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Game Thread THE GAME: #1 Ohio State 42, #2 Michigan 39 (11/18/06)

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My cousin and I watched the game in his apartment in South Carolina. The next day a person from his complex came by to ask my cousin for some sugar...apparently this person lives an ENTIRE building over and a story up. They asked how we were and my cousin said great because we beat scUM last night and the person goes..."oh that's what that was". I guess they heard us celebrating touchdowns and what not in their place. How funny.
 
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ABJ

Layoff benefits young players

Buckeyes have 50 days off until title bowl game

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - When Ohio State coach Jim Tressel considered the positives and negatives of a 50-day layoff before the BCS national championship game, he immediately flashed back to 2005.
Cornerbacks coach Tim Beckman and safeties coach Paul Haynes felt the 43 days the Buckeyes had to prepare for Notre Dame last season made a huge impact on freshmen Anderson Russell, Donald Washington and Andre Amos. Their work became even more important when cornerback Ashton Youboty and safety Donte Whitner left early for the NFL Draft.
As OSU went 12-0 this season and captured its first outright Big Ten title since 1984, the three went on to make an impact in their redshirt freshman years. Russell earned the starting free safety spot for four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Iowa. Washington became the nickel back and started eight games. Amos saw action mainly on special teams -- his biggest play was taking a punt back to the Illinois 2 with four seconds remaining to preserve a 17-10 victory -- and also recorded one of OSU's 21 interceptions.
Tressel could also think back to the 40 days Ohio State had in 2002 before taking on Miami for the national title in the Fiesta Bowl. During that break, true freshmen Troy Smith and Justin Zwick saw extensive practice time. Now Smith is the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 9.
So it's no wonder Tressel doesn't seem worried that the top-ranked Buckeyes will lose their edge after beating No. 2 Michigan 42-39 Saturday. Their opponent in the Jan. 8 national title game in Glendale, Ariz., will be announced Dec. 3.
``We've got to make sure we approach it the right way because it is a battle, both emotionally and physically,'' Tressel said Tuesday night at the OSU alumni club of Greater Cleveland's annual banquet. ``And we've got to use the days, the right dose of time off, the right dose of rehab, the right doses of game planning and the bonus doses of young kids getting some chances to work. The way I look at it, it's more days of practice for the young kids.''
Only if there's a rematch with Michigan will OSU's opponent have the same layoff. Of its other possible foes, USC, Florida and Arkansas conclude their seasons Dec. 2, the latter two in the SEC Championship Game, and would have 36 days in between. Notre Dame wraps up Saturday against USC and would have 43 days.
``I don't think it's a big difference,'' Tressel said.
The Buckeyes probably won't begin serious workouts until after final exams Dec. 4-7. Tressel thinks his players need the break.
``It's not professional football,'' Tressel said. ``They go to school, they have a lot on their plate. When we've evolved to this 12-game thing and year-round workouts and all that, I get more nervous about not enough time off than I do layoffs.''
Junior slot receiver Anthony Gonzalez said the Buckeyes need the extra time to recover, especially after facing Michigan.
``A normal game by Wednesday or Thursday I feel good,'' Gonzalez said Tuesday. ``But I can't see myself feeling perfectly fine at least for another week. It's a little bit more physical, a little bit faster, a little bit harder. That's why it's the Michigan game.''
Before facing the Wolverines, senior defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock remembered how badly he felt after last year's battle.
``I just kind of sat in bed and rested up for a week,'' Pitcock said. ``I was sore in every nook and cranny of my body. I just ached. It's the combination of high-low hits. You give that extra effort on every play. There is so much excitement you don't get tired. Then after the game you realize, `Wow, I really overexerted myself. I need to lay down and rest.' ''
Gonzalez didn't believe the long layoff would be a negative.
``I like the layoff,'' he said. ``It gives us a chance to spend a little bit more time with our families than other teams and that's always a positive. For most of us we're doing all of this for our families. It's a nice time off.''
After final exams, the Buckeyes will be off from school until the winter quarter begins Jan. 3, which means they will miss at least a week of classes.
In talking about the layoff, no players mentioned what Tressel the tactician might do with 50 days. But senior defensive tackle David Patterson knows Tressel and his staff will make wise use of what might seem like an excruciatingly long wait.
``Our coaches do a good job of keeping everybody focused through times when it's easy to lose focus,'' Patterson said.
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Dispatch

