Time to Revise our List of Archrivals?
Given that until this year we hadn't played Notre Dame for four years; and, after next year, will not play them again for the foreseeable future, would it not be appropriate to revise our list of football archrivals to include (1) OSU, (2) MSU, and (3) PSU? We play each of these schools every year, and every year these four teams will likely be competing for the B1G East title. Also, given the disdain we have for Pedo State, its delusional fanbase, and its sad coach, it would not be a much of a leap to tab them as archrivals.
"To Hell with Notre Dame" is a timeless line; but, when we're not playing them anymore, it becomes somewhat of a hollow statement. And, BTW, by revising the list, Harbaugh's record against our archrivals becomes 5-7; and soon to be above .500.
November 13th, 2018 at 9:34 AM ^
We're 5-7 vs Iowa since 2000 and 7-5 vs Wisconsin over that time..... but they just have programs that are hard to hate and coaches that are likable.
November 13th, 2018 at 9:38 AM ^
Ohio State.
Notre Dame.
Fin.
November 13th, 2018 at 9:44 AM ^
such blatant disrespect to our long time rivals Minnesota and U Chicago
November 13th, 2018 at 9:47 AM ^
List of top 10 hated teams in order:
OSU, MSU, USC, ND, FSU, UF, PSU, NEB, Bama, IU.
Just me but I have my reasons, fuck those fuckers, all of them
November 14th, 2018 at 7:57 AM ^
Can't believe Tennessee doesn't make that list. Fuck Fulmer; Fuck Peyton; Fuck the Coaches Poll.
November 13th, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
I love the rivalry with Notre Dame and for me it stands just south of OSU and on the same level as MSU. Its always annoying when it's downplayed on here. Also in what world is psu a rival. There's no real history they've only been in the conference for 25 years and Michigan once won something like 8 straight over them. Not a rivalry and trying to make it one is lame as hell.
November 13th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
I am hoping in two months, we can put Clemson and Alabama on the archrivals list.
Or better yet - have THEM put US on their list!
November 13th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^
I just read the wiki on um-nd rivalry. A long time ago, ND wanted to join the precursor of the B1G, but Yost organized a boycott of ND, onstensibly because ND wanted to play some players who were in their 7th year of college football, but coincidently the year after NDs first victory against UM.
I am okay with letting ND pursue being the little brother of the ACC. #goals
November 13th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
Bah humbug. Notre Dame is and always will be a main rival. Even if we don't play each other year in and year out, they are as much of a recruiting rival as OSU. ND is basically the only other school who matches us on the football field, in the classroom, and also has the brand recognition to go into California, Texas, the East Coast or down South and beat Michigan out for a kid.
Can we add PSU? Potentially, but I'm in the not yet camp. They've had great teams, and we have had great games, but until they were in our division they were always an Iowa, or Wisconsin to me. And the stakes haven't been high enough for long enough.
Another way to look at it, is they would always be third fiddle in the pecking order within the division. How many in division rivals can you have?
- Ohio State is our Main Rival, who is a divisional rival as well.
- Michigan State is our In-State Rival, who is a divisional rival as well.
- Notre Dame is a National Rival with great history, and probably Michigan's closest thing to the Spiderman meme.
- Minnesota is our Trophy Game Rival
- PSU is just a divisional rival, and will always be just a divisional rival.
I think in any given year the PSU can mean the most in the standings, but in any given 10 year stretch they will sit comfortably in 4th or 5th.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
PSU is on there only because of our collective hatred for Sandusky, Jay Paterno, the statues, and the delusional, pedophile-enabling, cult of personality, St. JoePa worshiping, fanbase.
Prior to that, Michigan has pretty much owned them -- not a rival.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
"Henne to Manningham" will always cause that cult to froth at the mouth and cry.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
"The refs gave Michigan 2 extra seconds for no reason"
November 13th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Then you remind them JoePa (infamous pedophile enabler) also clawed back time from the refs the previous series.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
ND has been dead to me since they cancelled the series.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
Perfect sentiment, WD !!
November 13th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
ND will always be our rival for all-time victories and winning percentage. Since that is the case, I want to control our own destiny and impose as many losses on them as possible.
They have never been appropriately punished for their past indiscretions. After what ND failed to do in the aftermath of the student videographer's death and the coed suicide after a sexual encounter with a football player is despicable.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
ND cancelled the series because Michigan's AD at the time was a colossal douchebag. ND responded in kind by terminating the series with a letter delivered just before kickoff.
