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

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DREW SHARP: Rematch? Why worry now?

Buckeyes are focused and not the ones wondering, what if?
November 16, 2006

BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Say what you will about Ohio State -- and there are encyclopedic volumes of opinions throughout Ann Arbor -- but the Buckeyes are OK with the idea that Saturday's big game against Michigan may serve only as prelude to a bigger rematch in the Arizona desert.
"It wouldn't bother us if we have to play (Michigan) again," senior center Doug Datish said.
But wouldn't a rematch be unfair to Saturday's winner?
"How is it unfair if we needed to beat them twice to win the national championship?" Datish reasoned. "You play whoever lines up across from you. You don't complain about it. The objective is to keep winning regardless of who you're playing against. We don't think about that other stuff. Our responsibility is to try and keep winning. All that other stuff doesn't matter."
There is no debate as far as the Buckeyes are concerned. Lose your regular-season finale and you've lost any legitimate claim on playing for the national championship. Who cares whether it's an evenly matched "instant classic"?
"How could you still honestly play for the national championship yet not have won your conference?" senior defensive back Brandon Mitchell said. "There's no need for arguing when you win. We're not even thinking about Plan B's or anything else because we're focusing all of our concentration on trying to get the (Bowl Championship Series) title game unbeaten."
The rematch obsession is more prevalent amid the Michigan faithful. It's like they must have something to worry about. Upset the Buckeyes on Saturday, only to face them a second time, and they feel they're getting cheated. Lose to the Buckeyes and possibly lose out to a one-loss Notre Dame in the BCS title game, and they feel they're getting cheated.
The Buckeyes keep it simple. Losing should bring consequences, particularly if it occurs late in the season.
The attitude starts with their coach. Jim Tressel believes losing a conference championship should disqualify a team from the national championship game.
"The thing we say as we go into every year," he said, "is that if you want a chance to play for the national championship, you better make the assumption that you need to win every game and win your conference."
Ohio State understands better than everybody else that college football is all about the money. It spends more of it than any other university.
The BCS wasn't created to find a consensus national champion. It was born out of a lust between the major bowls and major conferences to squeeze more gold from the goose without involving the NCAA and the university presidents.
Its intent isn't finding the two best teams in the country. It's all about finding the two most attractive teams, manufacturing the marquee matchup that will bring droves to their televisions and send national ratings and future rights fees skyrocketing.
The process "worked" last year because it got the game the country wanted -- two-time defending national champion Southern Cal and undefeated Texas with two Heisman Trophy winners and four of the top 10 selections in the subsequent NFL draft.
But college football would always rather have the debate about who belongs in the national championship game and the additional revenue it spawns.
"That's why it's all pretty simple for the players," Mitchell said. "Our mission is pretty clear. You look at the schedule, see who's there and prepare for them. You don't ask questions. You don't cry about something being unfair. It doesn't matter what others think is fair or unfair. We'll leave that for you guys to worry about."
Tressel knows plenty about postseason rematches, having won national championships at Division I-AA Youngstown State. He once played Eastern Kentucky a second time in the playoffs in 1994.
"We didn't spend any time figuring out if it was difficult," he said. "We went to work."
Youngstown State beat Eastern Kentucky in the regular season and again in the NCAA semifinals.
The lesson learned then is voiced through his players today.
Winning settles all arguments.

 

[osugrad21]

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Revival of the fittest
Carr?s promoting DeBord, English to coordinator posts at center of Michigan?s turnaround from five-loss team to five-star squad

November 16, 2006
BY JIM O'DONNELL Staff Reporter
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It is after midnight at the University of Michigan. In the wee glow, the campus remains imposing and enchanted. The newest glass slipper has yet to be recalled.
The vibe is odd. The students seem to know they are better than most. Better than Michigan State, for sure. Certainly better than Central Michigan. Certifiably better than Notre Dame. They walk with a quiet, contented hubris, best evidenced by the fact that dark on dark seems to be a preferred statement of both fashion and attitude as the magical milkmen gather. Outsiders beware, especially around dark-on-darker crosswalks.
Their unbeaten Wolverines will play unbeaten Ohio State on Saturday in one of the biggest football games since Walter Camp telegraphed Fielding A. Yost for All-America possibilities. The dimension of the coming fray is not lost on the locals. This isn't Yale, after all. But what is undoubtedly seismic in Columbus, Ohio, seems merely seasonal right now near the coffee bars at State and Liberty. The ''Go Blue!'' signs are there, but a visitor has to be looking for them.
Maybe that's because of the recent culture of the Big Game. Students at Michigan are clearly not accustomed to losing -- in life, in libraries, in general apprentice rat racing. They are the American future's automakers and lawyers and neoconservative politicians. Their view of a football game -- even a game as blaringly Important and Historic as the one that will be played Saturday at Ohio Stadium -- appears to be in proportion to their side's chances of success. In this Xbox generation, if this game isn't happening, move on to something that might.

? Click to enlarge image
Ohio State tackle Quinn Pitcock (90), linebacker Anthony Schlegel (51) and tackle Marcus Green (94) stop Michigan running back Mike Hart in last year's 25-21 Buckeye win.
(AP)

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? Big game Jeopardy!

The man responsible for that hesitation shuffle by UM fans is the same man who might be hailed as one of the most valiant victors of them all by dusk Saturday. That's head coach Lloyd Carr. Six years ago, in the eyes of Wolverines fans, he was a victor as valiant as Yost, Bo Schembechler, any of 'em. In his first six seasons amid the Midwestern Gothic, Carr drove Michigan to five victories over John Cooper and Ohio State. Along the way, he also produced a national championship and perfect 12-0 season in 1997. The students once again had quantifiable football feedback that they were better than most.

