:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65745679/usa_today_11725732.0.jpg)
College football is a game of traditions. Always has been. Always will be.
You have “Rocky Top” at Tennessee. You have Clemson touching Howard’s Rock and running down the hill. You have Iowa’s wave at the end of the first quarter. I could go on and on, but you get the idea — there are unique things for every school that make college football different. To be honest, it is what makes college football great.
One of those great things? The Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry. They call it “The Game” — and let me tell you, I love “The Game.” For my money, it is the greatest rivalry in college sports. So much history. So much tradition. So much unknown of who is going to win the game. I mean, seriously, you never know who the heck is going to win that thing! Throw out the record books, because that rivalry is a coin flip.
Here’s the thing, though: my opinion doesn’t really matter in this. I’m just a mediocre Penn State blogger, and the last thing I want to do is speak for the Ohio State fan base. Fortunately, though, the Buckeyes fan have spoken, and they emphatically said (according to the fine folks from KnowRivalry.com) that Michigan was the most important game every season.
Give that link a click, but if you are too lazy, here’s the gist: Ohio State fans gave 90.71 of their “rivalry” points to Michigan. Just 3.6 and 3.5 went to Wisconsin and Penn State, respectively, meaning the battle with the Wolverines truly is “The Game” for Buckeye nation.
With that being the case, I think it only makes sense for Ohio State to rest their players this weekend so they are healthy and fresh for their trip to Michigan on November 30.
I realize what many of you Ohio State fans are thinking: “Haaaa, classic Penn State troll just mad because we don’t care about his team at all.”
Not the case. I have long said that Penn State is not Ohio State’s rival. And if I was so mad, then how comes I have so much respect for “The Game” that I think Ohio State should focus all of their energy on it?
Hmm. Maybe I am just a better fan than you.
Again, this has nothing to do with Ohio State playing Penn State this weekend, and the Nittany Lions clinching a trip to the Big Ten Championship with a win. Has nothing to do with that at all. Me? All I am concerned with is that the BEST rivalry is being treated with the most reverence and respect as possible.
To be honest with you, I didn’t even realize Penn State was playing for the Big Ten East this weekend because I’ve been so focused on Pat Chambers and the basketball team. We’re 4-0 and going to the NCAA tournament, which is no big deal for us because Penn State is a basketball school anyway.
Let me close with this: a personal, direct letter to Ryan Day.
Dear Coach Day,
Wow you are a really good coach. You should probably leave Ohio State to coach the Cleveland Browns haha jk but also not really. Anyway, coming up is the most important game of the season: yup, the game against Michigan. You probably already know this, but if you have a losing record against That Team Up North, the Buckeyes fans won’t be happy. To ensure that a losing record doesn’t happen, it should be all hands on deck for next Saturday. Rest Justin Fields. Rest JK Dobbins. Rest all your starters against Penn State. It’s not only the smart thing to do, but also the right thing to do.
Happy Holidays,
Patrick Koerbler