As bitter Big Ten rivals, one would think that Michigan players would have been beside themselves with joy watching Ohio State‘s 14—3 Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri on Friday night. But that wasn’t necessarily the case for one Wolverines player.
As Michigan prepares for its own bowl game, a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Alabama on Monday, the program attended Rose Bowl Media Day on Saturday.
Wolverines senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins dropped an honest statement about how he digested the Buckeyes’ loss to the Tigers on Friday night.
“I’m a hater,” Jenkins said [via] Brett McMurphy of Action Network]. “So obviously—3-0 (vs. Ohio State) I’m a hater—but that ain’t the team we played against on 25th of November. It wasn’t sad. But dang man. You feel me? Does that make sense? Your rival, y’all hate each other, but you want them to play good.
“But that was tough to watch.”
The Michigan defender is basically saying that while he still hates Ohio State, he wants them to do well when they’re not playing against his squad. While it’s almost certainly not how all of his teammates feel, Jenkins’s logic makes sense.
If Ohio State only loses to Michigan, it makes the Wolverines look that much better. Jenkins and company will get the chance to show the country just how good their team is starting on New Year’s Day against the Crimson Tide.
