Recent on-field and recruiting success proves the OSU-UM rivalry has hit a turning point

Since the turn of the century, the Michigan Wolverines have been, for lack of a better term, dominated by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Though Michigan football still leads the all-time series against Ohio State (60-51-6), Ohio State has won all but five games against Michigan since the year 2000. In fact, over the past 20 seasons, Ohio State has a 16-4 record against the Michigan Wolverines. Still, over the past two years, we have witnessed Jim Harbaugh and company turn the tide a bit — recent on-field and recruiting success proves that Michigan football is making up for lost ground.

Michigan football is stealing Ohio prospects, including some major OSU targets

This week alone, the Michigan football team has added two four-star Ohio recruits to its 2024 recruiting class. Early in the week, the Wolverines stole the No. 2 player in Ohio — running back Jordan Marshall — from the Buckeyes. The next day, Michigan sustained its success and grabbed another 2024 four-star player from Ohio; this time, it was Rivals four-star Ben Roebuck, and offensive tackle from St. Edward.

Of Michigan’s nine commits in the 2024 class, four are from the state of Ohio — additionally, the Wolverines are locked in on a few more big-name Ohio recruits, and likely aren’t done yet.

Michigan’s on-field success speaks volumes

Michigan’s few recruiting victories over Ohio State would not be nearly as big of a deal if the Wolverines weren’t crushing the Buckeyes on the field as well. In 2021, for the first time in a decade, the Michigan football team steamrolled Ohio State to the tune of a 42-27 victory. The win sent Michigan to the Big Ten title game, and eventually saw UM finish the season 12-2 overall and ranked in the top-3.

A season ago, No. 2 Ohio State (11-0) hosted No. 3 Michigan (11-0) in a massive matchup in Columbus, OH. For the first time in 22 years, Michigan football beat Ohio State in ‘The Shoe,’ and it was ugly. All said and done, Michigan improved to 12-0 for the second time in program history with a 45-23 win over Ohio State — the following week, Michigan won its 44th Big Ten Championship.

With all of Michigan’s recent on-field and recruiting wins over the Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s clear that Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines have turned the tide in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

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