Heisman odds currently at +9000, according to Draft-

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What's at stake for college football's biggest rivalry EVAN JOSEPH

variations of popular Ohio State-Michigan traditional songs.

“As an athlete, being on the spirit squad, it’s nothing else. It’s a regular game,” Henderson said. “As a fan, yes, obviously, this game is the biggest every year. As an athlete, nothing.”

Eyes wide with curiosity and glee when the crowd first roars, Schreiber said the most important thing is for his squad to know the importance of The Game.

“Your time in this program is short, it’s four or five years. This rivalry has been going on for over 130 years,” Schreiber said. “There’s many people that have come before you and done this.

There’ll be people that come after you and do this and you can say that you’re part of something that’s bigger than you, bigger than us.”

With intensity from both sides — Ohio State trying to avenge its two recent losses and Michigan hyped up following the suspension of its head coach Jim Harbaugh — Schreiber said he wouldn’t be surprised if this was even a bigger game than 2006.

“This has all the characteristics, even a couple weeks out, that this could be one of the biggest games in the rivalry, so super, super excited,” Schreiber said.

Kings.

Throughout 10 games, McCarthy has 2,194 pass yards with 21 total touchdowns and three interceptions. But with two games left, McCarthy still has time to put his name back into the conversation.

The significance of

the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry will get him votes if he can lead Michigan to its third-straight win against the Buckeyes.

On the other hand, the argument for Harrison centers around the sentiment that he is the best player in college football, playing for the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

“The Heisman Trophy goes to the best player,” former Buckeye coach and now Fox Big Noon Kickoff analyst Urban Meyer said on a broadcast.

Harrison would join Tim Brown,

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Hey, Alexa, play, “We don’t give a d*mn for the whole state of Michigan — the remix.”

It is one of the many songs on the Ohio State cheer team’s rivalry-week playlist.

Ben Schreiber, head cheerleading coach and Ohio State spirit squad alum (2004-07), said he tries to make the week leading up to The Game more special than others. With remixes blaring through the speakers at St. John Arena and a good Ohio State-Michigan documentary to set the tone, Schreiber said this year’s contest might be bigger than his senior year in 2006.

As a sophomore, Schreiber transferred in and quickly found himself in a Buckeye cheer uniform on the sideline of all of Ohio State’s home football games. Hailing from Ohio, he said he was always familiar with the rivalry and was happy to be a part of it.

“I was here for three Michigan games,” Schreiber said. “First game, everyone said it was going to be big — it was going to be an exciting time.”

Though the Buckeyes went 8-4 that year, winning 37-21 against the Wolverines, Schreiber said neither that game nor the 2005, 25-21 win in Ann Arbor,

because they recruit from all over the country.

Each year, Schreiber said he picks out a documentary surrounding The Game and the team gets together to watch it on their final practice before game day, the film on HBO being one they watched recently.

“Just to make it a little bit more special to really put our team members in the position that you’re a part of a game that’s been going on for over 100 years, it’s going to continue to go on,” Schreiber said. “It’s something that your grandparents, your great grandparents if they were in the state, have heard of.”

Sean Henderson, a junior on the cheer team who cheered in last year’s rivalry game in Columbus, is from Spring, Texas, and wasn’t sure what The Game was all about, really, until he got here in 2021.

“I read about it a little bit, then I watched, I think, The Game — one of them — I think in 2014 and 2016,” Henderson said. “I didn’t know much about it until the junior year of high school, which I was offered here.”

Despite the buzz surrounding The Game, Schreiber and Henderson said they treat the preparation and game day activities the same as any other Saturday, aside from the playlist, which Schreiber said includes

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Michigan, the following season could compare to “The Game of the Century” in 2006.

No. 1 Ohio State took on No. 2 Michigan at Ohio Stadium at 3:30 p.m. — the last rivalry game not at noon — in what became one of the most prominent contests in The Game’s history.

The Buckeyes won a 42-39 thriller.

“It was a pretty day,” Schreiber said. “The sun was out. It was fun. And it was special because the game was on at 3:30, so you had that element of it being a day game, but then also it finishing as a night game.”

Schreiber said everyone stormed the field and football players, Brutus and the cheer team crowd-surfed. A “special and crazy” day it was, he said.

That game garnered enough attention that HBO made a documentary about it, titled, “Michigan vs. Ohio State: “The Rivalry,” in which Schreiber made a small appearance in the background when the camera passed the cheerleaders.

The HBO documentary, however, helped inspire a tradition brought in by Schreiber soon after he rejoined the squad as head coach in April 2014.

