The annual Ohio State-Michigan rivalry game brings out some of the most intense and visceral animosity in all of college football, and as such commands the attention of all Buckeyes and Wolverines alumni who have since made it to the NFL. That includes both a seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and one of the leading candidates for Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, both of whom have a lot riding on the outcome of this year's edition of "The Game."
On his Let's Go! podcast, Michigan product Tom Brady made a tongue-in-cheek bet with Houston Texans rookie NFL quarterback and Ohio State product C.J. Stroud -- if Ohio State beats Michigan, Stroud can have one of the seven Super Bowl rings that Brady won during his incomparable career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But if Michigan beats Ohio State, Stroud has to make good on a Faustian-level bargain.
"If Ohio State wins ... you get one of my Super Bowl rings. And if Michigan beats Ohio State, then you got to give me all your youth, your agility, your time in the 40 (yard dash) and all your future years in the NFL," Brady said. "How about that?"
"That's a bet," Stroud replied.
Even though it didn't sound like the bet was a particularly serious one, Brady let on that he perhaps should be a little nervous about putting one of his rings on the line. And there's due cause for that, as Ohio State and Michigan are on a collision course for maybe the most heated edition of their rivalry game yet.
After a nearly decade-long losing streak to Ohio State and being totally dominated by the Buckeyes for much of the past two decades, Michigan has won the last two matchups against Ohio State in 2021 and 2022. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are currently the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked teams in the country respectively, but Michigan is also in the crosshairs of the NCAA amidst a sign-stealing scandal that has led to the suspension of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
