Michigan Football: How can Wolverines finally get over Ohio State hurdle?

Michigan football has been in the midst of a massive slump against top rival Ohio State but what do the Wolverines have to do in order to end that?

There’s no secret that Michigan has had a nightmarish time trying to take down mighty rival Ohio State. In fact, the Wolverines have won just one game in the series since 2004 and a once-large gap in overall series record has since shrunk down to a seven-game advantage for Michigan.

Jim Harbaugh, too, has been feeling the pressure of not beating his rival, going 0-5 since taking over as head coach in 2015.

Four of those losses were to Urban Meyer and when he abruptly retired, everyone just assumed that he’d have a year one advantage over Ryan Day. That wasn’t the case.

Day has continued the elite recruiting that Meyer was known for and some could argue that he’s doing an even better job than his predecessor in that regard. He brought in Georgia transfer Justin Fields in 2019 and the former five-star quarterback ran wild over Michigan’s defense in a second consecutive blowout effort, this time in Ann Arbor.

With the loss, Michigan has been outscored 118-66 against the Buckeyes in the last two meetings and you can bet that has worn on Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh must lead Michigan football over the hump

During a conversation with NBCSN’s “Lunch Talk Like”, according to Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News, Harbaugh stated that nothing makes him and his team angrier than losing to Ohio State. And that’s a trend that needs to stop.

"“We got to beat Ohio State,” Harbaugh said. “Nothing makes us angrier than that, or me, but that’s what we’re working toward every day. We’ve beaten everybody else, but we haven’t beat them. That’s what we have to do, beat them, win a championship, get ourselves in the playoff, win a national championship.”"

While it’s easy to say “that’s on him”, it takes an entire team effort to take down the bully in the Big Ten that is Ohio State.

So what must Michigan do in order to accomplish this?

Some might argue that the talent gap isn’t as vast as the final scores from the last two seasons suggest, but it’s a lot about mindset. Michigan can talk the talk with the best of them, but when it comes to walking the walk, it falls short in the big games, such as this rivalry.

That wasn’t always the case, though. Before this massive drought, the rivalry was heated because both sides shared a true hatred for one another. That seems to be missing on one side.

Sure, Michigan fans can say all they want about how much they hate Ohio State and the players can do the same, but some of the kids on this team were in kindergarten the last time it was a true rivalry filled with disdain. The coaches must do a better job of instilling that hatred. Ohio State is definitely disliked by Michigan players, but when was the last time The Game truly felt like the end all, be all? The 2016 matchup was one exception, but other than that? It’s been a minute.

It’s one thing to say “we’re angry” and it’s another to actually be angry. That’s the problem.

Harbaugh has done a great job beating everyone else in the Big Ten and has been one of the best coaches in the conference for the past five years, but this rivalry is weighing on his mind.

Once he finally beats Ohio State, the pressure will finally fall off his shoulders and he can be that elite coach everyone expects him to be.

It all starts with hatred.