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Title hopes for Buckeyes, Wolverines resting on outcome
By JON SPENCER
Gannett News Service
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COLUMBUS - It's an act worthy of the Vegas strip and yet every member of the Ohio State football team could pull it off today.
Hypnotize them, tell them when they wake up they'll have the memory of someone who's been asleep for three years. Then snap your fingers. They'll know almost instantly it's Michigan Week.
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<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1'); </SCRIPT><!--10-24-05 TAN Autogen v1.0 --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript>var tcdacmd="sa=a;sz=3;ad";</SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://an.tacoda.net/an/12050/slf.js"></SCRIPT><!--End TAN--><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://anad.tacoda.net/cgi-bin/ads/ad12050a.cgi/v=2.0S/sz=300x250a/81550/RETURN-CODE/JS/"></SCRIPT><IFRAME marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://www.gannettonline.com/external/scripts/tocoda/gannettadtag_tocoda_300x250.html" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250></IFRAME></TD><TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"You can feel it ... everything feels different," free safety Nate Salley said. "The coaches are doing everything a little harder, the scout team has the (Michigan) helmets on in practice. All around campus it's 'Beat Michigan.' It's almost like another homecoming week. But you don't realize how important it is to everybody until you're on the field. It's electric out there."
It was that way last year in Ohio Stadium when quarterback Troy Smith was hoisted onto the shoulders of fans after lifting the Buckeyes to a 37-21 victory, spoiling Michigan's bid for an undisputed Big Ten championship.
It will be that way again Saturday in Ann Arbor, with title hopes of both teams riding on the outcome.
Here are the possible scenarios:
If Ohio State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) wins, it grabs at least a share of the conference title.
If Ohio State wins and Penn State (9-1, 6-1) loses at skidding Michigan State, the Buckeyes claim an outright crown and are the Big Ten's BCS representative.
If Penn State wins and Ohio State loses, the Nittany Lions are the undisputed champs.
If Ohio State and Penn State both win and share the title, Penn State wins the tiebreaker and automatic BCS berth because of its 17-10 victory over the Buckeyes.
If Michigan (7-3, 5-2) wins and Penn State loses, the three teams would earn a share of the Big Ten title with 6-2 records. The Wolverines would be the BCS representative because of wins over OSU and Penn State.
Asked after Saturday's 41-14 romp over Indiana when he started thinking about the Buckeyes, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, "Well, I don't think you ever stop thinking about them."
No doubt, Carr is obsessing a lot this week about Smith's record-breaking performance last year against the Wolverines. The Cleveland native amassed 386 yards - a new standard among Buckeyes in this storied series - by passing for 241 and rushing for 145. He threw for two scores and ran for another.
"As a youngster, I sort of took this rivalry for granted," Smith said, "but as soon as I took my first hit in the game, I understood what it was all about.
"Every yard is gold. One yard is worth two, two is worth four, and it goes on and on. That game is probably the highest-skill game of the year, regardless of whoever else we faced."
Linebacker Pierre Woods, Smith's teammate at Cleveland Glenville, is one of 11 Ohioans on the Michigan roster. The fifth-year guys like Woods and defensive tackle Patrick Massey, of Cleveland St. Ignatius, have witnessed only one Michigan win in this rivalry during their time on campus.
It's Jim Tressel 3, Lloyd Carr 1.
"The intensity will be through the roof," said Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable, of Massillon. "I hope they play their best because we're going to play our best. May the best man win."
In Ann Arbor, over the past two decades, it's usually been Michigan. The Buckeyes have won only once (2001) in their last eight visits. A 35-21 loss in 2003 cost Ohio State a shot at a second straight national championship.
"This game isn't for a BCS bowl or the Big Ten championship," OSU linebacker Bobby Carpenter said. "It's Ohio State-Michigan. Last year we realized that. That's why we won the game.
"You're playing for a pair of gold pants (the trinket OSU players are given for beating Michigan). You're playing because it's a rivalry game. That's it. It doesn't matter what else is at stake."
Originally published November 15, 2005
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