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

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Dispatch

Mason favors Michigan?s defense
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Rare is the occasion when a coach says something that can upset two teams at once, but Glen Mason of Minnesota might have pulled it off yesterday.
Several Big Ten coaches were polled on their breakdown of the Ohio State-Michigan game. Nobody offered a prediction, and most chose generalities and platitudes.
But Mason added a bit of spice to the bland mix with a rather blunt assessment.
"Ohio State has more talent than Michigan has on offense, and Michigan is more talented on defense," Mason said. "It should be a classic matchup."
Mason?s Gophers lost to Michigan 28-14 and to Ohio State 44-0. His comments about OSU might strike the Buckeyes defense as a bit odd, considering they held Minnesota to 47 yards rushing and 182 overall while posting the shutout.
Otherwise, the only other theme that popped up through the coaches? thoughts was the playmaking ability of OSU quarterback Troy Smith.
The Troy factor was particularly prominent to Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, who is filling in while coach Joe Paterno rehabilitates from knee and leg injuries.
"You can?t contain him, he?ll get his yards, he?s a playmaker," said Bradley, who referred to Smith?s scrambling touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie in OSU?s 28-6 win over the Nittany Lions.
"It?s hard to do certain things to them because of his ability to make plays."
Like Mason, Michigan State coach John L. Smith was fairly simplistic in his breakdown, but he wasn?t quite as bold.
"Michigan has tremendous fronts, both fronts are as good as it gets in the country," Smith said. "But my belief is OSU has a better capability of making plays when (the Buckeyes) don?t have a play because they have skill guys who can make something happen."
Smith?s bottom line? "Advantage Ohio State because it?s at home."
Bradley added the obligatory coaching point, mentioning that the kicking game might end up making the difference.
And just about every coach agreed on one thing: They wanted to watch The Game.
"I?ll probably tape it," said Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner, whose team plays Purdue at noon. "But if you think I?m going to pick one or the other, you?re crazy."
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Dispatch

Lombardi finalists draw some attention
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20061115-Pc-B4-0500.jpg
NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Quinn Pitcock pressures Texas quarterback Colt McCoy during a game Sept. 9. Pitcock has eight sacks this season.
20061115-Pc-B1-0900.jpg

Fans who keep their eyes on the quarterbacks in the Ohio State-Michigan game Saturday might miss one of the great individual duels of the season. Then again, that duel might just come to them.
The Game not only will feature the Heisman Trophy front-runner, OSU quarterback Troy Smith, and his cohorts, and veteran Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and his posse, but also two of the four finalists for the Lombardi Award: Ohio State defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock and Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley.
Each leads his team in sacks.
OSU defensive end Jay Richardson thinks it is noteworthy that Pitcock and Woodley will give people reason to watch what?s going on between the lines.
"It does make it interesting and kind of adds a different factor because you?re so used to hearing about the skill positions, the Heisman guys, the quarterbacks, the running backs," Richardson said. "Now, you?ve got defensive linemen in that mix."
The Big Ten has three of the four finalists for the Lombardi, which goes to the nation?s best player who is either an offensive lineman or in the front seven on defense. The list includes Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny and Texas offensive lineman Justin Blalock.
Saturday, though, Woodley and Pitcock, both team captains, will have the stage to themselves, with probably most of the college world, including Lombardi voters, watching.
"I guess you could say it could be a battle of us," Pitcock said. "You know, legends are made in the Michigan-Ohio State game."
Nevertheless, to be included in such company "is still a shock to me," Pitcock said. "I see LaMarr Woodley play all the time, and Posluszny play. It?s one of those things where I feel like I shouldn?t be in the same category with them. I think they?re great players. ?I?m ecstatic just to be in that position."
Richardson said Pitcock is selling himself short if he thinks, with eight sacks as a defensive tackle, he doesn?t have the credentials. Considering most of Pitcock?s time is spent splitting double-team blocks before he even has a shot at a tackle or a sack, "The way he has played this season has been sensational," Richardson said.
Pitcock was always a defensive tackle. Woodley, on the other hand, fancied himself as a linebacker until Michigan coach Lloyd Carr convinced him this year that his faster route to stardom was at defensive end. Woodley has used his speed and strength to rack up a Big Tenleading 11 sacks in the aggressive system put in by new defensive coordinator Ron English.
"Coach knows exactly what I feel comfortable doing, and I told him just put me in a position where I can help this team win, it doesn?t matter where," Woodley said. "And the thing that helped me improve this year is just the guys around me on the defensive line, the guys behind me. We are all working together."
He?s part of a front that includes Alan Branch, Terrance Taylor and Rondell Biggs and has been considered the best in college football this year.
"It?s not like they can just concentrate and focus on one guy, because if you double-team me you?ve got the other guys coming," Woodley said. "You double-team one of them, here I come."
Not that he was always so confident.
"When he first came here, I said that guy will be great as soon as he learns to play football ? I mean, real football," former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said. "And he has learned how to do that. He?s captain of our team and I would expect he?ll have a great game" against Ohio State.
So watch closely as Pitcock and Woodley take turns trying to make an impact. For Pitcock, especially, it will be an afternoon of fighting for everything he can get, knowing he?ll pay the price in the days after. With The Game coming at the end of the regular season, it?s always a no-holds-barred affair.
"After (the game) last year, I just kind of laid in bed for almost a week," Pitcock said. "Every nook and cranny on my body just ached."
It?s not just the hits that keep coming, it?s also "knowing you?re going to have that extra time of rest after the game, so you give that extra effort every play," Pitcock said. "And there is so much excitement, you don?t get tired. It?s not until after the game that you realize, ?Wow, I really overexerted myself and I need to lie down and rest.? "
With it being the last Ohio State-Michigan game for Woodley and Pitcock, it only heightens the emotion, Woodley said.
"How you leave your last year, that?s how you?re going to be remembered and that?s how you?re going to remember your life when you go back and look, your last year in college, how did you finish," he said. "I want to leave on a positive note."
Dispatch sports reporter Rob Oller contributed to this story
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:io:
scarletngray;661695; said:
Because MM may not be 100% we may see more quick hitters and even more screens and flair passes (is that even possible?) in scUM's play calling. But I think, they think, they can beat us by running the ball and by being more physical.

