The annual Ohio State-Michigan football game is one of the biggest rivalries in sports, and Urban Meyer this week tried to put into perspective exactly what it has meant to him during his tenure in Columbus.
While discussing his impending retirement in an interview with 10TV, Meyer spoke about the importance of facing the Wolverines, whom he went 7-0 against during his career at Ohio State. Had the Buckeyes not emerged victorious this year, Meyer says he may have stuck around for another season.
“Well, I looked up at the scoreboard when we beat the team up north, and the way we beat them…” Meyer said, as transcribed by Kevin Harrish of Eleven Warriors. “To be honest with you, if we didn’t win that game, I’m not sure I could leave losing that game.”
This looked like the year Jim Harbaugh and Michigan might finally break through to beat Ohio State and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, but the Buckeyes dominated the Wolverines en route to a 62-39 win. While both teams ended up being left out of the playoff, you can tell how important that win was to Meyer.
On the flip side, Harbaugh will not get a chance to get the best of Meyer. In many ways, this year’s loss to Ohio State was the worst of his time in Ann Arbor.
