What's at Stake Saturday
11/20/2009
For the tenth year in a row, "The Greatest Rivalry in Sports" will impact the race for the Big Ten crown. An Ohio State loss would open the door for Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State and the potential for a four-way tie for the title. If OSU wins, they earn the conference championship outright, which is something that even the 2002 national championship Buckeyes couldn't claim.
If that's not enough gravity for this edition of the rivalry, consider its significance for the recruiting battle waged over Ohio's northwest border each year. Junior Buckeye offensive lineman Justin Boren initially chose to be a Wolverine, and he even earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors at left guard in his sophomore season up north. But after losing twice to Ohio State and with a new coach (Rich Rodriquez) coming in, the Pickerington, Ohio native transferred to Buckeye country. Having sat out in his transfer season last year, he seeks his first pair of golden pants Saturday.
Without Boren, Michigan still has 13 players from Ohio on its roster, including seven who have started at some point this season. Slot receiver Roy Roundtree, from Trotwood, Ohio, leads the Wolverines with 318 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions, including a 9-yard score with seconds left to send the Michigan State game into overtime.
The biggest Ohioan star wearing maize and blue is Twinsburg native and fifth-year senior Zoltan Mesko. With a 44.7 yard punt average, Mesko is 6th in the country and by extension, Michigan's punt coverage team ranks second nationally with a net punting average of 42.1 yards. A First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2008, Mesko is Michigan's all-time career leader in punts and punt yardage. He is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a semifinalist for the 2009 Ray Guy Award.
The honorary captains for Michigan Saturday will be the 1969 Wolverine team that upset the top-ranked Buckeyes 24-12. That was legendary coach Bo Schembechler's first season in Ann Arbor and by beating his mentor, Woody Hayes, he triggered what is referred to in rivalry lore as The Ten Year War. Between 1969 and 1978, Ohio State and Michigan shared the Bit Ten Championship six times. All but one of those ten games featured two teams ranked 16th or better and in five of them, both Ohio State and Michigan were ranked in the top five. In this span, Michigan won five games, OSU won four, and in 1973, they tied 10-10.
Over the next ten seasons, the teams split five games each before Michigan entered a period of dominance in the 1990s, winning seven and tying once. In 1992, Wolverine coach Gary Moeller claimed the Buckeyes were no longer worthy rivalry status, but since Jim Tressel took over in 2001, OSU has won seven times.
There are no current Michigan players who have ever been part of a victory over Ohio State. But, for a sport in which the team with the most points wins, Michigan has an important statistical lead over OSU. In the 105 previous meetings, the Wolverines have outscored the Buckeyes 1,763 to 1,362. All Ohio State has to do to claim the all-time points battle Saturday is win - by 402 points.
Go Bucks!
By Ben Brown, an OSU senior majoring in journalism