Victors no more
Then, enter Jim Tressel. Just as Schembechler once magically appeared in Ann Arbor as the perfect Ohio-spawned Rx to Woody Hayes, Tressel alighted from a reed basket on the Olentangy River to change the balance of power in the Big Game. He has beaten Michigan four times in five tries, and except for a 35-21 defense of the Michigan Stadium turf in 2003, Carr would be 0-for-the-21st-century against the scaramouche-and-gray. The nadir came last season, actually before the Big Game. Carr, typically, had enough adolescent talent to stock a couple of Mid-American Conferences. But the magical milkmen weren't with him. Just about all that could go wrong did. The major harbinger came on a hot Saturday afternoon in September at the Big House when a thoroughly middle-class Notre Dame defense pulled a game out of its shillelagh and battered back the Wolverines 17-10.
More than 111,000 UM fans looked on in code-Blue agony as Chad Henne came up dry (19-for-44, 223 yards) and star tailback Michael Hart suffered the first in a string of injuries that would derail his 2005 season.
''That afternoon,'' offensive tackle Rueben Riley said, ''was the first hint we had it wasn't going to be our year.''
It wasn't. Two weeks later, a 23-20 loss to unranked Wisconsin. Two weeks after that -- on homecoming -- a staggering 23-20 loss to Minnesota. Even the Big Game -- at the Big House -- in the end, a Big Nightmare. No. 9 Ohio State (8-2) vs. No. 17 Michigan (7-3). With seven minutes remaining, a 21-12 Wolverines lead. Wake up the milkmen.
But no. Instead, two flawless final possessions by Ohio State. The first ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes. Two minutes later, Smith -- the scarlet prince of happy feet -- drove the Buckeyes 85 yards with the crispness and precision of a glass-slipper maker. He completed 7 of 8 passes and never faced a third down. The drama ended with 24 seconds left when Antonio Pittman barreled three yards for a touchdown that left Michigan Stadium in cold Blue agony.
Carr had decisions to make. To his credit, he made them with sharp insight and appropriate urgency.

Time for a change
Quietly, after the 7-5 campaign was complete, he changed both his offensive and defensive coordinators. Gone, eventually to side jobs in the NFL, were loyalists Terry Malone and Jim Hermann. In Malone's place on offense, Carr scanned his program's back pages and elevated Mike DeBord from his roost as recruiting coordinator and special-teams coach. DeBord had been on Carr's staff in Ann Arbor from 1992 to '99, crescendoing as offensive coordinator during a three-year span that included the '97 national championship team. But it was that success that took DeBord away to a less successful four-year run as head coach at Central Michigan. He returned to Ann Arbor in 2004.
On defense, Carr hesitated and almost lost when secondary coach Ron English appeared to be hired away by Lovie Smith and the Bears last winter. But Michigan dug deeper, convinced English to stay, and he was made defensive coordinator.
The results, on both sides of the ball, have been magical. The Wolverines have upticked to 26th in the nation in scoring offense (29.34 points per game) and 12th in rushing (194.55 yards per game). On defense, they are first in Division I-A against the run (29.91 ypg), 11th in pass efficiency (101.08) and third overall (231.95 ypg). Most importantly, they have consistently closed games this season, unlike last year.
On offense, DeBord switched the team from gap blocking to zone blocking. With Hart's return to full health, that has resulted in a ground attack that can blend its traditional power with improvisational possibilities that are perfectly suited to the star tailback's instincts and elusiveness.
''Michael is coached to attack the creases wherever they may come,'' Carr said. ''He is perfect for that.''
Defensively, English's philosophy can be summed up in three words, according to senior safety Willis Barringer: ''Hard, fast and fun.''
Notre Dame got knocked-out knowledge of that new attitude back in September. With linebacker David Harris and end LaMarr Woodley leading the swarm, the Wolverines banged the Irish from South Bend to Mishawaka with a 47-21 blitzing.
Now it all comes down to 60 minutes on Saturday afternoon. Can the glass slipper survive the Horseshoe?
Says no less than Schembechler: ''Great players will make great plays. I don't think anyone would argue that there would be another football game anywhere this season with as many gifted athletes on one field. And if all the great players on both teams make all of their great plays, it will probably come down to a nondescript right guard who'll make great plays, and his team will win.
''I don't make predictions. I'll just tell you one thing: It will be a whale of a battle.''
With even the darkest-on-dark crosswalkers at Michigan hoping their newest glass slipper never is recalled.
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QB's 'breakdown' not forgotten
In a career that has known bumps, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith's ugliest incident occurred six years ago on a high school basketball court for St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. In a game against Toledo St. John's in December 2000, St. Edward was losing -- a rarity for the talented group. Smith had been trash-talking much of the game with John Floyd of St. John's. Late in the third quarter, Smith -- according to Floyd -- told him: "You ain't going to finish this game."
Moments later, Floyd told the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "I passed to the wing and cut down the lane and got ready to set a screen. The next thing I knew, [Smith] hit me in the head. When I came to, I was dizzy, and they had to help me to the bench."
Floyd suffered a concussion and had to miss St. John's next game. Smith was thrown off the St. Edward varsity -- with the announcement made the day before Christmas -- and transferred to Glenville High School on Cleveland's far east side rather than face possible expulsion.
This summer, in Sports Illustrated's College Football Preview issue, Smith said the incident happened because of racial taunts. Floyd, who is white, denied that charge, as did others in attendance at the game.
"It was a mental breakdown," Smith told SI. "I snapped.''
Said Floyd: "Nobody wants to hear my side of the story because [Smith] is such a great success story. I'm glad he's doing well. But I would like to sit down with him ... and see some remorse."
Jim O'Donnell

 

[osugrad21]

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Some Wolverines slink, some strut Wolverine? You either slink or strut


