Rumors of OSU v. Michigan, Not Cool People

Scouring the interwebs, there has been a sharp uptick in rumors about on the shape of things to come for the Big 10s bellweather hate fest known as OSU v. Michigan. As being reported in the Plain Dealer, MGoBlog (the #1 Michigan sports blog), and others there is a growing consensus that the Big 10 will not only place Michigan and OSU is separate divisions but that the Game will be moved to October. Now playing a game early in the season (i.e., it removes the build up to the spoiler, elimination, winner take all format that's existed for the past 75 odd years) is by design with the hopes that somehow OSU and Michigan will play each other in the Big 10 championship game. In other words it's hurting the sure thing, for the promise of some super payoff of a Michigan v. OSU Big 1o Championship game.

Frankly, I think that is stupid. If the divisions had been the way they are expected to be OSU and Michigan would have played for the conference championship 4 times in the past 16 years. The changing demographics of the Midwest and College Football should only exacerbate things. The Big 10 has the chance to keep the OSU-Michigan rivalry like Auburn-Alabama , hell even Oklahoma-Texas by either keeping the game at the end of the year or keeping the teams in the same division. Instead it's sounding more and more likely that the dumbest of potential outcomes is coming to pass. Perhaps hate can survive this lamer version, perhaps OSU and Michigan will re-enact the 1970s and dominate everyone else, but it's not something that I'd bet on....

Preview: Ohio State v. Michigan

Here we go...yet another installment of the Game. The Buckeyes versus That Team Up North. So what are the matchups that will determine the Game.

1. Brandon Graham v. tOSU O-Line By far the best defensive player on Michigan is senior Brandon Graham. Primarily a defensive end Graham will move around the entire line to exploit his explosiveness (8.5 sacks). OSU's o-line has been beset by inconsistency, injuries, and the swine flu but has come on as of late.

2. Michigan Safeties v. OSU Passing Attack - The Michigan pass defense has been horrible. As in 82nd in the nation. This is only matched by how bad their rush defense is. Most of this is a function of bad safety play. Now to exploit this OSU will have somehow overcome their anemic dead last in the Big 10 passing attack. Watch to see if Tressel gives a tribute to Woody (run 3 straight plays)

3. Carlos Brown/Vincent Smith v. The Silver Bullets - Contrary to I think conventional wisdom, the Wolverine offense is primarily a running team. That is their strength. Unfortunately for them their number 1 running back (Brandon Minor) is out. OSU's D-Line (the so called Silver Bullets) are 10 deep and probably the best tOSU has had since the 02 Championship team. Shutdown the running game and they'll be able to tee off on Forcier.

4. Roundtree v. Chekwa - Best Maize and Blue WR will face off against OSU's best cover corner. Chekwa was burned against Iowa - can he redeem himself? Can Roundtree take short pass plays and turn them into long gains?

5. Zoltan v. Thoma - The Biggest Wolverine advantage lies in the punting game. With super cool named Zoltan Mesko having about a 9 yard per kick advantage over the struggling Thoma.


Final Mighty Prediction:
Ohio State 27 Michigan 17 . Pryor scores 2 TDs as OSU pulls away in the 2nd half.

Hate Week: Fuel for the Fire

As you are all aware this week is Ohio State v. M*ch*g*n aka The Game. Unfortunately given the current ennui that Michigan fans are suffering from the hate just isn't quit there. As such here is a small list to remind everyone - why all sides should dig deep down and rekindle the hate.

1.) Justin Boren
Probably the biggest source of hate for this game (outside of all that history of hating the entire side stuff) is Justin Boren. Boren was the starting guard for the Maize and Blue before transferring to Ohio State citing lack of family values on the part of RichRod and Company. He then went on taunt RichRod by dressing up as him for Halloween (and then probably banging this hottie in the picture. not sure how that fuels hate but it does)

2.) Brandon Graham - Graham, the star defensive linesman for the Wolverines, this week called out Boren - basically calling him a giant pussy. Now I'm not an offensive lineman but when one of your own is called out you rally around him.

3. ) Jimbo Slice - Yes Jim Tressel. Winner of 5 in a row and 8 out of 9 v. the hated rival. Tressel's status as an OSU legend is arguably primarily tied to his slaying of Lloyd Carr and avenging John Cooper. I get the feeling though that the Wolverines would like nothing better to take it to Jimbo.


