The good, bad and ugly of an Ohio State-Michigan rematch

First things first. The Buckeyes must beat Georgia.

If that’s how you feel as an Ohio State fan, fine. Makes sense. It’s prudent. It’s practical. It’s … boring.

Me? I’m already thinking about Michigan. For better. And worse. Yes, I hear what you’re saying. Georgia should not be overlooked. The No. 1 Bulldogs are early 6.5-point point favorites to defeat the No. 4 Buckeyes in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, one of two College Football Playoff semifinals held on Dec. 31. It likely will take a Herculean effort, especially from the defense, for OSU to get past the No. 1 seed.

As for the offense, there is a line of thinking that goes, “Finally, we get C.J. Stroud back in the warmth of a dome,” as if the Ohio State quarterback needs pristine conditions to excel. Nope. Throw out this year’s game at Northwestern, when gusts reached 50 mph; no QB conquers the world in those conditions. In the five games over two seasons when the temperature at kickoff was colder than 45 degrees, Stroud was 132 for 324 (.733) for 1,725 yards passing (345 per game), with 19 touchdowns and only one interception. So much for the kid from Southern California needing 72 degrees and sunny.

Maybe playing indoors affords the offense some type of psychological boost? We shall see. I do think OSU can sneak by the Dawgs if everything clicks. And you never know. Maybe Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett plays with a Heisman hangover, so thrilled to be named (shockingly) a finalist that he celebrates by packing on a few extra pounds, like a certain Ohio State quarterback did before a certain national championship game against Florida.

Whatevs. The point is, I don’t play for the Buckeyes. I can look ahead to Michigan.

Of course, there is the second part of the equation. No. 2 Michigan must take care of business against No. 3 TCU. The Wolverines are 8.5-point favorites, but I’m still not sold on UM. I know, the Maize and Blue buried the Buckeyes 45-23 Nov. 26 in Columbus. They’re more than just solid. A Michigan Man I trust put it this way: “Ohio State has more four- and five-stars, but Michigan is really good at every position.”

No weak links. There may be something to that. Still, I’m skeptical. Blame the Harbaugh factor. Michigan’s coach deserves credit for creating an identity for his team: tough, disciplined and increasingly confident. But … Jimmy is 1-6 in bowl games, including six consecutive losses. So I wonder: Can the Wolverines wear down workhorse TCU quarterback Max Duggan?

But enough about Georgia and TCU. We’re here to look ahead to a potential The Game II. For better. And worse.

For better: You think buildup to the annual November game between Ohio State and Michigan is big? Imagine what would precede a redux of the greatest rivalry in college football. Sure, the hype would last longer if the two rivals were facing off in a semifinal. Three weeks of Ohio State fans focusing on the Buckeyes’ 18-4 domination since 2001. Three weeks of Wolverines fans focusing on 2-0 since 2022.

But nothing could match the compressed intensity of playing for all the marbles Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. A rematch for the ages. A writer’s dream. A chance for redemption on one side and continued schadenfreude on the other. Either way, it would be heaven in the City of Angels.

Or hell. For the loser.

For worse: There is something special about the finality of settling things once a year on the field. Michigan settled it this time. The Wolverines should get to enjoy it for 365.

Michigan losing to Ohio State next month would make things a lopsided 1-1. And UM fans know it. Those I’ve heard from want no part of a rematch. They know they escaped Columbus last month with a win that had as much to do with poor Ohio State coaching as anything Michigan did right. That’s an oversimplification, but not by much. Next time, the Buckeyes won’t be – or better not be – so quick to blitz quarterback J.J. McCarthy. If you root for the Scarlet and Gray you also assume (pray?) Ryan Day taps into his creative side between now and the ball dropping in Times Square.

I wouldn’t want to be Michigan if OSU won. But Ohio State losing to Michigan would be worse.

Hear me out. That 18-4 record? Jim Tressel’s guarantee? Urban Meyer’s 7-0 mark? The Spot? Meaningless. No one cares about two decades of dominance when Wolverines fans can revel in beating the Buckeyes in THE title game. Let that sink in.

Some will say “it’s only one game.” Don’t kid yourself. That’s like saying the guillotine hurts only for a second. We’re talking about playing the biggest game in the history of the rivalry. A game so big that, for the winner, any future pain of loss is a mere scratch. And for the loser? No full recovery until at least the next time Ohio State and Michigan play for the national championship. Which might be never.

The emotional uplift and fallout of winning or losing to your biggest rival on the absolute biggest stage cannot be overstated, which is why I contend an OSU-UM national title game would damage the long-term health of The Game. Think about it. What’s left? Regularseason bragging rights? A chance to win the Big Ten? Those achievements are not nothing, but suddenly they would feel a little less something.

Playing during Thanksgiving week already has distracted from the annual matchup. What used to be five days of buildup is now three days of excitement followed by a one-day timeout for turkey dinner, followed by Black Friday shopping, and then back to obsessing over

Saturday in the Shoe or Big House. The stop-and-start stinks.

Now tack on the possibility of Ohio State and Michigan playing not just once, but possibly twice (Big Ten Championship, if as anticipated the conference drops divisions), and potentially three times (playoff) in a season. And if the third time decides the national championship?

Such a scenario would diffuse the intensity of The Game. Hard to say by how much, but any loss of tradition and sentimentality would be unfortunate.

Or maybe I’m just being Debbie Downer? Maybe if Ohio State and Michigan meet up on Jan. 9, the vitriol, angst and emotions will leak into the next generation of Novembers. Maybe The Game will take on even more meaning as fans fixate on what was gained and lost in L.A.

Maybe. But I doubt it.