Terry Foster: Harbaugh And Meyer Could Turn Into Bo And Woody
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
Former Ohio State punter Tom Skladany remembers when coach Woody Hayes stopped practice and point toward the Lincoln or Morrill Towers and began screaming.
"Look up there," he told his team. "Bo's got one of his guys up there spying on our practice. That no good son of a bitch."
Players saw nothing, but became angry anyway because Woody convinced them that Bo Schembechler and the Michigan Wolverines were spying.
Skladany, who played at Ohio State from 1974-76, misses the bitter days of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. That is why he doesn't mind current Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh stirring up things between the Wolverines and Buckeyes on twitter.
"I think it is the funniest thing because we've got to get the life back in the tradition," Skladany said. "Every year I played this game was for the Big Ten title, the number one ranking or the Rose Bowl. It has lost its luster. Michigan wasn't competitive."
Harbaugh created a stir when he tweeted at Ohio State Gene Smith who said "If we were jump starting our program, I'd probably do the same" referring to Michigan holding practices in Florida.
That caused Harbaugh to fire back on twitter: "Good to see Director Smith being relevant again after the tattoo fiasco. Welcome back."
Smith apologized, saying he meant no disrespect to Michigan. But players Braxton Miller and Ezekiel Elliott got involved too causing a three-ring circus.
Skladany said there are some oddities to Harbaugh's behavior but that he is doing everything he can to make Michigan relevant again. The Wolverines have lost 10 of their last 11 games to Ohio State and 12 of the last 14 times. Here is another oddity. The Buckeyes have scored 42 points in each of the last three games and five times during this run.
Harbaugh is doing when he must do to reverse this trend.
"That is kind of weird with the sleepovers. That puts too much pressure on a kid," Skladany said. "But he knows how to get in the paper, on the Internet, on Twitter. That is the whole world now. People believe in what they perceive and they talk about it. He is doing what he has to do to get Michigan football back on top. I think it is great. I think it is funny. He even got our AD into the fight and comes right back and slams him. It is great that both teams are pissed off."
Skladany said Hayes prepared for Michigan every week during the season unless the Buckeyes were playing a huge non-conference game or Michigan State. Other than that he would coach against Michigan and then throw in things for the upcoming opponent on Friday.
Bo vs Woody was magic. Urban Meyer vs Harbaugh can yield the same sparks.
"I think (the rivalry) is back," Skladany said. "You have two strong and vibrant egos and you have a lot of talent. Harbaugh is doing great on recruiting and he is pissing people off. He knows what he is doing. They are throwing jabs at each other. There is tension between the two teams, hopefully. He has brought the fire back to the Wolves."
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)