Thursday, November 16, 2006Grant Segall
Plain Dealer Reporter
How ticklish can it be to root for the Wolverines in Buckeye country?
So ticklish that the local Wolverine club declined to comment for this article. Or to publicize where club members will gather Saturday to watch the nationally televised Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus.
"The party is private for alumni of the University of Michigan," the club president hastened to add in an e-mail.
On the verge of a game to determine the Big Ten title -- and a trip to the national championship game -- it might rattle OSU fans to learn how many maize-and-blue loyalists lurk in our midst.
University of Michigan officials know of 3,644 alumni in the six counties of Greater Cleveland.
OK, they're a fraction of the 26,005 known Buckeye grads here. But they include a surprising number of notables, from former Mayor Jane Campbell to U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette.
Some local Wolverines flaunt their colors.
Wide receiver Braylon Edwards has often worn his beloved Michigan colors in the orange and brown confines of the Cleveland Browns' locker room.
"It's my school, so I'm supporting it," said Edwards, a Detroit native and the Browns' top selection in the 2005 draft.
But other Ohioans hide their Michigan connection.
Maybe Marc Dann figured it would have ruined his narrow victory last week for attorney general. He did not return a call for comment.
Paul Brentlinger has a special reason to be discreet about his allegiance to Ann Arbor.
"I wear a Michigan cap occasionally," says Brentlinger, a partner at Morgenthaler, a venture capital firm. "But I have to be very careful, because my wife is an alumna of Ohio State."
Janice Loas of Strongsville did not attend Michigan, but came from the state and roots for the school. Her husband, John, is a big Buckeye fan and the couple have a flag with a big O, a big M, and the words "House Divided."
They plan to host a TV party for the telecast, with Janice the only non-Buckeye fan.
LaTourette says he avoids speaking to local groups the week of the game. People introducing him always mention his alma mater, and the boos get way too loud this week.
Campbell is a third-generation Wolverine. During her dozen years at the Statehouse, she wore maize and blue all week before each edition of "The Game."
"My colleagues teased me before the game, but not after," says Campbell. Michigan won nine of those 12 games and tied one.
Then she flip-flopped, with credit given to the Buckeye stars from Glenville High.
"Once I became mayor and got to know the kids from Glenville, I switched my allegiance and cheered for Ohio State because they're the grown-up Glenville boys," says Campbell.
Other prominent Wolverines include concert promoter Jules Belkin, mattress mogul Henry Goodman and energy executive Robert Ginn -- no kin to the Buckeyes' Ted Ginn Jr.
Erick Anderson won the Butkus Award at Michigan as the nation's best linebacker. He also married a schoolmate and followed her home to Shaker Heights, where he teaches elementary schoolers and coaches linebackers.
"I have no qualms about making it very well known that I love Michigan," says Anderson. The Michigan flag often disappears from outside his home, and Buckeye souvenirs appear.
"They will never be used unless I wash my car and need a rag," vows Anderson. Last year, he lost a bet to a fourth-grader and had to wear an Ohio State cap at recess.
Browns defensive lineman and OSU grad Simon Fraser plans to watch the game on TV (kickoff 3:30 p.m.), then rest up for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.
Edwards says he hopes to have a closer view -- from the Michigan sideline at Ohio Stadium.
"Once in a lifetime," he explains.

 

[osugrad21]

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Sports > Other Sports > Story

The 'Biggest Big Game'

By Vahe Gregorian
OF THE POST-DISPATCH​

11/16/2006

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and linebacker Curtis Terry, left; at right, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. Top-ranked Ohio State takes on No. 2 Michigan on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
(File photos/AP)

With nine modern national titles and nine Heisman Trophies between them, with fight songs, marching bands, stadiums and helmets as distinctive as any and dozens of memorable meetings, the Ohio State-Michigan series has had a rich history.

But the matchup that has marked the regular-season finale for each since 1935 never before has featured the intriguing aspect of their game on Saturday in Columbus:

For the first time since they began playing in 1897, the teams are ranked 1-2 going in, leaving Michigan publicists dubbing it "The Biggest 'Big Game.' " And those perhaps most likely to argue the point aren't.

"This is something special," former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said at a news conference in Ann Arbor on Monday.

Given that the winner will go to the BCS national title game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., and the loser has a flickering hope of joining them, perhaps the game would have much the same luster even if it weren't part of this absorbing series.

Yet the magnitude surely is related to the history surrounding it, particularly the history of the so-called "Ten-Year War" between Ohio State's Woody Hayes and Schembechler.

"That redefined the rivalry," said Dan Dierdorf, the former Wolverine and Cardinal. "I don't think it had quite the panache (nationally) before then."

Perhaps surprisingly to some, though, the foundation of the series has been fierce competition framed by respect ? at least among players and coaches.

"You're cousins. You're almost related in the sense that your fate has you in such proximity to one another. You're forever linked to each other," he said, adding, "It's yin and yang ? you can't have one without the other."

That never seemed truer than it did from the time Schembechler took over at Michigan in 1969 to the time Hayes lost his job after the 1978 season.
Noting Michigan's lull through most of the 1960s and Ohio State's 22-game winning streak entering that first meeting, Dierdorf said that Michigan's 24-12 victory "kind of kick-started" the modern era of Michigan football.

It also launched a colorful psychological battle between Hayes and Schembechler, who had a 5-4-1 record against the man who had been his boss for six years at Ohio State before Schembechler "escaped."

"He was the most irascible guy who ever lived, and the worst guy in the world to work for," Schembechler said. "But I wouldn't change that experience for anything in the world because I learned a lot."

As legendary as Hayes' temper was his approach to Michigan, which Hayes typically referred to as "that school up north." Mythology has it that he once pushed his car across the border back into Ohio rather than buy gas there.

"It might have started out as an emotional ploy, but he actually lived that," said Washington University coach Larry Kindbom, a graduate assistant in Hayes' final two seasons.

Asked why he elected to go for two points against Michigan with a 50-14 lead in 1968, Hayes said, "Because they wouldn't let me go for three." Michigan always was on his mind, even when the Buckeyes were preparing for other teams.

