Who's Winning the Battle of Big Ten Titans: Urban Meyer or Jim Harbaugh?

On the final Saturday of last November, a mentally depleted Urban Meyer took center stage in the crowded interview room adjacent to the visitor's locker room in Michigan Stadium. 

Having just beaten the Wolverines for his fourth consecutive time as Ohio State's head coach, Meyer—hoarse voice and all—offered a reminder that winning a rivalry game is never easy.

"You don't train for that game in one week," he said. "That's all year."

With Jim Harbaugh in charge of "That Team Up North," that rings true now more than ever in college football's most storied rivalry.

While they've only met once on the field, no coaching rivalry in college football has garnered more attention in the past year-and-a-half than the one Harbaugh and Meyer headline. Between Harbaugh's knack for building a buzz, Meyer's historic on-field resume and the pre-existing history between their schools, you'd be hard-pressed to find two coaching competitors more consistently compared to one another than the two who now square off in "The Game" each November.

"It's getting back to Bo and Woody—at least that's the way we see it," Michigan great and ESPN analyst Desmond Howard told Bleacher Report, referencing the legendary "Ten-Year War" between Michigan's Bo Schembechler and Ohio State's Woody Hayes from 1969 to 1978. "And that's the way it should be."

While the disparity that's led to the Buckeyes accumulating an 11-1 record over their rivals in the past 12 years was still apparent on the field last season, entering 2016, Michigan appears to have gained ground. Ohio State enters the upcoming campaign ranked sixth in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, while the Wolverines find themselves slotted just one spot behind at No. 7—the perceived top two teams in the Big Ten essentially splitting hairs.

But in college football—and especially rivalries—terming two teams as equals rarely suffices. There must be a winner and a loser, even between sides that won't face off for another three months.

Who's winning the rivalry between the Big Ten's two coaching titans? Let's take a look.

On-field

When it comes to the on-field portion of the Meyer-Harbaugh rivalry, two numbers speak for themselves.

Buckeyes 42, Wolverines 13.

And truth be told, it wasn't even that close.

"The Ohio State game, they just came out and kicked our ass," Michigan safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers said this summer. "It was definitely a wake-up call."

With running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback J.T. Barrett combining for 353 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, the Buckeyes had their way with the Wolverines on offense. And the Ohio State defense limited Michigan to 57 yards rushing.

Ultimately, the teams finished 2015 with records separated by just two games—the Buckeyes at 12-1 and the Wolverines at 10-3—but the gap between the two appeared a lot larger that afternoon in Ann Arbor.

"Most people point to the game against Ohio State a year ago, which was really a no-contest," ESPN analyst and former Michigan quarterback Brian Griese told Bleacher Report. "But there were a lot of injuries on that defense, especially up front. I expect, if healthy and if the defense continues to grow, that it would be a much closer game against Ohio State [in 2016]."

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The Wolverines will have to wait until Nov. 26 to see if that holds true, but it won't help their cause that this time around, they'll come to Columbus, where Meyer holds a 27-2 record as the Buckeyes head coach.

Harbaugh, however, is looking forward to his return to Ohio Stadium, where 30 years ago, the former Wolverines quarterback made good on a guarantee to upend Ohio State in Michigan's 1986 Big Ten title-clinching 26-24 victory over the Buckeyes.

"I'll be excited for it," Harbaugh said. "Going to play a good team on the road in a big stadium, if we can get some weather in there, if we can get some snow or some rain—that's the ultimate. No better feeling in life. We'll have that opportunity. Those are the two extremes, right? Worst feeling, best feeling. Yeah, we're chasing the best feeling."

Would beating the Buckeyes for his first time as a head coach make that an even better feeling?

"Yeah, that's possible," Harbaugh admitted. "I'll let you know if or when we accomplish it."

Until then, the record remains Meyer 1, Harbaugh 0.

Recruiting

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It hasn't just been on the field the Buckeyes have gotten the best of the Wolverines as of late. But as opposed to their first on-field meeting, the battle between Meyer and Harbaugh on the recruiting trail has at least been competitive.

While they've only gone against each other for one full recruiting cycle—Harbaugh's arrival in Ann Arbor at the end of 2014 barely left him enough time to save Michigan's 2015 class—Meyer has produced stronger results than Harbaugh despite the latter having garnered more attention for his recruiting efforts. On national signing day this past February, the Buckeyes inked the nation's fourth-ranked class, while the Wolverines' haul came in one spot behind.

"In the top five, you're splitting hairs," notes Rivals.com director of recruiting Mike Farrell. "You could make a serious argument and I would have a difficult time disagreeing with you that the jobs Ohio State and Michigan did were better than the jobs Alabama and Florida State did."

