Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons: Behind the Box Score
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November 26, 2014Sports rivalries are a special thing. An attempt to justify their existence or pretend that they contribute anything meaningful to society is a completely fruitless exercise. Documentarians and generations past can rationalize the energy that teams and fans invest in disliking each other, often relying on a mostly-fabricated anecdote from the 1920s that likely involves a cow or goat or something. Other excuses include territorial disputes, long-term battles for supremacy over a region and its resources, and divisiveness on friends and families. Most rivalries are chiefly the result of familiarity, geographical proximity, and high stakes.
But that doesn’t make devotion to rivalries any less ridiculous. Sports rivalries are an anachronism; part of a lifestyle that any civilized person shouldn’t take seriously. I’m a well-educated person—although you would never know it if you’ve seen me eat a bowl of chicken wings—and yet I can’t help myself from indulging in the fervor of sports rivalries. I don’t know why. All I know is this: I hate the University of Michigan’s football team, and I love that I hate them so much1.
Yes, yes, it’s exclusively “sports hate.” I don’t want anyone affiliated with the University of Michigan to fall down a mineshaft or into a well or anything heinous like that. The worst I would wish upon any Michigander is a mild case of indigestion. I respect them, but I mostly just hate them. It’s been this way for as long as I remember, and I can’t even remember how it began. There’s no sense in belaboring its “ranking” here, but by any measure the college football rivalry between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines is one of the greatest rivalries in sports. Attending Ohio State allowed me to institute my distaste for Michigan as a permanent part of my lifestyle, a responsibility that I’ve taken seriously.
In the trial on the ultimate supremacy of one over the other, both Ohio State and Michigan’s case-in-chief have a lot of evidence in their favor. Michigan’s football program has 889 wins, the most by any NCAA football team2. Ohio State claims seven national championships, while Michigan purports to have eleven championships—though only one since the discovery of the polio vaccine. Ohio State has won seven Rose Bowls, narrowly trailing Michigan’s eight. Michigan also has eight more Big Ten Championships, winning the conference a ridiculous 42 times. As far as individual awards go, Ohio State and Notre Dame are tied with the most Heisman trophy winners, and the Buckeyes brandish Archie Griffin as the only two-time winner of college football’s greatest individual award. Both program’s have a mass of consensus All-Americans, with 65 Wolverines earning the distinction and 59 Buckeyes doing the same.
As for the rivalry itself, Michigan presently totes what may be a rapidly expiring one-game advantage, leading the series 47-46-4. As far as recent trends go, interested viewers who grew up watching Nickelodeon cartoons only remember coach John Cooper’s Buckeyes being repeatedly embarrassed by Michigan throughout the 90s (Cooper went 2-10-1 against Michigan from 1988-2000) followed by Ohio State dominating 11-2 since Cooper’s banishment. Ohio State won the epic 2006 showdown when the clubs were the top two ranked teams in the sport.
As for the miscellaneous categories, “the Wolverines” may be a better nickname. “The Buckeyes” has a certain charm as a nickname, as long as you don’t actually think too much about what a buckeye actually is. Michigan has the better academic reputation (though Ohio State has become an excellent public school in its own right) but Michigan is far too undeservedly pretentious about this fact, canceling out any goodwill they ought to receive from it.
I’m admittedly biased in certain categories. Michigan’s winged helmets and maize and blue uniforms are odious and nauseating, though many people would disagree on this point. Ohio State’s uniforms blend a classic look with a tasteful and distinct color combo, along with the best pride sticker in sports. I can admit that Michigan has an objectively good fight song, though I’m personally repulsed by it and the mere sound of it requires me to suppress homicidal rage. Ohio State’s band is clearly better (they animated a 50-yard-tall galloping horse out of people. There’s no sense arguing over the better bar scene, campus food, drinking prowess, or other miscellaneous college traditions, because it’s too personal for any rational debate to be viable3.
But for those with an awareness of the programs’ histories, there’s a persistent flaw in logic for the University of Michigan’s case as the superior football program. It starts as a geographical curiosity but steadily grows into an unavoidable and insurmountable hurdle. For instance, a young Ohio State or Michigan fan hears the story about how Ohio State coach Woody Hayes made a conscious effort to increase the animosity in the rivalry. His worthy adversary was Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. Woody, almost as a given, was born in Ohio—Clifton, to be exact. Schembechler, on the other hand, was a former Hayes assistant born in Barberton . . . Barberton, Ohio. Maybe this is nothing more than an interesting bit of trivia. Maybe it’s something more.
