Michigan vs. Ohio State Needs to Take a Play From Tennessee, Alabama's Playbook

It's time to change tradition for The Game.

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

College football used to be about tradition, but you can throw tradition out the window. Changes have taken over the college football landscape, and they aren't slowing down anytime soon.

You can quickly point to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. Both of those are seismic shifts in the college football world. But they aren't the only ones. While most fans enjoy the College Football Playoff, it's not part of the historic college football tradition.

In fact, TV money and sponsorships continue to urge further expansion of the playoff. From four teams to 12, the next move could be 24 teams in the CFP — and who knows where it goes from there.

The point being, tradition is meant to be broken, and whether you want it to or not, it's going to happen.

Time to bring back to home and home uniforms

That's why the greatest rivalry in all of sports needs to break tradition — sort of.

On Wednesday, Tennessee and Alabama revealed they have agreed to wear their home and home uniforms in the next two seasons. This year, the Volunteers will wear their orange tops, while the Tide will wear their crimson jerseys. And then the same thing for the following year.

Third Saturday in full color.

For the first time since 1970, both teams will wear their “home” jerseys.

2026 in Neyland.
2027 in Tuscaloosa.

read more → https://t.co/4nyJM0P09d#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/g26jL6vaw7

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) August 19, 2026

How great of a view would it be to see Ohio State in its scarlet jerseys and the Wolverines wearing their blue jerseys? In fact, it used to happen. There is a belief that back in the 1920s and 1950s, Michigan and Ohio State used to wear their home and home jerseys, there is even a picture for proof.

While fans in the stands likely loved seeing both teams in their home uniforms, back in the day, it likely wasn't a great viewing pleasure on black and white TVs.

Black and white TVs are in the past — bring it back

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It's understandable that it would be hard to distinguish each team on a black and white television. Both teams would have black jerseys and you could only go by what the scoreboard said, when it would even pop up back in the day.

However, those days are gone. We have 4K TVs and streaming. Both USC and UCLA have been wearing their home uniforms and it's time for Michigan and Ohio State to as well. At least once. Both programs and the conference would need to give it the green light, and it could happen.

Imagine sitting down in your living room, or wherever you watch college football on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and you tune in to see Ohio State's scarlet tops and gray bottoms, and Michigan's blue tops and maize — yes, maize — bottoms.

It's would be picture perfect. It needs to happen.