New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham made the worst possible admission at Big Ten Media Days in late July: He doesn't hate Ohio State.
"I just think a rivalry can be intense and emotional without the hatred factor. I don't think there's any place for that personally," he said at the podium. Whittingham later clarified those comments at a press conference held Monday, but it felt like he just doubled down on his stance.
#Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham on his comments about not hating Ohio State from Big Ten media days:
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 10, 2026
“Do we have a better chance of winning if I hated them? I don’t understand. Whatever gives us the best chance to win, I’m all for it. I want to beat them worst than anybody.” pic.twitter.com/e4fjLPBltT
“Do we have a better chance of winning if I hated them? I don’t understand," he attempted to explain. "Whatever gives us the best chance to win, I’m all for it. I want to beat them worst than anybody.”
The Wolverine fan base is one of the most passionate in the sport. After going through an embarrassing stretch of coaching controversies, one that eventually led to AD Warde Manuel stepping down, Whittingham was supposed to reinvigorate the program back to its 2024 national championship fervor. These comments do the exact opposite.
Kyle Whittingham's coaching seat is already warm after naive Michigan-Ohio State rivalry comments
Michigan lost its first game to Ohio State since 2019 last season. Despite enjoying a four-year stretch of victories (the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID), that defeat infuriated fans in Ann Arbor. Even though the Wolverines despised seeing the Buckeyes lift the national championship trophy the year prior, they clung to the fact that they could claim that title via the transitive property — Michigan stunned Ohio State in Columbus that same season.
The rivalry is petty. It's fierce. It stems from a literal war in our nation's history. If Whittingham doesn't appreciate the absolute hate that stems from the feud, he's not the right guy for the job. He could deliver every win for the entirety of his five-year contract, but if he's not at least 3-2 against Ohio State, well, he can ask Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day about how that can affect your public perception.
It's understandable that Whittingham may want to turn the temperature down on the vitriol that goes above and beyond what's appropriate for a sports rivalry. That's an honorable pursuit, but he has to realize the word "hate" in this context is just widely accepted in the competitive sense and not the deeply personal sense he's probably thinking of. Even if it's a performative answer, he needed to just say he hates Ohio State and he could've avoided this unnecessary story.
And unnecessary it truly is. We should be talking about the football this time of year, not Whittingham's personal views about Ohio State. Of course he gets along with Day and other head coaches; that's called being professional. But the "hate" he needed to accept about this rivalry is all just Americana. Heck, the entire state of Ohio doesn't use the letter "M" in November when The Game comes around.
The players also reflect the attitude of the head coach. He sets the tone for the culture, and if he's going to minimize The Game to the same level as he approached the Holy War at Utah, Wolverines fans are going to get a much more subdued disposition. That's not acceptable for the biggest rivlary in college football.
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