OHIO STATE FOOTBALL

Downing: Offense has proved its mettle

Buckeyes performed in big games, he says

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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In between the turkey and the dressing, the leftovers and the well-wishing, T.J. Downing plans to keep at least one eye on the television this holiday weekend.
Ohio State?s All-Big Ten right guard said he is he going to enjoy Thanksgiving as it whets his appetite for what?s to come Jan. 8 for the top-ranked Buckeyes.
"My fun will be to watch the scramble," Downing said. "We know where we?re going, to the national championship game. Our seats are already reserved.
"The fun will be watching the scramble going on among those schools trying to get to that other spot."
Southern California (9-1) could grab that spot if the Trojans beat visiting Notre Dame (10-1) on Saturday and UCLA on Dec. 2. Florida (10-1) thinks it is deserving, too. But along with hoping USC falls, the Gators must beat Florida State on Saturday and Arkansas (10-1) in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 2, then hope they gain enough in the two human polls and the computer ratings to move around Michigan (11-1) in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.
"You know it?s not just going to be the football played on the field, but the griping and complaining going on about which one-loss team truly deserves to be there," Downing said. "I?m telling you, it?s going to be fun."
He?ll also be keen to any mention of the Ohio State offense, notably on whether analysts and the like are ready to start crediting the Buckeyes for having not just the Heisman Trophy favorite, Troy Smith, at quarterback but a pretty decent line and running game as well.
"We heard all (last) week about how Michigan had the No. 1 defense against the run, and how you can?t run on them," Downing said. "That?s the same kind of stuff about the Texas defense before we played down there, how we were going to have trouble moving the ball. And it was a lot of the same thing before we played at Iowa.
"You never heard that kind of stuff about the USC offense when they were No. 1. So you hear that negativity, and it makes you want to produce even more. It gives you that drive inside to prove everybody wrong."
The Buckeyes rolled up 503 yards on the Wolverines, with 187 coming on the ground. Granted, 108 of those came on two touchdown runs ? first a 52-yarder by Chris Wells and then a 56-yarder by Antonio Pittman ? but the cumulative rushing total was more than six times what the Wolverines were giving up.
Right tackle Kirk Barton said after the game that offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and the coaches should get as much credit as the players.
"Coach Bollman is about as good as it gets, so I hope you guys give him some props ? because I know you guys are good at ripping him," Barton said. "Give him some props, because our offensive coaches obviously are outstanding. Nobody had really done anything against this (Michigan) defense all year.
"And for us to put about 500 yards on them and 40-something points, give the coaches some credit. They are the ones who orchestrated the whole plan, and we just executed what they told us to do."
No cigars allowed

Barton?s toast to Bollman and his teammates came soon after the game. In the locker room, he reportedly popped the cork on a bottle of Dom Perignon, which cost him $348, or about half of his monthly scholarship check. He also accepted a celebratory Cuban cigar from teammate Anthony Gonzalez.
Barton committed a faux pas, though, when he took the cigar into the postgame interview room.
He likely is facing some type of sanction from coach Jim Tressel, though Tressel was not available for comment yesterday, a team spokesman said, and neither was Barton.
[email protected]
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link

from The Onion.... :wink:

Ohio State Defeats Michigan 42-39 In Ultimately Meaningless Game
November 23, 2006 | Issue 42?47

COLUMBUS, OH?In what had been touted as a college-football matchup for the ages, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines 42-39 Sunday in a game that, while exciting, ultimately made no real impact on the football landscape and had no significant effect on the national rankings.