4.) Tate Forcier - Forcier promised a Wolverine victory. Well that requires a little bit of word manipulation but its hate week so lets do it. Forcier promised that that Team Up North would go to a bowl game. That can only happen if he defeats the Buckeyes. Hence ipso facto acetylsalicylic acid tri diem Tate Forcier promised he would defeat the Buckeyes. Thats fuel to the fire

5) Alternative Uniforms - As part of Nike's Pro Combat something something marketing campaign tOSU will be wearing modern classic uniforms a pseudo tribute to the 1954 team. Apparently tOSU players like the uni's and I'm guessing will only be allowed to wear them again if they win . Wolverine players are probably jealous Nike didn't like them enough for fancy new threads.

As such all of these reasons and of course hundreds of others should provide suitable sustenance for those demanding more hate.....

Michigan v. OSU: Round 105 Preview

The Game Round 105 starts in a few days. Records aside the Rivalry is still the rivalry. Both sides fans lust for blood and victory and I'm sure only one side with be satiated. As such here's your preview

Key Figures


1) Turnovers Like a small child versus Mickey Mouse both of these offenses have been easily overpowered and reduced to tears. Michigan brings in the worst offense in the Big 10 while OSU brings in the 2nd worse. What that means is that turnovers will play a huge role in this game. I'm not sure either of these teams can come back from large deficits. In particular Michigan needs to avoid turnovers on their end of the field as for all of OSU's offensive problems they are among the most efficient in the Red Zone.

2) Beanie Wells rush numbers - While OSU has wunderkid, Terrel Pryor as their QB its Wells is what makes the offense run. He single handedly won last year's GAME and there's no reason to think he can't this year in his finale at the Horseshoe. Strong rush numbers from Beanie puts pressure on Death err Sheridan to make passes, allows OSU to avoid having to throw, creates manageable 3rd downs, and thereby reduces turnovers. Basically if one team can win both of these two key figures then the game is theirs.

Beware of the Stiff Arm of Justice

Key Matchups

OSU O-Line v. Michigan D-Line
If Michigan is to have a Quantum of Solace, its that they have one of the better D-Lines in the Big 10 and OSU has one of the worst o-lines in college football. Now behind Michigan's front 4 are a bunch of tackling dummies and post-modernist interpretations of football players but the front 4 are solid. OSU's o-line this year has collectively auditioned for various matador positions. Related to the above figure, OSU's line needs to overcome its suckiness as previous quality d-lines (USC, PSU) have shut down the running game.

Michigan WRs v. OSU CBs - Bubble Screen
Michigan's bread and butter offensive play is the bubble screen. The quick outlet and then usage of speed to bust it open for a big play is how Michigan can score with young and erratic Sheridan. What that means is OSU CBs need to make tackles. Broken/missed tackles and well you have long plays and touchdowns. Solid tackling and its 2 yard gains.

Hayden says "Solid Fundamentals" and "Don't Punch Whales in the Head"

Key Facts

• Wind is occasionally a good thing
  
• Since 1980 the team with the better record is 13-12
• Since 1980 when one team is ranked and the other unranked, the ranked team is 3-5.
• Overall Michigan leads the series in Columbus 27-22-2
• Over the last 50 years OSU leads the series 25-23-2
  

Final Prediction
Pryor and Wells will be too much as the season closes on Michigan 34-20

Fuel to the Fire: Part II

While yesterday old Rich Rodriguez started the flame war, the OSU faithful took the gauntlet and ran with it. On the local sports radio, ex-players and current ESPN individuals Kirk Hebstreit (famous for his successful cloning operation) and Chris Spielman (famous for making small children cry) decided to add all sorts of gasoline to fire.

Herbstreit: “They’re a tough watch, watching that outfit. This is a great example of why I like to see Michigan be a very good, very competitive team. They’re 3-8 on their way to 3-9. And this is like the year somebody told you (the truth) about Santa Claus. This is like taking all the wind out of the sails.

“I know it’s still Ohio State-Michigan, and when the teams run onto the field, it’s still special, but this is just anti-climatic. (Michigan is) going to run onto the field, and ‘Booooooo!’ Who you booing? They’re 3-8.

Now that's bulletin board material. Michigan the ball is in your court now to make outrageous comments to fire up OSU.

Fuel to the Fire: Part I

Like last year I'll be adding various pieces of information to add fuel to the fire for the game, (obviously in a balanced manner). Last year Tressel stole the sun which fired up the Michigan faithful (although that was counteracted by Mike Hart putting a flaming bag of poop on Beanie Well's doorstep).

