Urban Meyer details 'Team Up North Week' he had Ohio State players do

The 120th edition of ‘The Game’ will take place this Saturday in Ann Arbor, pitting No. 1 Ohio State against rival No. 18 Michigan. The Wolverines have won four consecutive meetings in the matchup, which features the last two National Champions.

Along with being one of the best rivalries in all of college football, this game holds massive implications for the College Football Playoff race. The Buckeyes have been the No. 1 team in all three installments of the College Football Playoff Rankings, and could suffer a massive hit if they lose their fifth consecutive rivalry matchup to the Wolverines.

For Michigan, it has won five consecutive games since suffering a 31-13 road loss at USC on Oct. 11. If it can down its rival on Saturday, it would take a 10-2 (8-1) record into the College Football Playoff Selection Show. It may be too late for Sherrone Moore‘s squad, but they would certainly be in the conversation for an at-large bid.

Ahead of that matchup on Saturday, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer detailed ‘Team Up North Week’ he instilled in his program during his time at the helm. Meyer spent seven seasons as the head coach of Ohio State (2012-2018), where he was 7-0 against Michigan.

Meyer details ‘Team Up North Week’, testing players on ‘The Game’

“I was hired and Jim Tressel pushed (embracing ‘The Game’) obviously, so I got a garbage can and had all the equipment guys just take everything blue and throw it in there and take it out to the dump,” Meyer said on the latest edition of ‘The Triple Option‘ Podcast. “Every blue marker. If there was a blue eraser. Blue anything. It wasn’t silly, I just wanted to make sure that was an absolute priority. Put clocks all over the facility and we took ‘The Game’ and turned it into a 365 game.”

“What I mean by that is that we always had ‘Team Up North Week’. I was constantly running documentaries, because the further we started recruiting from the traditional Ohio base and you’re bringing in Texas guys and guys from St. Louis, I wanted them to learn, breathe, and live this rivalry. So it’s just non-stop education. I actually tested them on the rivalry. Then, in the summer, we did ‘Team Up North’ days and practices during training camp every third day where we had a ‘Team Up North’ period.”

Since Meyer stepped down as head coach following the 2018 season, the rivalry has been completely turned on its head. From 2012-2019, Ohio State won eight consecutive games against Michigan. The Wolverines however have now won four consecutive games in the rivalry, including a 13-10 victory over the eventual National Champions last season in Columbus.