1. CAN WE SLOW THINGS DOWN?
Seven games. More than half the season. It is going so fast. Too fast. It is like sex with your baby sitter. You looked forward to it for so long and it is over before you know it.
I just want to savor it. Record it and watch it over and over. Same with the football games.
There are only five chocolates left in the box. Never mind that four of them are coconut filled and only one has that rich caramel filling. Eat them slowly (must resist the urge to switch back to the baby sitter analogy). Roll them around in your mouth. You won't see a box of chocolates like this again any time soon.
2. 1974 AND 1998
The curse is buried. Turns out it really wasn't about our rating and the color of their uniforms after all. It was about the coaching and the quality of your team.
If you don't have either you can't pull the upset.
3. 1712
This is the game to keep in mind this week. That year Thee Ohio State University was considered to have the best team in the nation before falling to Indiana.
OK, we weren't really a nation quite yet, and there were only four sportswriters around and they were split on whether the best team was OSU or Yale Community College. And alright, they weren't really called "Indiana" at the time either. But they were from Indian country and centered much closer to what is now Bloomington that what is now Ann Arbor. And at the end of the game their fans WERE yelling "Hoosier Daddy?"
But in any case, it was a big game. Tickets prices were outrageous (scalpers were much harder to deal with in Indian territory) and we were heavy favorites.
Unfortunately we were caught by surprise when IU ran a couple of Timucuan Indians onto the field. We were simply no match for that Florida speed.
So don't forget - THIS is REVENGE week!
And for you trivia buffs - that was also Keith Jackson's first game. He did it from horseback. In fact there was an incident in the third quarter where his horse (Nellie) might have changed the outcome of the game by entering the field during a play. Fortunately Keith yelled "Whoa!" at the last second and avoided a game changing moment.
4. 1969
There are certain truisms in sports that you can rely on.
Phil Mickelson can't win a major.
Mack Brown can't beat Oklahoma.
IVoyd Carr can't beat Jim Tressel.
Well, Phil has now won three majors. And Brown has beaten OU the last two times out.
I don't know what accounts for Mickelson's turnaround (if there is a "turnaround" to be accounted for), but in Mack Brown's case I would chalk it up to the second most important position in college football - the Defensive Coordinator (a position I would rank just ahead of the OC).
When you look closely at JT's record in 5 plus years there is one stretch that stands out as an anomaly. In 2004 we lost three straight games to three inferior opponents. Not something JT has done before, or since. In that stretch we gave up NINETY points. NINETY!
And at the end of the season we changed DCs. 2004 was Mark Snyder's only season. The players tried to make nice, but I remember comments about not being able to attack the ball and feeling that they were constrained by the schemes they had played in 2004.
Well, guess who changed DCs last season? And the comments I am reading from Michigan players are almost identical to those I heard about Snyder. This is a very good Michigan team and a very different Michigan team than we have played in some time. They have always had the talent. And now they are using it.
They lead the nation in rushing defense - giving up a remarkable 32.6 yards per game. Granted, other than ND they have faced no great offenses. But other than Texas neither have we. I know it is blasphemous, but they are good. Scary good. As good as we are.
I was a student at OSU in 1969. I was also a student the year before when we destroyed a one loss Michigan team 50-14. I was never more confident of a win than when we went to Ann Arbor in 1969 with an undefeated team that had not won by less than 27 points all season.
I have bad feelings about this game. But don't let that throw anyone off their feed. I had very bad feelings about our visit to Austin and I almost didn't go to Tempe for the NC game in 2002 because I didn't believe we had a serious chance to win. So despite what my wife and my psychiatrist keep telling me I do not trust my feelings.
But as we look forward to the biggest OSU-Michigan game in the history of the series, if you want to focus your attention around a particular game - remember 1969. I sure do.
5. PITCHING THE SHUTOUT
That was pretty cheesy. I wanted that shutout. Coaches are quick to holler when you don't call off the dogs during a rout. But it needs to work both ways. If you want the pain to stop go off tackle and run the clock.
But I also understand JL's desire to put points on the board and give his team some sort of boost going into next week. Anything that will keep him at MSU for another year or two I am all for. The league won't be the same when he is gone.
6. BEST BROADCAST LINE
"It looks like Pittman has injured one of his lower legs."
7. TROY SMITH
Perfection. Simply the best.
8. PITCOCK
Has Patterson been holding him back? He made two of the nicest plays by a DT I have seen since 2002. And much of the game we were playing a three man line. A beast!
9. HARTLINE
Pitcock had a heck of a game, but guess who tied him with four tackles? I thought it was a typo at first, but I checked it out. MSU had 6 kickoff returns and Hartline made the tackle on four of those.
10. REVERSES
Let's roll the clock back a few years. Remember the "OC" thread? Everyone wanted a new OC because JT was just too darned conservative. Too vanilla. Too predictable.
