Jim Harbaugh reading up on 'Everything Great About Ohio State Football,' with a twist
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh is a historian, and he’s surely aware of the famous quote by ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu that says: “Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.”
Naturally, Ohio State has been Michigan’s chief enemy since the two teams began playing in 1897, when the Wolverines battered the Buckeyes, 34-0 at Regents Field in Ann Arbor.
On a daily basis over the course of the year, Harbaugh, his staff and his players prepare for the next season’s clash with Ohio State — somehow, someway. That’s why, while amusing, it wasn’t overly surprising that a book named ‘Everything Great About Ohio State Football’ was spotted on the coffee table in Harbaugh’s office on a picture posted to social media by 2025 linebacker recruit Mantrez Walker.
The book, authored by Jerret Sherenco, claims on the cover that it’s “the undisputed compendium” on Ohio State football.
But there’s a twist: Every single page in the book is blank.
Sherenco’s piece — which can be purchased for $6.99 — is listed within Amazon’s “humor and entertainment” section.
“Never before has the rich history of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team been so thoroughly examined — from their first game in 1890 up to today’s modern era and the greatest rivalry matchup in college sports known simply as ‘The Game,'” the back of the paperback reads.
“Be amazed at how concisely, yet with such vivid detail, a single book can convey the findings of hundreds of hours of research spent pouring through digitized historical archives and the most comprehensive sports analytics datasets. Nearly a thousand interviews were conducted with current and former coaches, players and their families, journalists, sousaphone ‘i’-dotters, mascots, superfans, rivals and highly paid data scientist consultants to present this collection of stories, statistics and facts in ‘The Undisputed Way,’ as true fans would expect.
“Everyone compassionate about the Buckeyes will agree that this compendium captures… EVERYTHING GREAT ABOUT OHIO STATE FOOTBALL.”
It’s all in good fun, of course. Harbaugh has immense respect for Ohio State and the history of the rivalry. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he actually were reading up on the late former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, someone Harbaugh has said he admires, or the program itself.
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“There’s no need to hate,” Harbaugh said before his Michigan team embarrassed the Buckeyes on their home field in November. “Be grateful for the opponent. It’s like superheroes. It’s through a strong opponent that you find out who you are.”
Harbaugh has etched a couple more recent chapters into the rivalry’s lore over the last two seasons, turning around Michigan’s fortunes and beating the Buckeyes by a combined score of 97-50.
After the aforementioned 45-23 Michigan victory at Ohio State this past November, Wolverine players grabbed their ‘M’ flag and planted at midfield of Ohio Stadium.
Asked if the flag plant would add any more fuel to the rivalry, Harbaugh said he feels like there’s already enough, and that’s what makes it fun.
“I want to get that flag and put it in our museum,” Harbaugh said, noting it’s just another chapter in the rivalry. “I think there’s already plenty of fuel to the rivalry. They have songs, the one about they don’t give a damn about the whole state of Michigan.
“It’s all good. It’s been going on for a century, don’t you think? It’s all good.”
This latest move is all good, too — even as great of a read as Sherenco’s book.
