Michigan
How Ohio State’s national championship affects the Michigan rivalry
The book on Ohio State’s 2024 season is closed, culminating in a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame for the program’s first national title since 2014.
Any other year, the Buckeyes’ story would have been over on Nov. 30, when Ryan Day and his team fumbled away an opportunity to exorcise their Michigan demons, losing at home as 20 ½-point favorites.
Sixth-year safety Quinten Johnson, the only player on the Wolverines’ roster who had ever lost to OSU, said entering the game the team was going to embrace the villain role.
It did. Michigan’s defense bullied the Buckeyes in the trenches and smothered them in the secondary, while a sputtering offense showed its mettle on its final drive, running the ball on 10 straight plays before kicking a go-ahead 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left.
A talented OSU senior class, of whom many decided to forego the draft after last season for another crack at a title, finished their careers 0-4 against the Wolverines and watched (and reacted) as they planted a block “M” flag at midfield. Before the game, OSU fans heckled the maize and blue villains persistently.
When the clock hit zero, the Wolverines waived goodbye to a sea of red in the stands as boos and chants of “(expletive) Ryan Day” reverberated through Ohio Stadium.
But thanks to the expanded 12-team playoff, the Buckeyes were able to add a redemption chapter to their story and were wearing a national champion cape at the end.
In the history of the college football, no team has faced a tougher path to the championship. OSU fell to No. 8 in the CFP bracket after losing to Michigan but outscored its four postseason opponents – No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Notre Dame – by a combined score of 145-75.
“The story gets to get told now, and it’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations,” Day told ESPN on the field right after the game. “There’s a point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out, and we just kept swinging and kept fighting. It’s the reason why you get into coaching is to see guys overcome things, learn life lessons, and then reach their dreams. This is what happened tonight.”
Day was in the toughest situation of anyone in the program. Jim Harbaugh lost his first five meetings against the Buckeyes, and even as frustrations mounted from the Michigan fanbase that was yearning to stop an eight-game skid in the rivalry, the former Michigan quarterback never faced the scrutiny Day was under after losing this year’s game.
OSU administration stood by Day immediately after the loss, and he rewarded them with a title. Athletic director Ross Bjork knew the Buckeyes would still reach the expanded CFP this season and wanted to present a united front before the team began its playoff journey.
Perhaps Day wouldn’t have kept his job if it weren’t for the 12-team field. Or perhaps, if the expanded playoff was instituted earlier, he would have gotten a rematch against Michigan in the postseason.
The previous three meetings all were top-five matchups, with the loser likely earning a playoff spot as well.
Michigan went 15-0 during its national title run in 2023, which included an interception from Ohio native Rod Moore to stamp a Michigan 30-24 victory in Ann Arbor.
Whose title is more impressive surely will be debated between fanbases for years to come. The Wolverines didn’t face the same gauntlet of a schedule as OSU did this year but only three of their games were decided by one score.
The Buckeyes (14-2) beat six teams this season that finished inside the Associated Press Top 25, including a revenge game against the Ducks, but they did lose to an unranked Michigan team without star cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland and with a former walk-on at quarterback.
After the loss, according to The Athletic, the Day family hired around-the-clock security at their house after receiving threats.
The morning after the game, I was eating breakfast at my hotel near Columbus and overheard an OSU fan lambasting Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly for their game plan against the Wolverines. He said he wouldn’t be as excited if the Buckeyes went on to win it all.
The emotions of the loss were still fresh, and surely fans can revel in a national title no matter the path. But the 2024 season is now over, and the countdown is officially on for the 2025 showdown in Ann Arbor.
The result of the Nov. 30 game might have fueled Buckeyes’ national title run, but it also generated a wave of momentum for Michigan. Sherrone Moore’s program followed with another upset over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl and signed its first top-10 recruiting class since 2019, highlighted by five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Even before this year’s matchup, Day told a local TV station that losing to Michigan was one of the worst things that has happened in his life. The rivalry is historically known for both programs being consumed by each other 365 days a year.