Schreiber said many squad members don’t completely understand the rivalry and exactly what it means to both teams and their fans

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Desmond Howard and DeVonta Smith as the only wide receivers to ever win the award.

“I thought he was the best player a year ago. He’s certainly the best player in the country — not best receiver, best player,” Meyer said.

The Ohio State receiver has been nothing but dominant for the Buckeyes this year as he ranks seventh nationally in receiving yards with 1,063 and second in touchdowns with 12.

His impact on the offense goes beyond the numbers, which many might use as the reason not to vote for Harrison, as he doesn’t lead in any receiving category.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 “That award is for the most outstanding player, not the player with the most stats,” Buckeye head coach Ryan Day said after Ohio State’s 38-3 win over Michigan State Saturday. “He’s made a major impact on this game, three touchdowns, and really only played a half of football.”

Harrison’s longtime quarterback Kyle McCord said his offensive presence is something in itself.

“I can’t really quantify how impactful he is to this offense,” McCord said. “One-on-one situations, he wins. There are situations when he takes

two

defend-

ers with him and somebody else is open.”

In the Buckeyes’ last six games, Harrison has managed to find the end zone, having multiple scores in three of them.

Harrison has climbed to fourth in Heisman Trophy odds, according to DraftKings, at +450.

Harrison’s goals, however, are equally focused on team success.

“Playing receiver, you definitely understand it’s a long shot to win the Heisman. Obviously, it’s been done in the past, but it’s not something I’m really focused on at the moment,” Harrison said. “My goal is to beat the team up north and get to the Big Ten Championship. So those are the two goals I’m focusing

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on for right now.”

If Harrison keeps his pace from the last few weeks and shows up big in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it will be hard for any voter to leave him off of their ballot.

The national stage that is the Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry could propel Harrison or McCarthy past current betting favorites quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (LSU), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington).

The four Heisman finalists will be announced Dec. 4, and the winner will be declared Dec. 9 in New York City.

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Across enemy lines: BuchanaN's rivalry switch offers unique perspective on The Game Michigan, resident, and Mark Kawa, an ex-Detroit-Ohioan whose love for the Buckeyes began DESIGN EDITOR out of spite toward Michigan.

With influences on both sides of the rivalry, To most Ohio State students, rooting for Jackson Buchanan ended up falling in love with Michigan is unthinkable. the Wolverines.

But for Jackson Buchanan, a third-year in “Going to Ann Arbor and visiting my grandpa finance and aviation management and die- was a thing I did in my childhood a lot that really hard Buckeye fan, supporting Michigan was an shaped that,” Jackson Buchanan said. “I went to important part of his life as a sports fan. two or three games at the Big House, and I was Growing up in three different states, Buchan- just a kid being like, ‘Whoa, this is really cool,’ an didn’t latch on to a college sports team you know, the big football stadium.” because of his proximity to a school; rather, it Although Jackson Buchanan grew up wearwas his grandparents who introduced him to the ing maize and blue, his level of animosity toward Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State never matched his fellow Michigan Jackson Buchanan grew up with one grand- fans. parent on each side of the rivalry: Bob Buchanan, “I think because of the influence of my other a Michigan alum and decadeslong Ann Arbor, grandpa, I never really had a hatred of Ohio State,” Jackson Buchanan said. “I didn’t like them as much because I’m always a person who roots for the underdog, and growing up, especially in those late 2010s years, Ohio State was pretty dominant, especially in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.”

While most Michigan fans would never consider attending Ohio State, Jackson Buchanan said his unique perspective on the rivalry and desire to attend a strong business school with a “good culture” led him to Ohio State. Soon after enrolling, the allegiance-switching process began.

COURTESY OF JACKSON BUCHANAN “Early on, it was really Jackson Buchanan, a third-year in finance and aviation hard to switch, but over management, watches a Michigan football game with his father, the years, I’ve gone from Greg Buchanan. liking Michigan to being

REID MURRAY

neutral towards them to hating them,” Jackson Buchanan said. “One of the appeals of college for me was rooting for all these cool teams and having that affiliation with the school. It’s kind of hard to just decide you’re rooting for a team, but now that I’ve experienced heartbreaking Ohio State losses like the Michigan loss and the Georgia loss last year, I’ve become way more emotionally invested in the outcome of these games.”

