For Ohio State and Michigan Football, Misery Loves Company

Ohio State and Michigan fans agree on few things. But a nightmarish Wolverines debut season under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, coupled with an Ohio State championship push gone off the rails thanks to Julian Sayin’s season-ending injury has led the two spiteful fan bases to the same conclusions about their respective teams: Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes are lost in the wilderness right now.

Michigan, fresh off of a narrow victory over one of the worst teams in the Big Ten in Rutgers, needed to show a pulse offensively vs. an injury-riddled and defensively challenged Michigan State team to take the heat off embattled offensive coordinator Jason Beck. Instead, the Wolverines laid a massive egg, narrowly avoiding their first shutout against an unranked opponent since 1977 in a 15–6 defeat to the Spartans.

The Wolverines converted just two third downs all game, ran for only 54 yards, turned the ball over four times and went almost two full quarters without making a trip to the red zone. And that’s been the story of the offense all season long. Beck won’t stick around for another chapter, as the Wolverines on Sunday ripped the expensive Band-Aid off and fired him.

Is a return to equally embattled quarterback Bryce Underwood under center imminent? After Tommy Carr’s struggles against a beatable Spartans defense, Whittingham may have no one else to turn to.

Meanwhile, there can be no schadenfreude at the Team Up North’s expense for the Buckeyes, who may need to consider a QB change of their own. Three weeks ago, Ohio State, with a healthy Sayin, Heisman Trophy favorite Jeremiah Smith and a tenacious defense, looked the part of a convincing national title contender.

Unfortunately, Sayin suffered what is effectively a season-ending injury in the win over Indiana, and the ailment has tanked the Buckeyes’ season. The offense has resembled a shell of itself with Luke Fahey under center, and coach Ryan Day has been unable to conjure up a consistent running game for the freshman signal-caller to lean on. While Fahey is far from the only problem, he hasn’t been a big enough part of the solution. And given the time he’s spent in Columbus, it seems that Tavien St. Clair deserves at least a look under center, before the Buckeyes lose their chance to see what they have in the former five-star.

Ohio State quarterback Luke Fahey fakes a throw in front of Oregon defensive back Ify Obidegwu. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

To make matters worse, the Buckeyes defense, which had allowed just 13.2 points per game through the first seven weeks of the season, has been gashed by back-to-back Big Ten foes for 30 points (USC) and 41 points (Oregon). When it rains, it pours.

And the College Football Playoff committee, in choosing to put the Buckeyes 12th in its first ranking of the season, sent a message to the program that they needed to see a very different version of the team moving forward—or else.

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They didn’t. And given the committee’s early skepticism, it’s very difficult to imagine Ohio State sneaking back into the playoff picture, even if they manage to turn things around on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, Michigan sits just one win away from a bowl game, but has to secure such a victory against three ranked Big Ten opponents in Oregon, UCLA and yes, Ohio State.

Consider that just three years ago, the Wolverines experienced ultimate glory in a championship campaign, ditto for the Buckeyes just two years ago.

And so with misery the common denominator in 2026, one can almost imagine Buckeyes and Wolverines fans, like the sad version of the Spider-Man meme, pointing to each other hundreds of miles away.

The unthinkable could be reality come later this month: The Ohio State–Michigan game could potentially feature two unranked versions of the storied programs for the first time since 1987. Even more jarring is the potential fact that the game, besides for the usual bragging rights, could mean little to both teams, at least relative to the expectations of their seasons entering the year.

This year’s Ohio State–Michigan game will be as much about claiming bragging rights as it will be about avoiding further embarrassment and chum for angry fan bases in seasons that have quickly taken turns for the worst.

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