Then there’s the matter of Desmond Howard. Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard tortured the Buckeyes in the early 90s, famously striking the Heisman pose after a touchdown in a 31-3 bashing of Ohio State weeks before capturing the vaunted trophy himself. Desmond Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended St. Joseph High School. What about Charles Woodson, another Heisman Trophy winner from Michigan that led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship? Woodson is a native of Fremont, Ohio ((To be fair, Fremont, Ohio is awfully close to Toledo, which some Ohioans would consider no better than a Michigan outpost.)).
Before long, Michigan’s disdain for Ohio starts to seem like a recurring defect in reasoning. One starts to hear casual in-game references to “so-and-so from Canton, Ohio” making a tackle or “number whatever from Cleveland” catching passes on Michigan’s behalf. This year, De’Veon Smith of Warren, Ohio, is Michigan’s leading rusher with 515 yards. Third leading tackler safety Jarrod Wilson is from Akron. That’s two 330-ers making a big impact for the Wolverines. Even soon-to-be head coach of a MAC school Brady Hoke hails from Ohio, but he coaches the Wolverines. Is Michigan’s hate for Ohio totally contrived? I endeavored to learn just how indebted the University of Michigan is to the state of Ohio for its success in football, with some revealing results.
We already know all-time Michigan greats like Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard were born and raised in Ohio, but there should be a significant number of Ohioans on Michigan’s current roster if Ohio State fans are going to harass Michigan for siphoning greatness from Ohio. The University of Michigan football team entered this season with 24 players whose hometown is in the Buckeye State4. This is much less than 44 native Michiganders, but still a generous sum. Meanwhile, Ohio State has 67 natives on the team, compared to one lone football player from Michigan.
From 2010-2014, Michigan has had 18 different juniors who call Ohio home5. This is the second most of any state, trailing only Michigan itself. Ohio State has had only two juniors from Michigan since 2010, a meager showing by their rival state. These trends go back some time. The charts below break down how each school’s roster has been constructed over the last 15 seasons. 17 percent of Michigan’s roster has been Ohio talent, three times more than any external state. In the same time, Michiganders have only constituted two percent of Ohio State’s roster.
But regular, ordinary appearances on the roster hardly tell the whole story. No one goes on Youtube to watch someone flip through a souvenir program. So, let’s answer the question, Who puts the points on the board and the butts in the seats? To determine this, I examined every single offensive yard accounted for, tackle made, and fumble or interception created from 2010-2014 by anyone wearing an Ohio State or Michigan uniform6. I then calculated what essentially was a fantasy football score for every player, assigning a point value to each record-able stat7. This is a fair representation of every player’s meaningful contribution to the team. Each state was then given a score totaled from its players’ production, signifying every state’s bottom line contribution to the team’s success. The results are summarized in the charts below.
One noticeable fact from the chart is that in each case their in-state talent produces less than their share based on roster proportion. This makes sense: teams recruit more talented players outside the state. Otherwise, why bother going elsewhere. The idea is to keep premium talent in the state, while bringing exceptional talent from outside the state to maximize team potential. But while Ohioans account for nearly half of Ohio State’s total production, Michigan only receives 36 percent of its production from players produced in-state. Ohio’s share of production for Michigan actually exceeds its portion of the roster, indicating that Michigan recruits Ohioans with the hopes of them being valuable players. Michigan relies on Ohio to provide nearly one quarter of its total production, narrowly trailing only Florida, a state bountiful with skill positions. Michigan-bred talent only meets two percent of Ohio State’s needs, a trivial contribution that only narrowly exceeds football powerhouses Missouri and Virginia. Michigan is significantly more reliant on their hated enemies— nearly twelve times more reliant, to approximate Michigan’s dependency on Ohio. The chart below shows the top ten most productive states for each school.
Not only does the University of Michigan need Ohio to play its football, but also to teach it how to play its football. Between Michigan legend Schembechler, Gary Moeller, and Brady Hoke, Ohio-born head coaches have coached nearly one-third of Michigan’s 889 wins, the most of any state. Regrettably, only 54 percent of Ohio State’s wins have come with Ohioans at the helm. But at least they’ve never had a coach from Michigan8.
These numbers demonstrate fairly convincingly that the the Wolverine football program is largely built by Ohio natives. They confirm what Cris Carter and Chris Spielman said in the HBO documentary The Rivalry. Carter said, “We believe the football in Ohio is a lot better. So the quality of the players are better.” Spielman echoed the point: “Where would Michigan be without players from Ohio? It wouldn’t be where it is today.”