We had some folks on the board who said they followed him when he was at YSU and to just relax. "He designs his offense around the talent on the team." they said. We rightfully pooh-poohed them.
And here we are with back to back reverses. Hello Ron English. Enjoying the film?
11. FIELD POSITION
JT stresses it. You have to control field position if you want to control the game. So, if a team starts one drive from their own 44, one from their 48, one from your 48 and one from your 31 they are certainly going to put some points on the board, right?
I guess not. Those were four starting points for MSU and on those four drives they netted -2 yards.
Not bad D. Not bad at all.
12. WE CAN TRUST THE BCS NOW
I know we just had to win out and go to the NC game - at least I like to think so. But I don't trust the voters - or the computers. Not since Hawk lost the Butkus and Julia Roberts won an Academy Award.
Nothing against Julia. I love her to death. I even have a recurring dream where she is my baby sitter. Well, not a dream really. What do you call it when you are awake? Oh yeah. A fantasy. Anyhow, where was I? I like her; I just never saw her deliver an Academy Award level performance. Same for Posluszny (except for the fantasy part).
Anyhow, now it is a lock. Win five and go to Tempe. No more worries about a back door from the SEC.
And did anyone notice that the BCS computer polls have West Virginia rated 14th - behind both Louisville and Rutgers.
13. STANTON IS A WIMP - NOT
Football players go through a lot. Bruises, cuts, sprains, strains and breaks. Being bitten, choked, kicked, tickled and punched. Colliding with everything from another player to a goal post to a photographer to a cooler. Rough business.
So why did the announcers make such a big deal out of Favre - I mean Stanton - having to drill through his nail to relieve pressure after a jam? Hell, I have done that and I am a total wuss.
All that said, it was painful to watch what he went through Saturday. (I felt particularly empathetic when I saw him getting a massage after the Pitcock sack knowing there would be no happy ending.)
Heroic performance in the context of a team that was at best half a step from quitting altogether. Except of course for Drew "thank you sir, may I have another" Stanton.
14. NEGATIVE STAT OF THE WEEK
Seven kick offs with an average net yards of 37.1. Weak. Wind or not.
15. POSITIVE STAT OF THE WEEK
Kurt Coleman, Austin Spitler, and Aaron Gant combined for 11 tackles.
16. COACHING MOVE OF THE GAME
The back to back reverses have to finish second. I will go with Beanie on short yardage the very next opportunity following the fumble.
17. DRIVE OF THE GAME
My favorite was the last TD. We ran on every first and second down, passing only if we got to third down. It wasn't unpredictable. It was text book "here we come what you gonna do about it" football. The only exception was after a first down penalty when we threw for 24 to Gonzo on first down. Execution was near flawless. A thirteen play clock eating drive that lead to a score. Textbook.
18. THE MEANING OF CLASS
OK, we have had our moments. I winced when I heard Germany received a 0.0 GPA. I shook my head when I heard about Katz summer schedule. I was appalled by the Wilhelm choking (my bad, make that Reynolds) and embarrassed by the continuing saga of MoC.
But through it all I believed that OSU was a class institution. I felt that in the overwhelming percentage of instances we did things right and I thought that was important. Until today.
Today I have been convinced that class is overrated. And who has changed my mind? Why the Miami fans of course!
I have visited their board and read posts by people who were proud to see the old swagger return. Proud to see the team honorably defend the home turf. But I still wasn't getting it until I read the following post:
"i mean seriously what does it mean? how does the class and cleanliness of a college football propgram effect your lives? like whats the point of it? has it ever caused miami not to be good? people always bring up class and its pretty much irrelevant. ok other fans say miami has no class. what have they accomplished? i dont get what this enfatuation with having class and upstanding citizens on your football team means"
Ah yes. I finally understand. The Miami brawl. That is what intercollegiate athletics are all about.
Time for the NCAA to make a statement about that incident.
19. LAST CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR
We all know how it works. We have our routines. Little things we do before each game and so long as we keep winning we don't change ANYTHING!
But sometimes funny things happen. You are really worried about the Texas game, but that afternoon your toilet overflows and we win 24-7. So now every Saturday you are clogging, flushing and mopping. You don't dare tell the truth to your wife who is now threatening divorce if you don't call a "real" plumber. But there is too much at stake. You MUST follow the ritual.
Well, it is safe now. We have a four week stretch where you really can't change the outcome of the game. So quit clogging the toilet. Wash those lucky underwear. Take three bites of egg instead of two before each sip of Orange Juice.
And by all means plan some new, pleasant, traditions and start them this Saturday. Go to your favorite restaurant Friday night. Eat an entire cheese cake. Have sex with your baby sitter. Go commando.
But be ready to do it every week because whatever ritual you settle on you MUST be prepared to follow it the week of November 18th.
