Urban Meyer Reveals Obsessive Lengths Ohio State Went To Beat Michigan Seven Times During His Tenure In Columbus

Urban Meyer coached Ohio State football for the majority of seven seasons. He never lost to Michigan.

The Buckeyes went a perfect 7-0 during Meyer's tenure in Columbus. They won by a combined score of 275-189.

To say that Meyer was dominant against the Wolverines would be an understatement. He coached in only one iteration of 'The Game' that came down to a single possession in 2016.

Although winning a national championship is the ultimate goal of any college football team, beating its rival is almost as important. Especially when it comes to one like Ohio State vs. Michigan, which has been played since 1897. It often determines which Big Ten team will play in the Rose Bowl, or reach the Playoff, and it is arguably the greatest rivalry in sports!

If the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in a "down" year, the losses are quickly forgotten. And vice versa.

If the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in an "up" year, the rivalry win is just that much sweeter. And vice versa.

But just how deep does the rivalry go? What did it take for Urban Meyer to go undefeated?

Obsession. Complete obsession.

Meyer recently spoke to a group of reporters at a coaches convention and was asked about the rivalry. Specifically, he was asked about Michigan "getting better" and seeing The Game "intensify again."

Ohio State has lost the last two meetings.

Meyer answered to the topic in length. In doing so, he revealed that he employed a coach on his staff who had just one job — the Wolverines. He was a Michigan expert. His entire job was to know exactly what the rival program was doing at all times.


I’m not sure there’s anybody who’s ever respected that rivalry more than I have. I studied it; we had a board everywhere about who they recruited, what they were doing offensively and defensively. I had one coach ... that’s all he did was watch them year-round.
So when someone says, 'The team up north wasn’t very good,' then I would look at them and say, 'You don’t really understand this rivalry.' You don’t understand that when we played them, I think three times they were top-five in the country. So they’re always good.
If someone said they’re not very good, usually that conversation ends quickly because that guy doesn’t respect the rivalry. That’s one of the top programs in America, they’ve got a great coach and it’s a great rivalry.

Perhaps Ryan Day should take a page out of Urban Meyer's playbook and get a full-time staffer to watch the Wolverines throughout every waking moment of the day! You can't say it didn't work...!