Former Ohio State Star Drops Polarizing Claim on Michigan Loss

The Ohio State Buckeyes hit one heck of a low point back in November, when they dropped their fourth straight matchup to their archrival Michigan Wolverines.

Making matters worse was the fact that Ohio State was clearly the superior team to Michigan, and that was proven when the Buckeyes went on to win a national championship. Yes, the Wolverines did capture a bowl win, but they went just 8-5 on the year overall.

The loss to Michigan was obviously painful, and a brawl ensued postgame after the Wolverines planted their flag at midfield in Ohio Stadium.

However, Ohio State certainly made up for it by winning its first national title in a decade, and during a sitdown interview with Ben Roethlisberger, former Buckeyes star—and new Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end—Jack Sawyer opened up on how the championship dulled the pain of "The Game."

“Obviously, The Game is still gonna be The Game, because it is The Game, the best rivalry in sports. But at the end of the day, I think you’d be crazy to say you would rather beat them and not win a national championship instead of win a national championship and not beat them," Sawyer said. "In a perfect world, you do both of those things, but obviously we didn’t. But winning a national championship kind of erases all of that. For me, it does, at least.”

Of course, Ohio State fans would have surely preferred to kill two birds with one stone by both defeating Michigan and taking home a national title, but sometimes, you have to just accept things for what they are and be happy with the end result.

Sawyer played a critical role in the Buckeyes' championship run, racking up 59 tackles, nine tackles for loss, nine sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries over the course of the 2024 campaign.

The 23-year-old was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.