University of Michigan football is very much an Ohio product while Ohio State is very self-sufficient for a premiere program9.
Michigan is an imported program, relying on Ohio for nearly a quarter of its production. It’s like if Biggie sampled a Tupac song in a track dissing his West Coast rap rival. Michigan is so dependent on Ohio to maintain its status that it undermines arguments made for its supremacy over Ohio State. The University of Michigan’s football team needs Ohio, while Ohio State could make up Michigan’s difference with a collection of used appliances10. Ohio natives win Michigan’s Heismans, coach for their wins, make up their rosters, and contribute significantly to their offensive and defensive statistical totals11.
Case in point for emphasis: Ohio State fans have a song they like to sing leading up to the Michigan game and during the Michigan game, but also throughout the rest of the year for no apparent reason. The song (and its general gist) is “We Don’t Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan.” It rings out in Ohio Stadium, in tailgate parking lots, in homes, in bars, and anywhere inebriated Ohio State fans gather. It’s fun, and Ohio State fans thoroughly enjoy singing it. And the reason it’s so funny and entertaining is the sincerity and enthusiasm with which they sing it. Wow, these people really do not give a single damn about the state of Michigan. The whole thing! Michigan doesn’t have as catchy a song about the State of Ohio. Because while Ohio doesn’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, Michigan can’t win much without Ohio.
- I’m willing to bet Michigan fans don’t think very highly of me, either. [↩]
- Ohio State has 750 wins, although only 738 wins “count” because of some very costly tattoos. For what it’s worth, Michigan has only 729 wins since Ohio State’s football program began in earnest in 1913, compared to Ohio State’s 744 wins. Ohio State’s win totals also exceed Michigan’s over the last 50, 25, ten, five, and one season stretches. But yes, for the record, the 1898 Wolverines did go 10-0. [↩]
- Although I defy anyone to listen to Carmen Ohio and not get a little nostalgic. [↩]
- Or listed as in Buckeye State, anyway. All roster information from 2010-2014 was obtained from ESPN. The results relied on the first roster ESPN posted in September of each season, as the early September roster should adequately represent the team’s roster for the season. For pre-2010 rosters, I used FOX Sports. ESPN’s data is more complete and accurate with regard to each player’s class, but FOX’s should not affect a state’s prevalence and the data was used sparingly nonetheless. [↩]
- Junior classmen were used because they were upperclassmen who showed a three-year commitment to the program, were probably a contributing member of the team, and were less likely able to go to the NFL as both programs’ most promising athletes will do if there is an immediate opportunity for them to succeed professionally. [↩]
- I also looked at some special team categories. All this information was obtained via Sports-Reference’s college football page. The data is current through November 8th, so it is missing Michigan’s game against Maryland and Ohio State’s games against Minnesota and Indiana. [↩]
- The scoring broke down as follows: one point per 20 passing yards; one point per 10 receiving, rushing, or return yards; one point per tackle; an additional one point if it were a tackle for loss; an additional two points per sack; four points per turnover obtained; one point per five points kicked; and six points per touchdown, regardless of context. There’s no sense lessening a quarterback’s contribution by only giving him four points per passing touchdown (like most fantasy scoring systems do). Some would say this scoring system overrates a defensive player’s contribution, but unlike fantasy football, defense is every bit as important as offense, so a point was given for every tackle. If only there were a better way to quantitatively value offensive linemen. [↩]
- Fun fact, both schools owe significant chunks of wins to coaches from Tennessee, with both Lloyd Carr running Michigan throughout the 90s at the same time Ohio State had John Cooper (shaking head in sadness). [↩]
- You can look at the geographic spread of the different categories this article examines on an interactive chart here, if you feel like playing around with it. I would be really interested to see how other programs stack up. My hunch: Texas and Florida schools are more self-sufficient than Ohio State, while most SEC teams recruit throughout the region, not overwhelmingly from one state. [↩]
- Vernon Gholston is an exception to this sentiment. Gholston is a Detroit native who was a destructive force as defensive end and sack machine at Ohio State. He tallied 22.5 sacks at OSU, 14.0 in 2007 alone. [↩]
- This is probably a significant fact for both schools going forward, and may exacerbate current trends. As the U.S. population and football talent moves south and west, Michigan will likely suffer more if Ohio State continues to gobble up the best in-state recruits. Ohio football cannot sustain the region as well as it once did. Michigan’s recent struggles reflect what the whole Big Ten is confronting. I think Michigan can turn things around, and hope they do. It’s bad for the Big Ten and Ohio State if Michigan struggles to be bowl eligible. [↩]
27 Comments
Go Buckeyes!
