Ohio State isn't desperate like Michigan football was to change rivalry

I'm not a huge believer in the things people say, as far as it having any impact on the field. But there is a notable difference in the way Michigan football talks about the rivalry with Ohio State.

It started in 2021. Prior to that, Ohio State was the program that prioritized the rivalry more. Urban Meyer lived it every single day, but the farther away from him the Buckeyes get, the less they seem to care.

Yes, I know the fans care. The players care too, but they don't sound desperate to win 'The Game' at least not as desperate as Aidan Hutchinson, the Michigan football legend who at Big Ten Media Days in 2021, said, "I'm willing to die for this, I swear. I want this more than anyone, I promise you that."

Jim Harbaugh, the embattled Michigan football coach (at the time) said that the Wolverines were going to "Beat Ohio or die trying."

Ryan Day, last week, said Michigan was a "great team" but that Ohio State should have won the game last season. He also said previously, about Michigan football losses, that his team "had one bad half in two years."

It's still not clear if he means the half in 2021, when the Buckeyes were outscored 28-14 in the second half to lose to Michigan football in Ann Arbor by 15 or the second half in 2022, when the Wolverines boat raced the Buckeyes 28-3 in a 45-23 rout.

I get the sense that Day and his players believe they are superior and can't figure out why they have lost to Michigan. They blamed the cold, the flu, and the signs, and still lost.

Maybe this is the year Ohio State wins again. With their talent they probably should but the Buckeyes don't sound desperate to beat Michigan football and an OSU fan, that would worry me a little.