The Game

The story of the The Game

First played in 1897, the The Game between Michigan and Ohio State is one of college football's great annual fights — 129-plus years of bragging rights, family arguments and games that decided seasons.

The Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, referred to as The Game by some followers, is an American college football rivalry game that is played annually between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes. As of 2025, Michigan has the most wins and Ohio State has the second most wins of any program in NCAA Division I football history. The rivalry has gathered profound national interest as many of the games determined the Big Ten Conference title and the resulting Rose Bowl Game matchups, as well as the outcome of the NCAA Division I college football championship. In 2000, the game was ranked by ESPN as the greatest North American sports rivalry ever. The rivalry is listed in Rivals!: The Ten Greatest American Sports Rivalries of the 20th Century, published by Wiley. Encyclopædia Britannica includes the rivalry as one of the ten great sports rivalries in history.