Big Ten Assistant: "Michigan Is The Team In This League Now"

After beating Ohio State two years in a row and winning back to back Big Ten titles, the roads to Indianapolis and the College Football Playoff now run through Ann Arbor.

ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg recently penned an article outlining some big picture college football storylines from all around the country and one of them should make Michigan fans very happy. The subtitle within the article reads, "Ohio State has lost its grip on Big Ten". After losing big to Michigan two years in a row, this is not hyperbole. Michigan beat up on Ohio State in Ann Arbor in 2021 and then took it to another level in Columbus in 2022.  

What makes Rittenberg's article even more intriguing and sweet for U-M fans, is that the comments and narratives explaining Ohio State's decline and Michigan's rise, come from coaches within the Big Ten Conference. The coaches gave their quotes under anonymity, but does it really matter? What's being said is being said. And all of it is true and should bring a big smile to Wolverine faces.

For nearly two decades, Ohio State was the boss of the Big Ten. From 2002 until 2020, the Buckeyes won or shared 11 conference titles. They remain the only Big Ten team to win a national title (2002, 2014) or play for one (2006, 2007, 2020) this millennium. Most coaches still rank Ohio State as the league's most talented team, some by a wide margin.

But the Buckeyes have dropped consecutive games to Michigan, which went on to win the Big Ten the past two seasons. Michigan returns arguably the nation's best overall offensive backfield in quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, a Heisman Trophy candidate before suffering a knee injury Nov. 19. Although the future of Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh is worth monitoring, some Big Ten coaches now see Michigan in a different light.

"They're the team in this league now," an assistant said.

Keep in mind, that "nation's best backfield" comment doesn't even mention Donovan Edwards, who almost singlehandedly destroyed the Buckeye football program, at least for a few days.

Michigan does have an incredible amount of talent returning to a team that is on one of the best two-year runs in program history. Next year's schedule also sets up nicely for the Wolverines to get out to another great start. The staff is clicking and all but one thing seems to be going perfectly. As of right now, Harbaugh's future at U-M is in limbo just a bit, but does it matter? Another Big Ten coach doesn't think it does.

"Michigan's going to find another good coach if Harbaugh leaves, and they're still going to be good," a Big Ten coordinator told Rittenberg.

However it all plays out, Michigan is very likely going to start off hot in 2023 and will roll week after week for a while. I think so. Michigan fans think so. And, what's really cool, the rest of the coaches in the Big Ten think so. Rittenberg does give a little love to Penn State in the article, and rightfully highlights Ohio State some as well, but it's all about the maize and blue heading into 2023.