This year the first shot has been fired across the bow when Michigan's head coach Rich Rodriguez told Michigan fans to "Get a life" Ah the old reverse psychology routine of insulting your own fans. Clever. I'll report tomorrow on how the Buckeyes retaliate.

OSU v. Michigan Round 104

Well its almost time : OSU and that Team Up North. So in my never ending attempt (well replace never ending with occasional) at analysis rather than hate, here it is. For the record I used a crack team of researchers (seen below) for help. I couldn't have done it without them

Tale of the Tape

OHIO STATE	OFFENSE	MICHIGAN
33.6 (30th)	SCORING	28.2 (53rd)
407.8 (46th)	TOTAL OFFENSE	399.2 (53rd)
198.7 (24th)	RUSHING	179.8 (35th)
209.1 (74th)	PASSING	219.4 (65th)
OHIO STATE	DEFENSE	MICHIGAN
11.4 (1st)	SCORING	20.8 (27th)
237.5 (2nd)	TOTAL DEFENSE	335.1 (29th)
82.7 (4th)	RUSHING	143.6 (54th)
154.7 (2nd)	PASSING	191.5 (20th)

OSU Offense:
Has actually been rather efficient. The heart and soul of the offense, much like last year, is the rushing attack. "Beanie" Wells, Mo Wells, and Brandon Saine are the three headed monster that power the offense. Todd Boekman, a grey shirt junior, has stepped into the big shoes of Troy Smith and avoided falling on his face. He throws a decent deep ball which works well given the quality of receivers. However he has been turnover prone the last few games which has caused blowouts to be close games and a close game a loss.

Michigan Defense:
With a number of new parts and freshman CBs the Michigan defense has been simply put average. They have been above average in defending the pass (pass efficiency, sacks) but below average against the run, as witness the mauling at Camp Randall last week. The one area that they are in the excellent category is causing turnovers (averaging more than 2 a game).

Michigan Offense:
Get's a big phatty question mark. With Mike Hart, the running game behind top 3 pick Jake Long is about as good as it gets. Without Mike Hart the rushing game has averaged 75 yards a game the past two games. Can Hart overcome the dreaded high ankle sprain to make the cuts the zone blocking scheme requires? Chad Henne is a four year starter but he to has been battling injuries (throwing shoulder and injured leg) since the game against Oregon. With Henne the passing offense with David Terrell clone Mario Manningham is tough to cover. However an injured Henne means inconsistent Ryan Mallet has to try to be the first freshman to win the game.

OSU Defense
Statistically is among the best in the country. Loads of talent in the secondary (Malcom Jenkins), linebacker (the Little Animal) and defensive end (Gholston). They lead the Big 10 in sacks and Vernon Gholston's arms are bigger than most people's waists. However the weakness to the Buckeyes D is the young defensive tackles that Illinois exposed last week. In fact the defense has steadily given up more points and more yardage each week.

Intangibles:
Michigan is playing at home and possibly for the last time for Lloyd Carr. They have 3 seniors (Henne, Hart, Long) who came back to defeat OSU and win a BCS bowl game. OSU has won the past 3 but has not won 4 in a row since 1967. OSU has slim BCS title hopes alive. OSU's kicker is from South Africa, host of the next World Cup.

Fun Historical Facts
Michigan was 13-0-2 in the first 15 games of the series
Since then Michigan leads 44-40-2.
Over the past 50 years OSU leads the series 25-23-2
The rivalry game has had a major impact on the Big 10 Winner 45 times
23 of the 45 times the two teams have decided the title between themselves based on The Game
OSU did not play Michigan from 1913-1918 when Michigan left the Big 10
All OSU players receive gold pants if they beat Michigan.
Gold pants are in fact very stylish


Famous Games That I Was At
1922 Michigan beats OSU 19-0 in the first game at the Horseshoe.
In 1950 Michigan beat OSU in the famous Snowball game 9-3, without getting a single first down
In 1973 the two teams tied 10-10 but the Big 10 ADs voted 6-4 OSU to the Rose Bowl because Michigan State hates Ann Arbor.
1987 OSU's coach Errol Bruce was fired the week before the game. In solidarity with their coach the players wore headbands with his name on it and won 23-20. Headbands became cool as a result
In 2002 Will Allen's interception sent the OSU and the Big 10 to its first BCS Championship
Game.
In 2006 for the first time I enjoyed turkey pepperoni while watching the OSU Michigan game. The outcome was irrelevant as I enjoyed turkey pepperoni