Michigan Football Rivalry Game May Lose Value With Expansion

Last weekend, the then-No. 3 Michigan Wolverines and then-No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes faced off at the Big House with everything at stake: a Big Ten title, a trip to the College Football Playoff, and more. While the Michigan football rivalry game against the Buckeyes was won by the Maize and Blue, 30-24, it may be the last matchup of its kind with incredibly high stakes, as pointed out by Michigan QB coach Kirk Campbell on Wednesday.

Michigan football rivalry with Ohio State losing value?

Michigan football is currently 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) and ranked No. 2 nationally heading into this weekend’s Big Ten title game against No. 16 Iowa (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten), which could be Michigan’s third straight conference championship win under Jim Harbaugh. With a trip to the playoff, likely the Rose Bowl, hanging in the balance, last weekend’s Ohio State game had all of the value in the world for both squads — it was essentially an elimination game between two of the top programs in the country.

QB coach Kirk Campbell explains

Yet, when the playoff expands next fall, and the Big Ten Conference drops its divisions, “The Game” will simply mean less. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be a huge matchup, but it won’t have the same value, as noted by Michigan football QB coach Kirk Campbell.

“I think, naturally, with expanded playoffs, the game we just saw (against Ohio State) might be the last time the magnitude of that game, depending on what happens this weekend furthermore, but the magnitude of that game will be so high,” Kirk Campbell noted on Wednesday. “It’s still going to be an extremely important game, it’s a game we’re going to prepare for, I talked about all year. The magnitude may never reach that potential with the expanded playoffs. It’s just going to be different and everything.”

“The Game” will be different next year

As Campbell mentioned — “The Game” may never be the same after this season. If this year’s game were to be played the same way in 2024, Michigan football would be facing Ohio State again this weekend for the conference title, seeing as they are the two top teams in the Big Ten right now. Additionally, the two rivals could face off a third time in the same season, seeing as both would likely still appear in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Lots of notes on Iowa, JJ McCarthy, and more from Kirk Campbell today. More on https://t.co/wXZ3nMHgMi. pic.twitter.com/J2NA1DXunp

— CJ Mangum (@cjmangum_) November 29, 2023

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