That's one of the things I am going to look for. How physical are the Buck's going to be in this game? This has to be our most physical output of the year. They know that they cannot match us in the speed department and so their only other option is to play hard, smashmouth football. I also believe that they will try to control the clock and therefore shorten the game. The way to beat tOSU is by keeping Troy off the field. No ball, no magic.
Click to expand...

We have to close the screen door! Some of the biggest plays over the last few games came on screens. I'm sure that Heacock and Fickell will have the boys schemed up to stop it, but I think it is the biggest weapon they have against our D. Shut the screen door, shut down tsUN's offense.

:scum4: :gobucks3: :gobucks4:
 
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CFN's preview of The Game (it's shocking to learn that Fiutak picked scUM :roll1: )

http://cfn.scout.com/2/590646.html


Michigan vs. Ohio State Preview
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By Pete Fiutak
CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Nov 14, 2006

It's finally here. Anthony Gonzalez and No. 1 Ohio State face No. 2 Michigan in, arguably, the biggest battle ever between the two superpowers. Can the Wolverines pull off the upset? Should the loser still get a shot to play for the national championship? It's all just a few hours away.


</B></EM>- Week 12 Big Ten Fearless Predictions
- Could Michigan and Ohio State play a rematch in the title game?

Michigan (11-0) vs. Ohio State (11-0)
Nov. 18, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Just when you think Michigan vs. Ohio State couldn't be any bigger, badder, or more vital, the battle has somehow gone to another level.

In today's day and age of 24-hour sports with championships and overblown, overhyped big games that are forgotten as quickly as last month's ABC reality show, (cough, 2006 World Series, cough) this is a sporting event that's actually worthy of the attention. This isn't some game at the end of a fluky, month-long March tournament. It's not a run-of-the-mill championship series that just so happens to be at the end of a long, grueling professional season. This is history. This is the best rivalry in all of American sports being played with more at stake, more attention, and more anticipation than any game these two mega-powers have ever played.

This game matters.

This is one of those rare events that you can't miss, or there's going to be a gaping hole in your personal r?sum?. It's Bird vs. Magic. It's Marino vs. Montana. It's Jennifer Lopez vs. Jessica Biel. If you count the 2006 Rose Bowl as part of the 2005 season, this will be the sporting event of the year.
National RankingsOhio StateMichigan
Ohio State has been number one from pillar to post coming in on an 18-game winning streak along with two straight wins over Michigan. All concerns about losing a who's who of NFL defensive talent, along with first-round draft pick WR Santonio Holmes, were quickly erased with a dominant 24-7 win at Texas in early September to be firmly planted in the top spot. Outside of a 17-10 win over Illinois that really wasn't quite the late scare many made it out to be, and a 28-6 win over Penn State that required two pick-sixes from the secondary to put it away, no one's been even close.

With a win this week, QB Troy Smith will win the Heisman in a landslide as the leader of a high-octane offense with an embarrassment of weapons and the best offensive line in the Jim Tressel era. The defense doesn't get nearly the recognition or respect of Michigan's, but it's No. 1 in the nation in scoring D allowing just 7.82 points per game and eighth in total defense allowing just 262 yards per game. This is a rock-solid team with no apparent holes, but so is Michigan.

