How Much Do I Love Beating TTUN In Ann Arbor? Let Me List Them For You

Congratulations to the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes for a thorough and dominating performance against That Team Up North. Heading into this game against their rival, with so many doubts about the team’s collective psyche, it would be fair to say that the Buckeyes were facing their moment of truth in Michigan Stadium. Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, the coaching staff, and the players all truly rose to the occasion in the 42-13 victory.

Also, congratulations to all of the players who were honored by inclusion on The B1G conference teams. Defensive lineman Joey Bosa, linebackers Raekwon McMillan and Joshua Perry, and safety Vonn Bell were named first team All-B1G defense, while defensive tackle Adolphus Washington, cornerback Eli Apple, linebacker Darron Lee, and punter Cameron Johnston were named to the second team. Running back Ezekiel Elliott, offensive tackle Taylor Decker, and guard Pat Elflein were named first-team All-B1G offense. Wide receiver Michael Thomas, center Jacoby Boren, and guard Billy Price were named to the third team. Congratulations to Taylor Decker for being named the B1G offensive lineman of the year, Joey Bosa for being named the B1G defensive lineman of the year, and to Ezekiel Elliott for being named both the B1G running back of the year, as well as the B1G offensive player of the year.

Above all, congratulations to the Buckeyes for winning their fourth straight pair of Gold Pants. Back to the main point, and that is savoring the dominant victory over That Team Up North. After Ohio State won over That Team Up North, it got me thinking ~ where does this victory rank, when I think of the wins over That Team Up North in Ann Arbor?

5. 2013 Ohio State 42, That Team Up North 41: Ohio State should have won this game in far easier fashion, but the defensive lapses that plagued the Buckeyes all season allowed the Wolverines to stay into this game until the final seconds. A win is a win, but this was far too close for my liking…

4. 1987 Ohio State 23, That Team Up North 20: Perhaps I am going too far back into the archives for some of the readers here, but the way the Buckeyes were able to win the final game for fired Ohio State Head Coach Earle Bruce is very memorable to me. Watch the clip below, and tell me Coach Bruce wasn’t fired up for this one. And who knew how dreadful the next thirteen years against That Team Up North were going to be?!?

3. 2015 Ohio State 42, That Team Up North 13: The most dominant performance by the Buckeyes over That Team Up North in Ann Arbor with the 29 point victory since Ohio State won 50-20 in 1961. Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes had an assistant on his staff that year – some fellow named Bo Schembechler.

2. 2005 Ohio State 25, That Team Up North 21: Yes, I am still mesmerized by Troy Smith’s poise and footwork with only seconds remaining. As former Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel said about Troy Smith, “There will be a lot of No. 10 jerseys and a lot of kids on Thanksgiving weekend trying to make those moves in a pile of leaves…”. Yes, I still get excited watching Anthony Gonzalez make a clutch catch to put Ohio State into scoring position. Yes, Antonio Pittman should get more credit for the winning touchdown run that sealed the win. Here is why I rank this game so high on my list ~ Ohio State was down 21-12 midway through the fourth quarter, and the Buckeyes rallied to victory in this thriller.

1. 2001 Ohio State 26, That Team Up North 20: “You will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially, in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the football field…”. After so many disappointing losses in Ann Arbor from 1989-1999, I will forever savor this one. To top it off, Ohio State knocked That Team Up North from The Rose Bowl by virtue of this defeat, so it was like pouring salt into the wound.

There is an old saying about “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. When I behold this list, and think of the dominance Ohio State has had over That Team Up North these past several years, I truly believe I am looking at a thing of beauty.

In Case You Missed It

OSU LogoIn case you missed it is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s semi-weekly look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan, be they news items, interesting blog posts or funny memes you probably saw on Reddit last week. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next ICYMI? Send it our way!

I fell into a funk this past week, so I must atone for this lapse in activity by bringing you one of the best ICYMIs of all time. I hope I can do it.

A CALL FOR HELP: I received an email recently from Kiya Sabet and they asked if I could reach out to you, our smart and attractive readers to see if you could help. Here is what they sent me (and yes, I’m leaving that butt-kissing first line in there):

I am writing you today to express first what an excellent site you have and second to let you know that myself and a couple of partners are in the process of developing a documentary commemorating the 2002 season and National championship of OSU. What we are looking for and hope to work with, is we need non-standard footage OSU figures particularly Clarett and Tressel. By non-standard I mean anything shot from fan perspective, coach’s box, in and around Columbus of players and anything you feel would be fitting to this sort of project including still photos. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear back from you. If you have any questions I can be reached at kdsabet@gmail.com or 813-995-3467.

If you have anything that could support these guys in their endeavors, please contact them directly.

UNC TO THE BIG sixTEeN? Retweeted by pretty much everyone yesterday, Jeff Ermann of InsideMDSports tweeted:

MotSaG’s own Kade has been emailing me for months saying this is going to happen, with me usually replying that I only want UNC if they bring Georgia Tech and the triple option with them. I don’t know if this will happen and I don’t even know if I care at this point, but it’s clear that Jim Delany is out there, manipulating the rest of the college sports world into doing his bidding.

THE CUPCAKES SERVED THEIR PURPOSE. I think for most Ohio State fans in general, this was a long time coming:

“The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous,” Alvarez said during his monthly radio show on Madison’s WIBA-AM. “It’s not very appealing …

“So we’ve made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools.”

WOODY HAYES. The Woody Hayes statue has been reverently erected outside the Woody Hayes Athletic center, proud of what he sees.

Speaking of Woody Hayes, here’s the Woody Show after beating Michigan in 1975. Amazing.

And more Woody Hayes.

THE LONG ROAD BACK.They posted this last week, but Chris Holloway’s interview with Quinn Pitcock over at the Buckeye Empire is worth a read

BASKETBALL RECRUITING. Brandon Castel over at the O-Zone has a round-up of how Thad Matta’s 2014 class is shaping up and it has the potential to be a strong one, something Matta definitely needs.

HE’S OURS. ALL OURS. Tom Herman was named the Big Ten’s best recruiter by Rivals.com:

The job that Herman, Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, did by going to Texas and grabbing three of the state’s top 20-ranked prospects, including five-star linebacker Mike Mitchell — Texas’ No. 1 ranked prospect — gets the nod as this year’s most impressive feat.

ETC: Ryan DAMN Shazier… UGH even when he’s describing The Rivalry, he calls us “Ohio”. That’s Dirty Pool, Denard.