Don't be mistaken, if it wasn't for Brandon, none of that goes down.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
28 Years old here and born and lived in Michigan my whole life.
1. MSU: We live in the same state as these ass clowns and have to hear from them all year round.
2. OSU: ^ I don't have to deal with their fans year round.
3. ND/PSU: Probably the best games in my lifetime between those two.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:20 AM ^
No, we don't need Penn State as a rival. I'm sure they would love that and that's the reason I don't want a rivavly with them. A rivalry with Michigan is something special. Fuck joe pa
November 13th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
No, we don't need Penn State as a rival.
They should have been booted from the conference.
Fuck joe pa
and their delusional worshiping fanbase
November 13th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
I don't think so.
OSU holds the top spot for obvious reasons.
Notre Dame holds the second spot because we compete with them for richest history all time and academically. Football was a HUGE part of the Ivy League, etc. ND and UM are the only two academically elite, longtime football power house schools that remain. Plus, it is likely the series resumes in the future.
MSU is third because, while and in-state rival, most of the time they are a lackluster rival. They have had a great run for 10 years, but that does not change much. They are 19-16 over the last three years and the only way they have beaten UM under Harbaugh has been freak conditions.
PSU. They could be on the list, but they already have their own rivals.
So, overall, the last 10 years don't override decades. I mean, maybe you think Purdue and Ohio State is a big rivalry now?
Don't get too caught up in the "moment." The beauty of college football is the tradition, the rivalries, the history.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
As I keep saying. If their is a football god this will happen:
1. Bama
2. Notre Dame
3. Michigan
4. Clemson (12-1)
Please, please, please, can Michigan play Notre Dame on a big stage in the CFP? Tell me that wouldn't be the best end to the Revenge Tour 2018/19? Do you have any idea how many Brian Kelly meme's would be generated in that game? It would be meme gold.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
i concur
November 14th, 2018 at 3:24 AM ^
It could be Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Michigan, where we beat Alabama, ND beats Clemson, then we beat ND.
That would be highly delicious as well.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
The Rugger game will always mean something special to me dammit.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:36 AM ^
No. Traditions and rivalries are born over time. You don't just get to wake up one day and say "hey these are our main rivals now, not these other guys that have been for X number of years." Doesn't work like that.
We make fun of other school for doing that with us (PSU, Rutgers - apparently).
If another rivalry with PSU develops, then we can add them. But let's not throw away years of history because Dave Brandon and whoever the ND AD was decided to take a break.
ND will always be a rival as far as I'm concerned and I can't wait to get revenge next year.
November 13th, 2018 at 4:49 PM ^
I agree with you, especially that rivalries aren't just decided. They have to be grow and build up over time.
Give it 5+ more years and a few more painful white-out games, then maybe the rivalry will grow. It'll take MANY years before they feel like a bigger rival than ND though.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
Rivalries happen organically. You can't force them.
In a few years Ped State might join the hallowed ranks of our archrivals if we play great games against each other for high stakes.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
I hate that we won't be playing Minnesota every year.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
I agree. One of the best and oldest inter-collegiate tropy's in sports (Brown Jug). Why must M play Rutgers and Maryland when M could be playing Minnesota? Minnesota should be on schedule every year, not Rutgers and Maryland, and for that matter PSU. On top of that, the whole row the boat nonsense. I so wanted Michigan fans to sing "row row row your boat" in a great troll when Minnesota is getting a beat down at big house.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
This is the #1 reason I want to throw those two East Coast interlopers out of the conference.
November 13th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Minnesota??? Why? We are 40-4 vs them in my lifetime. You just want an annual beatdown every year then we have Rutgers to replace that. Minnesota was a powerhouse when my Grandpappy was a youngster.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
There was a time (late 80's) when it seemed ND was a bigger rivalry than OSU. That notion went cold a few years ago.
ND wanted to leave the rivalry. Let them play Wake Forest or UVA.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Sorry, ND is a game we really should be playing more often than not. Just because we've decided not to for whatever reason doesn't change things. To hell with Notre Dame and all that, but even more to hell with modern TV-driven schedule changes that fuck with the way things should be.
