Larry Brown Sports

You know how we know Michigan and Ohio State have arguably the greatest rivalry in North American sports? The schools never seem to run out of creative ways to take shots at one another. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have brought us countless epic battles on the field over the years, but the way the schools express their hatred for one another off the football field and basketball court is equally entertaining.

Take the ball you see above, for example. Michigan wide receiver Bo Dever showed us the team’s new footballs on Tuesday, which as you can see feature an inscription that reads “Made in USA, not in Ohio”

The Wolverines have gone to great lengths to renew their hatred for their fiercest rival since the end of the season. Between their new pigskins and that jersey quarterback Devin Gardner wore during the spring game, they have already fired several offseason shots. Your move, Buckeyes.

H/T Facebook/Yardbarker

Michigan and Notre Dame have played each other in football 40 times, including every season since 2002. But that rivalry was set to be put on hiatus in 2018-2019 as the Irish scheduled games with the ACC. However, what wasn’t expected was that the Irish would also cancel the scheduled games between the two for 2015-2017. Michigan coach Brady Hoke thinks Notre Dame is “chickening out” of facing the Wolverines in those games.

“We are fortunate to have unbelievable rivalry games at Michigan. The Notre Dame game, that rivalry, which they’re chickening out of,” Hoke said Monday during the West Michigan Sports Commission Annual Luncheon, via MLive.com.

“They’re still gonna play Michigan State, they’re gonna play Purdue, but they don’t want to play Michigan,” Hoke continued. “I don’t know how they made that decision … I really do … But anyway, that’s a great national rivalry game. It’s a great game.”

College football fans have become used to seeing the Irish and Wolverines play every fall. Michigan has gone 6-5 against Notre Dame since 2002, including 38-0 wins in 2003 and 2007. The teams will still meet for the next two seasons, so you can believe that the Irish will remember Hokes comments when they play. Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix III has already taken note of the remark:

Chickened out? #MeatChicken will taste delicious Sept 7th. #GoIrish

— lOUIS NIX III (@1IrishChocolate) May 14, 2013

This is going to be an exciting one. It also must be kept in mind that Michigan reportedly asked Notre Dame to stop the series in 2018-2019 first.

Helmet smack to Dr. Saturday

There is no offseason when it comes to rivalries. An anonymous Michigan fan or group of Michigan fans proved that early Saturday morning when Michigan State’s Spartan statue was left tagged with a Michigan logo and Wolverine colors.

Hahahaha look what happened to sparty #HAIL #GOBLUE #VICTORS twitter.com/Haggerty70/sta…

— Buzz Schneider (@Haggerty70) April 20, 2013

For those who are wondering if there’s a point behind this, I don’t think there really is. The Spartans held their annual inter-squad spring game on Saturday, but that doesn’t have anything to do with their biggest rival.

According to MLive.com, the statue was cleaned up by Saturday afternoon. This is the second time in less than a month that Michigan State’s statue has been targeted. Last month during the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans statue was decorated with Valparaiso gear. Were Michigan State fans responsible for both acts of vandalism? I certainly wouldn’t doubt it.

The average sports fan does not need a history lesson to inform them of the hatred that exists between Michigan and Ohio State. On the football field, the rivalry is one of the greatest in sports. That explains why Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner will be wearing an Oregon State jersey during Michigan’s spring game on Saturday.

Because of an ACL injury to backup quarterback Russell Bellomy, Gardner is currently the only quarterback on the Michigan roster that is under scholarship. That has inspired the team to dress him in a non-contact jersey for Saturday’s game, which would typically be red. However, red is the color of the Buckeyes, so that’s not happening.

“As we’ve stated, we don’t wear red jerseys, so these were a temporary fix until we could get some custom jerseys made, which we hope will be in this week,” A Michigan spokesman told MLive.com in an email.

An Oregon State spokesman explained that the Wolverines were in need of a contrasting color and that the equipment guys from both schools know one another, so that’s how the Beavers ended up lending a helping hand. An equipment manager from Oregon State also told Inside Unis on Twitter that Michigan needed help in a hurry, so they came to their aid.

And once again, we hear another perfect example of why this Michigan recruit may not fit in all that well when he gets to Ann Arbor. The hatred between the Wolverines and Buckeyes is not exaggerated.

H/T Dr. Saturday
Photo via Facebook/Michigan Football

Reon Dawson is a three-star cornerback from Trotwood, Ohio, who is headed to Michigan to play for Brady Hoke next season. However, the Wolverines were hardly his first choice.

Growing up in Ohio, Dawson never envisioned himself in maize and blue. Most Ohio State fans don’t.

“Until I die, I’m gonna be a Buckeye fan even though I’m going (to Michigan),” Dawson told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday. “When we play (OSU) I’m gonna still bring my ‘A’ game. But, I love Ohio State.”

Dawson was originally committed to Illinois but he decided to commit to Michigan at the last second. He wanted to go to Ohio State, but he never got an offer from them. Unless he changes his stance drastically from now until the time team practices start, he could be in for a freshman beatdown.

In case you have forgotten how much these two schools despise one another, perhaps these words from Urban Meyer will remind you. Not enough? How about the gash Mike Vrabel gave himself on his forehead because he got so pumped up before OSU played Michigan that he head-butted a player when he had no helmet on? There is no in-between. Dawson will likely learn that in a hurry.

Chest bump to Dr. Saturday
Photo via Scout.com

Michigan offensive lineman commit Logan Tuley-Tillman started a firestorm when he tweeted a picture of him burning a recruiting letter from Ohio State. Tuley-Tillman told Yahoo! Sports’ Dr. Saturday that the letter burning resulted in death threats from Ohio State fans.

Since then, Kyle Bosch, another Michigan class of 2013 commit, defended Tuley-Tillman. However, his questionable tweet may cause the touchy situation to escalate:

OSU fans giving @LoganTillman threats on your way to his house make a stop by mine and I’ll show you what a real death threat is #bringagun

— Kyle Bosch(@KyleBoschOL79) May 30, 2012

Yeah, threatening violence to people whom you’re reprimanding for threatening violence isn’t exactly the best way to make it all stop. Maybe this is all part of the younger generation’s attempt to replace Alabama-Auburn as the most intense rivalry in college football. If so, they’re off to a strong yet terribly unhealthy start.

UPDATE: Bosch later deleted the above tweet and apologized.

Sorry If I offended anyone.I was by no means trying to threaten anyone I was simply trying to defend my teammate. #GoBlueFamily #TEAM134

— Kyle Bosch(@KyleBoschOL79) May 30, 2012

via Eye on Recruiting

Michigan football recruit Logan Tuley-Tillman affirmed his commitment to the school in the most convincing way possible. The offensive lineman lit a recruiting letter from Ohio State on fire and shared a picture of it on Twitter Saturday morning.

Tuley-Tillman, a 6’7″, 321-pound lineman from Manual High School in Peoria (Ill.), committed to play for Michigan in February. He’ll be a member of their 2013 incoming recruiting class.

You might be wondering why Ohio State continued to recruit him if he had already committed to Michigan, but as we learned over the past several months, that doesn’t stop Urban Meyer.

I’m guessing Tuley-Tillman burnt it because he was offended they misspelled his hometown on the letter. That sort of thing doesn’t sit well with recruits.