Seven games. More than half the season. It is going so fast. Too fast. It is like sex with your baby sitter. You looked forward to it for so long and it is over before you know it.
I just want to savor it. Record it and watch it over and over. Same with the football games.
There are only five chocolates left in the box. Never mind that four of them are coconut filled and only one has that rich caramel filling. Eat them slowly (must resist the urge to switch back to the baby sitter analogy). Roll them around in your mouth. You won't see a box of chocolates like this again any time soon.
2. 1974 AND 1998
The curse is buried. Turns out it really wasn't about our rating and the color of their uniforms after all. It was about the coaching and the quality of your team.
If you don't have either you can't pull the upset.
3. 1712
This is the game to keep in mind this week. That year Thee Ohio State University was considered to have the best team in the nation before falling to Indiana.
OK, we weren't really a nation quite yet, and there were only four sportswriters around and they were split on whether the best team was OSU or Yale Community College. And alright, they weren't really called "Indiana" at the time either. But they were from Indian country and centered much closer to what is now Bloomington that what is now Ann Arbor. And at the end of the game their fans WERE yelling "Hoosier Daddy?"
But in any case, it was a big game. Tickets prices were outrageous (scalpers were much harder to deal with in Indian territory) and we were heavy favorites.
Unfortunately we were caught by surprise when IU ran a couple of Timucuan Indians onto the field. We were simply no match for that Florida speed.
So don't forget - THIS is REVENGE week!
And for you trivia buffs - that was also Keith Jackson's first game. He did it from horseback. In fact there was an incident in the third quarter where his horse (Nellie) might have changed the outcome of the game by entering the field during a play. Fortunately Keith yelled "Whoa!" at the last second and avoided a game changing moment.
4. 1969
There are certain truisms in sports that you can rely on.
Phil Mickelson can't win a major.
Mack Brown can't beat Oklahoma.
IVoyd Carr can't beat Jim Tressel.
Well, Phil has now won three majors. And Brown has beaten OU the last two times out.
I don't know what accounts for Mickelson's turnaround (if there is a "turnaround" to be accounted for), but in Mack Brown's case I would chalk it up to the second most important position in college football - the Defensive Coordinator (a position I would rank just ahead of the OC).
When you look closely at JT's record in 5 plus years there is one stretch that stands out as an anomaly. In 2004 we lost three straight games to three inferior opponents. Not something JT has done before, or since. In that stretch we gave up NINETY points. NINETY!
And at the end of the season we changed DCs. 2004 was Mark Snyder's only season. The players tried to make nice, but I remember comments about not being able to attack the ball and feeling that they were constrained by the schemes they had played in 2004.
Well, guess who changed DCs last season? And the comments I am reading from Michigan players are almost identical to those I heard about Snyder. This is a very good Michigan team and a very different Michigan team than we have played in some time. They have always had the talent. And now they are using it.
They lead the nation in rushing defense - giving up a remarkable 32.6 yards per game. Granted, other than ND they have faced no great offenses. But other than Texas neither have we. I know it is blasphemous, but they are good. Scary good. As good as we are.
I was a student at OSU in 1969. I was also a student the year before when we destroyed a one loss Michigan team 50-14. I was never more confident of a win than when we went to Ann Arbor in 1969 with an undefeated team that had not won by less than 27 points all season.
I have bad feelings about this game. But don't let that throw anyone off their feed. I had very bad feelings about our visit to Austin and I almost didn't go to Tempe for the NC game in 2002 because I didn't believe we had a serious chance to win. So despite what my wife and my psychiatrist keep telling me I do not trust my feelings.
But as we look forward to the biggest OSU-Michigan game in the history of the series, if you want to focus your attention around a particular game - remember 1969. I sure do.
5. PITCHING THE SHUTOUT
That was pretty cheesy. I wanted that shutout. Coaches are quick to holler when you don't call off the dogs during a rout. But it needs to work both ways. If you want the pain to stop go off tackle and run the clock.
But I also understand JL's desire to put points on the board and give his team some sort of boost going into next week. Anything that will keep him at MSU for another year or two I am all for. The league won't be the same when he is gone.
6. BEST BROADCAST LINE
"It looks like Pittman has injured one of his lower legs."
7. TROY SMITH
Perfection. Simply the best.
8. PITCOCK
Has Patterson been holding him back? He made two of the nicest plays by a DT I have seen since 2002. And much of the game we were playing a three man line. A beast!
9. HARTLINE
Pitcock had a heck of a game, but guess who tied him with four tackles? I thought it was a typo at first, but I checked it out. MSU had 6 kickoff returns and Hartline made the tackle on four of those.
10. REVERSES
Let's roll the clock back a few years. Remember the "OC" thread? Everyone wanted a new OC because JT was just too darned conservative. Too vanilla. Too predictable.
