Michigan Puts Motivational Graphic About Ohio State Inside Weight Room

The Wolverines appear to be placing extra emphasis on the rivalry with the Buckeyes.

Following Ohio State’s 56-27 win at Michigan in 2019, former quarterback Justin Fields was asked why he believes the Buckeyes have won 16 of their last 18 games against the Wolverines.

"I just think we take it more seriously than they do,” Fields said. “We prepare for it all year. We're preparing for them next year right now. I think it just means more at Ohio State. That's pretty much, I think, the bigger reason why we have more success than they do.”

The statement shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Ohio State has a clock inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that counts down to The Game and even dedicates a period of each practice and offseason workouts to beating Michigan. The Buckeyes also refuse to call the Wolverines anything other than “that team up north,” a phrase coined by legendary head coach Woody Hayes.

“This game means everything to us,” current head coach Ryan Day said ahead of the 2019 meeting in Ann Arbor. “Nothing matters if we don't win this game.”

On the flip side, some question how important the rivalry is to Michigan, which has lost eight straight games in the series. That view was only reinforced when head coach Jim Harbaugh left beating the Buckeyes out of his top 10 goals for 2021 during an appearance at the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association clinic earlier this year.

However, it appears the Wolverines are finally starting to put more emphasis on the rivalry, as a graphic that says, “What are you doing to beat Ohio State today?” showed up on the video board inside their weight room this week.

It was great to meet @CoachRyanOsborn and see @CoachNua again at the Michigan prospect camp yesterday. I learned a lot, got some great reps in and won the smokehouse award for fastest DL. Excited to get back to Ann Arbor soon! @FballPhn @J__Stokes52 @AllenTrieu @coachclink pic.twitter.com/Szt6EoOOIy

— Luke Fletcher (@fletchzilla09) June 7, 2021

We’ll find out in 172 days – when Ohio State travels to Michigan for their Nov. 27 meeting – whether or not the small motivational tactic works.

-----

You may also like:

College Football Playoff Stakeholders Reportedly Favor 12-Team Model

2022 Chicago Wide Receiver Kaleb Brown Commits To Ohio State

How Brown's Commitment Impacts The Buckeyes' 2022 Recruiting Class

Ohio State Passes Georgia For Nation's Top-Ranked Recruiting Class

Photos From Ohio State's First Big Recruiting Weekend Of The Summer

Florida State DE Commit Gabriel Harris Aiming For Ohio State Offer

Ohio State Releases Incredible Recruiting Hype Video

Seven Former Buckeyes Ranked Among NFL's Top 100 Players

Ohio State Coach Ryan Day Not Dropping Hints About Quarterback Battle

Jim Tressel Hopes To Live Long Enough To See OSU Lead Michigan Series

Christen Miller Considers Larry Johnson The Lamborghini Of DL Coaches

Ohio State OT Target Tyler Booker Discusses Upcoming Official Visits

Ohio State Offers Five Prospects During First One-Day Camp Of Summer

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook