The Michigan-Ohio State game doesn’t always decide the Big Ten football championship; it just seems like it.
Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor will be the 100th edition of what Michigan coach Lloyd Carr calls “the greatest rivalry in college football.” The Wolverines have a 56-37-6 edge on Ohio State and a 6-3-1 record in the last 10 meetings.
Since the game was moved to the final weekend of the Big Ten season in 1935 there have been 19 times when it has decided the conference championship.
“This is Game No. 1 for the players at Ohio State and Michigan,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “This is what they look forward to. It’s the last game of the year. They have such great respect for one another from a program and a talent standpoint.
“Obviously, whichever venue it’s played in it’s the largest audience of the day. It’s just a special game. It’s hard to describe. It’s one of the cleanest, toughest, hardest hitting. . . . The respect we have for the Michigan staff is something special and we hope likewise. It’s just a great privilege to be part of this game.”
No. 4 Ohio State (10-1, 6-1), which has won the last two games in the series, has even more to play for than the league title. The defending national champion Buckeyes know that a victory could put them in the Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Oklahoma with another national championship on the line. Michigan (9-2, 6-1) is playing for the conference crown and a chance to get back to the Rose Bowl. If the Big Ten champion is not No. 1 or No. 2 in the BCS poll, it will play in the Rose Bowl.
Michigan saw its chances for a national title shot vanish with losses at Oregon and Iowa. Since a comeback victory at Minnesota on Oct. 11, the Wolverines have been playing as well as anyone in the conference and appear to be at their peak.
“I don’t know about peaking,” Carr said. “We’ll find out Saturday if we’ve peaked or not. . . . On a week-to-week basis, you’re always trying to improve and there are certain things we need to improve on this week.”
The game will match two great defenses and two sometimes maligned quarterbacks. All Michigan’s John Navarre and Ohio State’s Craig Krenzel do is win. That isn’t always enough in a world where anyone with an e-mail address can be a critic.
“I’m not sure how many quarterbacks have won more games than [these two],” Tressel said. “In my mind, that’s how I measure a quarterback. . . . Exactly who they get criticized by, I don’t know. But they are both darn good ones and it’s a neat matchup both being seniors.”
Purdue: Don’t look for the No. 16 Boilermakers to take it easy on rival Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket game Saturday in Bloomington. Purdue (8-3, 5-2) feels the Hoosiers’ (2-9, 1-6) pain, but not that much.
“I think there is empathy. I’m not sure there is sympathy,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “You feel for them, yet the other side of the coin is you understand you’d better take care of business yourself or you’ll be looking out of your helmet through the ear hole.”
Minnesota: Some off week. After playing for 12 straight weeks Minnesota (9-3, 5-3) is off Saturday.
“I’m still trying to figure out what [an off week] is in the final week of the season,” Gophers coach Glen Mason said. “If I would have said, `We’re not playing this week but we’re going to practice,’ I would have had a mutiny on my hands and deservedly so.”
Iowa: Just before Iowa’s 40-22 blowout of Minnesota, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz passed senior All-American tackle Robert Gallery on his way to Kinnick Stadium. Gallery, a 6-foot-7-inch, 321-pounder, was showing the effects of having the flu. Gallery played but Ferentz had already sent defensive tackle Matt Neubauer and tight end Mike Follett home with the flu that morning. Everyone on the traveling squad–players, coaches and staff–is being treated with antibiotics. Ferentz planned to hold 15-20 players out of practice on Tuesday.
“It’s actually growing right now,” said Ferentz, whose No. 17 Hawkeyes (8-3, 4-3) travel to Wisconsin (7-4, 4-3) Saturday.
Michigan State: The Spartans (8-4, 5-3) have lost three in a row since leading the conference a month ago.
“The adversity of not winning is part of the game,” Michigan State coach John L. Smith said as his team prepared for Penn State at home Saturday. “If you dwell on the past, dwell on the losses, we won’t win another game. We might as well close up shop.”
Wisconsin: Badger senior receiver Lee Evans earned Big Ten offensive player of the week honors with five touchdown catches against Michigan State. Iowa safety Bob Sanders earned defensive player of the week honors with 16 tackles, a sack, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The two are likely to meet Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
“He has a tremendous motor,” said Evans of Sanders. “You definitely have to know where he is at all times.”
Penn State: It won’t be the last time he’s asked, but coach Joe Paterno isn’t planning to retire. He hasn’t paid any attention to critics who say his long career should end after the Nittany Lions (3-8, 1-6) close their season at Michigan State.
“I don’t have e-mail. I don’t read the sports page in-season,” said Paterno. “I’m going to coach next year. I don’t see any reason not to. I’m in good health. I have a good, young team, a great coaching staff and I’m excited about the prospects.”
Indiana: The Hoosiers’ trip to Happy Valley led to a sad 52-7 loss to Penn State, but a visit from arch-rival Purdue should keep them going through the motions on Saturday.
“When you talk about rival games, it changes the way you approach the game, how hard you practice, the intensity of practice, how much tape the players watch on their own,” Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo said.
