As No. 2 Ohio State prepares for its highly anticipated rivalry game against No. 3 Michigan on Saturday, one of the Buckeyes’ star players made his mindset clear.
“I’m very emotional,” cornerback Denzel Burke told reporters on Tuesday (via the Dayton Daily News). “I’m trying not to get out of character, but this game means a lot for us, and we’re gonna get it done for the state of Ohio.”
A third-year junior, Burke has yet to be a part of an Ohio State victory over the Wolverines. After the Buckeyes won eight straight editions of “The Game” from 2012-2019 and 17 of 19 games against Michigan from 2001-2019, Ohio State has lost its last two matchups against Michigan, with both determining who represented the Big Ten East in the conference title game.
A spot in the Big Ten Championship Game will once again be on the line this Saturday, as will a likely spot in the College Football Playoff. And while Burke didn’t outright guarantee that Michigan’s winning streak in the rivalry will end at two, he certainly came close.
“The last two years I’ve really got a different whole perspective, and we’ve got a different mentality coming into this game,” the 2021 third-team All-Big Ten selection said. “The history, the past couple years. The bad brawls, the respect for the coaches. Just doing it for the city of Columbus. It’s important here, and we’re gonna get it done.”
In addition to what’s at stake on the field for both unbeaten teams this Saturday, this year’s game will be played against the backdrop of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, which resulted in Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh being suspended for the final three games of the regular season. For Burke — who could declare for the NFL Draft following the season — Saturday represents even more than that, as it may be his final chance to add a win over the Buckeyes’ biggest rival to his résumé.
“This game is really just about respect for us, especially my class,” he said. “The last two years, we haven’t gotten it done. No gold pants, so we just gotta go out there and just be us.”
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