For the last five years The Game between Ohio State and Michigan has essentially been a play-in game to both the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
Heading into 2024 though, The Game will feature a new full-time head coach. Sherrone Moore taking over as head coach of Michigan in place of Jim Harbaugh. For Brad Crawford of 247Sports, that doesn’t make the game any less big next season.
In a feature on the “most important” games of 2024, Crawford said that The Game will be No. 1 because the two teams are always so good and vying for the College Football Playoff by the time they face one-another.
“This game ranked as the No. 1 most-anticipated showdown this time a year ago ahead of the 2023 season and it delivered, two unbeatens that went wire to wire at the Big House. The stakes should be usually high in 2024 as the Buckeyes try and snap a three-game skid to their rival in hopes of getting to the Big Ten Championship. Playoff expansion benefits both the Buckeyes and Wolverines, by the way. Double-digit wins for either, given the schedule strength, should give each a golden ticket inside the top 12,” Crawford wrote.
The Process. The Pursuit. The Standard.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/AagdWU4m5u
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) January 27, 2024
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The Game has been the biggest game in all of college sports for years and while it may not have the vitriol of The Iron Bowl or Alabama-LSU, the stakes are always high.
That’s what makes it more important than any other game.