Derrick Moore believes what a lot of Michigan football fans believe, that the Ohio State national championship was watered down.
Moore, who knows what it feels like to win a national championship, a Big Ten championship, go undefeated, and win "The Game", all in the same season, congratulated the Buckeyes on their 2024 national championship run Thursday at Big Ten Media Days.
However, he also offered a few key clarifying points, similar to the ones that Michigan football fans have been making for months. Moore said OSU's title wasn't the same because Ohio State didn't beat Michigan: "'I'll congratulate them on the win, but it's not a real win if y'all ain't beat us," (via Isaiah Hole).
He also took it a step further, according to Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider.
"We know if the playoff expansion wasn't around, they wouldn't have won the national championship," Moore said.
Derrck Moore drops truth on Ohio State fans
Moore makes a valid point. Ohio State fans might not like it, but if the four-team playoff still existed during the 2024 season, the Buckeyes would have been playing in a meaningless bowl game.
Ohio State deserves credit for its four-game run. It was one of the best runs in college football history, but that doesn't change the fact that Ohio State finished fourth in the Big Ten, lost two games, and didn't beat Michigan.
If you looked at their list of preseason goals, they would have only achieved one. Thankfully, for Ryan Day, college football is more watered down, so the regular season doesn't matter as much as it used to.
That's how you can lose the most important game on your schedule, and still win the national title, which is exactly what Ohio State did in 2024.
It's a crazy time for college football. At least Derrick Moore gets that between Michigan's national championship and Ohio State's, there is no comparison.