Less celebrated is the fact that Schembechler effectively did the same thing.

"Bo admitted to me that every day at practice, there was something during that practice solely geared toward Ohio State," Dierdorf said. "We never knew it."

Few knew Schembechler's other secret: He owned a pizza franchise in Columbus, something Dierdorf said "he laughed for years about."

Perhaps epitomizing the rivalry, the pair had an underlying fondness for each other.

"We've fought and quarreled for years," Hayes once said, "but we're great friends."

That was clear at the low point in Hayes' career, the punching of a Clemson player that cost him his job. At the time, Schembechler drove from Ann Arbor to Hayes' house, Dierdorf said, pleading with him to apologize.

" 'I didn't do anything wrong,' " Hayes told Schembechler.

Even with Hayes gone, the legend of their rivalry lives on in many forms ? including a Columbus punk band called "the Dead Schembechlers," each of whom dresses like Hayes to perform despite taking the name of the man they call "the accursed one."

But the truest extension of their rivalry? Tune in Saturday.​

 

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Henne, the other QB

By REID HANLEY

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Chad Henne is the forgotten quarterback in Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State game.
The Buckeyes' Troy Smith has been the man in the spotlight for the last two seasons and the senior has responded with two victories in one of college football's biggest rivalries. This year Smith is considered the favorite for the Heisman Trophy for leading the Buckeyes to an 11-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in the country.
Henne, likewise, has his team at 11-0, and the Wolverines are No. 2.
Henne, a 6-foot-2, 224-pound junior, has started every game since arriving at Michigan from Wyomissing, Pa., three years ago. Yet he often is overlooked on his own team. Tailback Mike Hart, wide receiver Mario Manningham and receiver/kick returner Steve Breaston receive more attention from fans and the media.
Henne, however, is the one who makes Michigan go. He has completed a Big Ten-high 61.9 percent of his passes for 1,932 yards and 18 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
"To watch his progress is a lot like watching Troy Smith's progress," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He has been in many different circumstances and learned valuable lessons."
Henne's leadership means as much or more to Michigan than his statistics. He came in as a raw freshman thrust into the starting lineup the night before his first game. After 35 starts, Henne is a complete quarterback.
"It's not about stats, it's about how he manages the game, how he executes at his position," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Henne will have a full complement of offensive weapons available. Manningham missed three games after minor knee surgery but is back at full speed. Hart has gained 1,373 yards and has scored 11 touchdowns. Breaston is playing his best football, and the offensive line is healthy.
Michigan's offense will face a Buckeyes defense that has surprised this season after losing nine starters. Ohio State is third in the Big Ten in total defense and is second only to Michigan in rushing defense.
"They're almost identical to ourselves," Henne said. "Their defense runs very well and they have good speed on the back end."
After almost three full seasons, Henne believes he understands the Wolverines' offense well enough that he can anticipate what will happen on the field. In the huddle he has grown more assertive.
"You see him being more aggressive vocally, grabbing guys, just being very positive with it," senior tackle Rueben Riley said.
"Not jumping on guys, but saying, 'I need you, we need you.' From an offensive lineman's standpoint that's all you need to say."
Henne's leadership will be of paramount importance Saturday with a spot in the national championship game at stake in addition to the importance of the rivalry and the Big Ten championship. Playing in Ohio Stadium is always a challenge, and the biggest game has never been bigger.
"It all comes down to Saturday," Henne said. "It doesn't matter about the hype. It's just going to be the two teams on the field."
And two quarterbacks.

 

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Families in middle of OSU-Michigan feud
Jason Lloyd, Journal Register News Service
11/16/2006


http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1674&dept_id=18040&newsid=17473015

COLUMBUS -- As a boy, T.J. Downing stood next to his father, Walt, and helped form the tunnel Michigan players ran through on senior day. Then he?d go home and run in his back yard, pretending he was Tim Biakabutuka and shredding Ohio State?s defense for 313 yards.


"I didn?t move as fast, though," he said.

Anthony Gonzalez remembers Biakabutuka, too. He was in Michigan Stadium that day in 1995, wearing maize and blue and cheering the death of Brutus and the Buckeyes in what would become an all-too-familiar scene of Ohio State?s national championship dreams ruined by Michigan.

Downing and Gonzalez grew up Michigan fans. They had no choice. Walt Downing, T.J.?s father, was a captain and All-American offensive lineman for Michigan in the ?70s. He was a second-round pick (47th overall) of the 49ers in 1978 and went on to win a Super Bowl.

Ed Gonzalez, Anthony?s father, was a running back at Michigan before ending his career after two years because of knee, shoulder and hamstring injuries. His best friend and college roommate was Les Miles, who later became an assistant at Michigan and now is the head coach at LSU.

Although both families were raised in Ohio, Michigan football was a way of life in the Gonzalez and Downing households. That is, until the sons started making college visits. For Downing, the choice came down to either Ohio State or Michigan. At one time, Gonzalez had dreams of playing for the Wolverines, with Michigan posters on his walls and his bedroom decorated in maize and blue.

"I liken this to a job," Anthony Gonzalez said. "Anybody that takes on a position at a company where they have multiple offers, a lot of different factors come into that. But all things being equal, money, etc. ... I guess you go with what you feel more comfortable with, and I just felt more comfortable here."

Both Downing and Gonzalez have been pleased with their decisions. The fathers support them, too.

When Jim Tressel told Gonzalez he?d have a scholarship offer waiting for him when he returned home, Ed Gonzalez gulped hard. He couldn?t help himself, he liked Tressel.

"I hoped they would be good enough to go to Michigan, but I?ve always been the kind of dad that wanted them to feel comfortable where they went," Ed Gonzalez said of his sons. Anthony?s brother, Joe, played safety at Indiana a few years ago. "If I had my choice, yeah, I?d like them to go to Michigan. But kids being what they are, they make their own decisions."

