The biggest thing to note is that these schools are butting heads most over defensive players. With the way Michigan has improved on defense under Hoke and his heavily defensive mindset when it comes to building a team, this isn't much of a surprise. Michigan has committed itself to building an elite defense, and to do that in the Big Ten you have to mine talent from Ohio. Seth at MGoBlog did a wonderful two part post on just what kind of priority level a Michigan coach has to put on Ohio recruiting to succeed.
Michigan has, so far, done a good job of actually going into Ohio and getting the players Hoke and co. want. Eight future or present Wolverines (2012-2014) had Ohio State offers, and that number could climb with commitments from Laquon Treadwell and Derrick Green.
Steve over at Tremendous goes deep into the strategies each school uses to recruit, and how recruits tend to react to those strategies. Through it all one thing becomes clear: Brady Hoke and his staff are doing a good job selling Michigan, and that resonates with some recruits.
There has been quite a slowdown in recruiting these past few months -- the cost of filling up your class by June -- but as winter approaches we will once again move into the busy season, and Michigan-Ohio State will be at the forefront once again.