Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines

It seemed like every year in the 1960s and 1970s, the annual grudge match between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines was considered the game of the season, especially because it usually had some big stakes riding on it.

In the decades that followed, Rose Bowl and/or National Title implications usually applied and with the explosion of college football on television and the growth of ESPN, the game seemed to be stepped up a notch.

This year, however, there is not much riding on that game, unless you count Michigan (5-6, 1-6) trying to become bowl eligible and risk missing out on a bowl game for a second straight season after 33 straight seasons going to a postseason contest.

But for the ninth-ranked Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1) nothing changes for them. They go to the Rose Bowl whether they win or lose, yet do not expect them to yield to their long time rivals on Saturday when the game kicks off at noon from Michigan Stadium.

Ohio State Buckeyes has won four straight games and clinched their appearance in the Rose Bowl with an overtime victory over Iowa last week, something thought unthinkable in their October 17 shocking loss in Purdue.

Michigan appeared to have put everything back in place when they started out 4-0, including an exciting, last second victory over the then 18th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on September 12, but the Big Ten schedule has not been kind to them as they have lost six of their seven conference games, have lost six of their last seven overall and are on a four-game losing streak after being decimated by the Wisconsin Badgers, 45-24.

The Wolverines (5-6, 1-6) have lost four in a row and six of the last seven and remain tied for last in the Big Ten after Saturdays 45-24 beating at the hands of Wisconsin.

Once again Wolverines’ coach Rich Rodriguez is embattled in his second season at the helm in Ann Arbor. The season started with allegations of practice irregularities, something that is still being investigated and Rodriguez has frustrated fans by repeated a refrain of “ be patient” as his team commits meltdown after meltdown on the football field.

Calls for his head could be cooled if he can find away to beat the Buckeyes, something the Wolverines have not done since 2003 and have lost seven of the last eight overall. Many good coaches on both sides have been pushed out the door because of their inability to defeat their arch rival and conversely many average coaches have hung on a bit longer with wins over the other team.

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