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Therein lies the greatest irony of all: while you claim not to give a single iota of a damn about Michigan, you cared enough to make up a song about us, then sing it incessantly, further undermining the basic premise of the song. But I suppose if not for the song, all you would have left is the ability to constantly prove that you know how to spell the state you’re from. That and your band, which I have no problem admitting I thoroughly enjoy.
http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver/Breitbart/Wrong%20Dimensions%20and%20Stretched%20Images/O-I-H-O.jpg
http://maizeandgoblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/OIHO.png
Yeah, “Go Blue” is soooo genius, we could never compete with a cheer like that.
http://media3.giphy.com/media/CzqaMnNuBhaNO/giphy.gif
Yeah I know, but I couldn’t help it. Been thinking it forever, just had to get it off my chest, and this post just set me up too perfectly.
Ok I got to get in this. First off, SEC football is real football. Big Ten – girly stuff,
That said, you have to ask, if OSU is such a great place, then why do so many Buckeye’s go to M and so few Wolverines go to OSU? (just quoting Kyle here) Well first of all you have be able to read:)
Can’t tell if you’re trying to compliment OSU or insult it. If you’re trying to insult OSU, please note the following:
(1) Your joke implies that either Buckeyes are more literate than Wolverines, because they can get into either school, or that Michigan has lower standards than OSU (if you’re implying that Buckeyes are illiterate). Either way, OSU is better.
(2) If you’re implying that Buckeyes are illiterate, please take note the proper plural form of the word (for the sake of literacy).
Also, for kicks and giggles, ask Missouri (SEC East Leaders – let’s not even get into a discussion about geography as it’s probably not a course at any SEC school, as the word itself is simply too long to be understood down there) about the girly football in the Big Ten. They got their teeth kicked in by Indiana. But if it’s any consolation to you, that Missouri win comprises one third of the Mighty Hoosiers’ wins.
Some thoughts:
1) Great research and analysis! This was fun.
2) I submit that “Buckeyes” is actually a great nickname, if only for its historical significance. It is the term that has always referred to Ohioans, from before OSU was even founded. Ohio settlers and pioneers would often carry a buckeye in their pocket as a proud source of their rugged identity. Sure, “wolverines” has also traditionally and historically be a reference to Michiganders(?), but it’s much more difficult to carry a wolverine in your pocket (though I wouldn’t put it past some of those people up north to try it). Furthermore, despite the ferocious reputation of the wolverine, the animal is actually something of a coward, spraying a potential attacker out of fear like a skunk before finally resorting to violence when cornered. There’s a reason that it’s also called the “skunk bear” or “skunk badger”: Wolverines stink. That’s science. Meanwhile, we can proudly claim: “We are the Buckeyes; we are killer nuts!” That’s also science.
3) There is a reason that we sing that song all year long: To demonstrate to every other team that we don’t really even give a damn about them. There’s nothing more demoralizing to, say, Penn State, than having OSU fans sing about Michigan after beating the Nittany Lions in State College. Sorry, losers, but we don’t care about your hatred for us.
4) For all of the vitriol, I also agree that there really isn’t any actual hate. In fact, when I talk to my Michigan friends (yes, it’s possible), we mutually enjoy a common bond of the rivalry. Michigan is a great school, and Michiganders and Ohioans are more alike than we are different. (Still, I hate Michigan.)
5) Go Bucks! It’s 5:10 pm on November 25, 2014 . . . and Michigan still sucks.
I blame Obama. (But he probably blames Bush.)
The reason Michigan has so many players from Ohio is because they can’t wait to get out of the Buckeye State.
“University of Michigan football is very much an Ohio product while Ohio State is very self-sufficient for a premiere program.
Michigan is an imported program, relying on Ohio for nearly a quarter of its production. It’s like if Biggie sampled a Tupac song in a track dissing his West Coast rap rival. Michigan is so dependent on Ohio to maintain its status that it undermines arguments made for its supremacy over Ohio State.”
This is a patently ridiculous argument to make, unless you are either implying:
a) that all Ohio high school football players are the property of Ohio State by proxy, or
b) that Ohio State is somehow responsible for the development of all good Ohio high school football players.
Neither is true. Thus, this very circuitous attempt to simply kick sand in the face of your rival is no less eye-roll-inducing than that stupid song.
And Bush blames Clinton…?
