THE GAME: Ohio State 42, Michigan 7 (Nov. 22)

[BUCKYLE]

YouTube - Ohio State vs Michigan

YouTube - Ohio State vs. Michigan 2006 Highlight...

YouTube - 2007 Ohio State VS. Michigan Highlight...

[BuckeyeInTheBoro]

Originally Posted by Dave D., Columbus, Ohio

Hey Stewart, I see the SEC is investigating Mark Cuban. Why do they dislike him so much? Is he pointing out that the SEC has lost to Duke, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech, West Virginia and UCLA this year? Maybe he tried to present the Sun Belt championship trophy to LSU? Can you enlighten me?

Oh... and
M!CH!G@N STILL SUCKS!

[BuckeyeInTheBoro]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNation27

some fan you are. all the blue or yellow cups in my cupboard have been removed for the remainder of the week.

Usually I go this route, but screw 'em! I'm thinking of WEARING blue and yellow this week! I figure we OWN the colors so it's OK!

[BB73]

Originally Posted by kippy1040

In all my years of getting ready for the OSU/Michigan game, I can't recall a game of this nature to be taken so lightly. In 69 the Buckeyes were heavily favored and most of us were talking a 17 to 24 pts blowout but we were upset badly. Kern was intercepted 6 times that game. I hope this will not be a repeat of that game. Strange things can happen anymore.

tOSU did throw 6 picks that day, but only 4 were by Rex Kern. Two were thrown by backup Ron Maciejowski. It was Ron's son that came in as a Minnesota QB for their 2-point conversion at the end of the game in Columbus earlier this year.

[coryhulbert]

[Nicknam4]

Michigan hasn't been this bad since the 60's I think. Aren't they 3-8?

[JXC]

I am about ready to go eat...but I just wanted to say...BEAT MICHIGAN!!!! Less than 64 hours until kick-off!!!!!

[JXC]

Originally Posted by JXC

I am about ready to go eat...but I just wanted to say...BEAT MICHIGAN!!!! Less than 64 hours until kick-off!!!!!

I'm back...and Michigan still sucks!

Watching clips of 2007 version of The Game...and man did we just kick the ever-living crap out of them. I mean, it looked like we were playing at a whole different level than them on both sides of the ball. I hope to see more of the same this year...but you can throw out the records, throw out labels, it's Ohio State/Michigan. Whichever team plays harder, will win.

[UpNorthBuckeye]

I was playing some city league hoops tonight (over 40 geezer league) and a guy I know on the other team is one of three police men on the scUM university police. They rotate going to the games, standing by Dick Rod. I usually catch him on TV couple times a season.

He said he didn't think he would have to go to Columbus this week, it wasn't his turn.

But he said U of M wanted ALL 3 to go to Cols for the game, cause "it might get crazy"...

I thought about that, and then asked him, "Who are you protecting Rodriguez from, OSU fans?? or Meatchicken fans?"

Even he got a good laugh out of that. Then said I had a good point.

Now I'm thinking.... it looks too easy. It sounds too easy. It just can't be that easy. I hope our D keeps their heads up and is ready for ANYTHING.

[Oh8ch]

I recorded the 1969 game on BTN and am making myself watch it - although I have to do it in small doses.

That game is the benchmark for OSU upsets (if you think it is MSU in 1998 you are simply too young).

There are so many differences between Bo's team in 1969 and this one.

The focus of Bo's entire season was the OSU game. He spent part of every practice preparing for OSU. He knew Woody and he knew Woody did the same. His team was a quality team that got better at the things they did every week.

RR is spewing out sound bites to make it seem like UM is making progress and is already trying to shift the focus to next year. That message has to get through to his players.

Rather than focus on doing basic things well he made fundamental changes to his defensive scheme two thirds of the way through the season - implying the problem was with a defense on a team that has failed to score in the second half of three games.

Whereas Bo had depth of talent (this was prior to the scholarship levels we have today) RR is struggling to fill behind injured players with quality walk ons and players he planned to redshirt.

One similarity is that both had players quit. But Bo's players quit the team. RR's players quit during games.

UM will come out fired up and trying to believe they can pull it off. That will end at the first sign of adversity. There is no visible leadership on that team.

I will never go into The Game believing it is in the bag. At the same time I have difficulty conceiving the set of events that must take place for UM to pull off the upset.

[generaladm]

I've been running thru the scenarios of the matchups we will see in this game, and (even considering the history of upsets) I cannot envision a result other than Buckeye domination. Not calling for a blowout, but OSU dictating the pace of play, and controlling the game in every facet. OSU will be the best team that UM has faced all season (with the possible exception of PSU). Man for man, we dominate at every position. Especially our D vs. their O is all OSU. Their O-line is crap, and our D-line has made great strides since the begining of the season (give it up for Abdallah and Nate Williams). Sheridan will be starting for the weasels, which means no deep passes, which means all of our back 7 will have a chance to pick him off. I'm kind of disappointed that Threet will not be playing, because he telegraphs his throws so bad I could snag an INT. The only player on that team that I could see making an impact on O is McGuffie, and he's out, perhaps never to suit up in Maize and Blue again. The kicker in the D vs. O matchup is that we just played a team that runs a better version of UM's offense, with superior personnel, and held them to 13 points thru 59 mins. Tyler Moeller should be starting again, and if we play the same scheme as last week, he could have 4+ sacks. Sheridan will be [censored]ting his pants, and we may see Feagin pressed into service. I don't see the UM O moving the ball on our D.

