Last night’s 56-51 victory over Ohio State has left Michigan in prime position to capture at least a share of its first Big Ten title since 1986. With four games remaining on the conference slate, and trailing Michigan State by just a game, does Michigan have a realistic shot? Let’s take a look at the current Big Ten standings as well as the remaining schedules for the contenders.

Big Ten Standings and Remaining Schedule
Rank	Team	Record	Big Ten	Remaining
1	Michigan State	22-5	11-3	Wed. @ Minnesota	Sat. v. Nebraska	2.28 @ #20 Ind	3.4 v. #6 OSU
2	Ohio State	22-5	10-4	Tue. v. Illinois	Sun. v. #17 Wisc	2.29 @ NW	3.4 @ #8 MSU
	Michigan	20-7	10-4	Tue. @ NW	Sat. v. Purdue	3.1 @ Illinois	3.4 @ Penn St.
4	Wisconsin	20-7	9-5
5	Indiana	20-7	8-7
6	Purdue	17-10	7-7
7	Northwestern	16-10	6-8
8	Iowa	14-13	6-8
9	Minnesota	17-10	5-9
	Illinois	16-11	5-9
11	Nebraska	12-13	4-10
12	Penn State	12-16	4-11

Michigan has just one home game remaining, against Purdue, with the Boilers being the only remaining opponent in the top half of the conference. Michigan State has a pair of should-wins against Minnesota and Nebraska before finishing up at Indiana and home against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have home tilts against Illinois and Wisconsin before traveling to Northwestern and Michigan State.

For Michigan to win at least a share of the Big Ten, the Wolverines will need Michigan State to lose one of its remaining games. State’s visit to Bloomington, Ind next Tuesday looks to be the best chance. But that alone won’t wrap up the title. Michigan will need to win out, which is a tough task with three of the final four on the road. The toughest test should be Tuesday night’s contest at Northwestern. If Michigan can escape the purple trap, we could be looking at the first Big Ten title in 25 years.

[Ed: Standings updated Monday morning to reflect Sunday night results].

Final	1st	2nd	Total
#19 Michigan (20-7, 10-4)	25	31	56
#6 Ohio State (21-5, 10-4)	20	31	51

Michigan capped off an incredible day with a prime-time, nationally televised win over 6th-ranked Ohio State. The day began with ESPN College Game Day broadcasting live from the Crisler Center, continued with six football commitments for the 2013 class (more on that to follow), and culminated with a 56-51 win over the Buckeyes.

Michigan scored the first six and never looked back, holding the lead for the rest of the game. The lead grew to as much as 10 in the second half and the closest Ohio State ever got was one at 17-16 with five minutes left in the first half.

It was clear from the onset that John Beilein’s game plan was to control the tempo offensively and jump the high screens and double-team Jared Sullinger in the post, forcing the Buckeyes to settle for shots from the outside. And it worked to perfection.

Michigan held OSU to just 10-of-26 shooting (0-for-9 from three) in the first half, but the Wolverines shot just 37.5 percent themselves from the field, allowing the Buckeyes to stay within striking distance. In the second, Michigan hit 13-of-23 and held the Buckeyes to just nine field goals.

The Buckeyes turned to Sullinger in the second half, and he finished the game with 14 points, but the Michigan defense harassed him all game, drawing a pair of charges and keeping him out of rhythm. It was Deshaun Thomas who almost singlehandedly kept the Buckeyes in the game, scorign 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while Sullinger struggled and William Buford was held to just six points on 3-of-12 shooting.

For Michigan, it was the Trey Burke show as the freshman dominated Ohio sophomore point guard Aaron Craft, scoring 17 points and five assists while holding Craft to just four points, three turnovers, and two assists. With Ohio State trying to claw back in the final minutes, Burke hit a layup with 1:20 remaining and a jumper with 14 seconds remaining, both to put the Wolverines back up by two possessions.

On the former, Burke pulled Craft out near midcourt and beat him off the dribble to the left, drove the lane and converted a layup. On the latter, he drove through traffic to the right and lofted up a floater that kissed off the glass to seal the win.

Tim Hardaway Jr added 13 and hit both threes he attempted, while Jordan Morgan played perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 boards.

The win was Michigan’s first over Ohio State since a 73-64 victory on Jan. 3, 2010 and keeps Michigan in contention for its first Big Ten title since 1986. The Wolverines stand a game behind Michigan State in the loss column with four games to play. The Spartans remaining schedule includes road games at Purdue, Minnesota, and #20 Indiana, and home tilts with Nebraska and current-#6 Ohio State. Michigan returns to action on Tuesday at Northwestern and will look to close out the home portion of its schedule undefeated next Saturday against Purdue.

Final Game Stats
#	Name	FG-FGA	3FG-3FGA	FT-FTA	OR	DR	TOT	PF	TP	A	TO	BLK	S	MIN
52	Jordan Morgan*	5-8	0-0	1-1	2	9	11	2	11	1	0	0	2	35
00	Zack Novak*	3-7	0-3	0-0	0	0	0	4	6	0	0	0	0	28
01	Stu Douglass*	3-9	1-5	0-0	0	2	2	1	7	1	0	0	1	38
03	Trey Burke*	6-14	0-1	5-8	1	1	2	2	17	5	3	0	0	37
10	Tim Hardaway Jr*	4-5	2-2	3-5	0	3	3	2	13	0	4	0	0	38
13	Matt Vogrich	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
22	Blake McLimans	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+
23	Evan Smotryca	1-4	0-2	0-0	1	4	5	3	2	1	1	0	0	18
45	Colton Christian	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	Totals	22-47	3-13	9-14	4	21	25	15	56	8	8	0	3	200
	Ohio State	19-49	3-16	10-15	12	22	34	13	51	9	13	0	7	200

[Ed.: This was started right at the end of the season in hopes of getting it out before the Michigan football bust, but then I bought a new house, moved, etc, which resulted in less free time and no internet access at home for a few weeks. We apologize for the lack of content lately].

The 132nd team in Michigan football history began play in September with a new head coach and plenty of returning talent. It opened with a rain-soaked three-quarter win over Western Michigan and continued on with the first ever night game in Michigan Stadium history. It opened Big Ten play with a 58-0 route of Minnesota, then followed up with a second half comeback at Northwestern. It suffered defeat in East Lansing and Iowa City with a win over Purdue sandwiched in between, but bounced back with decisive wins over Illinois and Nebraska. And finally, it ended seven years of futility with a 40-34 win over Ohio State.

It’s hard to believe 12 games have already come and gone, but with season’s end comes awards and accolades. The All-Big Ten teams have been announced and Brady Hoke was named conference coach of the year, so we at Maize and Go Blue decided to announce our very first Maize and Go Blue Awards. Some of these will be painfully obvious and some you may disagree with, but we welcome the discussion and ultimately aim to honor the men of Team 132.

Harmon Player of the Year | Denard Robinson

Denard Robinson entered the season as a Heisman contender and almost singlehandedly beat Notre Dame in Week 2. However, his throwing mechanics seemed to tail off in the middle of the season, resulting in a number of interceptions and calls for Devin Gardner to replace him. But Robinson kept battling and delivered his best all-around performances of his career late in the season, including one of the greatest by any Michigan quarterback ever against Ohio State.

Last week, we found out that Robinson played much of the season with a staph infection on his arm and an abscess on his throwing elbow that at least in some part contributed to his midseason miscues.

He completed 133-of-237 passes for 2,056 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 1,163 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns. His rushing yards per game ranked 28th nationally and his total offense ranked 29th nationally. He also accounted for an average of 17 points per game, which ranked 15th in the nation, and despite his midseason passing struggles, he ranked 36th nationally in passing efficiency – just behind another preseason Heisman contender, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones.

Votes: 2
Others Receiving Votes: Fitzgerald Toussaint (1), Mike Martin (1)

Chappuis Offensive Player of the Year | Denard Robinson

As stated above, Denard Robinson led the team rushing with 1,163 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and completed 56 percent of his passes for 2,056 yards and 18 touchdowns. He finished 28th nationally in rushing and 36th in passing efficiency.

He also got better as the season progressed. After a fast start, and great performance against Notre Dame, he struggled against Northwestern and Michigan State. But he rebounded with three of his best performances of the season in Michigan’s final three games against Illinois, Nebraska, and Ohio State.

Robinson moved into 8th place in career completions, passing yards, and rushing yards at Michigan, 6th in career touchdown passes, 100-yard passing games, and 200-yard passing games, and 5th in rushing touchdowns. He’s also just 679 rushing yards away from Juice Williams’ Big Ten quarterback rushing record, which he should easily break next season.

Votes: 3
Others Receiving Votes: Fitzgerald Toussaint (1)

Schulz Defensive Player of the Year  | Mike Martin

Mike Martin was the rock of a Michigan defense that improved vastly in every statistical category from a year ago. Total defense ranked 18th nationally, rush defense ranked 35th, and scoring defense ranked 7th. While Martin didn’t have eye-popping numbers, he took on double-teams more often than not, freeing up the pass rush for the rest of the front seven. He was also solid in run defense, consistently clogging the middle of the line and taking away running lanes for opposing backs.

He made one of the best defensive plays of the season, fighting through the Purdue line to sack quarterback Caleb TerBush in the end zone for a safety to break a 7-7 tie. Michigan went on to score the next 27 points to put the game away.

Martin’s senior leadership and defensive tenacity was a stabilizing force for an all-around young Michigan defense. He benefited from Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison’s experience coaching NFL defensive linemen and had the best season of his career at Michigan. He finished with 54 tackles (5.5 for loss) and three sacks.

Votes: 3
Others Receiving Votes: Jordan Kovacs (1)

Yost Coach of the Year | Brady Hoke & Greg Mattison (tie)

In his first year at the helm, Brady Hoke took an underperforming Michigan squad and guided it to a 10-2 record, falling just a few plays short of an undefeated season and a chance to play for the Big Ten championship. His display of composure on the sidelines, his hiring of top-notch coordinators, his willingness to call a gameplan with what he called ‘controlled agression’, and his beating of Ohio State make him a lock for the award.

