You’ve likely heard the unfortunate news of legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler’s passing. Our condolences go out to Michigan fans and Schembechler’s friends and family. He was an absolute legend. He coached the Wolverines from 1969-1989 and won 194 of the 247 games he coached in Ann Arbor. In that time, he made 10 Rose Bowl appearances and won 13 Big Ten Championships. He’ll be remembered for the love he had for this Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, the biggest rivalry in college football. His passing has made tomorrow’s game between #1 Ohio St. and #2 Michigan even more epic.

Schembechler went 5-4-1 versus Ohio St. coach Woody Hayes in their famed “Ten Year War”, between 1969-1978. Between 1970-1975, both teams were ranked in the top five when they met. But they were never #1 and #2. Until tomorrow. While he never won a national championship while coaching Michigan, the success Schembechler had against Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes made him a legend.

As if Michigan needed more motivation. They’re one win away from the National Championship Game on January 8th in Phoenix. Better yet, they can deny their hated rivals at the same time. Now they have another thing to play for: the memory of a Michigan legend. The tribute that will be given to Schembechler makes this game even more special. We all expected last year’s USC-Texas Rose Bowl to be a special game. This one should be the same. There’s so many storylines that make this game the biggest in the history of the rivalry.

What better way to honor Schembechler than knocking off Ohio St. in Columbus? Now all that’s left to do is to beat arguably the most talented team in the nation…coached by arguably the best coach in the nation…while doing it in front of over 100,000 in the Horse Shoe.