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Tom Brady Reveals Truth About Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 8:40 AM ET

Before Tom Brady became one of the best quarterbacks of all time, if not the greatest, he was part of the Michigan Wolverines and experienced the rivalry between the program and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is one of the fiercest rivalries in college football, with Scott Dochterman of The Athletic even recently ranking it as the best rivalry in the sport. Dochterman even went as far as claiming that it is "arguably the greatest rivalry in American sports."

The two teams have had 120 total meetings starting in 1897, with the Wolverines leading the head-to-head matchup with a 62-52-6 record. However, it's worth noting that the Buckeyes had the last laugh this past season after they won the national championship.

Brady, for his part, spoke about the storied beef between the two teams while discussing rivalries in his latest 199 newsletter. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star didn't sugarcoat his words as he highlighted just how important "The Game" is between the two college football programs.

"At Michigan, we could lose every game but beat Ohio State and people would consider it a successful year," Brady, who played for Michigan from 1996 to 1999, admitted.

"Conversely, we could win every game and go to the Rose Bowl, but if we lost to Ohio State those same people might consider the season unsuccessful. That’s how much the rivalry meant to the folks in Ann Arbor."

Considering the long history between the two programs, their rivalry is only expected to intensify in the years to come. The two teams have a combined 21 national titles between them, with Michigan boasting 12 to Ohio State's nine.

While Ohio State won the title last season, they did lose to an unranked Michigan squad in their November meeting, 13-10. That being said, Buckeyes wideout Jeremiah Smith vowed to never lose again to their heated rivals.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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