Ohio State cheerleaders sneak in Buckeyes' traditional jibe at Michigan ahead of The Game - "It's tiXe" 

The game pitting the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Michigan Wolverines at the Big House is here, and everyone is contributing to the electric atmosphere in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes' cheerleading team know the stakes, and before the game kicked off, the team shared an Instagram post seemingly taking aim at Michigan.

The post was captioned with the 'M' for Michigan canceled with a red 'X':

"It’s TI❌E #gobucks #buckeyes #ohiostate #beatttun."

The pictures of one of the Buckeyes' cheerleaders, Avery Thielman, have been going viral in the past couple of weeks, and an appearance in 'The Game' will further boost her newfound fame.

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Are Ohio State the underdogs in 'The Game'?

The Ohio State Buckeyes had an uninterrupted nine-year winning run in 'The Game' before Jim Harbaugh broke the Michigan Wolverines' winless run by beating Ryan Day's team 45-27 in 2021.

Since then, the Michigan coach has built his team around a relentless running game, and the Wolverines have college football's most talented running back, Blake Corum.

On an episode of 'The Herd' in the leadup to the game, analyst Colin Cowherd made a claim about Jim Harbaugh and the Buckeyes that did not go down well with Buckeyes fans.

"Yesterday was your classic question to say something nice about Ryan Day, a coach that he now controls," Cowherd said.

"Harbaugh is completely in Ohio State's head. They are absolutely convinced that he is only winning doing it with cheating, advanced scouting. Nah, bro, that’s not it."

Cowherd then detailed why the Wolverines were the better team even though they were ranked No. 3, behind the Buckeyes' No. 2 ranking, because of their running game.

History favors the assertions made by Cowherd, as the Wolverines have rushed the most in the last 21 encounters, ending up on the winning side.

“Ohio State’s run game is eighth in the Big Ten. Not the country, it’s eighth in the Big Ten,” Cowherd continued.

“Michigan has one of the nation’s best run games. No. 2 in Power Five touchdowns. Why does that matter? The last 21 times Michigan and Ohio State have played, the team that rushed for more yards won 21-0."

It seems as if the Buckeyes are starting this encounter as the underdogs, which might suit them well as coach Ryan Day tries to get back the upper hand.