Since arriving in Columbus, Jackson Buchanan has attended COURTESY OF JACKSON BUCHANAN every home conference Jackson Buchanan (right) attends Ohio State’s 20-12 win against football game, as well Penn State with Chris Wright (left) at Ohio Stadium Oct. 21. as several nonfootball sporting events. In addi“Coming to campus and seeing how passiontion to making memories in the ’Shoe, Jackson ate people were about the Buckeyes, but then Buchanan said he grew closer with the Ohio not seeing that materialize as much when it was State fanbase through Buck-I-Watch. away games, that was something I wanted to Buck-I-Watch, founded in 2022, is a student foster during away games as well, and I think we organization dedicated to hosting watch parties have done that,” Fletcher-Broderson said. for Ohio State away games. After attending varSupporting Michigan throughout the 2010s ious watch parties last year, Jackson Buchanan and switching to Ohio State in 2021, Jackson joined the Buck-I-Watch executive board.

Buchanan hasn’t seen his preferred team win “I went to a lot of events my sophomore The Game since 2011. year, and I really like the culture of watching “It’s funny, I tell my family all the time, whothe games together and sharing that bond that ever I root for in this game never wins, so I defiwe all have for Ohio State,” Jackson Buchanan nitely do feel cursed,” Jackson Buchanan said. said. “What truly made me an Ohio State fan — After spending last Thanksgiving with the watching Ohio State sports with Buck-I-Watch Michigan side of his family, Jackson Buchanan definitely is one of those.” will hope his luck turns around this year when Buck-I-Watch founder and president Blaze he watches Ohio State play Michigan with Kawa Fletcher-Broderson said seeing students’ pas- Nov. 25. sion for Ohio State grow was exactly what he hoped for when creating the organization.

opinion: No sign-stealing needed for Michigan to beat the Buckeyes GAURAV LAW WEB EDITOR No Harbaugh, no cheating, no problem.

Ohio State will march into the Big House undefeated, heads held high and ready for anything — except Michigan.

Despite all the drama surrounding Connor Stalions, head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Big Ten, Michigan went to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, and took control of the game from the second quarter to the end.

It held a top-10 team to just 74 passing yards, though the Nittany Lions went for 164 yards on the ground.

Without their head coach and junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy throwing for just 60 yards, the Wolverines still handily beat the third-best team in the conference, almost entirely on the ground, ironically.

The run killed Ohio State last year, too. Without then-junior starting back Blake Corum, sophomore Donovan Edwards stepped up and ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns to ice the game in Columbus in front of a stunned crowd.

However, even if Edwards didn’t have those two scores, Michigan still would have won by a touchdown — as McCarthy threw for over 250 yards and three scores.

Regardless, it’s a new year. Michigan is still dominating both ways. It is outscoring opponents by 31.5 points per game on offense and ranks No. 1 overall in the country on defense.

Sure, you could say Michigan hasn’t played anyone notable besides Penn State, and it has

played like a team that should be annihilating unranked teams.

Ohio State has been phenomenal, too. It has played great on both ends and has the best receiver in the country, Marvin Harrison Jr. However, junior quarterback Kyle McCord has struggled as of late — outside of his stellar bout against Michigan State Saturday, McCord

threw three interceptions against Wisconsin and Rutgers the previous two weeks.

Aside from Saturday, he’s struggled to get the offense going early — in fact, in those two games where McCord was underwhelming, junior running back TreVeyon Henderson had to carry the load, recording back-to-back games with 200plus all-purpose yards.

McCord is in a position to excel — with weapons in Harrison, junior receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, and senior tight end Cade Stover, there should be no reason to have a poor day. He certainly cannot afford to start slow or not find his receivers against the Wolverines.

The defense will do its job against Michigan — Ohio State’s secondary has been among the top in the country despite missing players for multiple games, including junior cornerback Denzel Burke, senior safeties Lathan Ransom and Josh Proctor, and senior linebacker Tommy Eichenberg.

The defensive line has also been great, especially in the past few games, headed by junior defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.

Unfortunately, the line has allowed big runs that have skewed how good it has been. But all it takes is a couple of big runs, as Ohio State is all too familiar with.

Although the secondary will lock up Wolverine receivers — notably senior Roman Wilson — the Buckeyes are going to get run all over by Corum, Edwards and McCarthy. Corum leads the Football Bowl Subdivision by a substantial margin in rushing touchdowns and is going to keep this up behind a stout offensive line.

On the other end, Michigan’s defensive line will prove too much for McCord and his own line — he will take at least three sacks and throw at least one interception.

The Buckeyes will be extremely confident going in and, despite losing by at least one touchdown Nov. 25, they will still have their playoff hopes alive.

There ya go, Ohio State fans, that’s the hope you should keep.

