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Ohio State Star Admits National Title Is More Important Than Beating Michigan

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated May 12, 2025 11:03 AM ET

It's now been four years since the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Michigan Wolverines in The Game. But one former OSU star says he'll take his national championship over beating "That Team Up North" any day.

On a recent appearance on Ben Roethlisberger's "Footbahlin" podcast, ex-Buckeye and current Pittsburgh Steelers draftee Jack Sawyer admitted that winning the rivalry matchup with Michigan is important — but it's not the be-all end-all for his alma mater's success.

"Winning a national championship. That takes no emphasis off how important The Game is … But when you win a national championship, if anyone tells you they'd rather go 1-12 and just beat the team up north, you're crazy," Sawyer told the legendary Pittsburgh QB.

"You're playing this game to win championships. And make no mistake about it, no one wants to beat those guys more than we do. But at the end of the day, there's nothing we could have done after that. I mean, we have our shot to go chase the ultimate goal, which is to win a national championship."

Sawyer is one of several Ohio State athletes than can say they never beat Michigan in their Buckeyes career — despite some of his best efforts flying off the edge.

However with college football moving towards more of a pro football model, he and his teammates knew that a loss to the Wolverines wouldn't necessarily get in the way their ultimate goal of bringing a national title to Columbus.

"And like in the NFL, you lose four games in a regular season, you're probably the one overall seed in the playoffs," Sawyer explained. "So that’s kind of like the approach we took, especially with the expanded playoffs."

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 18: Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) in action during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 18, 2023, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

"I think it's going to continue to be like that. Obviously The Game is still going to be The Game, because it is The Game, the best rivalry in sports... But I think 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."

"In a perfect world, you do both of those things. But obviously, you know, we didn't," he concluded. "But winning a national championship kind of erases all that— for me it does."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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