Hoke was awarded the Schembechler-Hayes Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the coaches and the media (the media’s award is called the Dave McClain Award). It was his third conference coach of the year award in four years, having received the honor as head coach of San Diego State in 2010 and Ball State in 2008.

Many Michigan fans were skeptical of his hiring back in January, but one would be hard pressed to find a Michigan fan who hasn’t bought in at this point. In Hoke’s introductory press conference, he proclaimed that he would have walked to Ann Arbor (from California) if he had to. After nearly a year on the job, Hoke has won over players, almuni, and fans alike who would probably walk to California for him if they had to. He’s also putting the finishing touches on what will be a highly-ranked recruiting class coming to Ann Arbor next season.

According to Matt, “Hoke came in post-RichRod, turned this team around, went 10-2, became BCS eligible, and beat Ohio State.”

Greg Mattison is one of those coordinators that Hoke hired and was a genius pick. In Mattison’s second stint in Ann Arbor (he coached at Michigan from 1992-96), Mattison turned a defensive unit that ranked 110th nationally in 2010 and gave up the most points in Michigan history into the nation’s 18th-ranked total defense and 7th-best scoring defense. Not once all season did an opponent score as many points as the Michigan defense averaged allowing last season. Ohio State came the closest but was still one short.

The turnaround was most impressive because it was largely the same players as last year with the addition of freshmen Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan, and Blake Countess mixed in. That Mattison can take the same defense, add three true freshmen to the mix, and produce what he did is nothing short of miraculous. The Michigan defense is in good hands as long as Mattison is coordinating it.

Chris picked Mattison, saying “Tough call between Hoke and Mattison but I had to go with Mattison because he was more directly responsible for the greatly improved play of the defense. His blitz schemes were a nightmare for opposing coordinators and his ability to get essentially the same players as last year to play like they did was top notch.”

Votes: Hoke (2), Mattison (2)
Others Receiving Votes: None

Little Brown Jug Game of the Year | 40-34 win over Ohio State

Of all of the achievements this season – a 10-2 record, a BCS bowl game, beating Notre Dame at the last second, etc., the most satisfying for Michigan players, coaches, and fans was beating Ohio State and ending the seven-year drought. It wasn’t easy and the game had its share of twists and turns, but Michigan persevered and found a way to do what the previous seven Michigan teams could not: Beat Ohio.

The Buckeyes came in with a 6-5 record, a true freshman quarterback, and nothing to lose. The OSU offense was anemic all season, but in what would be interim head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman’s last game on the reigns, they turned the offense loose. Instead of pounding the ball up the middle all game, they let quarterback Braxton Miller make plays with his arm and legs.

But Michigan traded blow for blow and scored the most points of any Michigan team against Ohio State since 1946. Denard Robinson played the best game of his career, hitting 14-of-17 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns and rushing 26 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns. It was one of the greatest performances by a quarterback against Ohio State in Michigan history.

The win ensured that another senior class would not graduate winless against Ohio State and served as a pleasing sendoff for the seniors who stayed through three head coaches and multiple coordinators.

“Streak ending statement game,” said Josh.

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Howard Play of the Year | Denard’s TD pass to Roundtree to beat Notre Dame

Another unanimous selection, the 16-yard touchdown pass from Denard Robinson to Roy Rountree with two seconds left to beat Notre Dame proved to be one of the greatest moments of the season.

It was the much-hyped and nationally televised Under the Lights game, the first ever night game in Michigan Stadium history. ESPN’s College Gameday broadcast live from Ann Arbor that morning and Brady Hoke needed the win to keep Michigan fans from another “here we go again” feeling.

The game itself was a candidate for game of the year and probably would have been had Michigan not ended its seven-year futility against Ohio State. It was back and forth throughout, but looked like Michigan was headed for a loss when Notre Dame answered a Michigan touchdown to take a three-point lead with 30 seconds to play. Michigan got the ball on its own 20-yard line, needing to drive 80 yards in 30 seconds to pull off a miracle. And that they did.

On the second play, Robinson found a wide open Jeremy Gallon on a wheel route for a 64-yard gain to the Notre Dame 16. One play later, Robinson floated a perfect jump ball to Roy Roundtree in the end zone. The junior receiver leaped above ND defensive back Gary Gray and hauled it in, touching a foot in bounds before falling out of bounds. Replay confirmed the catch and Michigan celebrated its third-straight win over Notre Dame.

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Biakabutuka Performance of the Year | Denard’s 5 TDs against Ohio State

Denard Robinson had his share of electrifying moments the past couple of seasons, even garnering Heisman talk at times the past to years. However, the major knock on the junior quarterback has been that he hasn’t played well in big games against the likes of rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. This time, in the season’s final game, he did.

Although Ohio State was limping in with a 6-5 record, it was still a rivalry game and Michigan was fighting the burden of the seven-year plague. Ohio State’s defense still had largely shut down two of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks, Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins and Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson.

Robinson, however, was not to be stopped. He turned in one of the greatest single performances by a Michigan player against Ohio State in the history of the rivalry. He completed 14-of-17 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 26 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He became just the fourth Michigan quarterback to throw for three touchdowns in a game against Ohio State (the first since Drew Henson in 2000) and his 170 rushing yards were the third-most by any Michigan rusher against the Buckeyes (behind Tim Biakabatuka’s 313 in 1995 and Jamie Morris’ 210 in ’86).

“Big players come up big in big games,” said Chris. “Denard did not disappoint.”

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Friedman Quarterback of the Year | Denard Robinson

Unlike the Yost Coach of the Year award, in which two coaches very much deserved the honor, this one is painfully obvious. Even though sophomore Devin Gardner got some playing time, no one is going to name him quarterback of the year.

Denard Robinson followed up a stellar sophomore season with an even better junior season. While his numbers were down overall (1,163 rushing yards vs. 1,702 in 2010 and 2,056 passing yards vs. 2,570 in 2010), he developed as a quarterback and as a leader. There were times early in the season where questions arose about Denard’s progress, but by season’s end, he proved that the job is his and his alone.

He ranked 28th nationally and 5th in the Big Ten in rushing, breaking the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He completed 56.1 percent of his passes for 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, though his TD-to-INT ratio grew as the season drew to a close. Most importantly, he turned in his best performance in leading Michigan to its first win over Ohio State in eight years, throwing for 167 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He became the fourth quarterback in Michigan history to throw for three touchdowns in a game against OSU – the first since Drew Henson in 2000 – and recorded the third-highest rushing total by any Michigan player against the Buckeyes.

Michigan fans should expect big things from Robinson in 2012.

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Heston Running Back of the Year | Fitzgerald Toussaint

It took a while for Fitzgerald Toussaint to get going, but once he did, he turned in a phenomenal season. After rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns in the rain-soaked season opener against Western Michigan, Toussaint didn’t play against Notre Dame and carried just twice for seven yards in a mid-season loss to Michigan State. After that, however, he gained at least 120 yards in four of the remaining five games, averaging six yards per carry.

Toussaint finished sixth in the Big Ten in rushing, right behind Robinson, and 40th nationally. He also eclipsed the 1,000 mark, becoming the first Michigan running back to do so since Mike Hart.

For the season, he gained 1,011 yards and scored nine touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 91.9 yards per game.

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Carter Receiver of the Year | Junior Hemingway

With the exception of the Notre Dame and Northwestern games, Michigan didn’t put the ball in the air often. The emergence of Fitzgerald Toussaint allowed Hoke and offensive coordinator Al Borges to utilize the passing game just enough to keep the defense honest for the running game.

Junior Hemingway was a guy that Michigan fans had been waiting to break out for years, but was always hampered by injury. This season, he did so.

Hemingway emerged as the main receiving threat with his ability to stretch defenses and go up and get balls in the air. He made several great plays against Notre Dame and Northwestern, out-leaping the defensive back to give a shot in the arm to the offense. He finished the regular season with 32 receptions for 636 yards and two touchdowns.

Against Notre Dame, Hemingway had three catches for 165 yards and a touchdown and against Northwestern, he caught five passes for 124 yards. His second and only other touchdown of the year came against Ohio State, putting Michigan ahead 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.

“Hemingway gave the offense a deep threat which had been lacking over the last few seasons,” said Josh. “When he was catching the ball, his ability to stretch the field opened up windows in the defense for other receivers to run into.”

Votes: 3
Others Receiving Votes: Roy Roundtree (1)

Dierdorf Offensive Lineman of the Year | David Molk

David Molk was everything you could possibly ask for at the center position. He was the rock of the Michigan offense and a senior leader both on and off the field. He was a First-Team All-America selection and the Rimington Award winner which goes to the nation’s top center.

While many things could be pointed to for Michigan’s offensive success throughout the entire season, one of the biggest is the stability Molk provided to the offensive line. That was all the more apparent in 2009 when Molk missed eight games due to various injuries and the offense fell apart.This season, he was healthy throughout, and the offense never missed a beat.

Off the field, while Robinson could be considered the face of Michigan football, Molk was usually the voice of Michigan football, providing positive soundclips and keeping the team focused and together. He was one of the few seniors who stayed and triumphed through three head coaches and multiple coordinators. He beat Ohio State and will play in Michigan’s first BCS bowl game since the year before he arrived in Ann Arbor.

“Center is the most important player on the line,” said Chris. “Molk came through with leadership and stellar play.”

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Messner Defensive Lineman of the Year | Mike Martin & Ryan Van Bergen (tie)

The best position group on a vastly improved Michigan defense, and also the hardest to replace next season, was the defensive line. It was manned by a pair of senior leaders, Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen, both of which share the Messner Defensive Lineman of the Year award.

Martin was the clog in the middle of the defense that routinely took on double-teams and made it tough for opposing offenses to run the ball. Van Bergen had a knack for fighting his way through the line to pressure the opposing quarterback. Together, they formed the backbone of one of the Big Ten’s top units.

