Why Ohio State Needs to Root for Michigan to Keep Winning

There is a clock inside Ohio State's practice facility that counts down the days, hours and minutes until the annual clash with rival Michigan.

That clock will hit zero on Saturday, November 28, when the Buckeyes make the 184-mile trip north to Ann Arbor, Michigan. But until that day, Ohio State should be rooting for the hated Wolverines. 

It's a concept that goes against the Buckeyes' nature, of course. Head coach Urban Meyer himself admitted that Ohio State wants to beat Michigan in every aspect of the game, from battles on the recruiting front to games on the field. 

"We do keep score against [Michigan] in everything we do," Meyer said last February, according to Ari Wasserman of the Plain Dealer. "And they're great recruiters, they always have been. The previous staff was great recruiters.  That's gone on for long before us, and will take place long after us. Absolutely you keep score on that one. "

Since 2002, that score has been remarkably one-sided.

The Buckeyes have only dropped two of their last 13 contests against the Wolverines, and Meyer is a perfect 3-0 against That Team Up North. The only victory Michigan has come away with since 2003 came against the shell-shocked Buckeyes in 2011, who had lost their head coach in Jim Tressel the previous spring and suffered through one of the worst seasons in school history.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

But Ohio State made a quick turnaround the following year. Under Meyer's guidance, the Buckeyes put together an undefeated season that was capped by a 25-21 victory over Michigan. All of that was accomplished despite a deflating postseason ban that kept the Buckeyes from reaching the national title game.

With former coach Brady Hoke out and Jim Harbaugh at the helm, is a similar turnaround in the works up north?

It didn't feel like it on September 3 in Salt Lake City, when the Wolverines looked like the same pushover they were under Hoke. Michigan's offensive line couldn't open consistent lanes in the running game and the passing attack looked uninspired in a 24-17 loss to Utah.

But that wasn't the reality for the revitalized Wolverines. Since falling behind 7-0 against Oregon State in the home opener, Michigan has outscored its opponents 94-7 in three consecutive victories. That includes the 31-0 pasting of No. 22 BYU last Saturday.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

That victory catapulted Michigan into the Associated Press' Top 25—it checked in at No. 22 this week—for the first time since Week 7 of the 2013 season. 

That's good news for the Buckeyes, and not just because they need the opportunity for a quality win at the end of the season. Conference pride is something the SEC has always taken more seriously than the Big Ten, and that won't change anytime soon.

But this isn't about conference pride. It's about one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, and how that rivalry has lost its heat. 

That hasn't happened because Ohio State has dominated the series, though. Jim Tressel owned Michigan during the early Aughts, but The Game was still highly anticipated because the Wolverines were piling up wins before the season-ending showdown.

The truth is great rivalries only exist between two great teams, and over the last decade, Michigan hasn't held up its end of the bargain.

Ohio State should be rooting for that to change. 

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.