Wow. From the biggest brawl in recent memory (resulting in three ejections) to the biggest gamble that I can remember, Ohio State survives a huge scare in the Big House and wins 42-41.

Ohio State had all the advantages going into this game — talent, recent success, superior coaching, and better looking fans. All that gets thrown out the window in a rivalry game (As Oregon will tell you). Ohio State and Michigan exchanged body blows and upper cuts for the better part of four quarters. Ohio State looked like it would pull away, up 14 and driving when Carlos Hyde had the ball stripped during a second effort push and gave Michigan a short field and momentum.

Ultimately, Ohio State would go up 42-35 with little time left on the clock. Michigan then drove down and scored with 30 or so seconds left on the clock. In a decision that will go down as gutsy or stupid depending on who you ask, Brady Hoke decided to go for it all and go for two instead of kick the extra point and go to overtime. Whether that shows confidence in your offense or a lack of confidence in your defense (Ohio State was gaining yards in chunkfuls), I don’t know.

I also don’t know how I would have felt if the shoe was on the other foot. Michigan had nothing to lose (besides the game). They weren’t playing for any post-season considerations. Their lot had been cast. This was a go-for-broke moment. Had Urban done it in similar situation, with the same results, I don’t know if I would have been ok with it. Would you? (I almost hate to mention it, but if this was a Cooper team, they get that two point conversion, don’t they?)

Ulitmately, Gardner tried to squeeze a pass into double coverage. Michigan came out in a stack WR formation and Ohio State had four defensive backs in the area. That would have been a hard throw to make no matter who he threw it too, but the ball was almost intercepted and the game was over.

The game was probably close enough to give Michigan confidence in their coaching decisions and give the team confidence going forward. They went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams and almost knocked out the champ.

Here’s an open thread for today’s match-up of The Game.

A Tipping Point

We are reaching a tipping point over two decades in the making. Much success was enjoyed during the Coach Cooper years but Coop was never able to beat Michigan with any regularity. For all the great recruiting classes he brought in, for all the success he had outside of Michigan week, for some reason Cooper never looked comfortable that last week of the season in November.

Some have said that since he wasn’t a homegrown Buckeye, he never grokked the gravity of Michigan week. I don’t buy that. I think he was acutely aware of the importance of beating Michigan. Just for some reason, he was never able to seal the deal.

In his thirteen seasons, he beat Michigan twice (1994, 1998), tied them once (1992) and lost an unacceptable nine times (including the first FOUR times he coached against them). It was a dark time to be a Buckeye fan.

Since Coach Tressel took over in 2001, Ohio state has enjoyed unprecedented success against that team up north. Since then, in stark contrast to Coopers failures, Ohio State has won nine times and only lost twice.

So tomorrow we reach the tipping point. Throwing out the tie we have an even split record of 9-2 on both sides.

Those twelve years were oft times miserable.

So that’s why I asked in the poll earlier this week — has Michigan suffered at the level we have? Were our nine victories over them as bad, demoralizing and frustrating as the nine losses a decade earlier?

[poll id=”67″]

I don’t think Michigan has suffered enough. Three times in the 90’s, Ohio State went into The Game undefeated, sporting a Top 5 ranking and looking forward to a chance to win their bowl game and be considered National Champions. Those dreams were never realized as Michigan overcame talent deficits to upset Ohio State in all three meetings. The proverbial wooden stake had been driven through the collective hearts of Buckeye Nation.

In contrast, this has only happened to Michigan fans once in the past eleven years when #1 Ohio State beat #2 Michigan in the game of the century in 2006. It also began the precipitous fall the Michigan program has suffered the past seven years, starting with the fall to Appalachian State.

So no, Michigan has not suffered on our level. They have a ways to go.

Spoiler Alert: the suffering is going to continue for at least another year. Michigan’s outlook isn’t super rosy, either.