The primary critique of the expanded CFP was it would devalue regular-season matchups. The Buckeyes wouldn’t have been at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta celebrating Monday night if it wasn’t for the new format.
But considering the postgame fracas and the emotion on both sides of the rivalry after the upset, it’s hard not to envision the rivalry cooling off anytime soon. Day will still be facing pressure to beat Michigan and avoid falling to 1-5 in the series, while Moore will be looking to lead the Wolverines back to the CFP after finishing 8-5 this season, especially with a more favorable schedule in 2025.
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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources opened applications through Feb. 1 for Michigan’s spring turkey season.
Officials say there are some changes to the 2026 season, such as the number of turkey management units, which are designated areas open to hunters.
“These regulation changes uphold the goals for the spring turkey hunting season: maximizing hunter opportunity while also maintaining satisfactory hunting experiences across the state,” said Adam Bump, DNR upland game bird specialist.
Here’s what to know about licenses for the upcoming turkey season. For more information on other regulations, visit the DNR’s website.
How much do the applications cost?
Turkey season applications cost $5 each and are available online on the DNR’s website, at any license agent or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
A map of license agents is available online.
Who is eligible to apply?
Hunters aged 17 and older during the hunting period are eligible to apply for a license as long as they have a hunter education certificate or an apprentice license.
Anyone between the ages of 10 and 16 can purchase a turkey youth license. Anyone age 9 and under can participate through a mentored hunting program to receive a license. Youth turkey licenses are valid for all three management units and season dates.
Where and when can I hunt?
In 2026, the DNR announced that it had reduced the turkey management unit from 14 to three — Upper Peninsula, northern Lower Peninsula and southern Lower Peninsula. The units also determine the type of license hunters can obtain and when they can hunt.
View a map of the turkey management units below:
A Hunt 0110 license is for the Upper Peninsula, with an April 18-May 31 hunting season. Hunt 0134 license is valid for the northern Lower Peninsula and is available from April 18 to May 1. The Hunt 0302 license is available for the southern Lower Peninsula from April 18 to May 1. A Hunt 0303 license is also available for the Southern Lower Peninsula (May 2-31).
These licenses have a limited number available.
Other licenses include Hunt 0234, which is for statewide (April 25-May 31), and Hunt 0301, which is for private land (April 18-May 31). Hunt 0234 is valid on private and public lands in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, but private only in the southern Lower Peninsula, as well as Fort Custer military lands, with permission.
How can I get a license?
Hunters who apply for a license are entered into a random drawing system. The drawing results are available on March 2.
The Hunt 0234 license (statewide) and Hunt 0301 license (private land) do not require people to enter a drawing. These licenses can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on March 16. Hunters can check their drawing results online or on the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
“These changes will give hunters longer seasons and bigger units to hunt in,” said Bump.
Anyone who is not selected in the drawing can purchase a leftover license beginning at 10 a.m. on March 9. Anyone who did not enter the drawing can purchase a leftover license on March 16.
How many licenses are available?
There is a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0110 (Upper Peninsula), an 18,000-license quota for Hunt 0134 (northern Lower Peninsula), a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0302 (southern Lower Peninsula April season) and an 8,000-license quota for Hunt 0303 (southern Lower Peninsula May season).
Hunt 0234 (statewide) and Hunt 0301 (private land) licenses are unlimited.
Michigan football moved quickly to help fill its running back room on Thursday, adding the No. 1-ranked rusher in the 2024 recruiting class to the roster.
Taylor Tatum, who spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma, signed with the Wolverines for the 2026 season, The Ann Arbor News/MLive confirmed.
Tatum, listed at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, has three seasons of college eligibility remaining.
He appeared in 12 games for the Sooners, most of it during his true-freshman season in 2024. That first season, Tatum rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a five-carry, 69-yard game in Oklahoma’s season opener against Temple.
Tatum was hampered by injuries in 2025, appearing in just one game against South Carolina, where he rushed once for negative-1 yard.