We had some folks on the board who said they followed him when he was at YSU and to just relax. "He designs his offense around the talent on the team." they said. We rightfully pooh-poohed them.
And here we are with back to back reverses. Hello Ron English. Enjoying the film?
11. FIELD POSITION
JT stresses it. You have to control field position if you want to control the game. So, if a team starts one drive from their own 44, one from their 48, one from your 48 and one from your 31 they are certainly going to put some points on the board, right?
I guess not. Those were four starting points for MSU and on those four drives they netted -2 yards.
Not bad D. Not bad at all.
12. WE CAN TRUST THE BCS NOW
I know we just had to win out and go to the NC game - at least I like to think so. But I don't trust the voters - or the computers. Not since Hawk lost the Butkus and Julia Roberts won an Academy Award.
Nothing against Julia. I love her to death. I even have a recurring dream where she is my baby sitter. Well, not a dream really. What do you call it when you are awake? Oh yeah. A fantasy. Anyhow, where was I? I like her; I just never saw her deliver an Academy Award level performance. Same for Posluszny (except for the fantasy part).
Anyhow, now it is a lock. Win five and go to Tempe. No more worries about a back door from the SEC.
And did anyone notice that the BCS computer polls have West Virginia rated 14th - behind both Louisville and Rutgers.
13. STANTON IS A WIMP - NOT
Football players go through a lot. Bruises, cuts, sprains, strains and breaks. Being bitten, choked, kicked, tickled and punched. Colliding with everything from another player to a goal post to a photographer to a cooler. Rough business.
So why did the announcers make such a big deal out of Favre - I mean Stanton - having to drill through his nail to relieve pressure after a jam? Hell, I have done that and I am a total wuss.
All that said, it was painful to watch what he went through Saturday. (I felt particularly empathetic when I saw him getting a massage after the Pitcock sack knowing there would be no happy ending.)
Heroic performance in the context of a team that was at best half a step from quitting altogether. Except of course for Drew "thank you sir, may I have another" Stanton.
14. NEGATIVE STAT OF THE WEEK
Seven kick offs with an average net yards of 37.1. Weak. Wind or not.
15. POSITIVE STAT OF THE WEEK
Kurt Coleman, Austin Spitler, and Aaron Gant combined for 11 tackles.
16. COACHING MOVE OF THE GAME
The back to back reverses have to finish second. I will go with Beanie on short yardage the very next opportunity following the fumble.
17. DRIVE OF THE GAME
My favorite was the last TD. We ran on every first and second down, passing only if we got to third down. It wasn't unpredictable. It was text book "here we come what you gonna do about it" football. The only exception was after a first down penalty when we threw for 24 to Gonzo on first down. Execution was near flawless. A thirteen play clock eating drive that lead to a score. Textbook.
18. THE MEANING OF CLASS
OK, we have had our moments. I winced when I heard Germany received a 0.0 GPA. I shook my head when I heard about Katz summer schedule. I was appalled by the Wilhelm choking (my bad, make that Reynolds) and embarrassed by the continuing saga of MoC.
But through it all I believed that OSU was a class institution. I felt that in the overwhelming percentage of instances we did things right and I thought that was important. Until today.
Today I have been convinced that class is overrated. And who has changed my mind? Why the Miami fans of course!
I have visited their board and read posts by people who were proud to see the old swagger return. Proud to see the team honorably defend the home turf. But I still wasn't getting it until I read the following post:
"i mean seriously what does it mean? how does the class and cleanliness of a college football propgram effect your lives? like whats the point of it? has it ever caused miami not to be good? people always bring up class and its pretty much irrelevant. ok other fans say miami has no class. what have they accomplished? i dont get what this enfatuation with having class and upstanding citizens on your football team means"
Ah yes. I finally understand. The Miami brawl. That is what intercollegiate athletics are all about.
Time for the NCAA to make a statement about that incident.
19. LAST CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR
We all know how it works. We have our routines. Little things we do before each game and so long as we keep winning we don't change ANYTHING!
But sometimes funny things happen. You are really worried about the Texas game, but that afternoon your toilet overflows and we win 24-7. So now every Saturday you are clogging, flushing and mopping. You don't dare tell the truth to your wife who is now threatening divorce if you don't call a "real" plumber. But there is too much at stake. You MUST follow the ritual.
Well, it is safe now. We have a four week stretch where you really can't change the outcome of the game. So quit clogging the toilet. Wash those lucky underwear. Take three bites of egg instead of two before each sip of Orange Juice.
And by all means plan some new, pleasant, traditions and start them this Saturday. Go to your favorite restaurant Friday night. Eat an entire cheese cake. Have sex with your baby sitter. Go commando.
But be ready to do it every week because whatever ritual you settle on you MUST be prepared to follow it the week of November 18th.
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