This conference will be decided on November 18th. Michigan and Ohio State are at the top of the rankings in many polls, and it’s not hard to see why. Ranked preseason #1, Ohio State has rolled through the season. Its only real “close” game was against Penn State, and when the Buckeyes finally pulled away, it was thanks to two defensive touchdowns – both interceptions returned all the way. Before those scores, the game was a 14-6 slugfest. After those scores, it was a comfortable 28-6 mini-rout.
That all boils down to one thing. This Buckeye defense, which supposedly was going to struggle after having to find nine new starters, has exceeded every mainstream fan’s expectations. Not mine, however – Jim Tressel is an expert at getting his defenses ready to play. James Laurinaitis is the next great Ohio State linebacker, and he is only a sophomore. The forced fumble in the game against Texas may be, this year, the most important play for the Buckeyes. Not only did it stop a Texas scoring chance, it also set the Buckeyes up with good field position after the recovery and runback.
The offense, however, has been just as stellar as everyone thought it would be. Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr., Antonio Pittman, Anthony Gonzalez, and Brian Robiskie key an explosive Buckeye attack that has produced 30+ points in all but two games this year. Troy Smith is the current frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, and for good reason. He really has matured as a quarterback and is definitely more of a pass-first quarterback than the one-read, then take-off-and-run quarterback of last year.
Michigan has its own bevy of playmakers. Their amazing defense has only allowed more than 20 points once in a single game this year – that game was the Notre Dame game in which they routed the Fighting Irish 47-21. The defense is led by Michigan’s outstanding outside linebacker, Prescott Burgess.
The Wolverines’ offense is led by Chad Henne and Mike Hart, naturally. These two have been starters since freshman year, and have grown with each other at the position. Mike Hart has had trouble with injury in the past, and a healthy Mike Hart is vital to the success of the Wolverines. Look at last year – the Wolverines ended with a 7-5 record. Hart was out for a large part of the season due to injury. This year, the Wolverines are undefeated and Hart has not been seriously injured whatsoever. The big bruiser has 906 yards on 183 carries this year, nearly a 5.0 yards-per-carry average. Mario Manningham will be wearing the #1 on his jersey next year – I can feel it. Just a sophomore, Manningham is the team leader in receiving yards (527), touchdowns (9), and yards per reception (22.0). Only Steve Breaston has more receptions (28, to Manningham’s 24).
Even if one of these teams were to suffer a cataclysmic breakdown in the next couple weeks, the Big Ten title could still be on the line in Columbus. A win by the one-loss team would give them a share – at the very least – of the Big Ten title, and the BCS bid due to the tiebreaker of having won the game. Michigan needs to avoid a loss this week at Iowa, and then they can coast to Columbus after playing Ball State and Indiana.
Ohio State has five straight conference games, beginning with Indiana this weekend and ending with Michigan. The one team to be concerned with is Minnesota, who, in past years, has foiled Ohio State’s chances of the Big Ten title. Last year’s game was close at halftime, but a big run by Antonio Pittman put the Buckeyes ahead to stay. Providing that Ohio State can get through the Golden Gophers, it will be Armageddon when Ohio State and Michigan clash on the third Saturday in November.
Being a native of Ohio, I could say that Michigan will have no chance, is overrated, and will be blown out by the Buckeyes.
I’d be wrong on all three accounts. Michigan will definitely have a chance, they are not overrated, and it will be a very close game. In fact, I think this game could be the game of the year. Another probable 1-2 matchup for Ohio State in the same regular season? When was the last time that one team has been involved in two such matchups in the same regular season? I cannot wait for this game. It is almost too hard to pick a winner, but the edge has to go to Ohio State. The game is in Columbus, after all, and Jim Tressel is 4-1 against Lloyd Carr.
