Kyle Whittingham Has No Hate for Ohio State?

College football has changed. Evidently, things have changed at Michigan as well. Is the ultimate rivalry just not what it once was?

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Kyle Whittingham could be forgiven. He merely adopted the ultimate rivalry in all of sports.

He was not born in it. Molded by it. He’s only seen the light of it now that he’s in the twilight of his college coaching career.

There’s no mincing words when it comes to Michigan and Ohio State. The two sides hate each other.

They didn’t call the 10 year period between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler the 10 year respectful competition.

They called it a 10-year war.

Jim Harbaugh said before Big Ten Media Days in 2021 that his team was going to beat Ohio State or they were going to die trying.

On Thursday, Whittingham struck a noticeably different tone.

"Hate's a strong word," Whittingham said.

"But I want to win that game as badly as anybody in Ann Arbor."

Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham watches a play during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 18, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

That’s a far cry from euphemisms such as war, or being willing to die in pursuit of a victory over your school’s favorite rival.

Perhaps Whittingham is trying to distance himself from some of the animosity, and frankly, immaturity that has taken place in the rivalry over the last five years.

Then again, isn’t animosity and immaturity part of what makes rivalries what they are?

A Different Angle

Then again, perhaps this is a changing of the guard in college sports. Whittingham wasn’t the only one to strike a different tone when talking about the Buckeyes at Media Days. Bryce Underwood consistently said that his team was not going to obsess over one matchup.

The goal is to go 1-0 every week.

That’s admirable and understandable to want to keep the main focus on the team they’re playing in any given week.

It’s also true that “What are you doing to beat Ohio State today?” is plastered all over Schembechler Hall.

Beating Ohio State is a requirement, or at least it used to be.

What do I mean that it used to be?

Well, college football has changed.

There are two games in the history of the rivalry that have a claim for the greatest game in the history between the two teams.

Between the stakes attached and animosity involved, those games took place in 2006 and 2023.

The stakes were simple. The winner of the game that day would be playing in the postseason.

Losing was not only a loss of bragging rights for a year, but elimination.

Make what you will of the way the BCS era handled the 2006 Michigan Wolverines, but they would not have had to worry about that had they simply taken care of business in Columbus on the last Saturday in November.

In 2023, the stakes were higher than that. With all the sniping back and forth about Michigan’s sign-stealing investigation and Jim Harbaugh’s suspension, the tension between the two schools was at an all-time high.

On the field, both teams were undefeated and playing for a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

Nov. 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Mi., USA; University of Michigan defensive back Rod Moore (9) intercepts a pass intended for Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during the second half of Saturday's NCAA Division I football game at Michigan Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A win by Michigan without Harbaugh essentially validated all of their success over the last two-plus seasons, including two wins over Ohio State.

A win by Ohio State, and their fanbase could claim the only reason that Michigan ended a decade-long drought was due to cheating and nothing more.

Michigan won that day thanks to Rod Moore’s game-saving interception off of Kyle McCord.

Ohio State was eliminated. While some in the fanbase still and likely will until the end of time cry foul, there were no ready-made excuses for what happened on the field in November of 2023.

What we may not have realized at the time is that was the last time The Game would truly ever have as much significance as it does.

The whole world learned that the following November. A bad Michigan team walked into Columbus as a double-digit underdog and knocked off the Buckeyes for a fourth consecutive year.

In previous years, a bad loss like that would have been a death sentence for any team, but not this time.

Ohio State was eliminated from the Big Ten championship game, but nothing more.

They qualified for the College Football Playoff due to its expansion, and to their credit reeled off four straight victories to finish the year in championship glory.

The message, unfortunately, was sent loud and clear that day.

College football has changed. Winning The Game is still important. The rivalry still matters, it just doesn’t matter for the same reasons.

#Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham recently addressed the crowd in Chicago during Big Ten Media Days.

Here are some takeaways from his speech.

STORY: https://t.co/OQ6GKMz4Ok pic.twitter.com/2eBisoOFuX

— Trent Knoop (@TrentKnoop) July 30, 2026

Beating Ohio State used to be a requirement to accomplish all of a team’s goals in a given season.

Michigan fans will tell you more than anyone how sweet the 2023 national championship was because they were 15-0 and had to beat Ohio State to reach its ultimate goal.

Any honest Buckeye fan would likely tell you how hard it is to look at their 2024 national championship apparel and seeing they lost to Michigan that season.

On the field, however, it just doesn’t matter the same, and that stinks.

College football has lost something. Even though Whittingham’s comments may miss the mark a little bit, he’s right. Hate is a strong word, and perhaps that should not have as much of a place in any setting.

It’s also true that he, and those who will come after him will not have to hate the Buckeyes as much because The Game, and all rivalry games, simply are not what they used to be.