Ed Gonzalez gets asked all the time if it?s difficult for him to put away his Michigan loyalties and root for Ohio State.

"It doesn?t matter to me," he said. "I?m in support of what my kids want to do. My loyalties are with my kids."

As a result, Ed wears scarlet and gray to all the Ohio State home games, just like Walt. That?s right, a former Michigan captain will dress in Ohio State colors on Saturday and cheer on the Buckeyes.

"It?s fun with having my Pops here, just because I get to hear all of his old stories from Ohio State games and talking about going against Aaron Brown, and Aaron was an All-American," T.J. Downing said. "I?ve been in the same situation, going against some good defensive linemen for them. It?s nice to go back for Thanksgiving and share some stories with the old man."

A popular question this week is whether or not there is a hatred between the two teams. Both Gonzalez and Downing have too many fond memories of growing up around the Michigan program to ever hate it.

But now just days away from the historical meeting, both players want nothing more than to ruin Michigan?s season, their favorite team from childhood. After spending their childhood watching Michigan ruin so many Ohio State seasons, now they hope to return the favor just once. It would also send the Buckeyes back to the national championship game, where Downing watched from the sidelines in 2002 as a freshman who was redshirting.

"Obviously, we always wanted to see the Buckeyes lose," Downing said. "It was always cool following the Wolverines. They were a huge part of my growing up. I loved the success that they had in the ?90s, but I?m glad that I?ve been able to bring an end to that success here in the 2000s, because this is my team.

"I bleed scarlet and gray, and I would die for these guys in this locker room. So all I?ve got to do is do it one more time here, and it?ll be a successful career."

 

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PSU backing Buckeyes

But some Penn State players and coaches like Michigan's defense.
By Mark Wogenrich Of The Morning Call
First off, Tim Shaw said, Saturday's Ohio State-Michigan game isn't the day's biggest.

''Who cares?'' the Penn State defensive end said. ''As long as we win.''


But then, softening his detachment, Shaw admitted a wish.

''I want them to have a rematch in the national championship game,'' he said. ''I just think they're the two best teams. And I don't want to see any other teams get a chance.''

Though Michigan State and Senior Day will be the primary themes at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, let's face it: That game is an undercard to Ohio State-Michigan. Even the Lions are intrigued by the first meeting between the two teams while ranked first and second.

''In the locker room [after the game], we'll be clicking that on,'' safety Anthony Scirrotto said.

His disdain for a private, Irish-themed Indiana college program aside, Shaw would seem a pretty sharp judge of Saturday's game-of-the-century contestants. So would his teammates, who gave both Ohio State and Michigan stiff runs this season (at least until the fourth quarter).

The Lions' assessment, based on games against both teams, tends toward this: Troy Smith is the difference. Ohio State's quarterback has tormented the Wolverines for two years and can become only the second Buckeye quarterback ever to beat Michigan in three straight games.

''I honestly think Michigan is the better team, but I think Ohio State has a chance because of Troy Smith,'' Penn State defensive tackle Ed Johnson said. ''He's an excellent athlete. I really don't know who will win, but if you took Smith away from that game, Michigan might blow them out.''

Smith has been the difference against Michigan the past two seasons. For his two starts in the rivalry, the quarterback is a combined 40-for-60 for 541 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has run for 182 yards and two more scores. In both games, Smith has taken Ohio State on game-winning scoring drives in the fourth quarter.

That's quite a contrast to Smith's performances against Penn State in the same span. Last year, Smith threw for just 139 yards and was sacked (and fumbled) in the final minute of a 17-10 loss.

During this year's 28-6 victory over the Lions, Smith finished with worse numbers (12-for-22, 122 yards passing, two interceptions). But he did throw a remarkable 37-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie, a chief highlight of his Heisman candidacy.

''Our guys got after him pretty good,'' Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. ''You're not going to contain him. He's a playmaker. You always have to know where he is.''

Of course, predictions were hard to come by from the Lions. Bradley merely predicted a ''heck of a ball game'' that might be reduced to kicking.

Offensive coordinator Galen Hall, whose team managed just 434 total yards and one touchdown in the two games, demurred as well, saying ''both are very deserving of being where they are.''

And senior linebacker Paul Posluszny would say only that ''it's too close to call.''

But a few players waded in. Scirrotto said he wouldn't be surprised to see No. 2 top No. 1.

''Is Mario Manningham back?'' he asked of Michigan's leading receiver. ''Then I'd have to go with Michigan.''

And Johnson, who grew up in Detroit, went in the same direction.

''[Michigan's] defense is really good. It's legit,'' he said. ''Ohio State's defense is younger, less experienced. Still, it's Michigan-Ohio State. You never know what's going to happen.''

 

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Wodraska: Ohio State vs. Michigan: Rivalry bigger than BCS
By Lya Wodraska
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:11/16/2006 01:07:25 AM MST

