Jim Harbaugh 'All Good' With Michigan Players Planting Flag on Ohio State Logo

Timothy Rapp @@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVNovember 27, 2022

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 26: Michael Barrett #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with the University of Michigan Flag after a college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 45-23 over the Ohio State Buckeyes and clinched the Big Ten East. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh had zero issues with his players running around the Ohio Stadium field waving a Michigan flag and then planting it at midfield following Saturday's 45-23 win over the Buckeyes.

"I think there's already plenty of fuel to the rivalry," he told reporters. "They have songs, the one about they don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan. It's all good, it's been going on for a century, don't you think? It's all good."

Michigan players didn't just plant the flag, they did so as Ohio State was walking off the field, with some of the Wolverines waving them goodbye:

Jordan Strack @JordanStrack
Flag planted. <a href="https://t.co/vBHd0ICliQ">pic.twitter.com/vBHd0ICliQ</a>

angelique @chengelis
UM plants the flag in the Block O <a href="https://t.co/Sl554UWQlK">pic.twitter.com/Sl554UWQlK</a>

Chris Balas @Balas_Wolverine
Michigan plants the flag at midfield. <a href="https://t.co/hv9LM4CYAe">pic.twitter.com/hv9LM4CYAe</a>

"I've been thinking about that since January," senior defensive back Mike Sainristil told reporters regarding the flag planting.

Suffice to say, it was a topic of conversation after the game among Ohio State and Michigan fans and alumni alike:

Rich Eisen @richeisen
2-0 in last two, Chad. <br><br>That’s number one, which you and the Buckeyes will be spending the next week claiming Michigan is to the committee to try and draft on our greatness to get in the playoffs! <br><br>Now that’s a planted flag!

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Demetrius Knox @Meech_Dream14
Would NEVER let this happen.. <a href="https://t.co/JAJ5HwpulK">https://t.co/JAJ5HwpulK</a>

Tyler Duvelius @TylerDuvelius
Our guys were on the field and just let michigan plant their flag on the Block O. This team is soft and that's a direct reflection of the coaching staff. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BringBackFickell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BringBackFickell</a> <a href="https://t.co/g4gxCfrUbN">https://t.co/g4gxCfrUbN</a>

For Harbaugh, however, all's fair in love, war and college football rivalries.

"I want to get that flag," he told reporters. "I want to get that flag and put it in our museum."

The Wolverines went into the half trailing 20-17 but outscored the Buckeyes 28-3 in a dominant second-half performance. It's the second straight year Michigan has beaten Ohio State after the Buckeyes rattled off eight straight wins in the rivalry and 17 wins out of 19 (one of those victories was vacated).

So yes, the past two years have been cathartic in Ann Arbor.

But the game also set up the Wolverines to potentially win a Big Ten title and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff, while the one-loss Buckeyes may find themselves on the outside looking in.

Michigan will face Purdue on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship Game.