According to Josh, “While Martin was often fighting through double-teams, Van Bergen was making plays with his quick pass rushing abilities. He had five sacks, 12 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and four pass breakups. This is another Senior who will be difficult to replace.”

Votes: Martin (2), Van Bergen (2)
Others Receiving Votes: None

Simpkins Linebacker of the Year | Jake Ryan & Kenny Demens (tie)

Last year’s linebacker corps was plagued with unsound fundamentals and poor tackling and the unit entered this season as one of the biggest question marks on the team. Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton were gone and many wondered who would fill their spot. Kenny Demens entered the scene last season, but no one else had stepped up. Enter Jake Ryan.

The redshirt freshman broke out to provide some much-needed playmaking ability and combined with Demens to provide stability to the linebacking corps.

He finished the season with 30 tackles, seven for loss, and also recorded two sacks and recovered two fumbles. Against San Diego State, he recorded five tackles, one for loss, and two fumble recoveries. He was named to the ESPN.com and Big Ten All-Freshman team.

Demens led the team in tackles with 86, five for loss, and also tallied three sacks. He recorded a team-high 12 tackles against Notre Dame and also helped slow down Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, adding eight tackles and an assisted sack.

He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honoree.

“Led the team in tackles and was a force in the middle of the field,” said Chris.

Votes: Ryan (2), Demens (2)
Others Receiving Votes: None

Woodson Defensive Back of the Year | Jordan Kovacs

Over the last couple of seasons, Jordan Kovacs has become one of the team’s most popular players. The former walk-on who earned a scholarship last season did a little bit of everything on defense.

He was second on the team in tackles with 64, second on the team with eight tackles for loss, tallied four sacks, forced two fumbles, recovered one, and picked off a pass.

In the season-opening win over Western Michigan, Kovacs led the team with 10 tackles, two for loss, recorded a pair of sacks, forced a fumble, and recorded a pass breakup. For his effort, he was named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week.

He also made one of the key defensive plays of the season when he sacked Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa on fourth down to give the ball back to Michigan and seal the win.

He was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.

Votes: 2
Others Receiving Votes: Blake Countess (1), J.T. Floyd (1)

Hamilton Special Teams Player of the Year | Brendan Gibbons & Jeremy Gallon (tie)

It’s fitting that two players split the special teams player of the year award given that Michigan’s special teams was a disaster the past couple of seasons and improved immensely this year.

A year ago, Gibbons made just made just 1-of-5 field goals before being replaced by Seth Broekhuisen for the remainder of the season. The kicking game was so bad that Rich Rodriguez elected to forego kicking unless the team was within about 30 yards. This year was a drastic turnaround. Gibbons hit 10-of-14 field goals and 52-of-53 extra points.

The night-and-day difference between last season and this was on display in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. Holding onto a three-point lead with two minutes left, and facing fourth-and-goal from the OSU-26, Hoke sent Gibbons out to attempt what would be a career long. With the pressure of the seven-year plague on his back, Gibbons nailed it, pushing the lead to six, and making Ohio State have to score a touchdown to win rather than a field goal to tie.

Another sore spot for Michigan the past couple years was the return game. Aside from not getting return yards, Michigan’s returnmen had trouble catching the ball. Michigan fans held their breath every time a punt was in the air, arcing down toward a Michigan returnman. Not so this year.

Jeremy Gallon provided a solid receiver on punts and proved capable of picking up yards as well. He averaged 10.1 yards per return and his 32-yard return against Illinois set up a Michigan touchdown. He was named an All-Big Ten Special Teams third teamer by Phil Steele.

Votes: Gibbons (2), Gallon (2)
Others Receiving Votes: None

Hart Newcomer of the Year | Blake Countess

As a true freshman, Blake Countess certainly impressed. He added a playmaking cover corner to a Michigan secondary that was desperately in need of one after getting torched game-in and game-out last season. He played in 11 of the team’s 12 games (10 at cornerback) and earned a starting spot in the last five.

Countess totaled 36 tackles, one for loss, and was second on the team in pass breakups with six. Against San Diego State, he tallied seven tackles and a pass breakup, and made a fantastic touchdown-saving pass breakup against Ohio State in the season finale (pictured right).

He was named to the ESPN.com and Big Ten All-Freshman team.

“Came into a starting role and never relinquished it,” said Josh. “Played with maturity and poise beyond his true freshman status.”

Chris was also impressed, saying, “The addition of Countess to Michigan’s secondary mid-way through the season was an excellent move by the coaches. In five starts, Countess had 36 tackles, 6 PBUs, and 1 forced fumble. Not bad for a true freshmen in such a short game span. Opposing QBs had to account for him on every passing play.”

Votes: 3
Others Receiving Votes: Drew Dileo (1)

Schembechler ‘Those Who Stay’ Senior of the Year | Mike Martin

Mike Martin was a senior leader who stuck it out through three head coaches, multiple defensive coordinators and various schemes. He very easily could have departed for the NFL after his junior season rather than try to learn a new scheme, but he stuck it out and emerged better off for it. The coaching he received from former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison should certainly help out his NFL Draft stock.

He routinely took on double teams, freeing up Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh to rush the passer, and clogged the middle of the line, making it hard for opposing running backs to find holes.

“Martin was the leader of this defense, starting in the offseason when Hoke was first hired,” said Chris. “He helped Hoke get the rest of the defense (and the team) to buy into the new coaching staff. Losing Van Bergen’s abilities off the edge will hurt too, but it’s always tough to replace a leader like Martin.”

Votes: 4
Others Receiving Votes: None

Harris Most Improved Player of the Year | Brendan Gibbons & Fitzgerald Toussaint (tie)

As noted above in the special teams player of the year award, Brendan Gibbons showed vast improvement compared to a year ago. He went from 1-for-5 last season to a dependable 10-for-14 this season. And when it mattered most, he connected on a career long 43-yarder in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. With two years of eligibility left, it looks as if Michigan will be solid at kicker at least until he graduates.

Fitz Toussaint also gets the nod because of the way he broke out in the second half of the season. He battled injuries a year ago when he got just eight carries for 87 yards all year. Of those 87, 61 came on one run. This year, he busted out for 1,011 yards on 174 carries, becoming a dependable every-down back and a perfect complement to Denard Robinson in the backfield. Like Gibbons, Toussaint is just a sophomore, ensuring two more years to continue improving and leaving Michigan with a solid running game.

“Emerged as the go-to back,” said Josh. “Gave offense a much needed added dimension to take pressure off Denard.”

Votes: Gibbons (2), Toussaint (2)
Others Receiving Votes: None

[Ed.: Below is a reaction to Ohio State's NCAA sanctions from Tab Bamford, the man who was the first to break the Jim Tressel news almost exactly a year ago. On that day, he sent shockwaves throughout Columbus, eliciting direct denials from the school and Tressel himself, and started the ball rolling towards yesterday's sanctions. He was blasted on Columbus radio, received hate mail and personal threats from crazed fans, and became the state of Ohio's top trending topic on Twitter. And, oh yeah, he's a Michigan fan].

On Christmas Day, 2010, a blog post sent Columbus, Ohio into a frenzy. Someone outside the Buckeye Bubble had the nerve to receive credible information, and publish a report that said Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel’s last game at OSU would be the Sugar Bowl.

OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith tweeted that day that Buckeye fans should “Go back to drinking your eggnog!! Rumors not true…”

OSU Sports Information Director Shelly Poe then allegedly texted media members in Columbus that the reports of Tressel’s impending departure were “the work of some prankster.”

These comments, coming from two of the highest-ranking individuals in the Ohio State Athletic Department, came on Dec. 25… or, according to later reports, 18 days after federal officers contacted the university to determine if items in question were stolen or simply sold for cash.

For over three months, Smith defended Tressel publically. In spite of self-reporting violations and taking steps to do the right thing, it was six months after the initial report that Tressel was actually gone from Ohio State. And yet, at the end of the day, the 2011 Sugar Bowl was indeed the final game Tressel coached at Ohio State.

The fall guy in all of this became Tressel, who was fired, fined, and cast away to the previously-unknown level of Dante’s inferno known as “the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.” He was fired by OSU, I mean he resigned on May 30, leaving behind a program will with suspended upper classmen, legal issues and a head coach that appeared to be finishing puberty.

Fast forward 360 days – an ironic, perfectly round number – and we’re back at square one. Smith was yet again answering for a systemic failure he continued to blame on Tressel.

The NCAA handed a one-year bowl ban and other minor, inconsequential penalties to the Buckeyes on Dec. 20. Smith said he was “surprised and disappointed” that the Buckeyes received such a punishment.

My question, indeed my problem with this disappointment, is how the Buckeyes continue to get away with a naïve sense of entitlement in the face of serious issues.

In June 2010, USC was hit with a two-year bowl ban, four years’ probation, had to vacate 14 wins and the loss of 30 scholarships over a three-year period because Heisman Trophy-winner Reggie Bush and eventual NBA first round draft pick OJ Mayo took thousands of dollars from agents and supposed sports marketers.

Pete Carrol, who was then the head coach at USC, didn’t lie to the university or the NCAA; he left for the Seattle Seahawks.  The university was required to banish Bush from the program. USC was cited for a lack of institutional control and Bush gave back his Heisman.

But Tressel, who was absolutely wrong for being dishonest to the NCAA and OSU on multiple occasions, received more blind faith from his bosses than Carrol did from the Trojans’ athletic department.

Just a couple days before Tressel was encouraged to resign, USC’s appeal of their historic sanctions was denied by the NCAA. The hammer still dropped on Southern Cal, and yet now the Buckeyes are disappointed with receiving the quintessential slap on the wrist.

What is disappointing is that, in both cases, the head coach of a major program was a fraud. But in both cases, the lack of institutional control was laughable.

Ohio State’s idea of “institutional control” was forcing the players at the heart of the mess to come back to school for another season. If they had done the right thing, and immediately ended their collegiate careers, then the Buckeyes may have lost face – and recruits – in a nationally televised bowl game. So, in an effort to “do right by their student athletes” (read: athletic budget), Ohio State allowed those players to win them a bowl game before the program could use spring ball and summer practices to get players ready for prime time.