The Actual Game

This game has never come down to the match-ups (see previously mentioned Cooper’s struggles) but the talent disparity this year seems particularly stark. Michigan, since the Notre Dame game, has struggled to find any kind of consistency on offense. They have weapons (Funchess, Gallon) but the way Devin Gardner has been manning the helm has not quite worked out.

On defense, the numbers actually point to a competent if not particularly flashy defense. But they have given up back-breaking drives (Penn State comes to mind). Either way, Michigan fields a defense that appears at first blush to be much more competent than the offensive side of the ball. Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison doesn’t have all the talent he could use but he has managed to develop a defense that has kept Michigan in more games than not.

Turn overs, inability to develop a ground game and a very unimaginative offense has led to Michigan fans to the truest pit of despair.

So what happens this year? I really feel like this game is more than just a tipping point of records. These are two programs with very different trajectories. Ohio State, with Urban Meyer at the helm, has the Buckeyes heading in the right direction with incoming recruits ready to take the team to the next level. Michigan, with Brady Hoke leading the way, initially seemed to be heading in the right direction. But with the recent struggles his team has had and the recruiting struggles has Michigan fans doubting.

Ohio State has already secured its spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, but this isn’t a chance to rest the starters. They are still in the running for a spot in the BCS Title Game and need to make a statement in The Game. Ohio State should win going away. But in a game where match-ups and records get thrown out the window, the Buckeyes still need to make a final statement. I don’t see Urban taking the foot off the gas.

OSU: 45
UM: 17

As always, presented without comment. (Now with 4th Down Conversions!)

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com

Indiana Week usually isn’t one anyone circles on the calendar or looks forward to for any other reason than Indiana has been real bad at football for a real long time. But recently Indiana’s football program seems to be heading in a direction that can reasonably be described as “the right one” in that they have moved out of the basement, letting Illinois sleep in the futon they’ve used for years (Purdue’s chained to a beam support down there).

That’s not to say that Indiana is “good” for many definitions of the word “good”. Their offense has always been high-powered. Unfortunately, the opposite can be said about their defense. Looking at the numbers don’t look real promising for Indiana. Too much talent on Ohio State’s side of the ball to feel threatened.

Of course, we said that same thing last year and that turned into a barn-burner that didn’t look real good on the resume.

As usual, we’ve got you covered with as much content as possible about the 3:30 kickoff. Ronnie looks at both the players to watch for this game as well as give us a preview of the game. The takeaway:

Indiana’s only hope to keep this game close is to force a shootout like they did last year. The Buckeye defense as a whole needs to play at a high level this week. While this Hoosier team seems to play poorly when they go on the road, their previous success against Ohio State last year will provide them with some confidence going in to The Shoe. Tackling, rushing the passer, preventing deep plays, and preventing yards after the catch will be extremely vital for the Buckeye defense if they want to have success in stopping the Hoosier offense.

and

Hyde and Miller should absolutely destroy this Hoosier defense. Wilson has said he wants to focus on Hyde, but that probably means giving Miller open running lanes which isn’t the wisest idea either. Running the football early and often for this offense would probably do it some good as it could keep the explosive IU offense at bay for a while, and give the Buckeye defense some rest. I would expect this offense to try and link drives together on Saturday if the defense seems like they can’t handle the IU offense.

Chip is (rightfully) worried about the Buckeyes suffering from Senioritis, something that has afflicted them in the past.

And finally, Shannon chatted with Indiana blogger Adam Johnson of Crimson Quarry. He’s a realist. He know Indiana is in trouble.

So here’s a open thread to discuss just how in trouble they are in. I say REAL trouble. Like maybe losing by 50 trouble. I say this ends with Carlos and Braxton watching the second half from the sidelines after amassing over 200 yards on the ground in the first half.

OSU 63
Indiana 13

As always, presented without comment. (Now with 4th Down Conversions!)

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

The Buckeyes head into Champaign for a noon tilt against the Illini. We’ll be chatting it up and probably discussing the basketball game against Marquette as well.

Hit the jump to join the fun in the Live In Game Chat.

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