November 13th, 2018 at 4:05 PM ^
"We" didn't decide that. The bitches from South Bend did. M wants them on the schedule every year. They did some partial join of the ACC and are required to play a certain amount of games vs them every yr. Then they have their games vs USC, Navy, & Stan every yr and it only opens up a few slots. Google.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
I really don't care about the Notre Dame game anymore. It obviously was bigger back when some of you guys who are older were going to games, but 1. Early season games never mean as much as late ones, and 2. Despite being mediocre to bad the last decade plus our games against MSU have had more at stake because MSU has been good and we are reminded of the consequences of losing every day if it happens. I consider MSU bigger now, and would prefer to play Notre Dame only every few years or so to get some different no conference matchups.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
This is fucking stupid. This is some Delaney level stupidity. Should we create stupid new trophies too just to make the rivalry even better? Rivalries aren't a thing listed anywhere. They happen naturally. You can make your own list in your head, i'll make my own list. What ever the collective fan bases feels is a rivalry, is a rivalry. Trying to manufacturer this is stupid. Also, there's not outcome here. Do you really expect people to come back and say "ah yes, briliant idea, let's update the archives and move on. Thanks for point this out." No, there will be no outcome. You'll get a lot of "yeah, sure" or "no that's stupid" or "who cares?" You can put me in the 2nd two buckets; this is stupid and I don't care how you rank our rivals. I will continue to feel however I want about our rivals regardless of the outcome of your futile exercise.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
ND isn't a rival, just a good game. With that being said: "To HELL with Notre Dame!"
November 13th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
OSU
Notre Dame
MSU
Minnesota, Chicago
Illinois, Rutger
Penn State
November 13th, 2018 at 2:01 PM ^
We have one rival (OSU)
and several repeated opponents whose demise is more delicious than some others. Throw whomever you want onto that list. But if it were up to me, we'd not let anyone else into the "rival" category.
After a few more CFP's, maybe we add Bama or Clemson, depending upon whom we play more often...
November 13th, 2018 at 3:58 PM ^
Well I guess after next year we sort of de facto have to push them aside as a rivalry. I get overly geeked every year for the M/ND game more than most because it's usually in the first couple weeks and we've been waiting for football for 8 months. Theres always optimism at that time that this is the year.
M & Notre Shame are the top of football royalty IMO. Everyone else is lining up for 3rd. For the longest time it was M with the most wins and ND with the highest win % (with M a close second) and of course M owns both now. OSU has nudged out ND for second on win % by .003 points in the last yr btw.
The rivalry started (renewed?) when I was young and just discovering football. I don't mind a couple yr hiatus here and there but considering where we both rank all time, the traditions, the proximity, the history (I won't get in to why we didn't play each other for so long but it is why I will forever refer to them as Notre Shame) we should be playing on a 4 yrs on 2 yrs off schedule at the least. There aren't any CFB household in America that do not watch that game in week 1 or 2.
FTR M stands at #8 in teams ND has played the most: Navy 90, USC 87, Purdon't 84, MSU 77, Pitt 70, Army 51, NW 49, M 42
November 13th, 2018 at 4:36 PM ^
I still do not understand the immediacy that was placed on getting Notre Dame back on the schedule. I would love to ask about that with someone in the know in the room. I would be OK with Notre Dame being a non-conference filler that we would have once every few years, but this puzzled me.
November 13th, 2018 at 7:52 PM ^
I have no evidence whatsoever, but based on the way it happened I'd say it was 100% Harbaugh.
He grew up with the rivalry and played in it. Probably just said "it's important Wade, make it happen".
November 13th, 2018 at 6:13 PM ^
I'm surprised how many (probably young 'uns) want to see less ND. I'd prefer to play them and not Rutgers and Maryland. Matter of fact, I'd prefer Michigan threaten leaving the conference to gain some pull on forcing the exit of those programs. It only benefits Maryland and Rutgers to have them in the conference. As for rivals, to me it's already OSU, MSU, ND and PSU.
November 14th, 2018 at 8:05 AM ^
Actualy, with having to play OSU, MSU, and PSU every year, having Rutger and Maryland on the schedule gives us a couple of cupcake games, which we need, in order to balance out Bama vs. Citadel, which happens this Saturday.
November 13th, 2018 at 6:59 PM ^
Michigan and Notre Dame have played some great games, but have had gaps in between. To me, Michigan’s rivals are OSU and MSU due to playing every year for the last 100+.
70-36-5 against MSU
58-49-6 against OSU
Compared to:
14-8-0 against PSU
24-18-1 aginst Notre Dame
give it another few years of playing in the same division as PSU and playing heated games, then it will be a rivalry.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:06 PM ^
You don't pick rivals, they're made over time.
November 14th, 2018 at 11:32 AM ^
It'd go 1) Ohio State 2) Left Blank 3) Michigan State 4) Notre Dame and 5) Anyone who is currently competing for a Big 10 title.