Michigan Football Rivalries: A Look Into The Greatest
By Jay Meade
Oct 10, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh reacts on the sideline in the first quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Rivalries are one of the greatest parts of sports. My love for the Michigan, and especially Michigan football, came from a father-son rivalry. Anything my dad was a fan of, I was a fan of the opposite.
He liked the Celtics, I liked the Lakers. He liked the Indians, I liked the Yankees. He liked the Browns, I liked the Bengals. He liked Ohio State, I liked Michigan.
As I grew older, I grew to like other teams. The father-son rivalry had diminished except for two teams: the Bengals and the Wolverines. I have talked before about how I grew up in Columbus, Ohio.
I went through the whole 90’s. That’s right, the Howard era, the Biakabutuka era, and the Woodson era. I watched Woodson more than the other two—I was a little too young to understand what was really happening. I understood one thing though: My dad hated that guy with a passion.
Woodson was, and still is, doing so much damage in the football world. I loved it. Any Michigan fan who tells you they are not a Woodson fan probably isn’t really a Michigan fan.
The Michigan team, in my lifetime, has gone through some serious turmoil, from dream killers in the 90’s to being the dream of any team that had to play against Brady Hoke.
Michigan Wolverines
People don’t give Hoke the credit he deserved, though. Hoke was not only a great recruiter, but he was also a great rivalry game coach. He racked up a win over Ohio State and Michigan State, and multiple wins over Notre Dame and Minnesota. It was last year, in 2014, that he lost every single rivalry game that he played, including a blowout to Ohio State and a shutout to Notre Dame.
It was awful.
Hoke may have kept things interesting, but he was losing the battles that needed won. Enough about him though. This is about Michigan rivalries.
We will take a look into the greatest rivalries of college football.
Next: Minnesota