Two decades ago, when Jim Tressel and Lloyd Carr faced off against one another, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry was perhaps the classiest in all of sports. The two coaches never showed anything but the utmost respect for one another. And while other rivalries like the now defunct Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia or the Miami (FL) vs. Florida State games of old often resulted in fisticuffs, such occasions didn’t feel as common in the days of yore for the Buckeyes.
Then came the series of unfortunate events for Michigan that was Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke that eventually led to Jim Harbaugh, and the concurrent transition from Tressel to Urban Meyer and, finally, to Ryan Day.