Why Ohio State's football program is better than Michigan's. There is one rivalry in a sport that is known as the greatest of them all. It's not the Tobacco Road Rivalry, it's not the Iron Bowl, and it's not even the Red Sox versus the Yankees. According to ESPN, at the turn of the century, the greatest rivalry in sports was Ohio State versus Michigan in college football. While many Wolverine fans claim that Michigan's football program is the best, a variety of reasons show otherwise. Statistically, in the modern era of college football, Ohio State has been the better program. This can be supported by simple head-to-head records and championships, as well as complex football program ranking systems. Many Michigan fans' main counterargument in this debate will revolve around two things: the number of national titles they claim and the overall series record of 58-45-6 in Michigan's favor. These claims may seem valid, but upon closer examination, they have little validity in today's modernized version of college football. Additionally, Michigan's program is endemic with an elitism that has been destructive to other programs and has harmed its current program that is not present in Ohio State's program. It's important to look at the complete history of the rivalry before making a judgment on who the better program is. By the early 1900s, Michigan was one of the most dominant football programs in the country. With Fielding Yost's "Point-A-Minute" teams in the early 1900s, Michigan paved the way for on-field dominance. They have won six of their eleven national championships in the middle of the log......this can be attributed to the arrogance of the Michigan program and their reluctance to accept an "outsider" like Rodriguez, instead wanting a "Michigan Man ". Ohio State had no problem hiring outsiders like John Cooper, but unlike Michigan, they didn't fire him due to his immediate struggles. Cooper had his own pitfalls, like going 2-10-1 against Michigan and going 3-8 in bowl games. But because Ohio State wasn't as short-sighted as Michigan, they gave Cooper a chance that ultimately resulted in success, however small. Unlike Michigan, Ohio State's next head coach ended up with a very talented team, which won a national championship just two years after Cooper left. So, ultimately, Michigan's insistence on having a "Michigan Man" resulted in the current football program being in bad shape, something that would never happen at Ohio State..