Kyle Whittingham may not know it yet, but despite being on the sidelines for two Rose Bowls, he will be coaching the most important game of his life in November.
After 22 seasons with Utah, Whittingham made the move to Ann Arbor to take over the Michigan Wolverines following Sherrone Moore's firing.
It's a whole new world for Whittingham, with Michigan's rivalries perhaps stronger than any Utah has had.
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And of course, there's arguably the best rivalry in all of sports with Ohio State.
Whittingham, though, is not focused on the Buckeyes just yet.
"I haven't learned really much more than I already knew. It's a national game. Everybody knows about it. It's 'The Game' as we call it. It's of great importance to both sides, obviously. But I'm an old-school coach. We got 11 games that we play before that, so we're not going to get ahead of ourselves," Whittingham said at Big Ten Media Day this week.
"Make no mistake, I understand the implications that it has... Very well-versed in what it means, the intensity of it, the national allure that it has. Our players are the same. I mean, everybody knows that that game's looming out there. I think the best-case scenario comes down to that 12th game. That's for all the marbles in the Big Ten. I think that would be ideal. Hopefully that happens."
Later on, he was asked if he'd learned to "hate" Ohio State.
Not yet.
"Hate's a strong word," Whittingham admitted.
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"But I want to win that game as badly as anybody in Ann Arbor. And like I said early on, what better scenario would there be is if that game came down to the championship in the Big Ten? That would be outstanding. We'll see what happens."
The rivalry took its ugliest turn in recent memory during the 2024 edition, when the unranked Wolverines went to Columbus as three-touchdown underdogs and upset the second-ranked Buckeyes. An ugly brawl ensued after Michigan players planted the university's flag on the OSU logo at midfield that led to police using mace. Ohio State got the last laugh when it wound up winning the national title.
After Ohio State snapped its four–game losing streak this past November at The Big House, Michigan players guarded their own midfield logo.
So, given what's happened in the last couple of years, Whittingham will learn soon enough.
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