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3 takeaways from the 2022 Big Ten football season

By Christopher Mangum

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 26: Kris Jenkins #94 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a 45-23 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 26: Kris Jenkins #94 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a 45-23 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – NOVEMBER 26: Cornelius Johnson #6 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball during the second quarter of a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – NOVEMBER 26: Cornelius Johnson #6 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball during the second quarter of a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images) /

Michigan football is the top team in the Big Ten now

For decades, Ohio State was king of the Big Ten. To close out the 2010’s, Ohio State beat Michigan 62-39 in 2018 and 56-27 in 2019. Since then, the Wolverines have been undefeated against Ohio State and have treated the Buckeyes in a way they have not been treated in decades.

In 2021, Ohio State fans claimed that the year was a fluke. The Buckeyes claimed to have the flu, blamed the weather, and even said Michigan got lucky in the Wolverines’ 42-27 romping of Ohio State. This year, Michigan proved that it wasn’t just a one-hit-wonder.

Last weekend, the Wolverines improved to 12-0 on the season with a dominant 45-23 win over Ohio State in Columbus. The last time Ohio State lost in Columbus to a Big Ten opponent was in 2015. The last time it was dominated like that was the 2020 National Title game against a seemingly unbeatable Alabama squad.

Michigan’s 22-point win is the Wolverines’ first road win over Ohio State since 2000 and the program’s first back-to-back wins against OSU since the late 1990s.

In the College Football Playoff era, only one team has won multiple Big Ten titles: Ohio State. Michigan State and Penn State both had one a piece in 2015-2016 but could not maintain that level of play and are now 3rd or worse in the conference.

The Buckeyes look relatively soft under Ryan Day so far. Since taking over, Day has slowly regressed Buckeye football. Next year, Ohio State will come to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team that returns nearly everyone on both sides of the football.

Ohio State is losing quite a bit of talent, and if Michigan makes it three straight wins over the Buckeyes, I could see Ohio State moving on from Day.

That being said, we are talking about right now, not the future. Michigan football is 24-2 over the past two seasons, yet to lose this year, and eyeing its second-straight Big Ten Championship. A win over Purdue this weekend would improve the Wolverines’ record to 13-0 overall and likely send Michigan to the College Football Playoff as the No. 2 team in the nation for the second-straight year.

Michigan football is back to being on top. After knocking on the door for years under Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines finally took the next step and are the top dogs in the Big Ten. Harbaugh’s challenge is now to get Michigan over the next hump: improve to 15-0 and bring home a national title for the first time since 1997.

Big Ten football is run by the Michigan Wolverines right now, which may be hard for some to hear, but it is the reality of the situation.

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