Ohio State 42, Michigan
39
Does 12-0 match 14-0?
With one more win it will.
But let’s enjoy the moment. Ah…that terrible Wolverine stench is
getting further and further away, back to their home state, no doubt crying their heads off either out of sadness or desperation,
humiliation or complaint.
That doesn’t matter. 42-39 matters.
It’s the experience that makes Ohio
State football what it is, and the pride that showed in Buckeye fans
today was as great as it has ever been. Never was the stadium more pumped, never the jubilation so great.
ScUM has been put in its place again.
Not only by the OSU team, but by our fans and our band. OSU football is the
greatest experience in the world, and today only bolstered the proof of that comment.
At 5-1 against Michigan,
if Tressel retired today he would go down as the greatest coach in OSU history. At 3-0 against Michigan how can we not consider Troy Smith the greatest quarterback in OSU history. And
how about the defense? I thought last year’s squad was good. Football is best when defense is most crushing, and OSU
showed Michigan today the meaning of toughness.
ESPN reported Friday that Michigan’s
toughness could be the difference maker in the game. And the USA Today pictured a pumped Michigan
team on the front page. The Bucks showed once again how little sportswriters know. This is a team for the ages. Enjoy the
memories while they’re still fresh in your mind, that is, if you can force yourself to overcome your state of awe.
The Buckeyes proved that once again blue and urine-yellow are ugly colors.
They proved that the Victors is just too simple and too boring of a fight song to carry a team to victory. They showed, at
least for the most part, that OSU outclasses Michigan in
every respect. They showed that our fans are better. Our stadium is better. Our state is better. And our team is light years
ahead of Lloyd Carr. And Chad Henne…what
a bitch (Thank you Dead Schembechlers for spreading this word.)
Alas, let’s get back to Hineygate. Perhaps even Karen Holbrook was proud
of this one.
Notes: Ohio State vs. Michigan 2006
It’s the game of the century, right?
Well, history says that games with this much hype rarely are the thrillers predicted.
Ohio
State (11-0) vs. Michigan
(11-0) breaks tradition this year with a 3:30 kickoff. Never before has it been dark at the conclusion of the game.
Ohio
State and Michigan
have played just once before on November 18th. That was in 2000, when Ohio
State took an early 9-0 lead but lost the contest 38-26 to the Wolverines.
Nate Clements returned the opening kickoff to the 19-yard line of Michigan.
Jonathan Wells scored an early touchdown and David Mitchell had an interception in the first quarter. A missed extra point
spelled bad things to come as Anthony Thomas scored on a long touchdown to get the Wolverines on the board. Dan Stultz kicked
a field goal just before halftime, but Michigan would only
expand its 14-12 advantage to 31-12 in the second half. OSU mounted a furious rally but could not stop Drew Henson from scoring
a final clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Michigan
graced the cover of the USA Today Sports section Friday. This has been known to be a jinx on teams, but not nearly as much
as the Sports Illustrated curse.
Michigan enters the game having faced Northwestern,
Ball State and Indiana, but Ohio State has not had a terribly difficult time either with Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois and
Northwestern, although the last two were on the road.
Troy Smith is 2-0 against Michigan
and has lost just twice as a starting quarterback at Ohio State, beating out Craig Krenzel in that department. Krenzel finished 2-1 against Michigan. Troy
hopes to beat that record as well.
Smith needs a big game to secure the Heisman.
His numbers are not terribly gaudy – not even 2,200 passing yards entering the game. If Ohio State loses, Chad Henne could end up with
the trophy.
The Ohio State student section plans to form another
“red out” by wearing all red. Other plans include to turn their backs when the Michigan team takes the field and to bring whistles to the game to create a horribly awful
noise.
The last times a National title was on
the line for either team:
2002
Ohio State
OSU 14-9
1997
Michigan
Mich. 20-14
1996
Ohio State
Mich. 13-9
1993
Ohio State
Mich. 28-0