Although their 2016 recruiting results may be too close to call, the current recruiting cycle shows a different story.

With 18 players committed, including six 5-star prospects, the Buckeyes' top-ranked 2017 class is considered one of college football's best ever. Ohio State claims commitments from the nation's third-ranked offensive tackle Josh Myers, second-ranked defensive end Chase Young, second-ranked dual-threat quarterback Tate Martell, top-ranked all-purpose back J.K. Dobbins, as well as the No. 3 and No. 5 wide receivers in the class in Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey.

And with signing day still months away, the Buckeyes have plenty of time to add to college football's most highly touted class.

"Right now, Ohio State is hot. It's a great product, a great place to recruit for," said Buckeyes wide receivers coach Zach Smith, who led the charge on securing commitments from Grimes and Lindsey. "It seems like every week, somebody's coming and every week, somebody's trying to come."

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Meanwhile, Michigan—at least to this point—has had trouble carrying over the momentum from its impressive 2016 class, which included the nation's top-ranked player in 5-star defensive lineman Rashan Gary. The Wolverines' 2017 haul ranks 10th in the nation despite the country's No. 3 pro-style passer, Dylan McCaffrey, having committed to spending his college career in Ann Arbor.

Even looking ahead to the 2018 cycle, the Buckeyes appear to be building on Meyer's head start.

While Ohio State possesses just two commitments in its 2018 class, one is the nation's top-ranked dual-threat quarterback, Emory Jones, while 4-star running back Brian Snead is a coveted prospect in his own right. As for Michigan, pledges from 4-star safety Otis Reese and linebacker Antwuan Johnson provide a solid start, but a pair of recent decommitments in 4-star tight end Leonard Taylor and 4-star offensive lineman Jalil Irvin could be a cause for concern.

While there's still plenty of time between now and 2017's national signing day—let alone 2018's—it's easy to see which head coach has more recruiting momentum.

"Well, you gotta say Urban Meyer [is doing the better job]," 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong told Bleacher Report. "You just know at Ohio State, they evaluate well. And you know they develop well. They don't lose very often."

Brand-building

So if Meyer is undefeated against Harbaugh on the field and out-recruiting him off it, exactly where do the Wolverines hold an advantage over the Buckeyes?

To find the answer, one must first ask why we're comparing these teams in the first place.

While Ohio State may be the team to beat in the Big Ten—and never mind that Michigan State is the conference's defending champion—no program in college football has attracted more attention in the past year-and-a-half than Michigan. The root of the Wolverines' habit of getting in the headlines has been Harbaugh, a lightning rod of a head coach unlike anything ever seen in college football.

From satellite camp subtweets to rap video cameos and Jordan Brand jersey reveals, not a week has seemed to pass in either of the past two offseasons without Michigan's head coach making some news. That has helped rebuild the Wolverines' brand into one of the hottest in college football, which can have a tangible effect on a program.

"Everything Jim Harbaugh does, everybody pays attention to and recruits in turn pay attention to," Farrell said. "He's winning the publicity game, which is important these days in recruiting."

Tae-Gyun Kim/Associated Press/Associated Press

Take, for instance, Michigan's recent switch from Adidas gear to Nike's Jordan Brand, which inspired a championship-like celebration in Ann Arbor. While the UM administration may have had the final say in picking the program's official outfitter, the Wolverines' use of social media to promote their new affiliation built a buzz around Michigan, which recruits noticed.

And while they may just be uniforms, in today's day and age of recruiting, they matter.

"The way he's utilizing it certainly is to his credit," Farrell said of Harbaugh. "Kids have chosen programs for a whole lot of dumb reasons…this generation of recruits is highly susceptible to uniforms, edits, the cool stuff that they perceive more so than a decade ago."

The added attention paid to Michigan can't hurt its efforts with pollsters, either, as evidenced by both ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach and Sports Illustrated having picked the Wolverines to make this year's playoff.

"The media's been caught up in it, and it's become a whirlwind deal," Big Ten Network analyst and former Minnesota head coach Glen Mason told Bleacher Report. "Not to take anything away from Jim, he's an excellent football coach, but I think a lot of that stuff has been the collateral news, and I think they've forgotten about what has taken place on the field."

Brand exposure hasn't hindered Ohio State's efforts, but in a lot of ways, the Buckeyes are just now catching up. Recently, the Ohio State staff has increased its presence on social media, with the program adopting official accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

It's also not likely a coincidence that in the days after their rival's Jordan release, the Buckeyes provided a friendly reminder of their own affiliation with NBA great LeBron James:

Nevertheless, this is one area Ohio State trails its neighbors to the North.

"[Harbaugh's] getting a whole lot more attention to his program than Urban Meyer is," Farrell said. "And that's hard to do."