Meanwhile, all along, Smith defended his coach.

Did Ohio State deserve the same sentence USC received? Probably not. The prestige of the players involved at USC, including a Heisman Trophy winner, took the required penalty up a level for the Trojans.

But the separation between what OSU received and what USC was handed a year ago shouldn’t be so wide. The fact remains that Ohio State University knowingly used their power over student athletes for the financial gain of the university at the expense of credibility.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Tab Bamford writes the Daily Chicago Sports Tab for ChicagoNow.com, serves as a columnist and Chicago correspondent for TheFourthPeriod.com, and runs the wildly popular CommittedIndians.com, a Chicago Blackhawks blog. He is also the featured sports blogger for the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and recently authored his first book, “100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.”

In the aftermath of the Jim Tressel saga back in March, I wrote that what happened to Ohio State wasn’t good for the rivalry. Obviously, a blatant disregard for the rules had to be punished and the dismissal of Tressel was the right thing to do, and further NCAA sanctions should be handed down. But the fact that our bitter rivals went on so long with such a culture of corruption, althewhile dominating the rivalry, tarnishes what happened on the field during that period.

The rivalry is at its best when it is as it’s always been: the best two teams in the Big Ten slugging it out at season’s end for the conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Or even if both teams aren’t dominant, one having a realistic shot at ruining the other’s season with an upset.

As has been the case throughout the years, the teams are at their best when coached by a man who not only gets the rivalry, but has the personality to fuel it. For Ohio State, Tressel was that man. From the time he stepped foot on campus, he made it known that beating Michigan was the chief priority. That he was brash enough to exclaim it at halftime of a Buckeye basketball game endeared him to Buckeye faithful from the start.

When Tressel was forced out amid scandal in March, co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell was thrust into the interim head coaching position. He may have been an up-and-comer, but he wasn’t ready for the job. His questionable coaching decisions (saving all three timeouts at the end of a still-winnable game against Miami) and general lack of polish (never seemed to give much focus on Michigan) painted the perception that he was in over his head and it did nothing to help the rivalry. In his defense, he was just a stop-gap to keep the seat warm until Tressel’s successor could be found. If he could pull off a good season, great; if not, he’s not the long term answer anyway.

Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith knew he had to make a big splash for Tressel’s replacement, not only to appease the salivating fanbase, but to perhaps save his own job. On Monday, that big splash, which was rumored over a week ago, hit like a tidal wave with the announcement of former Florida head coach Urban Meyer as the next head coach at Ohio State.

In many ways, the Tressel saga may have worked out to OSU’s benefit in the long run. While Tressel dominated the Big Ten, he routinely struggled in bowl games against SEC competition. Meyer should be able to recruit well enough nationally to fit with his spread offense and compete on a national scale. That is, if he can handle the return to the rigors of coaching – the reason he retired from Florida little more than a year ago.

As a Michigan fan, I hope he does. His prestige and previous success are a welcome addition to the rivalry and could be the final piece to another legendary string of Michigan-Ohio State battles.

Like Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke, who got his first head coaching job at Ball State, Meyer started his career at Bowling Green (after serving as a tight ends and wide receivers coach at Ohio State from 1986-87). One may remember the last pair of UM-OSU head coaches who started off in the Mid-American Conference: Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes.

While the rivalry has always been strong, those two are widely credited with building it into what it is today. Their “Ten Year War” from 1969-78 was a brutal slugfest year-in and year-out, made personal by the fact that Bo had coached under Woody at Miami of Ohio. Because of that, Bo cemented beating Ohio as Michigan’s main goal each season, and Woody did likewise. That was handed down to Moeller and Carr, Cooper and Tressel before falling a little bit out of style under Rodriguez and Fickell.

Hoke took the Michigan job last January without even discussing a salary. As he said in his introductory press conference, “I promise you we would have walked to the University of Michigan.” He reaffirmed OSU’s position in Michigan’s minds from day one, referring to the Buckeyes simply as “Ohio,” and talking about them “a thousand times more” than Rodriguez did, according to center David Molk. The team ended every team meeting with “Beat Ohio.” It remains to be seen whether Meyer will follow suit, but he does have the Ohio State background, having served as an assistant coach there in the late 1980s.

Michigan has had success against Meyer, and having him in the scarlet and grey should be an interesting dynamic for as long as he resides in Columbus. In the 2008 Capital One Bowl, a 8-3 Michigan squad upended Meyer’s 9-2 Florida Gators, even with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow at the helm. It was, ironically, a glorious sendoff for the retiring Lloyd Carr. In that game, Michigan piled up 524 yards of offense.

Another connection Michigan has with Meyer is defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who was Meyer’s DC in 2005-07 before leaving for the same position with the Baltimore Ravens. Mattison helped Florida attain the nation’s 9th-best defense in 2005, 6th in 2006, and 41st in 2007. His defense also captured the 2006 National Championship. The argument can be a two-way street, as to who has the advantage; Mattison for knowing Meyer’s offensive gameplan or Meyer for knowing Mattison’s defensive schemes. But regardless, an advantage Michigan does have in that respect is Mattison’s recruiting prowess. It was Meyer who said of Mattison, “He’s not only one of the best defensive coordinators in America, but also the best recruiter in college football.”

Meyer’s name will certainly help Ohio State land top recruits, especially in the talent-rich state of Florida, but it shouldn’t take much of a chunk out of Michigan’s recruiting pie. The combination of Hoke’s major focus on the state of Ohio and Mattison’s ability to sell recruits especially on the defensive side of the ball, contrasted with Meyer’s national prestige should help get both Michigan and Ohio State back to their rightful spot at the top of the Big Ten.

So as Michigan fans, let’s welcome Meyer to Ohio State and prepare for another exciting period of college football’s greatest rivalry. And in doing so, we will carry momentum into Columbus next November and welcome him to the Big Ten in style.

Congratulations to bomoho for winning the final Michigan Man 5-Spot Challenge of the regular season. Bomoho becomes the second contestant to win twice, having previously won Week 2. For the Ohio State game, he was only 51 yards away from predicting the total combined yardage of both teams. He predicted 765 when the actual was 816. He was also just five yards away from the longest touchdown (59) and 20 away from Denard and Braxton Miller’s total combined rushing yardage (270). For his victory, he also wins a $15 gift card to The M Den.

Second place this week was Jim Mackiewicz who correctly predicted DeVier Posey’s receiving yards (58) and the minutes it would take Michigan to score its first touchdown (6).

KleinoRhino (42-17) and bomoho (35-24) were both the closest to correctly predicting the final score, while new contestant Northern fan was the most confident in Denard, coming the closest to his quarterback rating, predicting 180. The actual was 223.1.

Last week’s standings can be seen here. With only the bowl game remaining, several contestants are still in the running for the top spot. Make sure to check back a few days before the bowl game for the final Michigan Man 5-Spot Challenge of the season.

Michigan Man 5-Spot Overall Standings (through Week 12)
User Name	Total Points
umichfan1*	132
Hazel Parker**	120
chris12qb	118
bomoho**	115
myrick55*	111
Jim Mackiewicz	110
JustJeepGear.com	105
TrueBlue88	97
the1tab*	86
bluwolf77*	81
goobot	66
KleinoRhino*	61
tooty_pops	53
jtcho78	47
hottiebobottie*	41
lukelukeluke	23
RisingBlueNCA	20
squashman*	18
collins1188	17
deucebig*	17
jdemille	17
Jon Sobel	17
Skysdad	16
JBBond0077	16
supermario863	15
CrestySAV	14
TtownWolv	14
adm.marsden	14
pslblue	13
Mark C. Ault	13
BringBack#1Jersey	12
Chad	12
wyndhamNH	12
ctm0224	11
goblue897	10
Mohamed	10
messermc	10
Northern fan	9
s5arehart	8
Lilylake	7
rwalker1991	7
nickcaracc	6
mjweirsum	5
tommyvictors32	5
TheGooch	5
uniquenam	4
Amichfan	4
Michfaningeorgia	4
mayph4	4
rbrat10	4
Wolverine862	4
KevinWestGoBlue	3
dale2262	3
ironmandoja	3
#1 MICHIGAN	2
jnickp12	1
kiddet	1
* denotes number of weekly wins

At the beginning of the season, new head coach Brady Hoke took a page out of Lloyd Carr’s book to set the tone for the season. When Hoke was an assistant at Michigan, Carr gave the 1997 team pickaxes during the national championship season to symbolize climbing a mountain, based on the book “Into Thin Air.” This year, Hoke themed the season after SEAL Team 6, which brought down and eliminated Osama Bin Laden at the beginning of May. The correlation was teamwork and unity. Each and every member of the team was in this together.

#15 Michigan 40 – Ohio State 34
	Final Stats
40	Final Score	34
10-2 (6-2)	Record	6-6 (3-5)
444	Total Yards	372
277	Net Rushing Yards	137
167	Net Passing Yards	235
23	First Downs	18
2	Turnovers	1
3-29	Penalties – Yards	5-47
2-95	Punts – Yards	3-120
35:10	Time of Possession	24:50
5-for-11	Third Down Conversions	5-for-12
1-for-2	Fourth Down Conversions	1-for-2
4-15	Sacks By – Yards	1-3
1-for-1	Field Goals	2-for-2
5-for-5	PATs	4-for-4
4-for-4	Red Zone Scores – Chances	3-for-3

Prior to the Nebraska game a week ago, Hoke had a group of Navy SEALs speak to the team and provide inspiration. The team was given actual tridents that the SEALs wear. On Saturday, Team 132 stepped off the team bus wearing the tridents around their neck and proceded to fight for 60 minutes to achieve the supreme mission it set out for when the season began: beat Ohio.

The seven-year plague the Buckeyes strolled into Ann Arbor with had not been lost on maize and blue faithful across the country and even though the season was a bust for OSU, everyone knew they would put up a fight in college football’s greatest rivalry. No one, however, expected what was about to ensue.

