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Harbaugh strongly responds to criticism over Ohio State emphasis

Leon Halip / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State is as fierce as any in the country, but it's one that has been one-sided in recent years.

The Buckeyes have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the Big Ten opponents, including a perfect 3-0 record against current Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The recent struggles led Michigan legend Charles Woodson to question the team's approach to the annual contest while attending the Wolverines commencement in May.

"To be quite honest, I really feel like in recent years there hasn't been the emphasis I'm used to being put on that game," Woodson said, as per Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press. "Every game has been put on the same level as that game. That's not the way we were brought up. Not the way we were raised around here."

With Harbaugh attending a local football camp over the weekend, the fourth-year head coach had a chance to respond to those comments, doing so in blunt fashion.

While Woodson questioned the emphasis on the game, he also predicted the Wolverines would emerge victorious in this year's contest to be played in Columbus at the end of November.

That would make the 1997 Heisman winner a happy man, and would take a ton of pressure off Harbaugh's shoulders, as the 54-year-old has to be feeling the heat without a win against the hated rival.

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