There were rumblings this summer that this had the potential to be a special Wolverine team after a stunning transformation from a big, bruising, plodding program to a lean, mean, fighting machine that got trimmer on the lines and more explosive on defense. It was as if all the team's great athletes were hiding under an extra five-to-ten pounds.

A 47-21 win at Notre Dame, that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate, put Michigan on the 2006 national title map, and it rolled through the rest of the slate thanks to the nation's third ranked defense. The offense was just efficient enough to keep the chains moving, and when WR Mario Manningham was fully healthy, the attack was able to throw some big-time knockout punches in battles against Wisconsin and Minnesota. In a position to play for the national title for the first time since 1997, Michigan is every bit Ohio State's equal.

So sit back, relax, send the family out to Chuck E. Cheese's for the afternoon, and enjoy. This is why you watch college football. This is why you watch sports.

Players to watch: It's Troy Smith's world and the rest of college football is just taking up space. The Buckeye senior just has to be decent and get the win to take home the Heisman, but his history against Michigan suggests he'll be more than just effective. His national coming out party came in the 37-21 win in 2004, and he established himself as a clutch, go-to playmaker in last year's 25-21 win. In the two games, Smith completed 40 of 60 passes (67%) for 541 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and ran 29 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns. But the Buckeyes are hardly just Smith.

Buckeye sophomore LB Jim Laurinaitis has stepped into the role as the team's signature defensive star finding his way into big play after big play. Not just a rock against the run, he's been solid at getting into the backfield and has five interceptions on the year. It'll be his job to keep Michigan RB Mike Hart from getting going and to force the Wolverines to try to win through the air.

As the workhorse of the offense, Hart has been a fringe Heisman candidate and now has the spotlight on. For Michigan to win, he needs to come up with a signature performance after being held to 15 yards by the Buckeyes last year, because of injury, and only gaining 61 with a touchdown in 2004. If he gains 100 yards and leads the Wolverines to the win, look for him to join Notre Dame's Brady Quinn as the Heisman front runners.
Michigan will win if... defensive end LaMarr Woodley has a first-round draft pick type of game. Troy Smith has pulled off a few brilliant, Houdini acts to get out of some bad situations to make big plays, but he hasn't had to face any pass rushers of Woodley's caliber. When Smith gets five days to throw, which is most of the time behind the great Buckeye line, forget it; he can pick anyone apart. The Wolverines have to get consistent pressure and try to force Smith to make quicker decisions and make plays on the move to let the fast back seven clean everything up. The more Smith forces his passes, the more plays Leon Hall and the talented Wolverine secondary will make.
Ohio State will win if... it gets up early. Ohio State lives on cold, efficient offensive play and letting the other team screw up. Call it conservative, call it Tressel Ball, call it a winning formula, but with a veteran leader like Smith, who's hardly going to be rattled, a 10-0 lead could be enough to coast. A lead would get the crowd into the game and allow everyone to exhale (unlike the pin-drop, nervousness of the 2002 game, the last time the national title was on the line), and it would keep Smith from having to force the offense. Michigan will want to establish the run early and wait for the home run to open up in the passing game, but that can't happen if it's in comeback mode.

What will happen: Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. As anyone who's ever followed the history of this rivalry knows, Michigan almost always ruins Ohio State's dreams. The 2002 game, won by the Buckeyes 14-9 on the way to the national championship, is one recent exception, but this Michigan team is far better. 1996, 1995, 1993, 1977, 1969 ... Michigan has a way of historically screwing things up. The Wolverine defensive front will completely shut down the Buckeye running game, while CB Leon Hall will erase Ted Ginn from the game plan. Chad Henne will connect with Mario Manningham on one big pass, Mike Hart will run for a short score, and the defense will bend, but won't break forcing several good Buckeye drives to end in field goals. Fittingly, the Michigan defense will come up with a big late stop to seal the win.

Line: Ohio State -6.5... CFN Prediction: Michigan 17 ... Ohio State 16
 
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scUM has always had some early success against us with the screen. I think a lot of teams generally do, but it generally gets shut down after a couple of attempts. I specifically remember Hart running a nice screen pass down the sideline against us last year. He didn't score, but it was a big gainer, like 35 yards or something. I expect us to try the same with Pittman as we have been doing the last couple of weeks.
 
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The basis for the CFN prediction is a little weak...I mean come on, what does '69, '93, or '96 have to do with 2006?

And if we're going to talk about history, let's talk '02 and a 4-1 record - that' more relevant that anything that happened in the series 10 years ago.
 
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CFN is going against the grain...shocking :wink2:

They agree it is going to be a barnburner...but as usual they take out the flier in case of the upset. Small risk for a big gain in "I told you so." If tOSU wins, no big deal...they predicted a close game.

Personally, I see JT winning this game...I see Tresselball winning it. I don't mean the run, run, pass stuff...I mean the patience, the clock management, the field position, and again, the patience. Ron English is a good DC...but he is aggressive. He attacks and attacks some more. I see him trying to rein that in somewhat this week due to the plethora of weapons in S&G. However, an aggressive coach cannot control himself...and JT is the kind of coach that seizes those moments.

I see a close ballgame with a couple of late scores opening up a deceptive score.
 
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Latern Article "Rivalry not as intense in tsun"

Throughout the year, Ohio State fans find it hard to get Michigan off their minds. But does Michigan really care as much as Ohio about this intense, and sometimes violent, rivalry?

Michigan residents say no.

"I had a rude awakening when I first came to OSU last fall," said Seth Sanders, an OSU sophomore in political science. "I was out with some friends and we went to a Steak 'n Shake. I looked all around at the Big Ten flags and the Michigan flag was upside down. I never understood that because things like that just don't happen in Ann Arbor."

Sanders is originally from deep within Michigan territory. He said his high school was directly across the street from "The Big House," University of Michigan's football stadium.

He also has a long line of Michigan alumni in his family - his mother, father, brother, aunt and grandfather all graduated from Michigan.

Although Sanders did not follow in his family's footsteps, he said his parents supported him in his decision to come to OSU.

"I've even got my dad to start wearing some Ohio State gear," Sanders said.

He said his brother, however, still gives him a hard time.

In his time at OSU, Sanders said he has noticed much more community involvement. In Ann Arbor, there is just one McDonald's next to the university that displays Michigan memorabilia.

"Here, I go to the Kroger and they've got Ohio State stuff up and several Wendy's around here have special burgers and a Buckeye frosty," Sanders said. "You don't get stuff like that in Ann Arbor."

OSU senior Steve Jacobites said you do not see as much post-game hooliganism in Ann Arbor.

"They respect it as a football rivalry, but there's not the obsession that there is down here," said Jacobites, who is originally from a suburb of Ann Arbor.

Jacobites said he has to prepare his car, which has Michigan license plates, for game day.

The political science major said he wraps his license plate with a trash bag and backs his car into a spot in a parking garage for the game, making sure all of its ties to Michigan are hidden.

"My parents were here for a game when Michigan won, and while driving down High Street their car almost got tipped, so I just always have that in the back of my mind," Jacobites said.

"Last year my girlfriend was down here and her side mirror got smashed in," he said. "There were several cars and hers was the only one with a Michigan plate." Jim Brown, a visiting assistant professor in the department of mathematics, sees the rivalry with Michigan as something OSU has taken too seriously.

"At every other university I've been to, they keep it in perspective better than the people in Columbus do," Brown said.

Brown moved to Columbus last year after attending the University of Michigan for graduate school and said he was surprised by the intensity of the rivalry at OSU.

"One of the first things we saw during Michigan week were stuffed, fake people wearing Michigan stuff being lynched," Brown said. "That was a little scary. Two days later while driving to my house our neighbor screamed at us because I had a University of Michigan sticker on the back of my car. He screamed that Michigan sucked and that Ohio State was going to kick our a--."

Brown said this kind of intensity emphasizes the fanatical attitude OSU fans have toward football. He said overall, Michigan students are more focused on academics and more serious about their education.

"When you think of OSU you think of football and so you're getting students graduating from here that are probably not getting as good of jobs as they could because lack of focus on academics," Brown said.

With a hidden blue and gold sweatshirt in his desk, Brown said he will be cheering for Michigan this weekend.

But Jacobites and Sanders said they will be cheering on the Buckeyes.

"I never cheer for Michigan," Sanders said. "Once you come here the bridge is broken. I might not be fully transformed into an OSU fan yet, I might need another year or two, but still there's no other way to go but OSU."

My take: typical "we're better than you" bullshit from scUMmers. That 1/2 a championship in 50 years sure did go to their heads :shake:
 
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I find Fiutak's point of pressuring Smith to throw on the run as a winning formula for TSUN as laughable. Hmm...let's see...pressure Smith. The biggest, most amazing plays Smith has ever made in his career is when he's pressured and on the run, AND against TSUN, mind you. Yet somehow, pressuring Smith this year will work. The personnelle is the same, but THIS MICHIGAN TEAM IS DIFFERENT! THIS TEAM IS BETTER!

CFN picked us to lose to Texas and Iowa, so I'm not giving their prediction a lot of weight.
 
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