Ohio State took the ball to start the game and came out passing. An offense that hadn’t thrown the ball more than 18 times in a single game all season and slumbered through the first 11 games looked like a force to be reckoned with, whipping the ball around the field.

It was clear from the outset that the tendencies broken by OSU Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman were not expected by Hoke and Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison. On the Buckeyes’ first possession, freshman quarterback Braxton Miller found a wide open Corey Brown for a 54-yard touchdown to stun the Big House crowd. On the play, safety Thomas Gordon broke on the inside receiver, DeVier Posey, and no one followed Brown.

In the second quarter, Miller broke loose and ran for a 19-yard touchdown, and on the ‘Bucks next possession Miller connected with Posey for a 43-yard touchdown – the second long touchdown pass of the game against a Michigan defense that hadn’t given up big plays all season.

Miller played a great game for a true freshman in his first Ohio State-Michigan game, but missed a number of wide open receivers that could have sealed Michigan’s fate. And that was the difference in this game. While Miller played well and took advantage of Michigan’s defensive mistakes but couldn’t make the big plays when needed, Denard Robinson silenced his critics with the best game of his career.

Robinson threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Most impressive is that he had as many touchdowns as incompletions. He connected on 14 of 17 passes and looked in complete control of the offense all game. Aside from a second quarter fumble that gave Ohio the ball at the Michigan 31 and resulted in an OSU touchdown, Robinson turned in the type of performance that has made legends out of the rivalry over the years.

He became just the fourth Michigan quarterback to throw for three touchdowns against Ohio State – the first since Drew Henson in 2000 – and his 170 rushing yards were the third-highest total for a Michigan rusher in The Game, behind only Tim Biakabutuka’s 313 in 1995 and Jamie Morris’ 210 in ’86.

But while Robinson accounted for all of Michigan’s touchdowns and the majority of the total yards, he didn’t do it all alone. Fitz Toussaint rushed for 120 yards on 20 carries – his third straight 100-yard game – and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Robinson and Toussaint became the first Michigan duo to record 1,000-yard seasons since Gordon Bell (1,388) and Rob Lytle (1,030) did it in 1975.

In addition to Robinson’s and Toussaint’s performances, the receiving corps player perhaps its best game of the season. Each receiver was sharp and held onto all of the catchable balls. Whether it was Junior Hemingway coming back to catch Michigan’s first touchdown or Martavious Odoms catching a bullet in traffic and weaving through five defenders into the end zone or Drew Dileo hauling in a 28-yarder on Michigan’s final drive, they all came to play.

Defensively, while the 34 points allowed were the most given up all season, credit has to be given to the unit that tightened up in the second half, allowing just 10 points, and made the stop to seal the win. Michigan sacked Miller four times and freshman linebacker Desmond Morgan led the team with 10 tackles. On the outside, freshman cornerback Blake Countess made a great leaping pass break-up in the first quarter on what would have been a long gain, and Courtney Avery picked Miller off to end the game.

Credit is also due to placekicker Brendan Gibbons who made just 1-of-5 field goals last season, but stepped up with a clutch 43-yard field goal with two minutes remaining to force the Buckeyes to have to drive the length of the field and score a touchdown instead of a field goal.

Twenty three seniors played their final game in the Big House and they exemplify what a Michigan Man is all about. While many of their former teammates left when the going got tough or decided to jump ship early, these 23 men stuck it out through three different head coaches, multiple coordinators and different schemes. It wasn’t easy, but each and every one of them will tell you it was worth it.

When Denard took the final knee and the clock hit zero, the team unity that was built over the last few months on the principles of the Navy SEALs was on display for all to see. Just as the team does at the end of practice every Friday, the ball was thrown up in the air, and when it landed, the entire team fell to the ground, as if a bomb had gone off. It was a fitting display of a Michigan band of brothers playing for each other and overcoming adversity. And just like SEAL Team 6 ended Bin Laden’s reign of corruption in the middle east and dumped his body out to sea, Michigan’s Team 132 put an end to Ohio’s seven-year reign in a sea of maize and blue.

The victory, and what is likely to follow in the coming days with the expected hiring of Urban Meyer to become Ohio’s next head coach, restore the vigor to the rivalry that has been in hibernation the past few years. Miller looks to be the real deal for OSU and Robinson will be a senior next season. With Hoke’s reinforced significance on beating Ohio, Mattison’s defensive genius, the youth that has stepped up on Michigan’s defense, and the emergence of Toussaint as a feature back, it’s exciting to look forward to the coming years of Michigan football and beating Ohio yet again.

Until the teams meet 364 days from now in Columbus, Michigan has the upper hand and the bragging rights, and Ohio State will have to figure out a way to win without access to free cars, under the table cash, and free tattoos.

Last week Michigan dominated Nebraska in a way none of us expected. We all were confident that Michigan would win but didn’t expect the whooping that Michigan put on the ‘Huskers. Justin and Josh tied for the closest. Justin was the most confident in Michigan’s offense, 12 away from the final, but thought Nebraska’s offense would pose more of a challenge. Josh was 18 away from Michigan’s score and 7 away from Nebraska’s, while Chris predicted a closer-scoring game, 21 away from Michigan’s score and six away from Nebraska’s.

This week, we all know what’s on the line, so we’re not playing for anything except the season-long crown (although there is still the bowl game remaining). Josh leads with four wins, while Justin and Chris each have three and Matt has one.

The picks:

Justin (3) – Tattoos don’t win games. Their allure, and everything else that comes with them, might help with recruiting, but when it’s all you’ve got left, it’s just a stain on your skin. That’s what those dressed in scarlet and grey will realize at high noon on Saturday. The run of free cars, under the table cash, inked up arms, and pumped up kicks is over. And so is the seven year plague.

Ohio comes into Ann Arbor with a hollow momentum. Winning seven straight gives the Buckeyes the upper hand, but in reality, they’re hurting. Back-to-back losses to Purdue and Penn State leave OSU needing a win to finish with an above .500 record. If anyone saw that coming at this time last year I’d like to meet you.

The Buckeye offense is predicated on running and running and running. It will pound Herron, Hyde, Hall, and Miller and sprinkle in a pass here and there. Miller will probably be a pretty prolific quarterback by the time his days at Ohio are over, but right now he’s a true freshman playing in his first game at Michigan. He’s also facing a defense coordinated by Greg Mattison. Expect Mattison to have a perfect game plan designed to pressure Miller and keep him from getting comfortable. You can bet Mattison has preached gap responsibility all week as Miller is most dangerous when scrambling around eluding would-be tacklers.

Offensively, Michigan will pound Fitz Toussaint and Denard Robinson. Ohio has not proven it can stop the run and Penn State racked up the rushing yards last week. Michigan will get a couple of big gainers as Ohio’s linebackers and safeties are prone to getting out of position. I don’t see Michigan having much trouble moving the ball and as long as Denard doesn’t make poor back-footed decisions, points will be there for the taking. Look for something new from the game plan as well; something Offensive Coordinator Al Borges has been saving just for this game.

If Michigan can score quickly, all the momentum Ohio has in the rivalry will be zapped and the lingering doubts about the current season, the missing sweatervest, and the future of the head coach will sink in. Look for a fairly close game early on becoming a comfortable Michigan win in the second half.

Michigan 35 – Ohio 17

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Josh (4) - I’m not from Michigan, and I’m not even from the midwest, but I’ve been a die-hard Michigan fan for as long as I can remember. My dad, who went to Michigan for college and dental school, wasn’t exactly a sports fan, but every time a Michigan game was on we watched it and rooted for the Maize and Blue. My first real memory of Michigan sports was the 1989 NCAA basketball tournament when Glenn Rice and Rumeal Robinson beat Seton Hall for the National title. Incidentally, one of the assistant coaches on that Seton Hall team, Rod Baker, would end up becoming a co-worker of mine after college.

Then came Desmond Howard as well as the Fab Five in basketball. Michigan was always on and always winning. How could I not be a Michigan fan?

From middle school, and a bit before, until I graduated high school in 1998, Michigan was 7-1-1 against Ohio, with a National title after the 1997 season. Nebraska can say they won it too all they want but no one outside Nebraska believes it. From the time I was old enough to understand football until the beginning of this century Michigan was 9-2-1 against Ohio – complete domination.

It seems like every year the season for each team came down to “The Game,” either for the Big Ten title or a chance at a National title. It meant something on the national landscape. Lately though, the tides have turned and as we all know Ohio has inched a little closer in the overall win/loss record, going 8-1 since 2001 (Ohio fans will say 9-1 but technically they didn’t win last year, not against us, not against anyone). Aside from 2006, Michigan hasn’t had much at stake during “The Game.” This year is different, but the same. It means something to Michigan’s season and fan base, other than the great satisfaction of beating that school down south.

I live in Ohio now, and I work with two die hard Ohio fans. They’re not the most unreasonable Ohio fans I have met but they still border on insufferable. They like to talk about the past decade and how they’ve owned us, but whenever I bring up the 90s or the overall record they tell me that was the past. Never mind that once a game is over it is in the past and the PAST decade of Ohio wins are just that, in the past (but no one ever confused Ohio fans for being rational).

Before the season started, but after the “Tat Gate” scandal and Tressel’s ‘firing’ I was at lunch with some co-workers and a few of their friends talking football. They were so adamant about Ohio still being dominant and running the table in the B1G Ten and playing in its inaugural championship game. I said it would be tough without the vest and Pryor, but they laughed. They’re THE Ohio after all. Then the conversation switched to Michigan. I love my team unconditionally but I am also a reasonable and realistic fan. I didn’t expect them to go 10-2 but I thought it was reasonable to go 8-4. I mean, how was it possible to be worse than we were last season?! They laughed at me, ‘Michigan won’t win more than 4 games this year’ they said, ignoring all the changes in staff and other intangibles. Despite my most thought out, logical arguments (I went to law school for one year so I thought it was rather strong) they still laughed. One of them said he was so confident that Michigan would suck that he’d bet me dinner. The terms were each win over 7 would get me dinner at a nicer place and each win under 5 he’d get the nicer dinner. He has since tried to go double or nothing with the Ohio game. I took it but I still get lunch if we lose. The funny thing is he’s not even an Ohio fan, he was just so convinced by the Ohio fans around us about Michigan’s ineptitude that he thought he’d cash in on my loyal fanhood and get a free dinner out of it. Oops.