8 | The Lantern | Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023

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TBDBITL and Michigan: Michigan: A friendly rivALry among two marching bands JAYLA VANHORN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Kyle Macatangay watched from afar as his cousin, Brandon Alcaraz, took part in his last march as a member of the Ohio State marching band.

The rally is known as the “skull session.”

The energy was electric near St. John Arena.

Macatangay, who was 12 years old at the time, dreamed of walking down that same path one day.

Nine years later, Macatangay followed in his cousin’s footsteps.

“That really pushed me to pursue music throughout my elementary, middle school and high school career,” Macatangay said. “So I can

have the possibility to join this band one day.”

The Ohio State and Michigan marching bands are considered one of the country’s best collegiate performances. Nonetheless, the bands share a bond that goes beyond their rivalry, creating unforgettable memories.

Kyle Macatangay, E Flat Cornet (Ohio State) Macatangay said he started playing instruments in the sixth grade and was inspired by his cousin, who was a part of the Ohio State marching band in 2013. He attended his first skull session at 12 and knew from that moment that he wanted to be a part of the Ohio State marching band.

He said his cousin played a significant role in his success by constantly encouraging him to practice, maintain good academics and stay on

top of music and band auditions.

After nine years of constant practice, Macatangay is now in his fifth and final year as a member of the marching band. In those five years, he said his most memorable experience was during his first-ever home game against Florida Atlantic University.

“Nothing compares to seeing the crowd of 100,00 on your first home Ohio State game,” Macatangy said.

Since his first-ever Michigan game in 2019, Macatangay has been wearing the same white dress shirt.

He plans to wear it again for the upcoming Michigan game, hoping it will bring luck, just like it did when the Buckeyes won in 2019.

“It’s starting to age a little bit because it’s five years old,” Macatangay said. “It’s been worn, it’s been loved, it’s marched a lot of pregames and halftime shows.”

Macatangay said it’s the small things that are sentimental, such as wearing his Apple Watch and carrying a Buckeye while marching.

His bandmate Makenna Hack also wears the same shirt underneath her uniform and carries a Buckeye in her pocket.

Her “lucky dress socks” are also a plus one.

Makenna Hack, Mellophone (Ohio State) Hack, a fifth-year statistics major, said she started playing instruments in the fifth grade.

However, her path was seemingly untraditional compared to many of her bandmates.

Hack, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, said her middle school, Indian Hills, required her to play at least one instrument. Her two final choices were flute and trumpet.

After nearly a year of unsuccessful trumpet playing, Hack decided to switch to the mellophone — the marching band’s version of the French horn.

Although not extremely eager, Hack continued playing throughout middle school and began to grow a passion for it after joining the marching band in eighth grade.

A gift stumbled onto “by accident” became one of her greatest luxuries, she said.

“It turned out to be the best decision ever,” Hack said.

During her fifth and final year in the marching band, Hack has created many fond memories of The Game.

One of Hack’s favorite traditions is the “Meet the Team” event that takes place on the Sunday before the Michigan football game.

During the event, the band meets the players and performs Script Ohio. They then teach the players how to perform the famous musical drill.

Although most players just dance along, Hack’s favorite moment was in 2022 when one player decided to conduct an actual song.

It was former quarterback and Texans rookie standout C.J. Stroud.

“For me, it was C.J. Stroud,” Hack said. “Last year he got on the ladder and started conducting, I think it was like ‘Fight the Team’ or something but he was dancing like crazy, doing the C.J. Dance.”

Christian Nunez, Alto Saxophone (Michigan) Nunez, a senior in mechanical engineering, said he grew up in the small town of Grosse Ile, just 15 minutes south of Detroit.

Nunez said because of this “small community” he wanted to branch out and go to a “bigger university.”

The University of Michigan seemed to be the perfect fit. It didn’t hurt that his family raised him to be a Michigan Wolverine, he said.

Nunez began playing the alto saxophone in fifth grade after his mother emailed the school requesting that he switch from the trumpet.

Since then, it’s been his go-to instrument for over ten years.

Nunez said his favorite rivalry matchup was the 2021 game at the Big House. While marching to the stadium, the skies were relatively clear.

But, fifteen minutes after entering the tunnel, Nunez heard something remarkable.

“Somebody said it’s snowing outside,” Nunez said.

Nunez turned around and the stadium was suddenly filled with snow, signaling their cue to march.

“When I come out the tunnel, it was the loudest I ever heard it,” Nunez said. “The snow just added the environment, and especially like Michigan, we were just ready to explode because we were ranked decently high at that point.”

Blake Brdak, Drum Major (Michigan) Brdak, a senior in computer science, said music has always been a part of his life.

