Ohio State fans are having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that there’s a new top dog in the Big Ten Conference, and it happens to be their most hated rival — the Michigan Wolverines. 

However, after three consecutive wins over the Buckeyes, three straight conference championships and now the ultimate prize of a national championship in 2023, it’s become an undeniable fact that Michigan has taken control of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. And Ohio State fans can’t stand it.

On Friday, during the second night of the 2024 NFL Draft, natives of ‘the Buckeye State’ had some salt poured into those still-open wounds. The Cleveland Browns selected Michigan’s unanimous All-American offensive guard Zak Zinter in the third round with the 85th overall pick, and announced their pick with a social media post that had Ohio State fans seething at one of their two home-state NFL teams.

As you can imagine, the comment section underneath this Twitter post is overflowing with angry Buckeye fans, falling back on the same coping mechanisms they’ve utilized for the past six months to explain away the Wolverines’ success — the usual banter about Michigan “cheating” their way to wins over Ohio State and a national title.

Nevermind the fact that U-M’s roster was stocked full of NFL talent, as evidenced by a school-record seven players drafted in the Top 100 picks, and a bunch more expected on Day 3 of the draft. That certainly had nothing to do with it, amiright Brutus?

What makes the Browns’ comment about Zinter “bringing winning habits from up north” even more hilarious is that Cleveland had just selected a Buckeye — defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. — one round prior. For that social media announcement, the Browns simply noted they were “keeping it local” with Hall “staying home”. He’s a good, solid player who projects well at the next level. But, Hall went 0-3 lining up against Zinter, “a product of the trenches”, in those same trenches over the past three years. Just sayin.

The 2024 NFL Draft has turned into a final celebration of sorts for everything Michigan accomplished this past season. By the conclusion of Day 2, the Wolverines were tied with the national runner-up Washington Huskies for the most draft selections with seven. Now, entering Day 3, Michigan has its sights set Georgia’s record of 15 draft picks from one school, set following the Bulldogs national championship season in 2021. It will take another big day for the Wolverines to reach and/or eclipse the mark, but after a record 18 players were invited to the NFL Combine earlier this year, Michigan may be poised to make some more history on Saturday.

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