There weren’t many Michigan fans where I grew up (Rochester, NY), nor were there many Ohio fans, so I never experienced an insane amount of trash talking and just plain ridiculousness from Ohio fans. I have been in Ohio for almost a year and a half now. I didn’t like Ohio before, but I would never call it a hatred. Living amongst Ohio fans makes me absolutely despise that team down south. Notre Dame has incredibly unrealistic fans, but they’re not jerks (I’m censoring myself. If you know an Ohio fan you have a good idea of what I meant to say here). Ohio fans go beyond passionate super fans into a realm of just plain insanity.

The Game has always been important but this year its different for me. It means more, both personally and for both teams. Michigan has a chance to end its losing streak and give Ohio its first non-winning season since and a LOSING record in the B1G Ten for the first time since 1999. Michigan has an outside shot at a BCS bowl for the first time in five seasons. It means I won’t have to hear Ohio fans give me crap for a whole year, and it means I can talk trash to them about how bad they are for a whole year. It means I can walk around town in my Michigan gear (although I already do) and know that we beat them and they cannot do anything about it for a whole year. I’m proud to be a fan of the Michigan Wolverines, win or lose, but when we’re winning it’s all the sweeter. And when we beat Ohio it’s almost heaven.

I didn’t want to move to Ohio for work – actually, it was supposed to be Detroit but plans changed – but now I’m glad we live in Ohio. After Tat Gate, Tressel’s ousting, and their less than stellar season, it feels great to watch them suffer (though I want to see them get back on their feet again – beating them when they’re 11-0 is the best feeling). And when Michigan wins on Saturday, it will feel so good. Not only to end the streak, but to know that Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison have brought back Michigan football. B1G Ten titles and beating Ohio is what Michigan is all about. We may not get to win the B1G Ten this year but we can beat Ohio.

Ohio’s offense has been erratic, at best. At times they’ve shown potential, and at others they’ve looked like a high school team could stop them. Braxton Miller is clearly their best option at QB and he can make plays with his arm and his feet. Other than at Nebraska, Ohio hasn’t played in a tough road game. The Big House isn’t known as the most intimidating place to play, but since the addition of the boxes the noise of 113,000-plus stays inside the stadium and makes it quite loud. I haven’t been there since the addition but I hear it is like night and day.

Miller is a freshman, an 18- or 19-year old kid. It will be loud and it will be hostile, I’m not too sure he can overcome that. Ohio’s defense is their strength but they haven’t been able to stop anyone good this year. They needed a miracle hail mary to beat Wisconsin. They’ve lost to bottom feeder Purdue, almost loss to Toledo, and had an incredibly poor showing against an Indiana team who hasn’t beaten a Division I team doesn’t exactly helping their case. That said, Ohio can still win this game. Sports are unpredictable and crazy at times. I don’t think that will happen, but for me to rule out the possibility would be wrong.

Ohio doesn’t give up many points, having given up over 30 only once, in the loss to Nebraska. So we know that a mobile QB and a good rushing attack can beat this defense. Funny enough, that is exactly what Michigan has, quite possibly the most electrifying mobile QB in some time and a good rushing attack with Fitz Toussaint. Denard hasn’t had the type of year passing that some expected, and while his interception total is a bit high he is a decent passer when he sets his feet. Teams shut down the Michigan offense late in the year in 2010 by focusing on Denard. They don’t have that luxury anymore, Toussaint is a great complement to Denard out of the backfield, and if Borges keeps up with the read option plays it could be a LONG day for Ohio. When the running game is clicking and the defense doesn’t know where the ball is going the passing game will open up.

Michigan’s defensive turnaround is nothing short of a miracle, or is it? Brady Hoke is a defensive coach, Greg Mattison has coached some great college and NFL defenses. They aren’t good defensive coaches, they are great defensive coaches. What they have done with this group who got walked all over last season is inspiring. They’ve instilled confidence and focused on fundamentals. They’re a top 10 scoring defense and top 20 in yards allowed. It’s closer to a Michigan defense than people thought was possible in one year. Michigan has gotten better each game, with last week being their best performance all season. Nebraska isn’t the powerhouse people thought they’d be but they’re good nonetheless. For Michigan’s defense to dominate a top tier team like that was not luck, it was because Michigan’s defense is for real.

For Michigan to win this game they need to control the line of scrimmage, on both sides. Creating running lanes for Denard and Fitz will make for a long afternoon for the Buckeye defenders. Getting into the backfield and making Miller scramble to make plays in a loud, hostile environment will keep Ohio off the scoreboard. Yes, Herron and Posey are back but if Miller doesn’t have time to find them or has to scramble and throw under duress, it won’t matter much.

Brady Hoke stated the importance of this game when he was hired. It is not just a game to him, he has experienced this game many times before. He was on the winning side most of those times and he wants to keep it that way. He will not let his kids get overconfident or cocky coming into this game, or any game in the future. He knows Ohio will come to play and he’s prepared his kids to do as as well.

Ohio fans seem to think Michigan is overconfident and cocky coming in and will therefore be ripe for the upset. They also tell me Ohio is gonna win by five touchdowns and/or in dominating fashion. I have no response to statements as ludicrous as that. History has a tendency of repeating itself. Michigan owned the 90′s, Ohio owned the 2000′s. It goes back and forth. When Michigan hired its legendary coach the headlines read “Bo Who?” There was similar sentiment when Dave Brandon hired little known Brady Hoke over big names like Jim Harbough and Les Miles. 1968, the year before Bo Schembechler was hired, Ohio beat Michigan 50-14. In 1969 Ohio was the top ranked team in the nation, riding a 22 game win streak. Michigan and “Bo Who” beat them 24-12. Last year we ‘lost’ 37-7, and while Ohio isn’t the top ranked (or ranked at all) we have another no-name coach at the helm. Can we expect the same sort of results as in 1969? I think so. GO BLUE!

Michigan 27 – Ohio 12

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Chris (3) - Here’s the deal: This is The Game.  Records don’t matter.  Stats don’t matter.  What matters is who wants it more.  Both teams are going to come out playing their hearts out and what has happened during the year prior to this isn’t going to make a difference.  This game will not impact the Big Ten Championship, as neither team can make it to Indianapolis.  Saturday’s game will be all about pride and feeling the players will get when they get to put on their pads and smack around their biggest rival.  The Wolverines come into this game trying to break an embarrassing seven-game losing streak to the Buckeyes.  Stopping that streak means a lot more to the team than the potential BCS berth that could be gained with a win.

OSU will come into this game looking at it like their bowl game.  Even if the Buckeyes get into a bowl, it likely won’t be one of much interest.  What a better way to end a frustrating and disappointing season than to beat a Wolverines team that is favored by over a touchdown and looking to get back in control of this rivalry??

From the day Coach Hoke set foot on campus in Ann Arbor, he has made it clear that the goal is to beat OSU every year.  In practice this week, certainly that fact was not lost on the Michigan players.  The fact that OSU has had a “down” year this year will not play into this game, however.  I like the Michigan defense, led by the Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison, to put a lot of pressure on true freshmen quarterback Braxton Miller and confuse him at the line of scrimmage.  The Michigan secondary will need to stay with their assignments in case Miller is able to break free though.  He has had a tendency to create big plays with his ability to escape the pocket when it closes in.

On offense, I look for Offensive Coordinator Al Borges to call a game similar to what he did last game against Nebraska.  The ball will need to be in Denard Robinson’s hands for them to score points.  They will need to be able to pass the ball too, as OSU has shut down Denard in the previous two games.  A game plan similar to last week will do the trick.

Michigan 28 – OSU 17

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Matt (1) – Eight years ago, Michigan beat Ohio State. That was the last time Michigan beat them. But that was then, this is now.

Brady Hoke has already proven this season that he was the perfect Michigan man for the University of Michigan to hire for the football team’s head coach. But a win tomorrow against the Buckeyes will be a huge exclamation mark for Hoke and his coaching staff.

Michigan has gotten better and better each and every week. Improvement on offense and defense has been visible during every single game, and hopefully it will be tomorrow as well.

Michigan’s defense has gotten better every game against the pass and run, so although I do see Braxton Miller putting a couple of big plays, I do see Michigan’s defense shutting him down somewhat.

I tend to say Denard will be Denard every single game, and again, I see him doing what he does this Saturday as well: a couple of passing touchdowns, a couple of rushing touchdowns, and probably a couple of picks, unfortunately. I think we will also see Devin Gardner in for quite a few plays.

Brady Hoke knows this rivalry. He has experienced this rivalry. And tomorrow he will have the boys more pumped up for a football game than they ever have been. Brady Hoke will experience his first Michigan vs Ohio State game as a head coach, and he will experience a victory.

I’m going overboard, but hey, it’s The Game, you have to go overboard! Go Blue!!!

Michigan 100 – Ohio State 0

College football’s greatest rivalry has built itself throughout the years on playing for all the marbles. More often than not over its 107-year history, The Game has been played at season’s end to decide the Big Ten champion, the conference’s representative in the Rose Bowl, and year-long bragging rights for alumni and fans of the schools to the north and south of Toledo.

