Ohio State fans are well aware how much Michigan football needs the state of Ohio to prosper. Benny Friedman, an outstanding quarterback and arguably the first "great" passer in college football, went to Michigan from Cleveland's Glenville High School in 1923. The iconic coach who coined the term "Michigan Man" (and won exactly zero national championships), Bo Schembechler, was from Barberton. Two of Michigan's three Heisman winners—Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson—were from Cleveland and Fremont.
This is not confined to Michigan's distant past either. 22 players on the roster came to Michigan from Ohio, a fact that will be repeated through Saturday's broadcast.