Kirk Herbstreit on Ohio State-Michigan rivalry: 'It's kind of a pain in the ass'

Kirk Herbstreit has been around the Ohio State–Michigan rivalry for years, first as a player and now as an analyst.

Herbstreit believes the rivalry has changed a great deal recently and is now more about hate than respect.

“I think it’s very different. It lacks respect compared to the way it used to be,” Kirk Herbstreit said Saturday morning on SportsCenter. “It’s still great. It’s still fun. I just think there’s way more animosity now today than there used to be.”

Herbstreit reflected back on the days when Bo Schembechler was at Michigan and Woody Hayes was at Ohio State. He believes that during those times, the programs certainly didn’t like each other, but they still respected each other.

“I think the Woody and Bo era changed this rivalry forever. I think it used to be about two recruits going down to Ohio State or Michigan. One would go to Ohio State, one would go to Michigan,” Herbstreit said. “Woody and Bo hated each other during that tenure but were the best of friends. When Woody was dying, Bo was right there for him. So I think that was when the rivalry was more about respect.”

That’s not the case anymore with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and Ryan Day at Ohio State.

“Now it’s more about hatred. Now it’s more about chat rooms; it’s more about social media. It’s kind of a pain in the ass, really, compared to what it used to be,” Herbstreit said.

Ohio State, Michigan coaches downplay questions about respect

Ohio State coach Ryan Day and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh were asked about the respect that they have for each other earlier this week.

Neither was in a hurry to praise the opposition as both coaches sidestepped the question.

“With everything going on and the things that are out there, we’ve just kind of stayed away from all the distractions. We have. And just focused on our team,” Ryan Day said. “And I think our guys have done a good job of it.”

Day is of course referring to the sign-stealing allegations that led to Jim Harbaugh being suspende for three games, including Saturday’s rivalry matchup against the Buckeyes.

“You know, I think when you talk to our guys, I’ve talked to them a couple of times about what’s gone on this season and going into the game. But they’re focused on this game, they’re focused on this season, they’re focused on their preparation,” Day said. “And we’re just going to continue on that.”

Harbaugh provided a similar answer, stating that he is only focused on his team.

“It’s all about our preparation for Ohio,” Harbaugh said. “You know, the days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game. You know, that’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves, planning, going to practice and then executing. So I mean, anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game week.”