#15 Michigan v. Ohio
	Saturday Nov. 26 12 p.m. ET ABC
9-2 (5-2)	Record	6-5 (3-4)
Western Michigan 34-10 Notre Dame 35-31 Eastern Michigan 31-3 San Diego State 28-7 Minnesota 58-0 Northwestern 42-24 Purdue 36-14 Illinois 31-14 #16 Nebraska 45-17	Wins	Akron 42-0 Toledo 27-22 Colorado 37-17 #16 Illinois 17-7 #15 Wisconsin 33-29 Indiana 34-20
#23 Michigan State 14-28 Iowa 16-24	Losses	Miami 6-24 Michigan State 7-10 #14 Nebraska 27-34 Purdue 23-26 OT #21 Penn State 14-21
33.6	Scoring Offense	24.3
231.9	Rushing YPG	201.0
189.3	Passing YPG	114.0
421.2	Total Offense	315.0
15.6	Scoring Defense	19.0
128.4	Rush Defense YPG	130.2
184.3	Pass Defense YPG	187.9
312.6	Total Defense YPG	318.1
26	Takeaways	16
20	Giveaways	12
24/14	Sacks By/Allowed	22/36
70-of-144 (48.6%)	Third-down Conv.	60-of-151 (39.7%)
9-for-13 (69.2%)	Field Goals	13-for-16 (81.3%)
32.9	Net Punt Avg.	37.6

While Michigan holds a 57-44-6 edge in the series, there have been plenty of streaks by either side. Michigan won 13 of the first 15 contests played from 1897-1918 with the two others being ties. From 1922-27, Michigan had a six game winning streak and then went 10-2-2 from 1938-51. Ohio State then turned the tide throughout the ’50s and ’60s, taking 16 of 24 from 1952-75. The pendulum swung back in Michigan’s favor through the Schembechler, Moeller, and early Carr years, when Michigan won 18 of 27 from 1976-2003, including a 12-3-1 run from 1988-2000.

But since winning the game’s ceremonial 100th meeting in 2003, the rivalry has been decidedly one-sided. Seven-year old kids have never seen Michigan beat the Buckeyes and the last three years have been uncharacteristically boring for traditionalists. Even Ohio fans long for the days of the hard-fought, hyped-up battles they were used to when it didn’t matter who was favored and the underdog always played above its head.

When Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for Ann Arbor in 2008, one of his fatal flaws, at least perceptibly, was that he didn’t completely understand the rivalry. However, as John U. Bacon’s book Three and Out detailed, he understood it as much as anyone who had never stepped foot in Ann Arbor before could, having learned many of Schembechler’s coaching principles from Bo disciple and West Virginia legend Don Nehlen. Still, his Michigan teams weren’t able to put up much of a fight against the Buckeyes, getting outscored 100-24 in three meetings.

Enter Brady Hoke. Unlike when Jim Tressel took over at Ohio State in 2001 and immediately announced to the world that he was there to beat Michigan, Hoke took his message only to his team, installing ‘Beat Ohio’ countdown clocks in the locker room. He didn’t need to declare anything publicly, but everyone in Ann Arbor understood how he felt. He refers to the Buckeyes simply as ‘Ohio,’ he claims to have never worn red, and he has declared Ohio as one of his main recruiting battlegrounds. In his first 10 months on the job, he has put Michigan in position to make a BCS bowl, secured what is so far one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, and reinvigorated the rivalry.

At this time last year, Michigan was on the eve of yet another beatdown in Columbus while Ohio State was soaring high with an experienced bunch. Now, a year later, the scrip has been flipped. The Jim Tressel saga that led to his dismissal, the loss of Terrell Pryor, and the suspension of five players for the first part of the season has brought down the mighty Buckeyes to the point that Ohio supporters are already making preemptive excuses for a loss on Saturday. They’re already giddy with excitement over the rumored Urban Meyer hiring, which has taken hold of the headlines this week surrounding the game.

But the reality is that while there’s no Big Ten title on the line, this is still a huge game for each team. Michigan has a chance at a BCS at-large bid, which would do wonders for Michigan’s return to national prominence. Ohio will likely get a middling bowl regardless of the outcome, but an eighth straight win over Michigan with a lame duck interim head coach and a freshman quarterback would be just the kind of dagger to the hearts of Michigan fans that would send Columbus into a tither.

While those in Columbus try to downplay the importance, claiming that Michigan is expected to win this one because of the current state of influx in their program, they conveniently forget that they benefited from that very thing the past three years. Now, Michigan has a chance to not only end the losing streak, but to seize control of the rivalry before St. Urban enters the fold.

The players on Ohio State’s roster come into the game expecting to win because that’s all they’ve known, while Michigan’s seniors have never beaten the Buckeyes. OSU quarterback Braxton Miller was in middle school the last time Michigan won, and until the Wolverines can win and put those doubts back in the minds of Buckeye players, Ohio will continue to have the upper hand in the rivalry.

So does Michigan have the upper hand tomorrow? Let’s look at the matchups:

Quarterback:

Head Coach Luke Fickell gave up on the Joe Bauserman experiment after just a couple of games, opting to throw freshman Braxton Miller into the fire. Miller has delighted with his legs but underwhelmed with his arm. He leads the team in rushing with 595 yards and six touchdowns on 128 carries (4.6 yards per carry), having rushed for 100 yards in two of his last three games. But through the air, he has completed just 48.6 percent of his passes for just 76.2 yards per game.

The Bucks rarely throw the ball, and when they do, they don’t complete very many. The most attempts Miller has had all season is 18 against Purdue two weeks ago. He also had 17 last week. Both of those were games in which OSU fell behind 10-0 and was playing catch-up. The most completions he has had in a game is eight against Purdue. He’s most dangerous when he eludes the pass rush and scrambles around waiting for his receivers to work open. He does a good job of keeping his eyes upfield makes defenses pay for overpursuing or failing to bring him down.

Still, while he has shown signs of promise, he’s a true freshman playing in his first Michigan game and it’s in the Big House.

Edge: Michigan

Running Backs:

Dan “Boom” Herron, Jordan Hall, and Carlos Hyde are the go-to backs for the Buckeyes. All three are talented and all three get the ball a lot. Herron was part of the “tat-gate” group that was suspended for the first five games of the season, but he returned with a bang, rushing for 114 yards against Illinois, 160 against Wisconsin, and 141 against Indiana. His production and workload have fallen off in the last two games, but he’s still averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

Hyde, a sophomore, is the team’s second-leading running back with 549 yards and six touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry and recorded 100-yard games against Nebraska and Indiana. In the last two games, however, he has just eight carries for 36 yards.

Hall split carries with Hyde in the first half of the season, but has just 16 carries for 60 yards in his last three games combined. However, against Purdue, he caught three passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns. At 5’9″ he’s capable of playing the Vincent Smith role of catching screens and picking up chunks of yards.

The Buckeyes are a running football team. Only a handful of teams nationally have more rushing attempts this season, but while they rank 27th in rushing yards per game, they are much lower in yards per attempt at just under 4.5. By comparison, Michigan averages 5.3.

Edge: Michigan

Receivers and Tight Ends:

This is a unit that got a huge facelift last week when DeVier Posey returned from suspension, who instantly gives Miller a true receiving threat. He caught four passes for 66 yards last week against Penn State, one of which was a great one-handed catch on the sideline. In each of the last two seasons, he caught at least 50 passes for over 800 yards, and against Michigan last season he caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Aside from Posey, the Bucks lack true playmakers. Freshman Devin Smith is the team’s leading receiver with 11 receptions for 241 yards and four touchdowns, the majority of which came in the first half of the season. The biggest play he will be remembered for is slipping behind the Wisconsin secondary and catching the hail marry to win the game. Including that one, he has three catches since Week 4. Tight end Jake Stoneburner is probably the most dangerous touchdown threat tomorrow. The junior has 13 receptions, seven of which were touchdowns. If the Buckeyes get into the red zone, look for Stoneburner to be the target.

Edge: Michigan

Offensive Line:

Ohio State does have an experienced offensive line with center Mike Brewster and tackle Mike Adams helping to pave the way for the nation’s 27th-best rush offense. The Buckeyes rank 118th in pass offense, but that has less to do with the line as it does with the signal callers. OSU has allowed a lot of sacks – 36 of them to be exact. Some of that has to do with Miller’s scrambling and some has to do with Bauserman’s ineptness early in the season. Michigan State recorded nine sacks against Ohio, but also sacked Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner seven times. Ohio uses mostly a zone blocking scheme, which doesn’t really fit the size of the linemen, but that’s what you get as a result of what has gone on in Columbus in the last 11 months.

Edge: Even

Defensive Line:

Ohio State’s defense lost seven starters from last year’s team and lost another when defensive end Nathan Williams went down with a knee injury. Junior end John Simon is the leader of the young and inexperienced Buckeye defensive line and he’s a good one. He leads the team in sacks with six and tackles for loss with 13.5. Sophomore tackle Johnathan Hankins and freshman Michael Bennett each have three sacks, while Hankins is second on the team with 10 tackles for loss.

The Buckeyes average two sacks per game, which ranks 49th nationally, and allow 130 rushing yards per game, good for 42nd. In other words, it’s an above-average unit.

Edge: Michigan

Linebackers:

Senior Andrew Sweat and Storm Klein are your typical Ohio State linebackers: tough, smart, and always seem to be in the right position to make plays. Sweat leads the team in tackles with 68 and also has an interception, a forced fumble, and three pass breakups. However, he has been recovering from a concussion and may not play tomorrow. Klein has 41 tackles, a sack, and an interception. But the one that fans are most excited about is freshman Ryan Shazier. He filled in for Sweat last week against Penn State and recorded 15 tackles, and OSU Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock said Shazier has the size and speed to make plays in space and may spy on Denard.

Edge: Even

Secondary:

Ohio State has a pretty good secondary statistically. The Buckeyes rank 16th nationally in pass defense, allowing 188 yards per game through the air. Corners Travis Howard and Christian Bryant are okay, while safety C.J. Barnett is a playmaker. Howard got picked on by Penn State last week and the Buckeyes gave up 253 passing yards to Wisconsin, 292 to Toledo, and 234 to Purdue. In other words, I think the statistical success of the OSU pass defense is inflated by opposing teams’ ability to run on them.