Over the past 11 weeks, Ohio State and Michigan dutifully crunched their way through the dinner salad and appetizer portions of the 2006 season. Now they can clear their plates and feast guilt-free on the big juicy steaks.
It's time for the main course.
Saturday marks the 103rd meeting between the teams, but the first time it features No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the rankings. It's a rivalry matchup that offers a spot in the BCS title game as dessert.
No. 1 Ohio State already has disposed of a No. 2, with a 24-7 whupping on Texas back on Sept. 9. Since then, the season has occasionally veered down an unpredictable path, with the rise and fall of Texas, the fall and rise of USC, the mishmash of the SEC and the persistence of the Big East to be taken as a serious football league.
OSU and Michigan have had their scares - Ohio State eeked past Illinois 17-10 and Michigan, which started the season at No. 14 and ascended to the No. 2 spot in mid-October, beat Ball State just 34-26. Still, both teams have remained consistent, avoiding not only the losses, but the near-misses that have plagued others in the title hunt.
Saturday's winner is a virtual lock to play in the BCS championship game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., but the loser might very well end up there as well. A close game could prevent the loser from slipping too far down the polls and, though unlikely, set up a rematchAdvertisement
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in January.
The Buckeyes probably would have a better chance than Michigan of taking that path, since the voters would be a little more sympathetic to the team that has held the No. 1 ranking.
In 1993, prior to the BCS system, Florida State was No. 1 when it lost to No. 2 Notre Dame 31-24. The Irish were upset the following week and voters moved the Seminoles back in the championship hunt. FSU won out and went on to beat Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl to win the national title.
Neither Michigan coach Lloyd Carr nor Ohio State coach Jim Tressel would talk about the possibility, though Carr did admit he is clueless as to how the BCS system works.
"How it all fits together is not perfectly clear, but we do have a system and it will take care of all the questions," he said. "The losses of the four ranked teams last week add to all kinds of speculation and interest, and I think that is good for the game. I'm part of the system, so whatever the system dictates is what it is."
The scenario of a rematch is something to think about, as is this: Saturday is the regular season finale for OSU and Michigan, meaning one (or both?) will have more than six weeks off before playing for the national championship.
Even without the rankings, this game is known as one of college football's best rivalries, and seems always to determine a conference title, and often has national championship implications.
"This is one of the real reasons why guys come to Ohio State or go to Michigan," Tressel said. "It's to be a part of great historical programs and traditions. All of that tradition is even larger than all the other things people are talking about with this game."
Ohio State has dominated in recent years, winning four of the past five meetings. Last year, Troy Smith had one of his signature games against the Wolverines, leading the Buckeyes in a 25-21 comeback with two drives in the final eight minutes.
In that game and other pressure situations, Smith has earned a reputation for being one of the best players in the pivotal moments. The leading Heisman candidate is 24-2 as a starter, 9-1 against ranked teams and 2-0 against the Wolverines.
He is known for his winning ways and his leadership qualities. One more win, and he'll simply be known as a legend.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Watson still excited about U-M, OSU clash
Southfield High grad: 'You have two great teams'
BY MIKE ROSENBAUM
STAFF WRITER

After playing in the last four Michigan-Ohio State football games, U-M and Southfield High graduate Gabe Watson will be one of millions of interested spectators this Saturday when the second-ranked Wolverines battle the No. 1 Buckeyes.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Watson said this week. "You have two great teams."
Watson attended Michigan's Nov. 4 game against Ball State and keeps in touch with many current Wolverines, including former high school rival and college roommate Rondell Biggs, a Southfield-Lathrup graduate.
"They're having a good year," Watson said. "They're attacking. They're making the plays that need to be made."
Local fans can see Watson in action Sunday when his Arizona Cardinals play host to the Lions.
Watson was Arizona's fourth-round draft choice in April. He sat out the team's first four games while battling a calf injury. Since then, Watson has played in five games, starting three at defensive tackle. He has seven tackles, including one sack.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Composure serves Tressel well against Wolverines
By JON SPENCER
For The Advocate

COLUMBUS -- Questions were being fired at him Monday, two and three at the same time. At one point, Jim Tressel looked alarmed.
"We have anarchy here," he said.
Tressel was kidding, of course.
This is Michigan week, the biggest week of any Ohio State football season. A week, remarkably, when Tressel is never more in control.Looking for a reason why he is 4-1 against Lloyd Carr and the Wolverines since taking over for John Cooper -- Michigan's favorite whipping boy -- as coach of the Buckeyes in 2001? Start by looking at the six days leading up to the game.
"You don't notice any appreciable difference in him," Marv Homan said. "You would with Woody."
Homan worked in Ohio State sports information for 40 years and broadcast Buckeye games for 30 years. He knew Woody Hayes about as well as anyone and is candid in drawing comparisions between the coaching immortal and Tressel, another leader Homan has observed up close.
"To be honest, I think Woody would have gotten pretty tight and clammed up (this week)," Homan said, addressing stakes that have never been higher in this storied 103-year rivalry.
"He would have been fully cognizant of the magnitude and probably wouldn't have been nearly as smooth as what you experience from Tressel. He's incredible in that sense.
"Woody would have talked about how you can't be too tight, too long. His old expression was, 'You can only clench your fist so long.' Then you have a tendency to let go. That was indisputable, but I think he was actually a victim of that very thing from time to time. It wasn't a chronic weakness, but the darn thing (OSU vs. Michigan) kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and it was beyond (Bo) Schembechler and beyond Hayes.
"They weren't sure how to handle the thing," Homan said. "This guy (Tressel) does."
Twice in his four victories over Michigan, the Buckeyes have been the lower-ranked team -- unranked, in fact. A 14-9 win in 2002 propelled them to a national championship and a win in Saturday's No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown could do the same for his top-ranked Buckeyes.
It would also drop Carr to 1-5 against Tressel, the exact opposite of Carr's record against Cooper, whose 2-10-1 mark against Michigan makes Tressel look like Vince Lombardi, George Halas and Woody rolled into one.
Schembechler, who has seen the rivalry as both Woody's sidekick and Woody's biggest nemesis, has a problem with anyone who has a problem with Carr. The former OSU assistant and Michigan head coach is wearing a pacemaker that got a workout this week when it was suggested that Tressel has Carr's number.
"That's hogwash," Schembechler, 77, said. "Go back through the history of the series. There's always been years where one might win two, three in a row. That's just the way it is.
"I think we should go back and look at Lloyd's record. I don't care whether he beats Tressel or not. He's done a marvelous job here."
Carr has won 76 percent of his games in 11-plus seasons, which includes a 16-6 record against top 10 opponents, a 1997 national championship and five Big Ten championships. A win Saturday will give him his third outright league title.
Ohio State, conversely, is gunning for its first outright crown since 1984.
"I don't see any gamesmanship on his part; I would hope he doesn't see any on mine," Tressel said of Carr. "We're both trying to run programs to be the best they can be and he's done a pretty good job."
Just don't expect them to spend Christmas together.
"I think Bo and Woody were (friends) ... when you coach with somebody like Bo did for Woody, that's a different deal," Carr said. "We have an extremely professional relationship, but the rivalry is so intense ... I don't think you're going to see the Ohio State and Michigan coaches going to dinner together."
Carr made waves this week by admitting the Wolverines spend some time during the season preparing for Ohio State, but it hardly gives them a leg up on the Buckeyes. Turns out Tressel gets started on Michigan in March. Each week of spring drills, the Buckeyes study one quarter of footage from the most recent Michigan game.
"We break down what went right and what went wrong and how to improve on that," defensive end Jay Richardson said. "It just goes to show no matter how many games we have, everybody's mind is kind of focused on one game. It keeps us focused on what's really important and understanding the importance of this game and how much weight it holds."
Center Doug Datish has watched Tressel almost as intently as he's studied Michigan. To him, there's no secret to what's at work here.
Normalcy rules.
"Coach Tress is coach Tress 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year," Datish said. "He's never different in any situation. I've never seem him one time get out of whack or crazy.
"You know it's a big game, you know what's at stake, you know what it's going to be like, but you have to keep your head because if you're going out there and just running around like a wild man, you're not going to play as good as you possibly can."

