Urban Meyer has remained a looming presence over the Big Ten, but in 2025 his influence takes on a new, almost poetic dimension. His coaching tree — already one of the most successful in modern college football — now stretches across the sport’s fiercest divide. Ohio State remains led by Ryan Day, Meyer’s handpicked successor. And in Ann Arbor, Michigan has turned to Kyle Whittingham, a coach Meyer once mentored and publicly championed.
The rivalry has seen plenty of twists. This one feels genealogical.
Meyer elevated Day quickly during his Ohio State tenure, trusting him with the offense and, eventually, the program itself. Day modernized the Buckeyes without abandoning the core tenets he absorbed under Meyer: tempo, precision, and relentless roster building. His teams have remained national contenders, and his lone meeting with Whittingham — the 2022 Rose Bowl — produced a 48–45 thriller.
Whittingham’s path is longer and more surprising. He spent two seasons as Meyer’s defensive coordinator at Utah, helping build the undefeated 2004 team that launched Meyer into national prominence. When Meyer left for Florida, he recommended Whittingham as his successor — a decision that shaped Utah football for two decades. Whittingham delivered championships, top‑25 finishes, and a reputation for toughness that Meyer himself repeatedly praised.
Now he arrives at Michigan, charged with stabilizing a program in transition. And he’ll do it using many of the same principles that once powered Meyer’s 7–0 run against the Wolverines.
That’s the irony: Michigan, long tormented by Meyer’s Ohio State teams, is now turning to one of Meyer’s protégés to rebuild. Ohio State, meanwhile, continues under another branch of the same tree.
Day and Whittingham share a mentor, but not a style. Day is an offensive technician; Whittingham is a defensive craftsman. Their philosophies diverge, but their roots intertwine — and that shared lineage adds a new layer to a rivalry already rich with history.
When they meet as head coaches of Ohio State and Michigan, it won’t just be another edition of The Game. It will be a collision of two branches of Urban Meyer’s legacy, shaping the rivalry he once dominated.
In a sport defined by tradition, this is a twist even Meyer might not have scripted.
