COLUMBUS, Ohio –– The Michigan countdown clock that hangs in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center ticked all the way down to three days and 20-some hours before it was abruptly stopped in its tracks.
The Game between Ohio State and Michigan was canceled for the first time in more than a century on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the rivalry stops for the year in Columbus.
As any member of the Buckeye program will tell you, Ohio State lives and breathes it all year long, so it’s only fitting that hardly a moment passed in the team facility before the countdown clock was reset to 353 days and change.
“I grabbed one of our operations guys, Austin, I said, ‘Austin go change it now,’” Ohio State strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti said Thursday on 97.1 The Fan. “So by the time they got out of the locker room and walking down the hallway, they were going to see that number again.”
When news became public, several Ohio State players and coaches had just finished discussing the importance of the rivalry game with the media, and sixth-year linebacker and team captain Justin Hilliard was caught mid-interview when Michigan made its announcement.
Minutes earlier, head coach Ryan Day and defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs were answering questions about how deflating it would be to see The Game get canceled, but Marotti said it was just par for the course with how this tumultuous year has been.
“I laugh because nothing really surprises me through this last eight months,” Marotti said. “We’ve been the highest of high, we’ve been the lowest of low.”
He wasn’t the only one that got a laugh in amid the disappointment though. Marotti said some of the older Buckeyes got a real kick out of seeing how quickly the Michigan countdown clock was reset on Tuesday, although reactions ran the full gamut.
“It might’ve brought some fear into some guys, like, ‘Oh my goodness, we’ve got 300 and whatever days,’” Marotti said. “It’s funny, guys that are trying to decide whether they should come back to school, maybe I helped them a little bit like, ‘I think I’m gonna head onto the NFL, there’s too many days there.’”
In the ever-changing COVID landscape though, it wasn’t long before the Buckeyes got some positive news that worked to offset the cancellation.
RELATED: Day says OSU in ‘pretty good place’ with players, coaches returning
On Wednesday, the Big Ten ruled that Ohio State would advance to the conference title game despite having played only five games –– one less than the Big Ten’s original six-game minimum for participation.
“It kind of was a little numbing to be honest with you,” Marotti said. “You just show up for work, OK let’s see what happens today. Obviously there was disappointment because we prepare for this game for 365 days a year, and we just didn’t know. And then the next day, we’re gonna be able to play in the championship game.”
Despite three cancellations in the past five weeks, championship hopes are still alive for the Buckeyes, whether conference or national, which has to be some consolation.
Day said his players have become “hardened” by the events of this season, and to that end, the countdown clock may just have served as a reminder that time keeps on ticking no matter how discouraging the events of the day.
“Once again, you just got to keep these guys even keel and moving forward and do the best job you can keeping their emotions in check,” Marotti said.
