Why Ohio State and Michigan Must Be In The Same Division

To understand why is to understand the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry.

Ohio State has been playing Michigan since 1897. Since 1918, the two teams have played once a year every year.

The winner of the Ohio State/Michigan game carries bragging rights until they meet again.   

'The' game has been magnified to the point that it can save a coaches job, or cost him that job.

6 or 7 victories is probably the threshold for Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor. He'll be out of a job if he doesn't have a winning season. He could be out with 6 wins. He could be out with 7. 6 or 7 wins with a win over Ohio State is something else altogether. Ask John Cooper.

Cooper won over 70% of his games as the Buckeye head coach. During a 4 year-span in the late 90's ('95-'98) John Cooper went 43-7. Cooper was fired after the 2000 season. He had gone 12 straight years without a losing record. His only losing season as the Buckeye Coach was in his first year at Ohio State. Cooper nearly beat Michigan in the Horseshoe that year.

It was a game like many others in the series; one that would have surely saved the season in the minds of Buckeye fans. Ohio State lost 34-31. The game would foreshadow Cooper's entire career in the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry.

The 1995 and 1996 Michigan/OSU games ultimately led to the firing of John Cooper. In both games Ohio State entered as the #2 team in the country. In both games Ohio State fell; 31-23 in '95, and perhaps the most painful loss in the series' history, 13-9 in 1996.  Some people will point to the bowl record, or certain off-the-field issues, but it was the losses to Michigan that cost John Cooper his job at Ohio State. 

It could be what saves Rich Rodriguez' job in Ann Arbor.

Ohio State and Michigan have met 106 times. Michigan leads the series 57-43-6. Since 1918 the series is nearly dead-even. Michigan leads 45-43-4. The game has been decided by a touchdown or less 41 times.

Many people will point to 'the punch' as the reason that Woody Hayes was fired, and that would be true.  However, it's no coincidence that his firing, and his actions, came on the heels of 3 straight losses in the Michigan game.

Earl Bruce was fired in 1987 before the Michigan game. His 5-4-1 record going into the game was the worst in his tenure at Ohio State. Earl Bruce finished out the season. He beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, and was carried off the field like a coaching legend. At the time of Bruce's firing he had two straight losses to Michigan.

Here's an interesting statistic. 18 Ohio State coaches have resigned or been fired since the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry started. 17 of those firings/resignations came on the heels of a Michigan loss. 6 of the last 9 Michigan coach firings have been on the heels of a loss to Ohio State.

In 2006 Ohio State and Michigan met for the first time ranked as #1 and #2 in the AP.  Ohio State won 42-39 in one of the most exciting games in the series.  Certain media outlets circulated hype about a possible rematch, but the Michigan and Ohio State fans were perplexed by the idea.  I don't think many of the fans of those two teams A. thought it was a realistic possibility or B. actually wanted that game to happen.  My question is - why would you want to change that game?  Why would you ruin one of the most memorable games in the series' history?

How many times has Ohio State and Michigan met twice in the same season? Never. It hasn't happened, and it shouldn't happen. 

Putting Ohio State and Michigan in separate divisions would ruin the rivalry. 

Imagine eating the greatest meal in your life, and then being forced to throw-it-up when you finish. I can only hope that Jim Delany and company will think about the importance of the rivalry to College Football, and to the Big Ten conference when they make their decision.

To think that the conference cannot be divided evenly with Ohio State and Michigan in the same division is ludicrous. There are 12 teams to divide the power. Regional separation is overrated because of the sheer volume of large travel hubs in the Big Ten area. Travel expenses would be comparable no matter how you divide the conference.

The basic regional separation makes sense because of the growing parity of the conference, and because of how many of the Trophy rivalries could remain as annual affairs.  Nebraska strengthening the West would help the division immensely.  All the people talking about Michigan, OSU, and PSU putting all the power in the East haven't been watching Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska football of late.

One of the bottom teams in the west (NW) has a share of 3 Big Ten titles in the last 15 years, and only once in that span has one of the bottom three in the east had a share(Purdue '00). The balance would be about as close to even as you could get. I look at two of the coaches of what would now be considered bottom feeders in the west, Northwesterns' Pat Fitzgerald, and Minnesota's Tim Brewster, and I think you will see both of those programs improve with those men leading the way. 

Here's a look at the straight-up regional division that many of you have probably already seen:
East
Ohio State
Michigan
Penn State
Michigan St.
Indiana
Purdue

and the West:
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Iowa
Northwestern
Illinois
Minnesota

There is a thought that swapping just one team could make the parity even tighter.  Imagine swapping PSU and Illinois, or Michigan St. for Illinois. Personally, I don't think it's necessary. 

I don't know why this regional separation hasn't already been decided upon. Keeping most of the trophy rivalries intact, keeping the integrity of the Michigan/OSU rivalry, and keeping some sort of semblance of parity sounds impossible. Amazingly, this basic regional division of the conference accomplishes all of this.

Imagine the thought of an upcoming Michigan/Ohio State game where the fans knew that the teams would meet again in the Championship game despite the outcome of the game at hand.  In one fail swoop 113 years of tradition, 113 years of building the greatest rivalry in all of sport would be reduced to rubble. There would be no bragging rights. In the minds of the fans there would be no reason to ever play 'the' game again.

There can be no rematch.

You want to divide it another way? Fine. Start with OSU and Michigan in the same division, and divide the rest however you want. To quote an 80's hair-band, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone".