HELLO HEISMAN, HELLO GLENDALE

ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH, 2006 THE WORLD GOT TO WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED COLLEGE FOOTBALL MATCHUPS OF ALL TIME. NOT ONLY IS THE OHIO STATE MICHIGAN BATTLE THE BEST RIVALRY IN ALL OF SPORTS, BUT THEY WOULD MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME AS THE TWO BEST TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY. FIRST OF ALL ON A SIDE NOTE, I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO A LEGEND WHO WAS AN INTRICATE PART IN MAKING THIS RIVALRY WHAT IT IS TODAY. BO SCHEMBECHLER PASSED AWAY FRIDAY MORNING AT THE AGE OF 77. ANYONE WHO RESPECTS AND HAS BEEN A PART OF THIS GREAT RIVALRY OVER THE YEARS WOULD HAVE TO REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THIS MAN WAS TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL. HE IS KNOWN AS THE GREATEST COACH IN MICHIGAN HISTORY, BUT EVEN BUCKEYE FANS WILL TELL YOU HOW GREAT HE WAS. SOME SAY HE PASSED A DAY EARLY SO THAT HE COULD GET THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE FOR A ROAD GAME AND WATCH IT WITH HIS RIVAL AND FRIEND WOODY HAYES. BO, ON BEHALF OF ALL LOVERS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL, YOU WILL BE MISSED. THIS GREAT SERIES WILL NEVER REACH THE STATUS THAT YOU AND WOODY ONCE HAD. THANK YOU.
IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE LONGEST WEEK IN EVERYONE'S LIVES WAITING FOR THIS GAME TO HAPPEN. IT WAS THE EPIC BATTLE OF OHIO STATE'S EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE VERSUS THE STINGY WOLVERINE DEFENSE. I CAN GUARANTEE THAT NO ONE IN THE WORLD PICKED THE END RESULT. OHIO STATE WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE IN COLUMBUS IN A GAME THAT SAW 81 TOTAL POINTS SCORED AND 900 YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE. MICHIGAN, IN THE EYES OF MANY, PLAYED A PERFECT GAME TO MOST PEOPLE'S STANDARDS. WOULD YOU HAVE EVER GUESSED THAT THIS TEAM SCORING 39 POINTS, HAVING ZERO TURNOVERS, AND THEIR MAIN MAN MICHAEL HART RUSHING FOR 144 YARDS, COULD POSSIBLY LOSE A GAME? THEY ALSO RACKED UP JUST UNDER 400 YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE. WITH THAT DEFENSE, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO WON, RIGHT? THIS IS NOT A RIP TO THE MICHIGAN TEAM, I AM JUST IN UTTER SHOCK IN THE END RESULT. THEY LOOKED VERY SHARP ON OFFENSE. THE ZONE BLOCKING SCHEMES AND THE STRETCH RUNS WERE GIVING THE BUCKEYE DEFENSE TROUBLE. EARLY THOUGH THEY RELIED ON THE PASS AS THEY WERE ABLE TO FIND MARIO MANNINGHAM AS ANTONIO SMITH COULD NOT HANDLE HIM ONE ON ONE. MARIO ENDED THE DAY WITH 6 CATCHES FOR 86 YARDS, BUT MOST OF THOSE CAME IN THE FIRST HALF. ONCE THEY DECIDED TO GO WITH THEIR BEST COVER CORNER MALCOM JENKINS ON HIM, IT CHANGED THE PACE DRASTICALLY. MICHAEL HART I HAVE ALWAYS SAID IS THE KEY TO MAKE THIS OFFENSE START, AND HE GOT IT GOING BY RUNNING FOR THOSE 144 YARDS AND 3 TD'S. I KNEW HE WAS ON A MISSION FOR THIS GAME SINCE THE BUCKEYES HAD BASICALLY SHUT HIM DOWN THE LAST 2 YEARS. CHAD HENNE HAS SHOWN THAT HE IS ABLE TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE IN THIS GAME. HE HAS HAD 3 PRETTY GOOD GAMES AGAINST OHIO STATE, BUT HE HAS NOW BEEN ON THE LOSING END 3 STRAIGHT TIMES. HE HAD A SOLID DAY AS HE WAS 21 OF 35 FOR 267 YARDS AND TWO TOUCHDOWN PASSES. AS GOOD AS HE HAS PLAYED THE LAST 3 YEARS, HE WAS ALWAYS BE OVERLOOKED BY HIS COUNTERPART. THE BUCKEYE DEFENSE WAS ABLE TO HOLD MICHIGAN TO A NET 130 YARDS ON THE GROUND DUE TO 4 SACKS ON CHAD HENNE. WHEN HE HAD THE TIME TO THROW THOUGH, HE LOOKED AWFULLY CRISP IN THE POCKET. OFFENSIVELY, THIS MICHIGAN TEAM DID JUST ABOUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ASK OUT OF THEM. 9 TIMES OUT OF 10, THEY WOULD HAVE WON A GAME WITH THAT MANY YARDS ON NO TURNOVERS. UNFORTUNATELY ON THIS DAY, THEY RAN INTO THE BEST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY.
EVERYONE KNEW THAT OHIO STATE HAD TO COME OUT AND FIND A WAY TO SPREAD THIS DEFENSE OUT, BUT WOULD THEY STILL BE ABLE TO AVOID THE PRESSURE THAT THIS MICHIGAN FRONT LINE HAD BEEN PUTTING ON PEOPLE ALL SEASON. TROY SMITH IS NOW KNOWN FOR STEPPING UP IN THIS GAME, AND HE MAY HAVE HAD HIS BEST PERFORMANCE YET. HE WOULD GO ONTO FINISH 29 OF 41 FOR 316 YARDS AND 4 TOUCHDOWN PASSES. HE WAS ONLY SACKED ONCE, AS THE OFFENSIVE LINE DID A GREAT JOB OF PROTECTING HIM. HIS GREAT RECEIVERS HAD BIG DAYS AS TED GINN JR HAD 8 CATCHES FOR 104 YARDS AND A TOUCHDOWN. BRIAN ROBISKIE HAD A SURPRISING PERFORMANCE AS HE CAUGHT 7 BALLS FOR 89 YARDS AND A TD. MICHIGAN DID A GREAT JOB CONTAINING ANTHONY GONZALES BUT HE WAS STILL ABLE TO MUSTER 4 CATCHES FOR 50 YARDS AND A TOUCHDOWN. WITH TROY'S ABILTY TO SPREAD THE FIELD AND TO DISTRIBUTE THE BALL TO MANY DIFFERENT RECEIVERS, HE WAS ABLE TO HELP A RUNNING GAME THAT SOME THOUGHT WOULD BE NON EXISTANT. ANTONIO PITTMAN CONTINUED HIS INCREDIBLE SEASON AS HE RUSHED 18 TIMES FOR 140 YARDS AND A TD RUN OF OVER 50 YARDS WHERE HE WENT UNTOUCHED UP THE MICHIGAN GUT. CHRIS WELLS ADDED A BIG TD OF OVER 50 ALSO THAT I DOUBT ANYONE THOUGHT THEY WOULD SEE. THIS MICHIGAN DEFENSE WAS GIVING UP LESS THAN 30 YARDS A GAME ON THE GROUND AND THE BUCKEYES WENT FOR 187 ON THIS DAY. IN ALL, THE BUCKEYES FINISHED WITH 503 TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS. THAT IS ONE WAY TO WIN WHEN YOU LOSE THE TURNOVER BATTLE 0-3. THIS WAS SOME OF THE BEST PLAY CALLING THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN COME OUT OF OHIO STATE. JIM TRESSEL HAS ONCE AGAIN SHOWED THAT HE COULD BE THE BEST COACH IN THE COUNTRY. HE WENT AGAINST WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALLED THE BEST DEFENSE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND HE FOUND A WAY TO EXPOSE IT. HE IS NOW 62-13 AS THE BUCKEYE LEADER, AND NOW 5-1 OVERALL AGAINST LLOYD CARR AND THE WOLVERINES. I CANT EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU HAVE CHANGED THIS TEAM AND THE ABILITY TO COMPETE ON THE BIGGEST STAGES. TROY SMITH, WITH HIS PERFORMANCE, HAS NOW PUT THE STAMP ON THE HEISMAN TROPHY. IF HE DIDNT QUITE HAVE IT YET, HE SURE HAS IT NOW. IN THREE YEARS AGAINST THE WOLVERINES, HE PUT UP OVER 1000 YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE. THAT IS UNHEARD OF, AND HE IS GOING TO NOW GO DOWN AS ONE THE BEST PLAYERS TO EVER COMPETE IN THIS RIVALRY. THE 4 OTHERS THAT THEY CHOOSE TO GO TO THE CEREMONY, MIGHT AS WELL STAY HOME AND FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO NOW. IT IS WRAPPED UP. OHIO STATE NOW MOVES ON TO PLAY THE BCS TITLE GAME ON JANUARY 8TH IN GLENDALE ARIZONA. THEIR OPPONENT HAS NOT BEEN CHOSEN QUITE YET. MICHIGAN WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE #2 SPOT IN THE BCS THIS WEEK, BUT USC HAS CLOSED THAT GAP CONSIDERABLY. IN MY EYES IF THE TROJANS WIN OUT AGAINST NOTRE DAME AND UCLA, THEY WILL SECURE THAT SECOND SPOT. SOME MAY SAY THEY WONT BE AS DERSERVING, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE HAD WINS AGAINST ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, AND THE IRISH, SO IT WOULD BE HARD TO ARGUE THAT ESPECIALLY WITH NOTRE DAME'S AND ARKANSAS'S CURRENT SPOT IN THE BCS. I FLAT OUT SAID THERE WOULDNT BE A REMATCH, BUT I MAY END UP EATING MY WORDS. TO ME, USC HAS THE BALL IN THEIR COURT, BUT IF THEY LOSE, CAN YOU REALLY KEEP MICHIGAN OUT? THE BUCKS AND THE WOLVERINES SO FAR HAVE CLEARLY SHOWN THAT THEY ARE THE 2 BEST TEAMS IN THE NATION. I WAS NEVER A FAN OF THIS POSSIBLE REMATCH, BUT HEY WHY NOT? THE 2 BEST TEAMS MUST PLAY RIGHT? WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MAYBE USC, I DONT KNOW IF THERE IS ANYONE ELSE EVEN OUT THERE DESERVING RIGHT NOW. EVEN WITH AN ARKANSAS OR FLORIDA SEC CHAMPIONSHIP, I THINK THEY ARE MILES BEHIND THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES RIGHT NOW. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF FOOTBALL LEFT TO BE PLAYED OUT, BUT THE BIG TEN SEASON IS OVER NOW. OR IS IT?