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Henne avoids blitz of criticism with Carr his very best blocker

By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

ANN ARBOR ? Chad Henne comes from a place you usually see only on picture postcards ? serene, idyllic and woodsy. The Pennsylvania community of Wyomissing is tucked on the banks of the Schuylkill River, with its fewer than 10,000 residents enjoying a secure, laid-back way of life.

The place Chad Henne landed in is a steel and concrete monolith with a long, green stage in its pit, and a raucous gathering of one hundred grand surrounding that arena. He left the covered bridge, the winding country roads, the parks and the other comforts of home behind.

When Henne made the jump from high school football star to playing quarterback at Michigan, he went from the cozy camp fire straight into the furnace. Henne has felt the heat right from the start in that fire storm of scrutiny that surrounds football at a place like Michigan.

Nobody knows the university comptroller, the chair of the economics department or the student rep to the board of trustees. But everyone here knows who Chad Henne is.

As a true freshman in 2004, Henne was named the starting quarterback for the winningest program in the history of college football. If this were the great kingdom of Macedonia, Henne was Alexander the Great ? the boy king who would lead the conquest of the world.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr handed Henne that symbolic sword, making him the first freshman to start at quarterback for the Wolverines since Rick Leach in 1975. Carr and the Wolverines put their trust and their fate in his hands, and the pressure was on Henne to produce.

And he has ? a 27-8 record as a starter, 7,201 passing yards, 66 touchdown passes. Along the way Henne has taken at least his share of hits ? some in the pocket, and a lot more outside the lines.

Henne nears the end of his third season in that highest-profile job with this single stinging indictment: he is just 1-6 in the really big ones ? games against Ohio State, Notre Dame and the Wolverines? bowl opponents.

He will need to lead his No. 2 Michigan team to a win over top-ranked Ohio State in their mega showdown in Columbus on Saturday to satiate his ever present critics.

?I think criticism is always out there when you play quarterback at a school like Michigan,? Henne said. ?You want to play in the biggest games, and play for the best program, and along with that you expect some criticism. You can?t let it affect you, but you are aware of it.?

Carr chose Henne three years ago with the full knowledge that Carr?s fate was on the line as much as was Henne?s, if not more so.

?I?ve always been impressed with his leadership skills,? said Carr, who has been victorious in just one of the last five games against the Buckeyes. ?He?s always been a good leader here, even as a freshman, and people who question that part of Chad Henne, they don?t know him.?

Henne has Michigan 11-0, and poised to win an outright Big Ten championship and earn a berth in the national championship game ? if he can take down Ohio State, a team he has failed to defeat in two tries.

This kid from the quiet Pennsylvania countryside near Reading burned a few bridges back home when he backed off an early commitment to Penn State and left to play for Michigan, and he knows the significance of this weekend?s game in the college football universe.

?I haven?t beaten Ohio State yet,? Henne said. ?The pressure is definitely out there to win the game. People ask you about it all year, because it means so much to this program, to this team, and the whole state. We just have to handle that pressure, and perform.?

Carr has stuck with Henne as his starter for all 36 games in Henne?s career, and staunchly defended his choice. A coach who usually scoffs at criticism, Carr bristles when the target is Henne. Carr sets his jaw, knits that well-weathered brow, and fires back with both guns blazing.

After Henne was brilliant in a rout over Notre Dame earlier this season, bouncing back from an early interception to complete 13 of 22 passes for 220 yards and connect on three first-half touchdown passes, Carr seized the opportunity to settle an old score concerning derogatory remarks written about Henne.

?A year ago, when we did not have much success, Henne had to take an incredible amount of unfair criticism,? Carr said. ?He can?t do this, he can?t do that. It?s just baloney. If you value courage ... what he did after that interception, that speaks to what he is.?

Henne has been exceptional the majority of his career, but Michigan has also been his school of hard knocks at times.

?At a place like Michigan, the expectations are always sky high, so you expect to be under a lot of scrutiny,? Henne said. ?It just goes with the territory. There?s pressure that goes with it, but everybody who plays here has to deal with that. It?s not just me.?

Henne has appeared stoic at times, but Carr said the focus and competitive nature of his quarterback are second to none. While Henne is not as demonstrative as some, Carr cautions that Henne?s staid expression not be interpreted as a lack of passion.