A former four-star recruit, Tatum was considered the nation’s No. 1 running back in 2024 out of Longview High School in Texas, where he set the school record for career rushing touchdowns (53). He picked Oklahoma over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, USC, among others.
Tatum was also a member of the Oklahoma baseball team, though he didn’t appear in a game in 2025.
The signing comes just a day after Michigan’s leading rusher in 2025, Jordan Marshall, announced his return to the Wolverines. Since the transfer portal opened last Friday, reserve running backs Bryson Kuzdzal and Jasper Parker have entered. Parker has since signed to play at Arkansas next season.
Meanwhile, Michigan awaits a decision from its other star back, Justice Haynes, who’s left the door open to a return to college. A pair of freshmen backs, Savion Hiter and Jonathan Brown, also joined the team this week.
Tony Alford, Michigan’s running backs coach, was one of three assistants retained by new head coach Kyle Whittingham.
Kyle Whittingham says appeal of Michigan football job was obvious
New Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham said the appeal of the job was obvious on Sunday, Dec. 28, in Orlando.
Michigan football is primed to win now, new coach Kyle Whittingham said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
The Wolverines have made far too many headlines off the field, which is why Whittingham told Patrick the organization needs to simply get back to focusing on the reason they’re all together as a team − football.
“The place doesn’t need a rebuild, it needs a reboot of trust and getting rid of the drama and just get back to playing Michigan football without all the distractions,” Whittingham said. “It didn’t come from the players. The players were not involved. It was not some player issue – it was just the peripheral.
“Guys here have a great attitude, I met with everyone of them last week at the bowl site. Quality young men, care about academics, excited to be at Michigan, but they’ve dealt with a lot over the last few years.”
Whittingham, 66, takes over as the 22nd head coach in program history after a pair of scandals rocked the previous two men who held his job.
Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines from 2015-23 − and left on top by winning a national championship − but also was found to have a lack of institutional control in his program by NCAA investigators after two separate NCAA violations occurred under his watch: impermissible recruiting and illegal sign-stealing.
More recently, Sherrone Moore was fired in scandal after he was found to have had a relationship with a subordinate and was subsequently arrested after he allegedly went to her house and threatened his own life − he was jailed for two nights and charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
Patrick asked if there was any selling point Whittingham needed to hear specifically from Michigan. Whittingham said when he stepped away from Utah in mid-December there were only a handful of program’s he would have even entertained. He called Michigan “a special place.”
“Needed to hear that Michigan was what I thought it was,” he said. “Hey’re committed to winning here, we do have some challenges with entrance requirements, there is a little bit of a hurdle there, but talk about athletes, resources, tradition − it’s all here at Michigan.”
Whittingham also quipped about the irony of previously being a team that wore red (Utah) whose primary rival wore blue (BYU) to flipping that. It’s also not lost on him that his mentor, Urban Meyer, went 7-0 against Michigan in his tenure in Columbus − Whittingham joked at his opening press conference that Meyer’s name alone might be considered a “four-letter word” in Ann Arbor.
“Blue was our rival at Utah for years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to get used to saying, ‘Go Blue.’”
Whittingham is in the throes of one of the busiest times on the college football calendar. The transfer portal opened for a 15-day window Jan. 2-16, setting off a scramble to both retain players, scout the database and find appropriate fits for the team.
Whittingham has only known his roster and coaches for approximately 10 days – he said while down in Florida he was going to “lock himself” in a room at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor to watch film on the players on his roster. He has been able to keep Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Zeke Berry − the last two of whom had put their names in the transfer portal before indicating their return to U-M for 2026.
With money flowing, back-channeling frequent and poaching at an all-time high, Whittingham doesn’t see college football’s current model as something that will last as currently constructed for more than a handful of years.
“It is not sustainable, there’s no question about that,” Whittingham said. “Something’s gotta give. Within a 2- to 4-, 5-year window, you’re going to see a major overhaul of Division I football. I think it’s going to become more of a minor league NFL model. I think you’re gonna see a salary cap, collective bargaining, players as employees.
“I think all that’s coming because we cannot maintain this pace.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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