Our O vs. their D isn't much different. Even though the UM D is the strength of the team, they haven't done much against any team with a pulse. I'm hoping that our O-line will have the motivation to play their best game of the season, and if they can open running lanes and protect, we should move the chains at will. We have a world class RB who has been a Wolverine Killer since he was a fumble prone frosh, and a phenom frosh QB who is ready to make his mark on the biggest rivalry in CFB. Even if we come out with a game plan that is exclusively power RB plays and QB draws, I don't think they can stop it. If the coaches are smart, they will challenge the UM DBs, and if TP has success passing, the O will open up. Beanie is ready for a big game, and TP can make a satement by makig big plays with his arm and his feet. The WRs need to show up for the big game. Even if the weather condidtions make this a one dimensional game like 08 ILL, or 07 UM, OSU should dominate.

I've heard all the arguments that The Game is never a gimme, and that new UM coaches usually win their first game, etc, etc., but this is different. DickRod does not compare to Bo, or Lllllloyd, or even Gary Moeller. All of those named were quality coaches who understood what coaching in the Big Ten and at UM meant. DickRod does not. He is trying to run a big east finesse team in the coliseum of Big Ten football. He just doesn't get it. You can run a spread offense in the Big Ten, wheter it's a passing spread, or a spread/option, but you ain't gonna do it with physically inferior players who aren't suited for the system. You can see the results UM has had vs. the "soft" teams in the Big Ten. PU, NW, and ILL, all had their way with UM. 5'7" slot receivers cannot make it in the Big Ten. A razzle dazzle offense without a world class player like Pat White will not win in the Big Ten (or the Pac-10, for that matter). DickRod is outmanned, outcoached, and outclassed in the Big Ten, and he will get his harshest lesson to date on Sat. True, this is UM's last game of the season. True, they have nothing left to play for. True, a win on Sat. will salvage the worst season in the history of UM football. But, their best game cannot compete with our best game. Their men are not on the level of our men. Their coach cannot fathom what our coach knows about this rivalry. The history of The Game looms large, but this year's matchup does not resemble year's past.

Apart from all that, this will be Senior Day in Ohio Stadium. Time to give a special recognition to those who have spent the last 4-5 years working their butts off to contribute to the success of the OSU football program. As the players take the field, take a moment to recognize them.

Nader Abballah, Todd Boeckman, Alex Boone, Doug Ebner, Marcus Freeman, Tyson Gentry, Bryan Gray, Malcolm Jenkins, Ben Kacsandi, Shaun Lane, J.D. Larson, James Lurinaitis, Ryan Lukens, Kyle Mitchum, Rory Nicol, Jamario O'Neal, Nick Patterson, Ben Person, Ryan Pretorius, Steve Rehring, Brian Robiskie, Kyle Ruhl, Jon Skinner, Brandon Smith, Curtis Terry, A.J. Trapasso, Maurice Wells.

(Oh, and Morgan Trent. Who else has done so much to help OSU win?)

[lvbuckeye]

YouTube - The Game 2006

[Steve19]

Don't listen to the injury nonsense. Threet is apparently practicing and will be at least ready as a backup. McGuire will play.

On your guard Buckeyes. They suck but they have been preparing for this game all year, no matter what RichRod says publicly.

Tressel will not let his team take these guys lightly, nor should he.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

No sense of loss at OSU



By Jon Spencer ? Telegraph-Forum staff ? November 20, 2008

COLUMBUS -- There's no national championship berth on the line, no unblemished record to preserve, no outright Big Ten title to secure.
Perfection, though, is at stake.
Twenty-eight seniors on Ohio State's football team, including 19 fifth-year players, have never experienced a loss to archrival Michigan. They are repulsed by the thought of crossing over to the dark side, especially with their careers so close to the end.
So the 3-8 Wolverines, the losingest team in the nation's all-time winningest program, can forget about the Buckeyes taking them lightly Saturday.
"They might be playing this like it's their bowl game, but we're treating it like it's our big game," OSU receiver Brian Robiskie said. "We're not looking past it, not looking at playing in any bowl game or going anywhere. The only thing we've got guaranteed is this one game."

Continued............

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

BUCKEYES? KEYS TO VICTORY



November 20, 2008

No. 1: Don?t get crazy

Jim Tressel has been known to hold a thing or two back for Michigan, but there?s really no need this year for a sneak attack.
The Wolverines aren?t good enough to stop the Buckeyes, even if they know what?s coming. Ohio State put the ball in the air only twice in the second half of last week?s win against Illinois, riding the legs of Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor ? and the Illini?s own self-destruction ? to victory. No need to get fancy here either. The Wolverines are last in the Big Ten in turnover margin with a league-high 28 giveaways. To use a tennis analogy, OSU should just keep the ball in play and let Michigan make the mistakes. It makes for boring theater, but we?re used to boring, right?
No. 2: Just Beanie, baby

Staying along the conservative lines of key No. 1, feeding the monster that is Beanie Wells seems to be the way to go. If the Wolverines wore maize capes and blue tights with an ?S? on their chests, Wells would be their 237-pound slab of kryptonite. As a freshman, his 52-yard breakaway gave OSU the lead for good in its 42-39 shootout with the Wolverines.

Continued..................