Michigan Football: Desmond, Devin Bush discuss Ohio State failures

Two Michigan football giants, Desmond Howard and Devin Bush Jr, discuss why the Wolverines can’t beat Ohio State under Jim Harbaugh.

If you are talking about the future of the Michigan football program, there really is no way to avoid the topic that hangs over the Wolverines like a dark could — Ohio State.

The fact that Jim Harbaugh is 0-5 against Ohio State haunts him and every Michigan football fan who believed he would be the one to turn the tide. So far, it hasn’t happened and while everyone has their own ideas why and this week, two prominent Wolverines addressed the situation.

One of those was quite possibly Harbaugh’s best player during his five years at Michigan football and that’s former linebacker and 2019 first-round pick, Devin Bush Jr.

Bush did an interview on Fox Sports, “Speak For Yourself” with well-know journalist Jason Whitlock, who asked Bush about Harbaugh and if he had hope Michigan could turn it around.

Here is what Bush said:

"“I need hope, too. I gotta keep it real, we’re not winning the big games. That’s all. We have to find a way to win the big games.”"

Then he was asked by former Steelers great James Harrison what he thought the problems were and Bush said the following:

"“I think it’s a combination of both,” Bush said. “I just feel like we need the right mentality. We need to walk into that game and not be like, ‘Well, I hope Ohio State don’t show up today, I hope they give us a freebie.’ Nah, we gotta go in there, we gotta take it.”"

That insight is interesting since Bush played with Michigan as recently as 2018, when the Wolverines went into Columbus 10-1, ranked No. 4 and got their doors blown off.

It certainly seems like Michigan hopes to win against Ohio State, while the Buckeyes expect to win against Michigan. It’s a mental hurdle and it’s one this program has to get over. It’s also something the great Desmond Howard talked about Thursday on the Sports Talk 1050 WTKA in Ann Arbor.

When asked about Michigan’s struggles against Ohio State, Howard said it’s more than one thing. Here’s an excerpt of what he said:

"“That’s a real long conversation because it’s not just one thing,” Howard replied. “You could start with the quarterback, you could start with the impactful players, (and) you can start with the things that have happened on defense. It’s not just one thing.”"

Howard is right. It’s not just one thing. It’s the talent gap at key positions and not just quarterback, but also corner, wide receiver, running back and defensive end. Ohio State churns out elite guys at those positions and Michigan simply doesn’t.

Even five-star guys like Rashan Gary, who were supposed to make that impact, never reached the level of a Nick or Joey Bosa. In fact, not even in the same realm.

At the end of the day, it feels like a cart-before-the-horse argument. Michigan needs more talent to beat Ohio State and get past this mental block. But, until the Wolverines actually beat the Buckeyes, will they ever get that talent?

It’s a vicious circle of hell that Michigan finds itself in and until, somehow, someway, there is a triumph over OSU, it’s hard to see the tide changing.