?I think if you get to know him, he?s a pretty reserved guy,? Carr said. ?But he?s got a fire in his belly. This guy is a great competitor. When you look at the quarterback, if you know anything about the game, you?re watching to see the protection.

?Chad Henne, if we do a great job of protecting him, then good things will happen. And when he doesn?t get protection, they won?t. And a year ago he took a beating, and that?s largely as a result of not being able to protect him very well.?

Michigan captain Jake Long, the Wolverines? left tackle, said Henne?s brand of steely leadership has worked well, even when he was a very young quarterback giving direction to a huddle full of veterans.

?Off the field, people might think he?s quiet and think that means he?s not good about taking charge,? Long said. ?But every day in practice there will be a situation where he takes control and gets after somebody who is not on the right page. And in the games, it?s more of the same thing. He?s definitely comfortable in a leadership role on this team.?

This season Henne has thrown for 18 touchdowns and completed 62 percent of his passes (156 of 252) with seven interceptions. With just 68 passing yards against the Buckeyes, Henne will have a third straight 2,000-yard season. He will join John Navarre as the only Michigan quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards three times in a career.

Carr said none of that was unexpected.

?I don?t have any surprises when it comes to Chad Henne, because I?ve seen this guy come in here and do some astounding things, even as a freshman,? Carr said.

?I?ve seen him handle the good days and the bad days, and he?s typical of the guys I?ve had at this position. He is resilient, he is focused, he has wonderful abilities, and I think he?s certainly, because of the experiences he had, he has a confidence in himself and what he?s trying to do. And I think he?s become a very good leader.?

Henne goes into the Ohio State game with a 64 percent completion rate in the Big Ten that leads the conference this season. He threw for 23 touchdowns last year, and 25 in his freshman season.

Michigan senior center Mark Bihl, one of five Ohio starters in the Wolverines? lineup, has had a little closer observation point while Henne has led the Wolverines into battle three dozen times.

?He was in a tough spot, starting as a true freshman, and a lot of guys would not have been able to handle that, being so young,? Bihl said.

?But Chad has always had great balance between his confidence, and his ability to learn and absorb so much information so quickly. As he?s gained experience, he?s become a great leader on this team. I think this team evolved around him, and we?ve got all the confidence in the world in Chad.?

 

[billbubbybigbux]

the manningham factor

Please ease my concerns. It seems to me that manningham is moving better than a guy with an injured mcl ought to. My thought is that Tsun's stats can be thrown out the window. I see their d-line eating Troy if the pocket evaporates like it did at Illinois. Man just call me pins and needles.
on another note is it a reasonable cause for divorce if your spouse sold your tickets? :osu:

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Guide to the weekend

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Know one?s place
Michigan sending police to watch over fans
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Bill Bush
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Afraid for the safety of its students, the University of Michigan is sending police officers to Saturday?s football game with Ohio State and giving out a cell-phone number that its fans can use for police "support," officials said yesterday.
They also are advising Michigan students to: avoid High Street, carpool to the game in a vehicle that doesn?t have Michigan plates, keep the wraps on Michigan clothing until inside the stadium, stay in groups, stay low-key and don?t fight, even if harassed.
The e-mail, sent Monday by Michigan?s dean of students, alumni association president and student-body president, tells students to call 911 "if at any time you feel unsafe," but it notes that fans can call the University of Michigan police with nonemergency concerns.
OSU Assistant Police Chief Rick Amweg said his department is working with the Michigan officers to promote safety, but he said the quickest responses likely will be from Ohio-based units.
"So if they feel more comfortable talking with the University of Michigan law-enforcement officers, certainly they can use that number," but they should understand that could delay any police response, Amweg said.
No one would say how many Michigan officers will be working the game, but OSU spokesman Jim Lynch said it will be a very small number compared with the Ohio-based police.
Ohio State is not trying to keep people from High Street. To the contrary, Lynch said the university is looking forward to showing off the new South Campus Gateway retail and entertainment complex.
"I think they?ll be impressed, and I think it would be a great place to take your family or fans after the game or before the game," Lynch said. "We?re not telling anybody to avoid a certain area. We?re promoting that our fans will be the best fans around and will treat everybody with respect."
Faced with fan problems that have ranged from overzealous ribbing to full-blown rioting, Ohio State began a campaign this fall to encourage its fans to act with class and dignity. Athletics Director Gene Smith said in September that if the campaign couldn?t change the behavior of what he called the 1 percent of the troublemakers in the crowd, he hoped it would empower the other 99 percent of OSU fans to alert police quickly to any problems.
But Michigan fans who have been to the game in Columbus said they?ll be expecting the worst. Matt Stout, president of the University of Michigan Club of Central Ohio, said some Ohio State fans are out of control. One got in his mother?s face and shouted obscenities because she was wearing a navy-colored coat at a Michigan game. And his mother?s a Buckeyes fan.
"It?s unfortunate," said Stout, a Columbus resident. "I know the majority of Ohio State fans aren?t like that. ? I think it goes back to when Woody Hayes preached the hatred of Michigan. It almost seems a lot of times like they hate Michigan more than they like Ohio State."
The 3:30 p.m. kickoff is just going to make matters worse, Stout said.
"It allows for 3 1 /2 more hours to get ?lubricated? " than noon games, and it will be dark when the game ends, he said.
Steve Grafton, president of the Michigan Alumni Association, said he took his wife and children to the game in 2004 and, for the first time at a sporting event, feared for their safety.
"What we?re trying to do is help students who have student tickets and are coming to the game," said Grafton, one of the three who signed the e-mail warning to Wolverines fans. He said that Michigan students may join their alumni tailgate free with a valid student ID. The e-mail originally was sent to students, but a slightly different copy has circulated saying it was to all season-ticket holders.
"We wouldn?t send it to season-ticket holders because it just kind of rubs in their face that they couldn?t get tickets," Grafton said.