There will still be rivalry, particularly amongst the supporters, and there will always be a desire to succeed.But with the Big Ten dropping divisions starting with the 2024 season, Ohio State-Michigan will be more of a contest than a game.

This means that instead of pitting the best team in the East against the best team in the West, the top two teams in the standings will play in the conference title game.

As a result, seasons like this one will always match up the Buckeyes and Wolverines again the following week, regardless of what happens on Saturday.

Can OSU-Michigan maintain its popularity? Yes. likely still larger than the others, but not nearly as large as the first 119 or the last 88.

No college football tradition will be harmed more severely than major regular season games than the expansion of the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff, which will dilute the regular season for every elite team.

And Ohio State vs Michigan has been the largest of those since at least the late 1960s, primarily because of what is typically at stake when they play each other to end the regular season, in addition to drawing the highest crowds and creating the greatest buzz.

The Michigan Department of Athletics’ analysis indicates that since the teams started playing the last regular season game of the season every year in 1935, at least a share of the conference championship (or division title) has been at stake 49 times.

This includes the twenty-four occasions they adjudicated the Big Ten title amongst themselves prior to the conference’s division in 2011.

That makes 24 times. The result of the game, which was the Big Ten championship game prior to one and another 25, directly affected whether or not one of the teams had a successful season.

My study indicates that if the Big Ten’s future model had been in place since 1935, the teams would have played 24 straight rematches, and in at least 14 of those instances—including this year—they would have known there would be a rematch regardless of the victory.

This season would mark the third consecutive season in which the game would be winner take nothing rather than winner take all.

That would have also occurred eight times during the 10-Year War of 1969–78, when the rivalry reached unprecedented heights due to the drama created by coaches Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler squaring off.

It would have also occurred in 2006, when the teams were ranked No. 1 and 2 for the first and only time to date.

If you find yourself thinking, Oh well, time moves on, and that change is unavoidable. However, none of the upcoming adjustments will help Ohio State or Michigan, or the Big Ten or college football in general, for the average fan.

Giving tradition away for free is the only thing worse than sacrificing it, and that is exactly what is going to happen.

Yes, bragging rights will still be at stake, but it can’t be the same if one side just gets to retain them for a few days or a week.

I don’t think you’ll see them resting starters like NFL clubs in the final two weeks of the regular season; both teams will still relish every victory.

However, the stakes cannot be as high for games played in September or October because they do not have the same immediate repercussions.Ohio State-Michigan is what it is because of the factor that ruins the season.

Each year. Just once. usually for the title of a conference. Frequently, for more That is the main focus of the Buckeyes vs. Wolverines game.Before Thanksgiving was shifted back one week, the game used to ruin the holiday for an entire state.

For 52 weeks, the game remains a taboo topic that arises during the NFL Draft, spring football, summer recruiting, and every other occasion when supporters of the opposing teams come into contact.

Though I doubt Ohio State and Michigan will play each other back-to-back in the future, one matchup is too many.

Thus, relish this final Ohio State-Michigan match for all it’s worth since Saturday will usher in a new era.