Ohio State vs. Michigan, The Game!

It was a chaotic Saturday for Ohio State. MI safety Marcus Ray, who hails from OH like Woodson, in the same game hit David Boston low when he went up high to try to catch a pass and the receiver crashed onto the ground. The season-long QB shuffle exploded in Ohio State’s face last week.

Perhaps most importantly, it was the first showdown in a stretch of 11 ranked-vs.-ranked meetings over a 12-year span that sent to the victor to Pasadena, California.

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been sacked 81 times in two seasons in an offense that’s averaged just 117 rushing yards per game in that span. Although among the least penalized teams in the conference, most of Penn State’s infractions have come on offense and on early downs, further bogging down an already slow-starting group.

Next big obstacle: Saturday at MI.

MSU spanks Colorado, 45-7, yielding State its first mythical national title. Maintaining that perfection may be nearly as valuable as a championship.

“This is a huge game”, senior left tackle Taylor Decker said. On Monday, Franklin did just that – and he took them off-campus to do it. On their off-day, he loaded the players up on some buses and took his team bowling.

So, Ohio State’s 17-14 loss to Michigan State last Saturday has injected another element of uncertainty into its game at Michigan in a rivalry that historically has contained more than a few surprises. But with the conference and in turn a potential Playoff spot on the line, as well as Michigan State playing in front of its home crowd, the Spartans will be amped up.

Defensive lineman Tommy Schutt said, “It would definitely be tough to lose your last two games going out”. He has become a three-way star for the Wolverines, who may feature him on offense more than ever against Ohio State. If O’Connor doesn’t play at all this weekend that means Cook is healthy – all the better for Michigan State. I wouldn’t say it necessarily was just Paris, but just trying to move some parts around to try to get the best guys on the field and create better matchups.

Who they’ll be rooting for this week: Start with Penn State, so the Buckeyes can get back to Indy. But they’ve talked about their own legacies.

“They not only have a better record, they are simply a much better team”.

It’s not a national title. If you don’t believe that, go ask Minnesota and IN who were literally both an inch away from beating MI, but neither was able to take that inch.

Vietnam veteran and MI kicker Mike Lantry missed two kicks in the last 2 minutes that would’ve broken a Big Ten 10-10 tie between the fourth-ranked Wolverines and top-ranked Ohio State. It catapulted the Spartans back into contention a Big Ten championship game berth and the conversation for College Football Playoffs.

“That’s something to brag about, something you can always talk about, something people around here through all of eras of Ohio State football can really appreciate”, Perry said of that potential 4-0 mark.

“Some of the teams kind of make you play basketball (on grass) a little bit and want to spread it out”, Perry said.