ShareThisBy JOHN TUCKER
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Nobody rooting for Ohio State or Michigan wants to think about the possibility of losing Saturday's battle of the decade in Columbus. That could knot up the stomach, make you feel woozy, susceptible.
Better for Buckeye and Wolverine players, and fans, to think along the lines of Vince Lombardi:
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.''
For the loser, there is no solace.
For the winner, there is no greater gridiron glory.
This is "The 100 Yard War," between hated rivals of a hundred-plus years. And there's even more fever to the feud this year, because a spot in the BCS title game is on the line.
Not to downplay Rutgers' come-from-behind victory over Louisville last Thursday. That was, to date, the greatest college football game of the season.
But, on the grand scale of sporting events, No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 2 Michigan ranks a lot closer to historical matchups like Sea Biscuit versus War Admiral and Ali versus Frazier.
After playing each other for the past 109 years in arguably the greatest rivalry in sports, this is the first time the 11-0 Buckeyes and 11-0 Wolverines are meeting as the top two teams in the country.
Unlike most college football Saturdays, ABC won't be offering regional telecasts of any other games. It's Ohio State-Michigan all across America.
Fifty years from now, students with a seat in the Horseshoe Saturday will be sharing the history of this bound-to-be classic with their grandchildren.
So who will be tormented by the loss for years to come, and who will enjoy the sweet memory of victory?
Here's The Unbalanced Line's take:
Michigan's defense has been getting rave reviews, as it should. That front is downright scary good.
But, if stats matter, Ohio State's defense may be even better. The Bucks have only given up 86 points all season. That's 7.8 per game compared to Michigan's 12.
Offensively, it's a similar story: Ohio State has racked up an average of 35.8 points a game to Michigan's 29.3.
Rushing-wise, it's practically a draw, with a slight edge possibly to the Buckeyes, because they've got two quality backs in workhorse Antonio Pittman and the speedy Chris Wells. The Wolverines rely mainly on Heisman candidate Michael Hart, who's got a knack for picking up a couple extra yards after getting hit . And Hart never fumbles.
The difference maker in a game of this magnitude will be the quarterback.
Ohio State's Troy Smith has thrown 26 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He's accurate, he's mobile, and he can pass on the run. Against Michigan's relentless pass rush, the Heisman frontrunner is a huge plus.
Michigan's signal caller, Chad Henne, is a fine dropback passer. But if he feels the pressure, which he will, he's more likely to toss an interception or be sacked. He's tossed 18 TD passes and thrown 7 INTs.
Factor in the home field advantage, which in this game amounts to about a point, and Ohio State wins by three, 23-20.
X...X...X
Most of the talk since Rutgers' 28-25 upset of Louisville has centered on which one-loss teams have the best chance for a title shot _ now that Rutgers has opened the door for them_ and, how the Scarlet Knights wouldn't deserve a spot in the title game even if they finish the season at 12-0 with victories over Cincinnati this Saturday and over No. 8 West Virginia Dec. 2 in Morgantown.
Hogwash!
Not allowing the Scarlet Knights a shot at the national title if they are one of only two unbeatens from BCS-affiliated conferences would be a terrible injustice.
Yet Big East bashers are coming out of the woodwork, crystal balls in hand, claiming Rutgers wouldn't stand a chance of going unbeaten in any other major conference.
Hmmm. Three Big East teams are ranked in the Top 10 of this week's BCS standings. Two of them - West Virginia and Louisville - have already occupied the No. 3 spot this season. If Rutgers ends up beating both and is given due consideration, No. 2 would seem a logical and fair spot for the Scarlet Knights.
Four of the six BCS computers already have Rutgers ranked No. 2, a spot above Ohio State and one below Michigan. The other two rank the Knights third.
The human polls disagree. The AP and Harris polls rank Rutgers seventh, while the USA Today coaches poll ranks the Knights eighth, below five one-loss teams.
The Big East bashing anti-Rutgers crowd says a BCS title game matchup of Rutgers and the unbeaten Big Ten champ, whether it's Ohio State or Michigan, would be a joke. They think both would make mincemeat of the Scarlet Knights.
Wonder if they also could foresee Texas falling to Kansas State, California losing to Arizona and Auburn getting drubbed by Georgia last weekend?
If you think a Rutgers-Ohio State or Rutgers-Michigan championship game would be bad, just imagine if Rutgers were the last team standing without a loss and never got a chance to play for it all.
Just suppose the Scarlet Knights put a smackdown on, say, Notre Dame in another BCS bowl, while Southern Cal eked out a one-point victory over Ohio State in the title game.
Now that would be a joke!
(Contact John Tucker at jtucker(at)unionleader.com)
