Well, we’ve reached the end of the regular season for our beloved Buckeyes. It feels like just yesterday USC was crushing our collective pelvises with repeated knee kicks to the groin. Tomorrow the Buckeyes welcome a free-falling Michigan Wolverines team that so badly needs this win to bring some sort of respectability back to this season. Hmmmm, about that…

According to Bodog, the Buckeyes are 21 point favorites. I never thought I’d see the day that this rivalry would have a 21 point favorite. But, with Pryor and Wells running wild the last few games and Michigan banged up at QB and RB, that’s where we stand.

Over the last week reports have been coming out that Rodriguez may be out after one season and some key players may be contemplating transferring. I personally feel that all of these reports are a little far fetched, but if the Buckeyes do lay a 21+ point ass whooping on the Wolverines, we may just see some of those stories come to fruition.

Because the Little Mime of Hate is such a die-hard Wolverines fan, I figured we’d get his take on this, a little two-for-one action.

LMoH: Is it possible that Uncle Rico is playing possum? Sure it is. Is it possible that he has a whole new playbook to unveil Saturday that will throw the Buckeyes off their game? Sure it is. Let’s all step back into reality now. Michigan is in trouble. I’ll save the majority of my editorializing for the year in review and try to stick to Saturday’s game. In order for Michigan to win they are going to have come out and play the perfect game. We’re talking eight guys in the box, shut down Wells and force Prior to throw the football. They’ll have to run the ball well early and eat some clock. Hopefully they can get out to one of their early leads and maybe maintain it this time. Again, let's step back into reality. A reality that I don’t even want to think about.

I love the defeated tone in the LMoH's writing. It's good to be an Ohio State fan right now.

I have no less than three versions of this post saved on my computer with each one going off in completely different directions. The first one I is about how the game tomorrow night scares the shit out of me, which in turn leads me to talk about how Tressel has lost the trust of every Buckeye fan. The other is about how if Ohio State wins tomorrow night they won’t move more than two spots in the rankings. Of course from there I go on about Oklahoma’s easy schedule up to this point and how Penn State plays virtually the same opponents as OSU but get more love. Needless to say, there are a lot of things about this season that have me fired up. Oh, and let’s just go ahead and get this out there. The Big Ten from top to bottom is not soft. At the beginning of the year I would have agreed with you, but take a look at the Big Ten standings. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Northwestern all have 6+ wins. