Whenever I've done a radio interview as an Ohio State observer in the past three years, the conversation has often inevitably turned to rival Michigan.
And the tone has rarely been positive for the Wolverines.
"What's going wrong at That School Up North?" Ohio-based radio hosts have asked me, more times than I can remember.
My answer has always remained the same.
"When Ohio State had to replace Jim Tressel, it found the absolutely perfect replacement in Urban Meyer," I would respond. "Michigan's Urban Meyer is coaching in San Francisco."
I'd say I should start looking for a new answer, but it's more likely radio hosts are going to have to search for a new question.
Because in the reported hiring of Jim Harbaugh, Michigan has finally got its "Urban Meyer." Heck, the Harbaugh hiring is as big as Nick Saban's was at Alabama in 2007, a sleeping giant landing its perfect fit after more than half a decade of national irrelevance.
And although the Buckeyes' road to Indianapolis—and beyond—just got tougher as their archrival got richer, the Harbaugh hiring in Ann Arbor shouldn't be viewed as anything but a positive for Ohio State.
Because while the Buckeyes managed to make the first-ever College Football Playoff despite a Big Ten that's been perceived as down for as long as Michigan has been, the debate about who should make the sport's annual final four will only intensify as precedents are established.
And if the Big 12 opts to add a conference championship game—the biggest piece of criteria that was missing from both TCU and Baylor's resumes this season—the Big Ten will need all the help it can get to prove worthy of a playoff spot, year in and year out.
Harbaugh at Michigan should provide that, and then some, given his track record as a head coach of San Diego, Stanford and most recently, the 49ers. It's hard to imagine he won't find success on the recruiting trail, pitching his work with the likes of Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, and even harder to imagine he won't win as often as he did in San Francisco, leading the 49ers to three straight NFC title games and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII.
Throw in the recent success of Michigan State (23-3 in the past two seasons) and a suddenly sanction-less Penn State program on the rise under James Franklin, and if Ohio State is going to emerge from the Big Ten East in the coming years, it's going to do so by having earned its way to the conference championship game. That may now be easier said than done with the Wolverines once again becoming a formidable foe, but in a sport where perception still matters, the addition of Harbaugh only enhances that of the Big Ten.
From a big-picture perspective, a nationally relevant Michigan program is undoubtedly a positive for the Buckeyes. Playing Michigan in the final week of the regular season, Ohio State will now presumably have the opportunity to close its playoff case with two quality wins—one in the Big Ten title game, and one against the Wolverines.
But what about from a small-picture standpoint?
Do the Buckeyes truly benefit from adding another quality opponent on the field and the recruiting trail in its own region? After all, they're in the playoffs this season and have remained nationally relevant in six of the seven years in which Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke have helped bring down the reputation of the U-M program.
Does Michigan being good or bad really matter to Ohio State, in any way?
If you care about Ohio State history, it should.
Because while The Game will always be The Game to some in Columbus, there's no denying the Buckeyes' annual war with the Wolverines has lost a lot of its luster in the past seven seasons. No matter how classic each individual game may be, it simply doesn't mean as much beating bad Michigan teams, and even OSU players have begun to view other schools as their primary rival.
That mindset, however, will change quickly with the arrival of Harbaugh, who along with Meyer will give The Game its two biggest personalities since Woody and Bo roamed the Columbus and Ann Arbor sidelines more than 30 years ago. Call it "The Ten Year War Part 2" or whatever you'd like, but don't think for a second Meyer vs. Harbaugh won't make for must-watch television on the last Saturday in November each and every year.
Which is more than you could've said about The Game in recent years, as you'd have to go back to 2007 to find the last time both Ohio State and Michigan played each other with the right to the Big Ten title on the line. The Buckeyes have beaten the Wolverines in 10 of their last 11 meetings, Michigan's lone win in that span coming in 2011, when Hoke defeated interim Ohio State head coach Luke Fickell.
Meanwhile, Meyer has won his first three matchups with Michigan, accumulating a 25-1 record against the Big Ten in his first three seasons in Columbus. Yes, Harbaugh first has to find a quarterback and Meyer has had a three-year head start, but if you don't think the former 49ers coach will threaten the Buckeyes' reign over the Big Ten, you haven't been paying attention.
That could mean some losses for Ohio State, ones that wouldn't have been suffered had Hoke stuck around or the Wolverines been forced to go with Plan B, C, or D again this time around. But beating Michigan will once again mean something more than the formality that it's been for the Buckeyes in six of the past seven seasons.
Because Michigan finally has its Urban Meyer. And in a sport where only tradition means as much as perception, that's a good thing for Ohio State.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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