For Big Ten, this game means everything
by Michael Rosenberg
Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg's new book,
"War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and America in a Time of Unrest," is being released nationwide this week. He is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
Updated: September 8, 2008, 11:12 AM EST
At one point Saturday, with Ohio State trailing Ohio and Michigan locked in a death struggle against Miami of Ohio, I thought, "Oh no, is Jim Delaney going to send out a press release questioning the MAC's academic standards?"
Ohio State rallied, Michigan held on, and Delaney ? the Big Ten commissioner who took a few shots at the SEC last winter ? does not have to defend his league.
At least, not yet.
Ohio State visits USC Saturday night, and I cannot remember a big September game that seemed so
necessary. Let's face it: if the Buckeyes did
not play a top-five team from another conference, then showed up for their third straight BCS title game in January, fans around the nation would have called security. I think we all remember the lesson from the Bible: once is a happening, twice is a coincidence and three times means please, for the love of all things holy, STOP CRASHING THE TITLE GAME.
But if Ohio State wins at USC Saturday, that would shut up a whole lot of people. Winning at USC is the gold standard of this era of college football. It is an achievement nobody can dispute. You can't say USC is a fraud, because the Trojans play all comers in all places, and they just destroyed Virginia on the road.
Continued......