(note: sarcasm intended… not trying to start any kind of s**t)
Get that weak stuff out of here! The article clearly differentiates between The Ohio State University and The Great State of Ohio. The (proven) premise is that school which no one clearly gives a damn about relies historically and currently on a disproportionately large amount of talent from the aforementioned Great State of Ohio to generate football talent, players, coaches and wins, while The Ohio State University could very much – not give a damn. It is a sad state of affairs that an Ohio State win, even a dismantling of that other school will likely have ZERO impact on the Buckeyes’ ranking.
Now get that sand out of your face and put together a better team for god’s sake!
I doubt it. They’re like half-brothers now.
(note: sarcasm understood – I was being intentionally ridiculous. But if you do want to start some s**t, let’s! It’s M*ch*gan week!!!!!!)
So the status and historical success of the University of Michigan’s football team does not depend on the state of Ohio and those that have come from it?
That’s not what I said. Clearly, successful college football programs have to go recruit where the best players are, and one of those places happens to be Ohio given the importance placed on the sport in our state. I’m not disputing this at all, and it’s not like Michigan is the ONLY historically successful program to pull players from other, more talent-rich states.
That said, what I pull from below this article’s surface is an implication that Ohio State somehow gets extra credit for happening to be located in the middle of a state that has this abundance of talent, and Michigan is somehow dinged in reputation for having to go recruit where the better players are. In addition, from the Biggie/Tupac metaphor I infer that the author is saying that high school players from Ohio = Ohio State, and thus this makes Michigan’s pulling of Ohio HS players in an attempt to beat Ohio State some kind of “stealing”. It doesn’t, because Ohio HS players aren’t part of Ohio State, and Ohio State doesn’t get credit for all players going to other states. Ohio State doesn’t represent ALL of Ohio. Thus, to me, the entire premise here is flawed, at least in the specific passage of the article that I cited.
Ohio State is better than Michigan right now because they’re better coached, and their coaches are better at developing talent (Michigan hasn’t been too far behind in recruiting, but their player development has been atrocious under Hoke). Michigan was better in the 90s because they were better coached, and their players were better prepared for the rivalry game. It’s not a knock on Michigan’s overall historical success that they recruited in a nearby state that had better HS players.
“Now get that sand out of your face and put together a better team for god’s sake!”
Believe me, if it was up to us fans…
I honestly can say that I want OSU to leave no doubt on Saturday that Hoke needs to be gone.
As for the actual argument/topic, see my response below to Garry as it applies here as well.
I see. I didn’t fully grasp the connection that you were making to “Ohio State” and “Ohio,” but I see it now. I guess that’s fair, but I don’t at all think that this was the core or crux of Kyle’s point. Your point is a fine one, but I do think it’s a little tenuous to attempt to entirely divorce the university from the state. OSU is not just an institution “that happens to be located in the middle of” the state. It is indeed uniquely tied to the state, by creation, by politics (not in the nasty sense of the word), by culture, and by a whole host of other things – just as UM is indelibly tied to the state of Michigan. That certainly doesn’t mean that all Ohio athletes are the natural property of the university, but I would certainly submit that the culture that produces those athletes and the culture that makes OSU what it is are extremely closely connected, if not one in the same. Michigan gets to share in that culture by reason of the abundance of talent in the state (which, as Kyle points out, has played a huge role in Michigan’s prior football success, as much as “coaching” and “preparation” did).
In addition to Gholston, I think there’s another Michigander-turned-Buckeye worth noting: Craig Krenzel (hailing from suburban Detroit)
It’s a real Catch 22 for Ohio State. We need to crush Michigan on Saturday for selfish reasons, but would also really love to keep Brady Hoke in Ann Arbor for many more years (also for selfish reasons).
I think (read: really, really Hope) that there’s no way Hoke stays without a convincing win (which is all but impossible). Any loss to OSU means no bowl game, which (again, hopefully) means clean break now so that we can begin in earnest to find a replacement coach. Personally, I’d love a complete destruction so as to give the interim AD no reason to even ponder keeping Hoke.
Ohio State, State of Ohio, whatever. This is rivalry week and this article was clearly just intended to ruffle your feathers. Irregardlessly: OHIO > *ICHIGAN. Proven once again!
“Irregardlessly”
This is a thing?
Common ground with a Michigan fan feels . . . icky.
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I don’t care if Hoke sells his soul to Cthulhu in order to win 1000-0, and drop Ohio Stadium into the black abyss. No way he should be kept.
So, let me go way outside the box…assuming dump trucks full of cash can’t entice Harbuagh to come back…Josh McDaniel for next UM head coach?
lmaooooo michigans talent XDXDXD like they have talent BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA