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

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ABJ

Carr uses film to inspire team

Wolverines see own struggles, return to top in `Cinderella Man'

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

ANN ARBOR, MICH. - It might not be a method taken from the official coaching handbook, but when Michigan's Lloyd Carr looked around for a motivational tool to kick-start his football team, he picked a couple of Oscar winners.
Cinderella Man, starring Russell Crowe as boxing champ Jim Braddock and directed by Ron Howard, had all the elements Carr was seeking: a touted athlete who failed to meet early expectations, a difficult road back and, finally, ultimate success.
To Carr, Braddock's struggles mirrored his own team's fall from college football's elite in 2005. Not only did the Wolverines lose a shocking five games, Carr became a target of critics eager to plant ``For Sale'' signs in his front yard.
So as part of this season's rehabilitation process, Carr periodically showcased many of Cinderella Man's most inspirational moments.
``Hoosiers has always been my favorite movie as far as sports-themed movies go,'' Carr said. ``But when I watched it (Cinderella Man),
there were
so many
things that really spoke to team, because it's really a story about a guy that's trying to provide for his family.
``I think it's a team-oriented theme even though you don't consider boxing a team-oriented sport. The competition, there's just scene after scene where there is a lesson for anybody that watches that movie, in my judgment.''
Obviously, exposing his players to a movie didn't trigger Michigan's 11-0 season heading into today's showdown with Ohio State, but it probably helped, at least a little.
``You can relate it a lot to our season last year,'' offensive lineman Mark Bihl said. ``You don't really want to look to the past at all, you want to look forward the future.
``Everybody counted us out. We came in ranked 14th, and here we are (playing) for the Big Ten championship.''
Rueben Riley, who also plays on the offensive line, thinks Cinderella Man helped get the Wolverines back on track.
``Yeah, oddly it has,'' he said. ``It fits perfectly. Just coming back from a very uncomfortable season last year to having things go the way we wanted it to this year -- it's that Cinderella story.''
Added star defensive end LaMarr Woodley: ``It means a lot. No one believed in him. No one believed that he still had it, and that's like the same thing with us. Nobody believed that we had it.
``But now we're proving a lot of people wrong. We're not that same team from last year. And we're still fighting to get to the top.''

 

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ABJ

THE GAME SCOUTING REPORT

No. 2 Michigan at No. 1 Ohio State
Kickoff: 3:45 p.m. today.
Records: Both teams are 11-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big Ten Conference.
Coaches: Jim Tressel (61-13) is in his sixth season at Ohio State; Lloyd Carr (113-34) is in his 12th season at Michigan.
Broadcast: WEWS (Channel 5), WAKR (1590-AM); WHBC (1480-AM), WKNR (850-AM), WQKT (104.5-FM).
When Ohio State has the ball: Michigan's defense ranks first in the country in rushing (29.9 yards per game), fifth in scoring (12.1) and third overall (231.5 yards). The star-studded unit is led by senior DE LaMarr Woodley, who has 11 of his 22 career sacks this season; four of them in 2006 have forced fumbles. He also has 170 tackles and 51 ? tackles for losses in his career. Junior DT Alan Branch, 6-foot-6 and 331 pounds, is a big run-stuffer and has 21 tackles, five for losses, and two sacks this season. The Wolverines boast an outstanding senior linebacking corps of Shawn Crable (Massillon Washington), David Harris and Prescott Burgess (Warren Harding). Harris leads the team with 80 tackles (63 solos) and has five career double-digit games. Burgess is second with 43 tackles, 6 ? for losses and three sacks. Anchoring the secondary is senior CB Leon Hall, who has made 35 starts. His career stat sheet includes a team-record 43 pass breakups, 12 interceptions and 170 tackles. He has three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 18 breakups this season. The Wolverines have forced 22 turnovers (11 interceptions).
When Michigan has the ball: ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit thinks UM needs senior QB Chad Henne to throw on first down to win. Henne has made 35 consecutive starts and compiled a 27-8 record. He's eighth in the league in passing yardage per game (175.6) and third in pass efficiency (144.3; 26th in the nation). He has completed 61.9 percent and thrown for 1,932 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Junior TB Mike Hart has rushed for 100 yards in eight games this season and stands sixth in the country with 124.8 yards per game. He needs 10 yards to reach 3,500 in his career. Senior LT Jake Long could be one of the top players selected in the NFL Draft; he's an Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award candidate. Sophomore SE Mario Manningham (Warren Harding) has the speed to burn the untested OSU secondary. He has caught two passes for 11 yards since missing three games for knee surgery, but Henne thinks he's coming back to form. Manningham caught eight touchdown passes in a four-game span and has nine this season and 15 in his two years. Senior FL Steve Breaston is coming off his best game of the year. Against Indiana, he caught three passes for 103 yards, including a 62-yard TD, and returned a punt 83 yards for a score (his first touchdowns of the season). He ranks 27th in the nation in kick returns (25.1 average). Senior K Garrett Rivas is eight points from his fourth consecutive 90-point season, accomplished only once in school history. He has hit 15-of-18 field goals and 37-of-39 PATs.
Notebook: Defensive graduate assistants Mark Elder of Michigan and Chris Hauser of Ohio State worked together at the University of Akron in 2000-01. Elder is a Case Western Reserve graduate, while Hauser played and coached for the Zips from 1998 to 2004.... UM seeks its 43rd conference title and sixth under Carr. The Wolverines have finished unbeaten only once in Carr's tenure (in the 1997 national championship season).... Michigan is 28-11 in November under Carr.... The Wolverines have lost two in a row in the series and two straight in Ohio Stadium, but lead 57-39-6.
The pick: Ohio State, 21-17.

-- Marla Ridenour​

​

 

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Canton

How they match up

Saturday, November 18, 2006
The Repository?s Todd Porter breaks down Ohio State and Michigan by position

OFFENSIVE LINE

BUCKEYES If OSU believes this is the same defensive front it blocked a year ago, then guys like T.J. Downing and Kirk Barton are in for a surprise. Michigan?s defensive front is better because it is faster and stronger. It?s the best front OSU has faced this year.
WOLVERINES RT Reuben Riley and RG Alex Mitchell are the beef, UM?s best run blockers. This is a key as teams have run the ball against OSU?s defense, and the Buckeyes? front four can pressure the QB without sending linebackers. Michigan wants to sustain drives and keep Troy Smith off the field.
ADVANTAGE TIE, but UM ran for only 32 yards last year in this game.
RUNNING BACKS
BUCKEYES Antonio Pittman is the established starter, but he has a tendency to run to the left on cutbacks, and Michigan will be waiting. Chris Wells may play a bigger role than usual if Pittman struggles to gain tough yards between the tackles.
WOLVERINES Michael Hart is healthier than a year ago. He is running with confidence and the line is blocking better. Hart?s averaging 125 yards a game and a TD.
ADVANTAGE
WOLVERINES, Hart has something to prove.
WIDE RECEIVERS
BUCKEYES It is impossible to defend Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline and tight ends who can become open. UM?s pass coverage is a weakness because the pass rush has been so good. They?re untested in the back end of the defense.
WOLVERINES If Mario Manningham is 100 percent, it will be interesting to watch Malcolm Jenkins in coverage. He has four picks. Steve Breaston was a deep threat ... against Indiana.
ADVANTAGE
OHIO STATE
QUARTERBACKS
BUCKEYES Troy Smith owns Michigan. Because of the weapons around him, he isn?t a one-man show. This is his final game at Ohio Stadium. Expect a big game because Smith has proven ? twice ? he can be a difference maker against UM.
WOLVERINES While his numbers are down, Chad Henne is playing better. He doesn?t have to do it all. There is a running game. If OSU forces the game into the junior?s hands, Henne must respond in a hostile environment. Manningham, his best deep threat, may not be 100 percent.
ADVANTAGE
OHIO STATE
DEFENSIVE LINE
BUCKEYES Vernon Gholston is having an All-American type of season. Paired next to Quinn Pitcock, this is an impossible tandem to block an entire game. David Patterson has 44 games under his belt and is consistent. Jay Richardson has three sacks. If UM LT Jake Long can block Richardson and Gholston one-on-one, the Wolverines will move the ball.
WOLVERINES LeMarr Woodley and Rondell Biggs on the ends have 16 sacks. Alex Boone and Barton have to have their best games of the season. NT Terrance Taylor doesn?t make a lot of tackles. Alan Branch is a key to the front. If Downing blocks Branch without much help, Michigan will struggle.
ADVANTAGE
Michigan, narrowly.
LINEBACKERS
BUCKEYES James Laurinaitis is the best sophomore linebacker in the nation. Marcus Freeman doesn?t get enough credit. The sophomore has surprised and must do so again today. John Kerr can be a liability in pass coverage is UM gets the right matchup.
WOLVERINES Shawn Crable is having a breakout season. He is lanky, quick and strong. His 6-5 height against Smith?s 5-10 height equal batted down passes. David Harris leads the team in tackles and has 14 behind the line.
ADVANTAGE
OHIO STATE
DEFENSIVE BACKS
BUCKEYES There have been just 19 scoring drives against the Buckeyes because they don?t get beat deep and understand coverage in the red zone. Antonio Smith is a Cinderella player, and Jenkins is one of the best cover corners in recent memory at OSU.
WOLVERINES Leon Hall is the best defensive back, but he doesn?t get much help from safeties or CB Morgan Trent. If Ball State hit big pass plays, imagine what OSU?s wide receivers could do.
ADVANTAGE
OHIO STATE
SPECIAL TEAMS
BUCKEYES The Buckeyes have the edge in the return game with Ginn because he?s capable of slipping tackles and changing a game. But special teams is more than returns.
WOLVERINES Both coaches expect a close game. Garrett Rivas is tested and experienced. OSU?s Aaron Pettrey has made 8 of his last 9 kicks, but he lacks Rivas? experience.
ADVANTAGE
MICHIGAN
porter?s prediction
Lloyd Carr took ownership of his team after losing a 9-point fourth-quarter lead last year against OSU. He challenged his team and has motivated them using that loss. The Buckeyes are a different kind of team. They fine-tune things most college teams don?t have time to do. The home field is a huge bonus for OSU. OHIO STATE 17, MICHIGAN 10

 

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Canton

GAME OF THE MILLENNIUM

Saturday, November 18, 2006
Michigan at Ohio State today, 3:30 p.m. Channel 5, WHBC-AM 148

ODDS OSU is a 6 1/2-point favorite.

THE SERIES Michigan leads the series 57-39-6, and the Wolverines have won 27 of 51 in Columbus with two ties. Michigan has ruined four seasons when the Buckeyes went into this game without a loss. Those losses were in 1996, ?95, ?73 and ?69.
THEY?RE FROM MICHIGAN Actor James Earl Jones graduated in 1955. Madonna attended in 1978-79. NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen graduated in 1990. Stark County native Dan Dierdorf played football for the Wolverines. Former President Gerald Ford graduated in 1935. Emil John Konopinski, who patented a device that made the first hydrogen bomb and was a member of the Manhattan Project, graduated in 1933. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski earned a master?s and doctorate from UM. Jack Kevorkian earned a master?s in 1952.
GETTING TO KNOW LLOYD CARR Despite losing four of his last five to Ohio State, Carr is one of the winningest coaches in the country. His .769 winning percentage is fifth among active coaches. In 12 seasons, Carr has led the Wolverines to 10 wins five times. He has won 68 of 88 Big Ten games and a national title in 1997. Prior to being named head coach, Carr was an assistant for 15 years. After a disappointing 2005 season, Carr replaced his coordinators with Mike DeBord and Ron English. Carr was an all-state quarterback at Riverview High School and he was a backup QB on Missouri?s 1966 Sugar Bowl title team. Carr started his career in high schools in Michigan before being hired as an assistant at Eastern Michigan.
WHEN OSU HAS THE BALL
Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel always seems to have some kind of small wrinkle in his game plan for Michigan. It will be interesting to see what that is. He has shown Ted Ginn Jr. on reverses and reverse passes. Ginn is the X factor because he is so multitalented.
This game will be put on the shoulders of OSU QB Troy Smith, a Heisman Trophy candidate. He can seal the deal with another solid outing against Michigan, which he has beaten with his legs and arm. Interestingly, he hasn?t run the ball much this year on designed runs.
Some believe OSU is holding its cards close to the sweater vest and will spring Smith on runs today. What if he?s been told to throw more because Michigan will try to contain him in the passing game? OSU will have a tough time running the ball against the best run defense in the country.
One matchup to watch will be GlenOak High School graduate T.J. Downing vs. Alan Branch. If Downing can block Branch without help, Michigan will struggle.
The matchup of defensive ends LaMarr Woodley and Rondell Biggs against RT Kirk Barton (Perry High School) and LT Alex Boone (who hasn?t played in two weeks) will determine how much time Smith has to throw.
Look for the Buckeyes to neutralize LB Shawn Crable (Massillon) with multiple WR sets. Crable has brought his game to another level, but if Smith is able to complete quick passes, Crable will have to drop in coverage, and he is better as a pass rusher.
Don?t underestimate the value of WR Brian Hartline (GlenOak). He leads the Buckeyes with more than 17 yards per receptions.
WHEN MICHIGAN
HAS THE BALL
The best way to defend Smith and OSU?s explosive offense is to keep them off the field. Michigan leads the nation in time of possession.
The Wolverines will look to establish Michael Hart and the running game, then mix in the play-action pass with QB Chad Henne. There are some questions as to how healthy WR Mario Manningham is. If Manningham can?t get open deep, the Wolverines will be missing an important part of their offense.
The offensive line is very good, but it needs some work in pass blocking. This means OSU?s linebackers can?t miss tackles. The Buckeyes have missed tackles against small, quick backs. LB James Laurinaitis can win the Butkus Award today with a strong performance.
While Manningham and WR Steve Breaston get most of the attention in the passing game, Adrian Arrington averages about 14 yards a catch and has 15 more catches than Manningham, who missed three games. Henne is susceptible to interceptions in zone coverage. He has seven picks.
NOTABLE
n The winner will be the Big Ten outright champion. OSU hasn?t won an outright conference title since 1984.
n The Buckeyes will honor 18 seniors before the game. Former players will form a tunnel for the team to run through on the field.
n This rivalry goes back to when the states drew border lines. Michigan wanted its boundaries to be drawn all the way into Lake Erie. The dispute almost erupted in a gun battle between the states but was eventually settled with the area between Toledo and Cleveland settling in Ohio.
n Four of Tressel?s OSU teams have reached 10 wins.
n OSU could become the first team in college football to face three No. 2 teams when ranked No. 1. The Buckeyes beat then-No. 2 Texas earlier this season. A win over Michigan would mean OSU will face the No. 2 in the BCS National Championship Game. OSU has never lost a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 game. TODD PORTER

 

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The Game means more today than ever

Saturday, November 18, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, jaw set​

COLUMBUS - Get the chores done early. Don?t answer the phone.
Ohio State and Michigan fans are in lockdown mode. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan will help decide a large chunk of the national title picture today, and, maybe, again in seven weeks.
In 102 previous games ? a rivalry that spans three centuries ? never before has one been played with so much at stake. This is the first time the teams have been Nos. 1-2.
?This is the biggest game of your life. This is where legends are made,? Buckeye fifth-year senior and co-captain Quinn Pitcock said.
An Ohio State win, and the Buckeyes can rest until the Tostitos National Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz. A Michigan win, and the Buckeyes can try to scrape themselves off the field and play in the Rose Bowl.

How big is this game? More than 1,110 media credentials have been issued, surpassing the Ohio Stadium record of 1,000 last year against Texas. The New York Times is sending three reporters. They?re coming from as far away as Japan.
?I?m not good at verbalizing anything. I wish I could,? said Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr, who has lost four of his last five to the Buckeyes. ?I wish I could stand back and say, ?My God, look at what you?re part of.? But there?s a game. Every minute ... I spend thinking about something that isn?t related to the game, is not good.?
?YOU WANT TO WIN?
One loss today would spoil an entire Ohio State season as the Buckeyes started No. 1 in August and have remained the top team in the land since.
?I don?t know if it would ruin the season, but it would put a black eye on our season,? center Doug Datish said. ?There is a lot of emphasis put on this game by a lot of different people. It could make or break a career for a coach or player. That?s why you want to win.?
OSU is counting on quarterback Troy Smith to put an exclamation mark on his Heisman Trophy season and his legacy in Columbus. Smith has led the Buckeyes to consecutive wins against Michigan and would become the first starting OSU QB to win three in a row in more than 70 years.
The Buckeyes are likely to use a five-receiver set and try to spread Michigan?s vaunted defense across the field. The Wolverines have allowed less than 30 yards a game rushing, best in the country.
Can they cover Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie at the same time? Can they contain Smith, who beat them with his arm last year and his legs the year before?
?If (Smith) makes the plays he made the last two years, then it?s going to be hard for them to win,? OSU right guard T.J. Downing said. ?If they are able to stop him, and take away one of our big factors, it?s going to be tough on us.?
IMPROVING SMITH
Smith complimented Michigan?s defense. He praised his teammates and credited them for his success against the Wolverines. But he is the quarterback. Blame and praise will fall on his and Head Coach Jim Tressel?s shoulders tonight.
Tressel has been impressed by Smith?s progress this year. He?s always been a great athlete with a cannon of an arm. But until this season, Smith never understood defensive schemes. Now, that might be his best asset.
?When you think of Troy the first thing that comes to my mind is leadership,? Tressel said. ?Probably the second is competitiveness. And maybe the third thing that jumps up to me about Troy is his hunger to be in command of what?s going on.
?He?s just got a hunger for knowledge.?
Smith dug OSU out of a 9-point, fourth-quarter deficit last year. He completed a pass to Gonzalez, who made a spectacular catch inside the Wolverine 10 to set up the game-winning touchdown.
?One of the things I remember is him jumping and soaring through the air,? Smith said. ?They say white guys can?t jump. Gonzo is one of the best athletes we have. He is arguably the fastest ... has the best hands ... the smartest guy. You have to put him in position to where he can make plays.?
PLAYERS QUIET
OSU players haven?t said much this week. Tressel made a handful available to the media on Monday. They?ve been off limits since.
Did anyone expect bulletin board material? This team, led by 18 fifth-year seniors, walks and talks like their head coach.
But Tressel?s low-profile, vanilla approach has produced results. He is 4-1 against Michigan.
Big deal, he said. ?It has nothing to do with 2006.?
Or, possibly, 2007 in another month and a half. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]

 

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Canton

Rematch would trivialize The Game of the century

Saturday, November 18, 2006
By NANCY ARMOUR AP Sports Columnist

AP) - Sequels are never a good idea. For every "The Godfather: Part II," there's a dozen or so stinkers like "Caddyshack II."


When it's a classic the first time, don't mess with it. Don't even try.

Before The Game of the century kicks off, let's end all this talk of a Michigan-Ohio State rematch in the BCS title game. Even if Saturday's matchup is close, say a field goal or less, having the No. 1 Buckeyes and No. 2 Wolverines play it all over again come January is a bad idea.

This game is too big, too special _ too good _ to be trivialized with a do-over in a month and a half.

Michigan vs. Ohio State would be a big game in any year, a century-old rivalry where the Rose Bowl was on the line more often than not. On Friday, the game took on a surreal feel when longtime Michigan coach Bo Schembechler died. Schembechler's fierce but friendly rivalry with Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes helped make Michigan-Ohio State what it is today.

This year's edition, though, trumps all 102 that came before it. It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 for the first time in the rivalry's history, with the winner getting a spot in the national championship game.

But a rematch would make this game as unique as a dress rehearsal. If the two teams meet again in the national championship, no one outside Michigan or Ohio will remember or care much about Saturday's game. It will determine who gets to be the "home team" in Phoenix, and little else.

Big deal.

Look, whoever loses might be the nation's second-best team. But the powers that be have decided Division I-A doesn't need a playoff system, that the regular season is tough enough to whittle the field to the two best teams. This isn't the forgiving world of the NFL, where a .500 record can get you into the playoffs.

That's fine. Down the stretch, it makes for excitement that can't be duplicated anywhere else. Few people probably realized there were big-time games on Thursday night _ or that Rutgers had a team worthy of varsity status _ until Louisville, West Virginia and the Scarlet Knights played King of the Mountain. Saturday's Cal-USC game now matters to people outside California. Fans all over the country will keep an eye on the SEC championship game next month.

If these games are as important as they've been made out to be, than they have to matter all the time, not only when it's convenient. Don't like it? Go to a playoff.

Besides, Saturday's losers will have had their shot. If they couldn't get it done when the stakes were supposedly highest, the adrenaline pumping hardest, they don't deserve a second chance. Especially when there might be an unbeaten Rutgers.

Or a USC team that made it unscathed through a brutal November schedule. Or a champion from the SEC, arguably the toughest conference from top to bottom.

Even if Saturday's game is one for the ages, there's little chance that would happen the second time around.

No matter how good the scout squad, practicing for opponents is nothing like playing them. You get a look at their strengths and weaknesses that no amount of film will show, and can see what it really takes to beat team.

Look at the last time Nos. 1 and 2 met this late in the regular season.

Florida and Florida State were two of the country's best teams the entire 1996 season. The Gators spent 10 straight weeks at No. 1, powered by a high-octane offense and a Heisman Trophy favorite at quarterback. Florida State was never lower than No. 3, led by a nasty defense that gave up points as willingly as Bob Knight gives out hugs.

Sound familiar?

The Seminoles beat Florida 24-21, harassing Danny Wuerffel so mercilessly Steve Spurrier wanted a restraining order. When the teams met in the Sugar Bowl five weeks later, it was clear Spurrier had learned a thing or two. He unveiled a shotgun offense, and Wuerffel made that vaunted Florida State defense look downright silly in a 52-20 romp that gave the Gators their first national title.

So much for the regular season mattering.

Schembechler knew better than anyone how high the stakes in The Game can be. When his Wolverines tied Ohio State in 1973, they lost not only the Rose Bowl but a trip anywhere. In those days, it was the Rose Bowl or nothing for Big Ten teams.

Yet Schembechler had no use for rematches.

"Once you beat a team, it's over," he said Monday. "If you're a loser, of course you want to play those guys again. But I would not be in favor of that under any circumstances."
Otherwise, The Game is just another game.

 

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Canton

NOTE Associated Press Sports Writer Rusty Miller has covered 27 OSU-Michigan games.


1. Tim Biakabutuka (1995)

When former Ohio State Coach John Cooper has nightmares, he sees Touchdown Tim.
The Buckeyes were on a roll coming into their annual schedule-ending battle with Michigan at The Big House on Nov. 25. Ohio State was No. 2 in the nation, and playing a Michigan team that had lost two of its last three games.
Ohio State was loaded with seven players who would be drafted the following spring, and a tailback who was a year away from winning the Heisman Trophy (Eddie George).
Tim Biakabutuka, born in Zaire and raised in Canada, dashed the Buckeyes? hopes of a national championship. On his first six carries, he gained 106 yards. By halftime he had 195. He finished with 313 yards on 37 carries and, for good measure, scored the TD that ended up being the difference in a stunning 31-23 upset.
The rushing total is the second highest ever by a Wolverines back and is easily the most by any back in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

2, Troy Smith (2004-5)

Troy Smith was a forgotten sub on an Ohio State team headed nowhere five games into the 2004 season.
In the final game of a three-game losing streak, Coach Jim Tressel replaced Justin Zwick with Smith, who led the Buckeyes to their only touchdown in a 33-7 defeat to Iowa. The next week, with Zwick nursing a shoulder injury, Smith got the start.
A series of routs allowed Smith to learn on the job and by the time he got to the Michigan game on Nov. 20, the Buckeyes had a dangerous multitalented signal-caller.
He completed 13-of-23 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 145 yards on 18 carries with another score in the unranked Buckeyes? 37-21 upset of No. 7 Michigan. His rushing total was the second-highest for an Ohio State quarterback and his 386 total yards were the fourth-best mark in school history.
The next year, Smith buried the Wolverines again. He completed 27-of-37 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown and ran for 37 yards and a score. With the Buckeyes trailing 21-12 with 7:49 to play, he engineered drives of 69 and 88 yards ? the last ending with Antonio Pittman?s 3-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left ? to give No. 9 Ohio State a thrilling 25-21 victory over the 17th-ranked Wolverines.

3, Chic Harley (1919)

Michigan was a steamroller and the Buckeyes a carton of eggs back in the early days of the ?rivalry.? Chic Harley changed that.
The Wolverines were 13-0-2 in the first 15 meetings and shut out Ohio State 11 times. Coming into the 1919 meeting, the Buckeyes had not scored against Michigan in the previous three meetings.
Harley, Ohio State?s first three-time All-American, had not played college football in 1918 because he was in the military. But he returned in 1919 and over his career led the Buckeyes to a record of 21-1-1.
Against Michigan his final year, he scored the game?s only touchdown on a 42-yard run, punted 10 times for a 40-yard average and intercepted four passes in a 13-3 win.
Spurred by his brilliance, Ohio State decided to build a mammoth 66,000-seat stadium in 1922. It was dubbed ?The House That Harley Built.?

4-5, Woody Hayes and
Bo Schembechler, 1969-1978

Stars come and stars go, but for a decade the focal points of The Game were the general and his former lieutenant.
Bo Schembechler was a player for Woody Hayes at Miami (Ohio) on an overachieving team that helped get Woody the Ohio State job. Years later, Schembechler was an assistant and best friend to Hayes, who ruled the Buckeyes like a dictator for 28 years and 205 victories.
Bo learned from the master. After his own stint at Miami, he went to Michigan, where he jousted with ?the old man? for a decade. The year before Schembechler arrived, Hayes had poured it on the ?school up north? by a score of 50-14. When asked after the game why he went for a 2-point conversion late in the game, Hayes replied, ?Because I couldn?t go for three!?
That first year in Ann Arbor, Bo?s Michigan team had two losses and Ohio State was No. 1, the defending national champs and riding a 22-game winning streak. Grinding out yards on the ground and pouncing on turnovers, the student?s team beat the teacher?s, 24-12.
That touched off a contentious 10 years of head-to-head struggles between two stubborn coaches who, away from the limelight, loved and respected each other and were great friends. Let the record show that Bo held the upper hand, 5-4-1.

RUSTY MILLER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AP FILE PHOTO TOUCHDOWN TIM Michigan?s Tim Biakabutuka high-steps past an Ohio State defender on the way to a career-high 313 yards in the schools? 1995 game in Ann Arbor.

 

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Dispatch

Both teams share one foe: pressure

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Rob Oller
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Speaking in public ranks high on the list of things people fear most, which is why so much anxiety will press down upon the participants in today?s Ohio State-Michigan game.
Buckeyes and Wolverines players and coaches plan to make a very public statement today in front of about 105,000 fans in Ohio Stadium and millions more watching at home.
Ohio State hopes to spell out, with a win over Michigan, how it deserves its No. 1 ranking in the polls, a spot it has held all season. Michigan?s speech will include something along the lines of "win one for Bo," of how No. 2 typically tries harder and how the Wolverines? 1-4 record against the Buckeyes since 2000 is but a chain that momentarily slips off the bicycle; nothing to worry about.
Hours have gone into preparing these statements this week. Sleep has come in snippets. Fingernails chewed to the nubs. Good thing the day finally has arrived.
It is impossible to get inside the nervous system of Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith and Michigan tailback Mike Hart to tell which player feels more pressure. For that matter, which team is more under the gun? Both are 11-0, but only one ? probably ? will advance to the Bowl Championship Series national title game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
"The pressure is on both of us. This is huge," Ohio State defensive end Jay Richardson said. "Them being No. 2, haven?t beaten us in a couple years (2003), looking for a shot to get one for them and obviously for their coach (Lloyd Carr).
"Us being No. 1 and having to knock them off to really go to where we want to go and have our goals met. The pressure is on both sides."
Throw in the national publicity ? ABC/ ESPN has hyped The Game for weeks, even before it was certain both teams would be undefeated going in; Ohio State issued more than 1,000 media credentials ? and no question the Game of the Century doubles as Game of the Sensory overload.
It?s hard enough for fans to handle the pressure; how do players deal with it? In what perhaps may be a surprising answer, they embrace it.
"I think pressure this week is unmatched in the history of the game," said former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman, who has studied both teams and watched them play as an ESPN analyst. "That extra pressure is a good thing, because as a player, and all the coaches I played for, we loved that, where something major is on the line. It?s what we?re here for."
Carr agreed, adding that Michigan coaches make clear to recruits what they?re getting themselves into.
"A guy doesn?t come here unless he wants the pressure," Carr said. "Expectations are such that you?ve got to want it ... that?s the kind of guys we?re looking for."
Coaches feel the heat, too. Carr has come under fire in Ann Arbor for his 1-4 record against Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.
"From a coaching standpoint, Carr wants to get the monkey off his back," said Michigan fan Derrick Burch, of Ann Arbor.
Michigan players take a different tack, pointing out that rebounding from a 7-5 record last season to standing on the brink of a national-title game invitation is not pressure.
"Pressure is when you?re trying to get into a bowl," offensive lineman Rueben Riley said.
The Wolverines say that being the underdog today (Ohio State is favored by seven points) means the Buckeyes are the ones who should be stressed.
"The underdog is supposed to lose, so you don?t have anything hanging over your head, as far as you should have done this or you need to do that." Riley said.
Denial is one way to deal with the stress. It may not be the best method, but better something than nothing.
Sam Maniar, a sports psychologist at Ohio State, helps the Buckeyes deal with pressure by teaching relaxation and focusing techniques such as deep breathing, visualizing and reliving positive plays from the past.
"We?re control freaks who think too much," Maniar said.
Settling into a routine also is important. Players who turn off their brains and put their bodies on auto-pilot tend to perform better in the clutch, he said, adding that how one handles stress ultimately comes down to how the individual perceives pressure.
Experience helps. Athletes who have faced and overcome pressure in difficult situations are better suited to repeat their success the next time.
So does that mean Troy Smith, who has burned Michigan two straight years, is oneup on the Wolverines?
"Sure, I?d like to say that at least," Maniar said, chuckling.
Dispatch sports reporter Ken Gordon contributed to this story.
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COMMENTARY
Bo-Woody kinship survived rivalry

Saturday, November 18, 2006


BOB HUNTER

ONN video

• Dispatch sportswriter Tim May discusses Bo Schembechler's effect on the Michigan team

FILE PHOTO Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes shared a warm bond despite the heated rivalry.

Bo Schembechler?s death was accompanied by more than a pinch of irony.
In life, Schembechler helped shove the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry into the sports stratosphere, engaging in a "10-year war" with old boss Woody Hayes that seemed to transform it into more than just a game.
In death, the day before what some are calling the biggest Ohio State-Michigan game ever, he gave it back some perspective. The sudden loss of the former Michigan coach to heart failure yesterday morning at least temporarily interrupted the frenzy created by the most-hyped game in the series? rich history.
He had tried to do that Monday while he was still alive. Schembechler opened a news conference in Ann Arbor by talking about the death of former Wolverines quarterback Tom Slade the night before. His words offered a perspective that his own death would accentuate four days later.
"I was thinking about this game with two great undefeated teams playing against each other," Schembechler said. "And last night we lost Tom Slade ? so there are some things that are more important than this game on Saturday."
Despite all the bluster and bravado that followed these two cranky characters through the 1970s, Schembechler and Hayes were never the acrimonious enemies they appeared. Bo was a graduate assistant coach on Woody?s first Ohio State staff in 1951, and after a stint in the Army and jobs at three other schools he returned to Hayes? staff for five more years.
"I escaped from Columbus when I got the head-coaching job at Miami (University)," Schembechler said this week. "But I had a wonderful experience there because I coached for Woody when Woody was really Woody. He was the most irascible guy that ever lived and the worst guy in the world to work for. But I wouldn?t change that experience for anything in the world because ? I learned a lot."
He landed the job at Michigan at precisely the time when he could do the most damage to Hayes? Buckeyes. With a starstudded sophomore class, the Buckeyes had won the national championship in 1968, closing out the regular season with a 50-14 win over Bump Elliott?s Wolverines.
It set up another national championship run in 1969, and the No. 1 Buckeyes were on the way until Schembechler?s Wolverines pulled a stunning 24-12 upset. It started an escalation in the rivalry that has continued to this day.
Although today?s game might be the biggest in terms of rankings and prestige, the 1970 revenge game was probably more important to Ohio State players and fans than any in school history. The Buckeyes won 20-9, setting the stage for eight more years of Woody-Bo battles.
Ohio State fans hated Bo and Michigan fans hated Woody, so it was natural to assume the two men hated each other. Later, when Woody was retired and Bo?s coaching career was winding down, we learned that the image of "hatred" masked an enormous respect.
"Several times (Schembechler) would be sick or ill and he would never ever miss a practice," former Michigan defensive back David Key said. "Once he had kidney stones and I swear he passed the kidney stones in the middle of practice just so he wouldn?t miss it. But when Woody died, it was such an emotional roller coaster for him, we took two days off of spring drills to honor Woody."
Woody felt the same way about Schembechler. In 1987, he heard Bo was speaking at a luncheon in Dayton. Even though he was in poor health, Woody asked a friend to drive him over there just so he could introduce Schembechler. Bo later remembered how feeble Woody looked leaning on his cane but said he gave a 20-minute introduction and then stayed for every word of his old friend?s speech.
Woody died the next day.

Bob Hunter is a sports colum nist for The Dispatch
.
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Dispatch

The Game will swing on play of the linemen

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



If Michigan?s defensive line dominates today as it has all season, the Wolverines will win. If Ohio State?s defensive line can stuff running back Michael Hart and pressure quarterback Chad Henne, the Buckeyes will win. It?s as simple as that. The 103 rd meeting of Ohio State and Michigan is the biggest yet, No. 1 vs. No. 2 for the first time in series history. Both teams are 11-0, with the winner taking an outright Big Ten championship and heading to Glendale, Ariz., to play for the national title on Jan. 8.
By kickoff, it will have been analyzed up, down and sideways.
But while everyone talks about quarterbacks, receivers and running backs, The Game ? as even most noncapitalized games do ? ultimately will be won by the team that controls the line of scrimmage.
"I think it?s the key every year, whether or not people want to talk about it," OSU center Doug Datish said. "You look at any game, the lines kind of dictate what happens. I mean, there can be some special-teams stuff, but usually it comes down to who?s controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball."
It may be true every year, but it appears more so this time around.
Michigan?s defensive front is outstanding. The Wolverines lead the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 30 yards per game, and are second in sacks with 41.
End LaMarr Woodley is one shy of a school record for sacks with 11 and is a finalist for the Lombardi Award as the nation?s most outstanding offensive or defensive lineman or linebacker. He is flanked by Rondell Biggs (five sacks) at the other end, with 300-pound tackles Terrance Taylor and Alan Branch in the middle.
"They are great athletes with excellent technique," Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. "They get after it play after play, and they enjoy playing with one another, you can see that."
Michigan State coach John L. Smith said Michigan?s line was the best he has ever seen.
"They dominate up front," Smith said. "I?d line them up against somebody in the NFL; they have that look to them."
Ohio State has a 1,000-yard rusher in Antonio Pittman and a bruising backup in Chris "Beanie" Wells. But the Buckeyes might decide their best bet is to spread the Wolverines out and rely on their Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Troy Smith, to scramble away from the inevitable pressure.
On the other side, OSU must limit Hart, who is the heart and soul of Michigan?s offense. The junior back has rushed for 1,373 yards and 11 TDs, thanks in part to the Wolverines? new zone-blocking scheme that allows him to take advantage of his wicked cutback abilities.
The Buckeyes? defensive line may not be as heralded as Michigan?s, but OSU?s front has been the foundation for the nation?s No. 1 scoring defense (7.8 points per game). The Buckeyes have given up just nine touchdowns.
Tackle Quinn Pitcock, another Lombardi Award candidate, gets the most press. But OSU rotates eight to 10 players, and all have contributed.
The big key for the Buckeyes has been getting pressure on quarterbacks without blitzing.
"That?s every defensive coordinator?s dream, to put pressure on with four," Tressel said. "That gives you seven players to cover only five receivers. That?s everything."
And as usual, the line play today for both teams is everything.
"I?m probably a little biased, but in the trenches is where it?s won," OSU defensive end Jay Richardson said. "It all starts up front."
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Saturday, November 18, 2006

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Saturday, November 18, 2006

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Saturday, November 18, 2006

 

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Dispatch

COMMENTARY
Today?s game a culmination of rich history

Saturday, November 18, 2006


TODD JONES

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This is a day unlike any other since Ohio State first played football against Michigan in 1897.
This is a day they?ll talk about in Columbus and Ann Arbor long after we?re gone.
Win or lose, your team is part of something special ? unless there is a Bowl Championship Series rematch, and then today will have been just another day.
Think about this day, this game, how special it all will be when more than 105,000 people fall silent in Ohio Stadium in honor of Bo Schembechler.
Think about the games won and lost, the great moments of the past and how there never has been anything in this tremendous rivalry quite like the start of this game on this day.
For the first time in the scorched series, both teams are 11-0 and ranked as the nation?s top two, and they?re clashing one day after the death of Schembechler, an Ohio native with his imprint on The Game.
Think of how Bo loved this game as an Ohio State assistant and Michigan?s coach for 21 seasons.
Think about Schembechler, who died yesterday at age 77, and Woody Hayes stomping and snorting at one another and you?ll understand why there shouldn?t be a rematch.
This is not Hollywood pumping out watereddown sequels.
This is Ohio State-Michigan, the way it used to be, with everything on the line.
The winner should reap all rewards today. The loser should slink out of the stadium and lick its wounds.
Although the odds are against it, some prognosticators see a possible rematch Jan. 8 between the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the national championship game.
"How depressing," said Bill Long, an Ohio State quarterback in the 1960s.
No doubt.
Imagine winning a national championship without winning the Big Ten. That would be the case if today?s loser beat the winner 51 days from now in a rematch in Glendale, Ariz.
Television would love a rematch. So would the entertainment gluttons at home who can?t get enough of a good thing.
Sounds tempting, like a fourth ice cream scoop, but Ohio State-Michigan II wouldn?t be the same as today?s game for the reason that makes today special: tradition.
"This probably goes back to the way Michigan and Ohio State used to be when Bo and Coach Hayes were coaching," said Vada Murray, a former Michigan safety from Cincinnati.
Schembechler had three teams from 1972 through ?74 that went 30-2-1, shared three Big Ten championships and never went to a bowl game because that tie and those two defeats (by a total of five points) were to Ohio State.
Lose, and you went home. That?s pressure.
The loser today will probably go to the Rose Bowl. If the loser, instead, goes to the national championship game, then what was the point of getting so worked up about today?
That?s why there can?t be Ohio State-Michigan II. A rematch would make this day just another disposable game.
Today is the way Ohio State-Michigan should be, in November, the final game of a regular season that means something.
Any thoughts of a rematch lowers today?s stakes, chips away at this game?s significance.
We live in the age of hyperbole, when all games are sold as huge events.
This game today doesn?t need the usual hucksters and carnival barkers. The teams? achievements have provided valid significance to the 103 rd edition of Ohio State-Michigan.
Think of Bo and Woody. Think of the winner taking all the chips. Think of today as something you?ll remember all your life, not something to be repeated in 51 days.
Forget a rematch. Cherish the moment.

Todd Jones is a sports columnist for The Dis patch .

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Dispatch

Wolverines have made about-face on defense this season

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? LaMarr Woodley walked off the field late in a game against Ball State two weeks ago and he was mad. Steaming mad.
He was furious with the way Michigan?s defense had played, though it had just stopped the Cardinals from scoring in the closing minutes. Michigan held on for a 34-26 win, though it had led 31-12 at one point.
"I was just a little upset," the defensive end said. "We gave up points. And I knew the last two games that we could not play like that."
Woodley was angry because comebacks were not suppose to happen against this defense like they had in 2005. Last year, Michigan allowed winning scores late in four of its five losses, including a 25-21 loss to Ohio State.
The losses led to the removal of defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann. In his place went 38-year-old Ron English, a fiery guy whose intensity and toughlove personality have led to a defensive revival this season. No. 2 Michigan takes an 11-0 record into the showdown today with top-ranked Ohio State.
Michigan leads the nation in rushing defense, allowing fewer than 30 yards per game, 107 less than last season. It is second in number of sacks. It is third in total defense. Most important, it is preserving leads in the fourth quarter.
Michigan gave up 97 points in the fourth quarter in 2005. This season, it has allowed 44.
"Coming out of spring practice I felt very good about our defense because I felt athletically and physically, and from an experience standpoint, we had guys that had matured," coach Lloyd Carr said. "They were competitive, they were good athletes, and I felt like we had the kind of depth that would enable us to be effective even if we had guys miss time."
Michigan?s defense returned eight starters from 2005, but is playing much different under English. He spent the previous three seasons on Carr?s staff as secondary coach. The Wolverines nearly lost him to the Chicago Bears in the offseason. .
English has not made major personnel changes or installed different formations. Instead, he has instilled enthusiasm and aggressiveness in his players not present before.
"Coach (English) is just a guy that?s fired up all the time," Woodley said. "He?s always ready to go. When you see him around the building, he?s just ready to go. ? He kind of motivates you to get everything going."
Woodley and the rest of the defensive line ? Alan Branch, Terrance Taylor and Rondell Biggs ? have taken on English?s persona. Their girth and speed make it difficult for teams to run. Minnesota is the only team to rush for more than 100 yards against the Wolverines.
"They have done a heck of a job this year putting pressure on the quarterback and getting penetration in the backfield," middle linebacker David Harris said. "Those guys up front, they make it easy for the linebackers to run around and make plays."
Making plays, especially at the end of games, is something Michigan missed last season. Woodley said the defense decided last winter it would not falter in the fourth quarter again.
"I knew it was going to be a great year as long as every one committed," Woodley said. "Once I saw during spring and fall camp that everybody had made that commitment, I knew we were going to go a long way."
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Dispatch

Schembechler?s death gives game an unknown factor

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

ONN video

• Dispatch sportswriter Tim May discusses Bo Schembechler's effect on the Michigan team

The gray and chilly weather matched the look on Michigan coach Lloyd Carr?s face as he strode purposefully into and out of Ohio Stadium yesterday.
He chose not to speak to reporters about the death of former coach Bo Schembechler when his Wolverines conducted their walkthrough.
Whether the emotion of Schembechler?s death will motivate his team today is open for debate.
"I?m sure it?s going to have some sort of impact," former Ohio State player Archie Griffin said. "I?m sure it will be a rallying point for Michigan."
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, a former Notre Dame player and coach, had an opposing view.
"People will make something out of it, and obviously it?s a legitimate thought," he said. "But I don?t think at the end of the day it will have an effect. The players have been coached and the talent will emerge. They?re on such an emotional high already.
"To put his death and the emotions of it on his players, I don?t think it?s fair."
It?s an unknown factor because something like this hasn?t happened in the storied rivalry. Legendary Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes died in March 1987, not on the eve of the biggest game in series history.
On campus last night, the mood appeared unaffected. Ticket scalpers were standing on street corners, tents and television trucks were set up, and hundreds of people strolled in and out of the Lane Avenue bars and restaurants.
The only place where the gravity of the death seemed to take effect was just outside the stadium?s southwest gate, where the Wolverines came and went from their walkthrough.
Longtime Michigan equipment manager Jon Falk, who worked with Schembechler for decades, had tears in his eyes as he walked back to the bus.
And though several dozen onlookers started the call-andresponse of "O-H" and "I-O," it seemed to lack gusto and quickly died out.
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OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Rematch for title would suit OSU

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Tim May and Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




No matter the outcome of The Game today, if Ohio State players are told to play Michigan again Jan. 8 for the national championship, they seemed amenable to the idea.
It?s possible that No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan could end up that way again in the Bowl Championship Series final standings Dec. 3, which would match them for an encore in the title game in Glendale, Ariz.
"I think it would be fun, because this rivalry is unlike any other," safety Brandon Mitchell said. "But I think the game would be a little bit different, just because it?s not in Columbus or it?s not in Ann Arbor. You don?t really get the same amount of fans.
"It will be a neutral site, so I think there will be a different feel of a game. But I think the competition level would still be amazing."
But wouldn?t that diminish the importance of The Game?
"I don?t think it would take anything away from it," running back Antonio Pittman said. "If we were to win and had to play Michigan again, I?m all for it. It would be a national championship, a game we wanted to play. It?s not like we?d get out there, find out who we have to play and would say, ?Aw, we played them already. We don?t want to play the game.?
"It?s what we?ve worked hard for all year, to get to the national championship and to win it."
Digging in on new turf

The teams will play on a grass field installed just over two weeks ago. It is said to be in great shape compared with the one it replaced, which was installed at the end of September when the previous grass was deemed unworthy. But Pittman said new grass, old grass, it won?t matter to him today.
"A field is a field," Pittman said. "When you get out there, you can?t complain about it once you?re on it. You might as well get out there and do what you?ve got to do."
Later start no big deal

Some traditionalists grumbled when the game was moved back this season to 3:30 p.m. The official start time is listed as 3:42 p.m., which will be the latest in the 103-year history of the series.
But Ohio State players didn?t seem to care. They have played seven of their 11 games at 3:30 this season, with two at noon and two at 8 p.m.
"I like the time change, personally, because we?ve played so many 3:30 games this year, it?s the routine for us," center Doug Datish said.
Guard T.J. Downing said, "I think if it was a night game, it would be a lot different. But in the afternoon any time, it?s all the same to us."
Same old Mario ?

Many are wondering whether Michigan big-play receiver Mario Manningham will be at full strength, considering he just returned two weeks ago from midseason arthroscopic knee surgery.
"He is definitely ready," Mitchell said. "I saw him catch a couple of big passes in the Indiana game, and he was running fine. We?re going to prepare for him to be at full strength."

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