"Well, of course I'm sad we lost, but since we're still the No. 2 team in the country, it's hard to feel all that bad about it," said Michigan quarterback Chad Henne, who finished with 21 completions on 35 attempts and two touchdowns. "And I've still never beaten Ohio State, so that's too bad. But hey, apparently losing doesn't hurt Michigan in the rankings, so I guess I get to try again in the national championship game. See you then!"

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel echoed many of Henne's statements in a press conference during which he had obvious problems staying interested.

"This was a tough game for us," Tressel said. "By which I mean it was tough to get excited about it. Playing Michigan should be special, but going into this game, we knew that no matter what happened on the field, the BCS polls would have us either first or second. There was really no point in playing this at all."

"I mean, come on?we could have lined up in alphabetical order in the end zone dressed in nothing but helmets and socks and whacked off for 60 minutes, and the BCS would still send us to the Tostitos Championship Game," Tressel told the assembled reporters. "Hell, you'd all still vote for [Buckeyes quarterback] Troy Smith to win the Heisman. And you know it."

For his part, Smith tried to look on the bright side of his team's empty victory.

"It's still better than a loss, even though that wouldn't have affected our future in any way," Smith said as he rushed to leave the locker room. "Nothing we've done this season would have affected our future, if you think about it. When you start out being voted number one because a bunch of people like your team, it doesn't give you much reason to play the games at all. Part of me is glad Bo Schembechler didn't live to see this."

Schembechler, the Ohio State graduate who became a football legend in his two decades as coach of the Wolverines, died the day before the game, shortly after addressing the Michigan squad.

"I'll never forget what he told us," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He stood there and told us that no matter how well or how poorly we played on Sunday, how many yards we gained, how many tackles we delivered, that it didn't matter. Because we were the Michigan Wolverines, and win or lose, the Wolverines were almost certainly going to play in the championship game."

"I got chills when he quietly looked at every player there, and everyone in the locker room could see how profoundly moved he was," said Wolverines tailback Mike Hart. "Then he told us, 'You know, men, it isn't your fault, but this whole thing is really a bunch of bullshit. I'm proud of you and all, but there's nothing at stake here, so have a fun little football game and don't get hurt. Now I think I need to go lie down, because the thought of my beloved Michigan going along with this pointless crap is making me sick.'"

"That was the last time any of us saw him alive," Hart added.

Barring a major upset, Michigan and Ohio State will face one another again in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ to determine for the second and last time this season?and the first time with actual ramifications?which team is to be ranked first and which second.
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I love the jackasses who write this garbage...it was linked earlier in the thread but I thought about this section:

Even more surprising, considering the OSU administration's stated goal of cleaning up the gameday experience were all the vendors lining Lane Avenue who were selling every conceivable variation of "Fuck Michigan!" t-shirts. I'm not talking about some guy secretly selling stuff out of a duffel bag but full-on tables and displays as shown in the pictures below. Did they have vendor permits from the University or the city? Who knows. Yet even if they did, I'm guessing Nike and Budweiser wouldn't appreciate their logos used as they were.

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Passing the t-shirt merchants, somewhere around the Holiday Inn on Lane (or just past it), a group of Buckeye fans (again, college age or just older) on the other side of a fence at some party (not Hineygate) started in with the usual "Fuck Michigan" calls. That's when I felt something hit my jacket. I looked down to see what I thought was a piece of ice, until I looked at the white all over the arm of my jacket and realized it was a powdered donut. Another had just missed my friend.
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Hmmm, does he plan to write a similar blog for Michigan fans after SI.com published this photo:

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BuckeyeTillIDie;669193; said:
After seeing the game for the first time on TV last night, I noticed something about Troy's INT.

Robo was basically TACKLED before the ball got there. Yet, no one ever mentions the possibility of interference during the game.
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yup. if that wasn't pass interference, i've never seen it...
 
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BuckeyeTillIDie;669193; said:
After seeing the game for the first time on TV last night, I noticed something about Troy's INT.

Robo was basically TACKLED before the ball got there. Yet, no one ever mentions the possibility of interference during the game.
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I watched the replay last night, Robo was mugged on that play. scUM got a lot of breaks in The Game.
 
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