2016 Outlook

As evidenced by their limited separation in the polls, the Buckeyes and Wolverines appear to be on equal footing entering 2016.

In Ohio State's case, the Buckeyes are in the midst of replacing 16 starters from last year's team, including 12 draft picks and five first-rounders. Yes, Ohio State has Barrett—the 2014 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year—to rely on and has stockpiled talent with Meyer's highly touted recruiting classes, but for now, the bulk of the Buckeyes' key players remain inexperienced.

"There's a lot of talent on Ohio State's team that nobody knows about, just because we haven't seen them play because there's been such good players," Griese said. "But there is question: When the lights go on and they face some adversity, how will these young players respond?"

Factor in a Week 3 trip to Norman to face 2015 playoff participant Oklahoma, and the Buckeyes' immediate future appears uncertain at best.

Conversely, Michigan brings back a plethora of experienced players, including Peppers, All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis, Big Ten Tight End of the Year Jake Butt and arguably the top receiving duo in the conference in Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh. The Wolverines don't, however, know who their quarterback is yet, although John O'Korn and Wilton Speight intriguing options for Harbaugh to pick from.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Between the inexperience in Columbus and another year of development under Harbaugh's staff, Michigan may just find itself closing the talent gap on the Buckeyes sooner than originally anticipated.

"If you compare the rosters last year on a scale of 1-10, I'd say Ohio State's roster was a 10 when it came to talent [in 2015]. I think this year, it's down to a 7.5 because of all the losses. You can't lose that many first- and second-round draft picks without falling down a little bit," Farrell said.

"Michigan's roster last year I believe was closer to about a 5.5 or a six. I think this year, you're getting closer to seven with the incoming freshmen."

Road trips to East Lansing, Iowa City and Columbus could present a difficult path to the playoff for the Wolverines, but for at least one year, Michigan should be on par with its biggest rival from a talent standpoint.

Factor in the addition of defensive coordinator Don Brown, who oversaw Boston College's top-ranked defense a year ago, and there are plenty of reasons why the Wolverines' 2016 outlook isn't too drastically different from the Buckeyes'.

Playing catch-up

Tony Ding/Associated Press/Associated Press

Although comparisons between two of college football's most prominent head coaches are inevitable—especially in this rivalry—at this point, they aren't necessarily fair.

After all, Meyer is entering his fifth year of building a program, while Harbaugh is entering just his second, and there's a strong case to be made that Meyer found his roster in better shape in 2012 than Harbaugh did just a year ago.

Even when it comes to Ohio State's apparent recruiting advantage moving forward, the momentum the Buckeyes are enjoying largely remains a result of their national title run in 2014, at which point Harbaugh had just left his job as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Ohio State being ahead of Michigan right now isn't just likely, it's arguably inevitable.

So what does Harbaugh have to do to catch up?

"Catching up is going to be very difficult, because Urban Meyer's going to continue to recruit at the highest level known to man," Farrell said. "You can continue to recruit at a top-three level in the country yourself and hope things even out, and I think that's probably what's going to happen with Michigan. But I don't know if they're going to be able to surpass them."

Already, however, signs of improvement have been apparent.

For example: In just one season, Harbaugh doubled his alma mater's win total from five in 2014 to 10 in his debut campaign. That set the stage for the Wolverines' heightened expectations for 2016 and with even further improvement could provide firmer footing for Harbaugh's recruiting efforts.

At the least, last season was a sign that on the field, Michigan is once again in good hands.

"One of the things I noticed is there's a physicality there that wasn't there previously," Howard said of his alma mater's playing style under Harbaugh. "Now, that Michigan toughness is back."

So while surpassing Ohio State from a recruiting standpoint may not be possible so long as Meyer is around, if the Wolverines can continue to recruit talent equal to the Buckeyes—as they did in 2016—they should give themselves a shot. As Ohio State has learned under Meyer, once you get the ball rolling, it's hard to slow down. And based on the limited sample size we've seen, Michigan appears headed in the same direction under its second-year head coach.

In fact, one could say we've seen this from Harbaugh before.

When he arrived at Stanford in 2007, Southern Cal had won at least a share of the previous five Pac-10 championships and was showing no signs of slowing down. But by the time Harbaugh's time in Palo Alto had ended in 2011 as he left for San Francisco, it was the Cardinal who reigned supreme in the conference—the program still set up for success to this day.

"He did it at Stanford; he did it in the NFL," Wiltfong said of Harbaugh's program-building abilities. "Coach Harbaugh's a leader of men, there's no question about that."

But for now, it's easy to see who has the upper hand in the battle between the Big Ten's two biggest names.

And make no mistake: Meyer is well aware that with Harbaugh around, that's something he'll have to defend on a daily basis.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruiting and class ratings courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings.