Ohio State Michigan Nough Said

LOOK FOR THE BUCKEYES THROWBACK UNIFORMS AGAINST MICHIGAN

Ohio-Michigan dislike more than just football
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The deep and abiding enmity between Ohio and Michigan is certainly nothing new.
When teams from No. 10 Ohio State and Michigan meet on Saturday to play football for the 106th time, it’ll just be the latest skirmish between two states and their residents who have despised each other for almost two centuries.
“We understand how important it is, not only here as a football squad, but the state as a whole, to get that victory against Michigan for the bragging rights for the year,” Ohio State linebacker Austin Spitler said.
The first offsides call took place early in the 19th century.
A disagreement over widely divergent surveys called into question the location of their border. Was Toledo in the new state of Ohio? Or in the territory of Michigan?
Ohio Gov. Robert Lucas, sounding a bit like a certain grumpy football coach, refused to even negotiate the line of scrimmage. In defiance, Lucas named the county in which Toledo was located after himself and appointed a sheriff and a judge.
Michigan’s territorial governor, 22-year-old Stevens T. Mason, was outraged. He assembled a 250-member posse and marched south, initiating what was called the Toledo War.
It really wasn’t much of a war. There was only one casualty, when an Ohioan named Two Stickney stabbed a Michigan sheriff in a tavern brawl.
Eventually, Michigan was forced to concede Toledo was in Ohio, but was pacified by a gift of 9,000 square miles of rich mining and timber land in the Upper Peninsula.
A Michigan government Web site sniffs, “In retrospect, it’s obvious who won the War.”
The two universities first met in football in 1897. They started playing annually in 1918, and since 1935 have renewed acquaintances in the final game of the season.
The vitriol between the two states and their two universities was magnified from 1969-78 when curmudgeonly Woody Hayes prowled and growled on the sidelines for the Buckeyes and Michigan was coached by the similarly stubborn and hardheaded Bo Schembechler — an Ohio native and former Hayes acolyte.
Hayes refused to even utter the name of “the state up north.” Legend has it — although no one doubts it — that the petulant, at times childish Hayes once ran out of gas in Michigan but pushed his car over the state line rather than spend his money there.
Something akin to that passion is handed down from generation to generation even today.
“I went to St. Mary’s down in Lancaster, a little Catholic school. We had to wear our (school) uniforms, but for the Ohio State-Michigan game we got to dress up in either Ohio State or Michigan clothes,” said Buckeyes offensive lineman Jim Cordle. “That was fun. We got to cheer into the PA system and then they’d measure (which team’s fans) had the loudest cheer. And then every year we went to an Ohio State-Michigan party to watch the game.”
The two states are so similar yet remain committed in their distaste for each other. Columbus drivers scowl at those behind the wheel of cars with Michigan plates. Graduates of the University of Michigan consider their rivals to be the Ivy League, Stanford, Cal — certainly not the agricultural school down in Columbus.
Over the years, the rivalry has found been manifested in sports.
In the 1940s, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers were two of the best teams in the American League. Fans debated who was better, Bob Feller or Hal Newhouser? Lou Boudreau or Hank Greenberg?
From 1950 to 1957, the Cleveland Browns of Otto Graham and the Detroit Lions led by Bobby Layne each won three NFL championships. (These days they are competing for the title of the league’s worst team. That title will be decided on Sunday.)
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons have met in three physical, chippy playoff series this decade, the Pistons persevering in seven games in a second-round series in 2006, with the Cavs and LeBron James winning eight of 10 meetings in series wins in 2007 and last year.
Last spring the Columbus Blue Jackets made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time, but the upstarts were no match for the 11-time champion Detroit Red Wings. The Winged Wheels won in a sweep.
There are plenty of other ties between the states. Mark Dantonio, a former assistant coach at Ohio State, is now coach at Michigan State. Brian Kelly, a former head coach at Central Michigan, is now coach at fifth-ranked Cincinnati.
Just last week, Bruce Springsteen performed in Cleveland on Wednesday night and in Auburn Hills, Mich., two nights later. “The Boss” forgot where he was for the second gig and several times said, “Thank you, Ohio!” to silent Michiganders.
John Kerry made a similar gaffe during the 2004 presidential campaign, praising Ohio State’s football team after he had crossed into Michigan. Yet he still won the state in the general election — and lost Ohio.
The rivalry is clear to see when it comes to sports. And there’s nothing quite like the jealousy, dislike and mistrust that seems to accompany “The Game,” as the annual showdown has become known.
Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher will be playing in only his third showdown with the Wolverines. But as a native of Toledo, he has a particularly vivid view of the heated rivalry on both sides.
“There’s always a little something extra when it comes to the Michigan game,” he said. “It has a lot to do with the history. It goes back a long time.”
All the way back to the days of posses and Two Stickney.



What are your favorite football traditions at your school?
Ohio State: "I love the Ohio State Marching Band performing Script Ohio. It's an amazing tradition at OSU, as is the singing of Carmen Ohio at the end of all games by the team."

Iowa: "The swarm which is the entrance by the football team where they are all holding hands. Magic Bus, Big A-- Turkey Leg, Black and Gold everywhere hours before the game. The Pink lockerroom for visitors. Touching of Nile Kinnick before the team enters the stadium. The fight song."

Michigan State: "Definitely the MSU Fight Song. (FIGHT! FIGHT! RAH TEAM FIGHT!) But some of the more recent additions are great, such as whenever the Spartan defense holds the offense til third down they play a popular line from the movie 300, "SPARTANS! What is your profession?""

Penn State: "School buses, painted blue, riding past the tailgate areas outside of Beaver Stadium and pulling up to the players entrance before the game, with JoePa and the starting QB riding in the front seats and exiting the bus first, to the cheers of fans old and young. Game-time in-stadium experience, including the chanting of "We Are - PENN STATE," plus the linkage of the current year's team to the great players and teams in the past, and, finally, and best of all, the black shoes, white helmets and plain uniforms, signifing a pedestrian-like approach to the concept of "team" being greater than any one individual."



Tress Owns Michigan
Jim Tressel may go on to win another national championship at Ohio State.
He'll likely win more BCS bowl games and more Big Ten titles. When he's finished coaching, he might enter politics or open his own sweater vest manufacturing company.
But when we look back on Tressel's place in college football history, he will always be remembered for this week. Michigan week.
No one does it better.
Head coaches of national powerhouses are judged primarily on their ability to win games in early January, and Tressel is no exception. But their records against archrivals aren't taken lightly, either. Tennessee's Phil Fulmer got the axe last year largely because of his struggles against rivals Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Florida's Urban Meyer wins national titles, but he also pleases fans by beating rivals Georgia, Tennessee, Miami and Florida State.
You can knock Tressel for his three-game losing streak in BCS bowls, his consecutive double-digit losses in the national title game, his management of quarterback Terrelle Pryor or his conservative play-calling. On those topics, swing away.
But when it comes to the Ohio State-Michigan game, Tressel is king. He boasts a 7-1 mark against Michigan, including wins in each of the last five games. He has beaten Michigan when Ohio State is the better team (2008, 2007, 2005, 2002) and even when Michigan might be the superior squad (2001, 2004). He beat Michigan in the most hyped regular-season game in recent years, the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in 2006 at Ohio Stadium.
Tressel is one of the reasons Lloyd Carr no longer coaches the Wolverines. Carr went 1-6 against The Vest. In Rich Rodriguez's first game against Tressel, Ohio State spanked Michigan 42-7.
And it's not just the record. Tressel plays up this rivalry the right way. He makes it a big deal without inciting the opponent. He doesn't need unique circumstances -- like Justin Boren's transfer from Michigan or Pryor's flirtation with Rodriguez -- to get his players motivated.
"It's an exciting week," Tressel said last year at the start of Michigan week. "Our guys can feel the excitement on the campus and in the community. It's the reason many of them chose to go to Ohio State or to go to Michigan was so they could be a part of this game for four or five years and it's just a little bit different feeling. It's a hard one to explain unless you've been there."
You can feel it at Ohio State.
Seven months before The Game, you walk into the office of co-defensive coordinator Jim Heacock. On the wall, Heacock has a sign that reads, "No Ohio State team has defeated Michigan 5 times in a row."
The 5 is crossed out and replaced with a 6.
Tressel puts this game on a pedestal, and it trickles down throughout the rest of the program. Ohio State already has a Rose Bowl berth essentially locked up, but if you think the Buckeyes will come out with any less fire Saturday at Michigan Stadium (ABC, noon ET), remember who coaches them.
After Saturday's overtime win against Iowa, Tressel said his players could enjoy the win until midnight.
"When the clock strikes 12, we know what week it is," he said, "and that's exciting."


Saine and Herron
As they do every season, Ohio State fans had plenty of burning questions about a Buckeyes running back this fall.
Jaamal Berry.
They wondered when Berry would see the field, how his injured hamstring was progressing and whether head coach Jim Tressel would end up redshirting the highly touted freshman from Miami. These questions peppered Tressel at his weekly news conference and filled up my inbox.
As the wait for Berry continued, it was clear that many Buckeye fans had seen enough of running backs Brandon Saine and Dan Herron. Chris "Beanie" Wells was sorely missed, and for the first time since 2004, when Lydell Ross and Antonio Pittman shared the carries load, Ohio State lacked a dominant runner.
Could the Buckeyes win the Big Ten without a bell cow in the backfield? The answer arrived last Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Saine and Herron turned in their best performances of the season in the biggest game of the season. The two backs combined for 200 rush yards and three touchdowns against a stout Iowa defense as Ohio State rode a run-heavy offense to a 27-24 overtime victory.
"Those are two tough kids and the seniors mean a lot to those two," Tressel said after the game. "They were not going to let those seniors down."
Ohio State didn't hide its intentions on offense from the get-go. Tressel didn't want to throw downfield against an Iowa defense that ranks second nationally in interceptions (19).
So the Buckeyes ran the ball a season-high 51 times, with 43 attempts going to either Saine or Herron. Ohio State's offensive line, which, like Saine and Herron, has drawn plenty of criticism this season, imposed its will against the Iowa defensive front.
"Boom [Herron] and Brandon were running the ball," quarterback Terrelle Pryor told reporters. "We really didn't need to pass."
The two backs accounted for almost all of Ohio State's big plays on offense.
Saine gave the Buckeyes their first lead with a 22-yard scoring burst late in the second quarter. After Iowa tied the score at 10-10, Herron sprinted 11 yards to the end zone out of the Wildcat formation. Moments later, following a Ross Homan interception, Saine scooted down the sideline for a 49-yard score.
"We were really just having fun out there and stepping up and doing what we knew how to do," Saine said. "We weren't trying to overthink anything. We were trying to be in the moment the whole time."
It has been a mixed bag this year for both Saine and Herron. Both have had decent performances -- Saine against Indiana and Illinois, Herron against Illinois and New Mexico State -- and both have battled injuries (concussion for Saine, ankle for Herron).
But when Ohio State needed to lean on the run game, both backs stepped up.
"They both learned their way as they backed up Beanie over the years," Tressel said. "They waited their turn and kept trying to improve along the way, and they're playing good football."

Richrod Knows the Rivalry
You could hear the frustration in Rich Rodriguez's voice Monday when he once again had to reiterate the obvious.
Michigan-Ohio State is a big deal. Um, yeah.
"Just because I did not coach here before, I did not play here, I'm not from the state of Michigan, doesn't mean I don't understand the rivalry," Rodriguez said. "I understand it as well as any coach can understand it. I've only [coached] in it in one game. Trust me, I understand the importance of the rivalry."
The fact that Rodriguez has to keep defending himself on this issue is ridiculous, and it perpetuates the argument that Michigan will always be skeptical of anyone outside the fraternity.
Yes, Rodriguez has changed some time-honored traditions (the way captains are picked, etc.) at Michigan. There's a different feeling around the program, one that many don't like. But he's not stupid or blind to the obvious. He knows Ohio State isn't just another game.
Rodriguez has repeatedly told the story of having a "Beat Ohio State" button slipped inside his coat pocket before his introductory news conference as Michigan's head coach in December 2007.
How many more times do people need to hear it?
I asked Rodriguez on Tuesday if he looked forward to the day when he wouldn't have to prove he understood the rivalry.
"It's kind of amusing," he said. "I kind of expected it the first year, coming from outside. But even then it was like, 'Geez, I think anybody in college football understands it.' And certainly after you’re here a while, whether you’re here a year or a month or a day, you’re going to hear about the rivalry and the importance of this ballgame.
"It'll pass in time, I'm sure."
Perhaps only after he beats the Buckeyes.

RIP Mrs. Spielman and Hang in there Chris
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The wife of former NFL and Ohio State star Chris Spielman has died after a lengthy battle with cancer.
WBNS radio in Columbus, where Chris Spielman co-hosts a show, says 42-year-old Stefanie Spielman died Thursday at the family's home in Upper Arlington.
Stefanie Spielman was 30 years old and three months pregnant in 1998 when she detected a lump in her breast. She later miscarried and discovered she had cancer.
Chris Spielman was playing linebacker with the Buffalo Bills when he decided to give up football for a year to stay home with his wife and children. When his wife lost her hair because of chemotherapy treatments, he shaved his head.
The Spielmans became advocates for breast-cancer detection and research, winning several awards for their dedication to the cause.
Chris Spielman was a standout linebacker at Ohio State and a 10-year NFL veteran. He's currently a college football analyst at ESPN.