Edge: Even

Special Teams:

Ohio State does have a good kicker in sophomore Drew Basil who has converted 16-of-19 field goals and 30-of-31 extra points. The lone missed extra point was the one that was blocked at the end of the game against Purdue, sending the game into overtime where OSU eventually lost. His longest field goal is 47 yards and he hasn’t missed from inside 40 all season. Punter Ben Buchanan averages 40 yards per punt and Ohio holds a 37.6-yard net punt average, which is above average. Return-wise, OSU is pretty good, ranking 32nd nationally in punt returns and seventh in kick returns.

Edge: Even

Coaching:

Luke Fickell is probably the unluckiest current head coach in the country. As a promising assistant and co-defensive coordinator, he was likely headed for his shot eventually, but when Jim Tressel was forced out amid the “tat-gate” scandal, Fickell was thrust into the position before he was ultimately ready. That has shown this season from seemingly giving up at the end of a game early in the season to the uncreative offensive scheme, Fickell has just seemed as if he was in over his head. He very well may be a great head coach some day, but he isn’t right now and with the Buckeyes on the verge of hiring Urban Meyer, he’s got to be pretty uncomfortable right about now.

Contrast that with Michigan’s current position: a “Michigan man” head coach brought in to replace the one the loyalists ran out of Ann Arbor, who brings a true understanding of the the rivalry, the Michigan way, and boasts a 9-2 record. If Michigan wins tomorrow and likely earns a BCS berth, Hoke will be the most popular man in Ann Arbor for a long time to come

Edge: Michigan

Intangibles:

On one hand, you have a team playing at home, hungry to avenge seven straight defeats at the hands of the other. A Michigan win would likely send the Wolverines to the Sugar or Fiesta Bowl, the first BCS bowl since the 2006 season. On the other hand, you have a team with nothing to lose, playing under a lame duck interim head coach, already salivating over his likely replacement, and carrying all the momentum of the rivalry, having won the last seven meetings. It could go either way, right?

If Rich Rodriguez was still the head coach, that would probably be true. But the mentality that Hoke has instilled in his team is one that is tired of hearing about the number of days since it last beat Ohio. It’s hungry to change the tide of the rivalry. And it’s one that is playing its best football of the season right here and now. Michigan won’t play tight like it did the last three years. It will play confident because of the man at the helm.

Edge: Michigan

Prediction:

Years ago it was always near impossible to predict the outcome of the Michigan-Ohio State game. Whether one team was ranked higher or one team was having a down season didn’t matter. You could always throw out the records when the two squared off in late November. In the past few years, however, we Michigan fans have tried to rationalize ways in which we thought Michigan could pull off the upset against the decidedly better team. But the reality was Ohio had the upper hand in the rivalry because it had the better team. Michigan had gotten away from Michigan football and what made the rivalry great.

What a difference a year makes. At this time last season, prospects looked bleak. Michigan was about to fire Rich Rodriguez and Ohio State was cruising into yet another BCS bowl with a hotshot quarterback promising to return for his senior year, and plenty of talent around him returning as well. Now, the mastermind that figured out the secrets of success is in Indianapolis watching replays, the hotshot is riding the pine in Oakland, his replacement is an up-and-coming star but still a freshman, and everyone in Columbus is begging Urban Meyer to become their savior.

Frankly, Michigan is the better team right now and is in a much better spot with its program. The Wolverines are riding high off of decisive wins over Illinois and Nebraska, while Ohio is reeling after losses to Purdue and Penn State. The once formidable Buckeye defense is giving up early leads and the offense couldn’t get a waterwheel spinning in a monsoon.

In the last two weeks, Michigan has scored early. Against Illinois, Michigan marched the opening drive down the field for a touchdown. Against Nebraska, the first drive yielded a punt, but after forcing a Nebraska punt, Michigan marched down for a touchdown. Ohio State is already down and out having lost its last two, and having dug itself a 10-0 hole in each of the last three, so Michigan should take the ball first if it wins the toss. Driving right down the field for a score to open the game would send a message early.

From there, Michigan needs to stop Braxton Miller. The Wolverine defense did a phenomenal job against Nathan Scheelhaase and Taylor Martinez the last two weeks, so there’s no reason it can’t handle Miller. He’s probably more elusive than both of them, but the Michigan front seven needs to make sure to contain him. As mentioned above, he’s at his best not on designed runs, but when he breaks containment and scrambles around. At that point, he keeps his eyes upfield for an open receiver or he picks up a big gain on the ground. Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh need to keep him from getting out on the edge, and I think Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison will dial up some aggressive blitz schemes from the linebackers to keep him off balance and force him to make quick decisions. He’s always a run-first checkdown if he’s forced into a quick decision, Michigan’s safeties can come up and make the tackle.

Offensively, expect a lot more of what we saw last week. Michigan has to force Ohio State to prove it can stop Fitz Toussaint. The Buckeyes had trouble with Penn State’s duo of Stephfon Green and Silas Redd last week. Toussaint has the ability to pull off a couple of big runs in this one. Also look for a couple of new looks we haven’t seen before. I’m not talking about some of the gimmicks that were tried in the middle of the season, but some special packages that were saved specifically for Ohio State.

I think it’s important to get off to a fast start. Ohio State has the momentum in the rivalry, but not the current momentum. A couple of scores early on would demoralize the Buckeyes, but letting them hang around would only build their confidence.

Michigan will come in prepared, hungry, and ready for business and will send the Buckeyes home with a .500 record. Toussaint will rush for 120 yards and Denard will break a big run.

Michigan 35 – Ohio 17

Good to Know:

Michigan holds the all-time series lead 57-44-6 (just in case you forgot). In games played after Thanksgiving, the teams are tied 8-8-1.

Michigan’s defense ranks 2nd in the Big Ten and 6th nationally in points allowed (15.6).

Michigan’s defense has forced 26 turnovers, which ranks first in the Big Ten and 11th nationally.

Michigan’s defense -ranks second in the nation in red zone defense (66 percent).

Michigan has outscored opponents 298-109 after the first quarter and 190-77 in the second half.

Michigan ranks second in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation in fewest penalties committed (46).

Michigan has 21 players, including six starters, from the state of Ohio. Head Coach Brady Hoke is also from Ohio.

Record Watch:

With 10 pass completions, Denard Robinson will pass Steve Smith (1980-83) for 8th in career completions. With 2 passing touchdowns, Denard Robinson will tie Todd Collins (1991-94) for 6th place on Michigan’s career list. With a 100-yard passing game, Denard will tie Tom Brady (1996-99) for 6th in career 100-yard passing games. With 214 passing yards, Denard will pass Steve Smith (1980-83) for 7th in career passing yards. With 27 rushing yards, Denard will pass Billy Taylor (1969-71) for 8th on Michigan’s career rushing list With 1 rushing touchdown, Denard will move into a tie with Rick Leach (1975-78) for 5th place in career rushing touchdowns With 109 rushing yards, Fitz Toussaint will break 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan. For a full rundown of our rivals’ games, see Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, and Week 10.

Previously on Rival Rewind, we saw Ohio State lose to Purdue in overtime. Last week, Penn State came calling in its first road game after the Jerry Sandusky allegations rocked Happy Valley. With the Big Ten Leaders Division title still in reach – albeit a longshot – and the big game against Michigan a week away, was Ohio able to focus on the task at hand and beat Penn State?

Ohio State: Lost to #21 Penn State 14-20 Record: 6-5 (3-4) Penn State traveled to Columbus for its first road trip without Joe Paterno at the helm in 46 years and came away victorious with a 20-14 win over Ohio State to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten Leaders Division. For the third straight week, Ohio State dug itself a 10-0 hole. Penn State got the ball to start the game and drove 80 yards on five plays, capped off by a 39-yard touchdown run by Stephfon Green. Ohio State started a promising drive which included a 39-yard pass to DeVier Posey, in his first game back from suspension, but a fumble by Braxton Miller took the Buckeyes out of field goal position and they had to settle for a punt. Penn State took advantage, mounting a 15-play, 54-yard scoring drive. Anthony Fera kicked a 43-yard field goal to put the Nittany Lions ahead 10-0. Ohio State answered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive of its own, capped by a 24-yard Miller touchdown run to pull within three, but Penn State came right back with a four-yard Green touchdown run. That score was set up by a 42-yard run by Silas Redd to the OSU 36 and a 20-yard pass from Matt McGloin to Derek Moye into the red zone. DeVier Posey made his return from suspension - tats and all - with four catches for 66 yards (photo by Al Behrman, AP) On Penn State’s next possession, Ohio’s Orhian Johnson picked it off and gave the Bucks the ball in PSU territory. Ohio State took advantage with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Miller to tight end Jake Stoneburner. Penn State closed out the half with a 46-yard Fera field goal to widen the lead to 20-14. Neither team could score in the second half and Penn State sent the Buckeye seniors home sad on senior day. Miller connected on 7-of-17 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Buckeyes in rushing with 18 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. Posey caught four passes for 66 yards, while Dan Herron rushed for 76 yards on 18 carries. What was most surprising was the ease of which Penn State was able to move the ball on the Buckeyes defense in the first half. Penn State had the nation’s 102nd-ranked total offense heading into the game having scored just 24 total points in its previous two games against Illinois and Nebraska. The Nittany Lions racked up 239 yards rushing against the Buckeyes, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Ohio State’s defense has gotten progressively worse as the season has gone on. What started out as the team’s strength has now given up an average of nearly 24 points per game over the last four – against Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, and Penn State – not exactly the class of the Big Ten as far as offense is concerned, with the exception of Wisconsin. In each of those games, Ohio State has given up at least 327 yards of offense, but it hasn’t always been the same way. Wisconsin did it through the air, throwing for 253 yards. Penn State did it on the ground with 239 rushing yards. Indiana and Purdue used a balanced attack. Offensively, Ohio State is flat out struggling. The return of Posey certainly helps, but Michigan Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison should be able to draw up a game plan to force Miller to rely on his arm rather than his legs in much the same way he did to Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez last week. Next: The Game, Saturday v. #15 Michigan (9-2, 5-2) – 12pm on ABC Prediction: Coming Friday