Although he has played the trumpet for most of his life, he now holds a different role as the 58th drum major for the Michigan marching band.

The position entails on-field responsibilities such as performing during pregame and halftime shows, as well as serving as a student leader in the band program.

When asked whether the marching band would have a new skit, Brdak had this to say.

“We’re putting together a pretty special halftime performance,” Brdak said.

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Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 | The Lantern | 9

inside the head of cardale jones during the game in 2014 JAYLA VANHORN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Nov. 29, 2014.

The date marked the 111th anniversary of The Game.

Ohio State and Michigan faced off in a tight 28-21 showdown at the ‘Shoe.

The afternoon was exceptional until Buckeye second-string quarterback J.T. Barrett went down on the opening drive of the fourth quarter.

The thought remained according to ESPN announcer Dave Pasch: “You wonder what’s going through the head of 12 right there,” Pasch said.

Little did Pasch know, the player he referred to as “12” would go on to become one of the most prominent figures in Ohio State history, Cardale Jones.

Jones’ memorable run at Ohio State in 2014 is often described as a “Cinderella story.” He went on to lead the Buckeyes to a 42-28 victory against Michigan followed by three consecutive wins against Heisman trophy candidates, including a 22-point victory that secured the Buckeyes their latest championship in 2014 against the Oregon Ducks.

“I have four pair[s] of gold pants,” Jones said.

“I was lucky enough to be on four winning teams, but the ones from 2014 is the only ones I really care about because it’s the only game I played in. They’re near and dear to my heart for sure.”

The morning of The Game was like any other.

A walkthrough with the traditional pregame pep rally, known as the “skull session,” took place as Jones left the hotel with dozens of teammates.

Nearly two hours later, Jones’ life would change.

“Man Down” - 14:45 The fateful play came in the fourth quarter.

On a second-and-1, then redshirt-freshman quarterback Barrett was clobbered on a run, pinning his legs beneath him. Jones said from his angle, the injury did not look serious.

“I personally thought it was a cramp at first,” Jones said.

Barrett had suffered a fractured ankle.

Jones said he realized the severity of his injury once players frantically waved over trainers. Minutes later, Barrett was carted off the field, leaving the Buckeyes down to their third-string quarterback.

“Next Man Up” Jones said despite losing yet another

LANTERN FILE PHOTO

quarterback, the team’s morale was strong.

“I don’t think it was a bad feeling,” Jones said. “There was a feeling of the next man up.”

Jones said the mindset wasn’t built overnight.

The Buckeyes were already facing

adversity, both inside and outside the facility, he said.

An injury to starting quarterback Braxton Miller, who suffered a torn labrum, causing him to miss the entire season, tested the Buckeyes early on.

In addition, the whereabouts of Ohio State’s defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge, who was reported missing four days prior, were still unknown.

Jones said the unforeseen circumstances affected the team personally, so it was imperative to always train with the “next man up” mentality.

“We had other significant injuries

in other positions where the next guy just picked up the baton and kept going,” Jones said.

“First Drive” - 14:30 Jones trotted onto the field.

Alongside him was then-sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliot and wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Until this point, the redshirt sophomore had only completed 57 percent of his passes, garnering 111 yards and two touchdowns with 14 pass attempts.

Jones said this was mostly in “mop of duty.”

Now thrust into the spotlight — in college football’s biggest rivalry — the stakes were even higher, he said.

“We had no time to lick our wounds or sob over things or anything like that because we had a game to win,” Jones said “That was my focus.”

In the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes needed to prove their physicality after Corey Smith fell just 1 yard short on a tough catch-and-run at Michigan’s 40-yard line.

This time Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer elected to go for it.

“It was just a situation where he felt this is the win or lose the game right here,” Jones said.

The call ultimately paid off as Elliot ran 44 yards untouched into the end zone, with fans celebrating the electric run.

Jones said it was the offensive line that paved the way for Elliott’s run.

“We really put the game in their hands at that point,” he said.

Jones’ first thought after Ohio State’s double-digit win against Michigan was about Barrett’s status.

Once confirmed, Jones knew what he had to do.

After celebrating briefly with his family, the very next morning at 2 a.m., he was already studying the playbook, preparing for the Buckeyes’ Big Ten Championship game against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Jones went on to lead the Buckeyes to victory over the Badgers, securing their first Big Ten Championship win in Indianapolis, and eventually to their historic win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl and the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff National Championship. It was Ohio State’s first national championship since 2002.

On that fateful afternoon of Nov. 29, 2014, his incredible journey began, in a game against his fiercest rival, “TTUN.”

MARK BATKE LANTERN FILE PHOTO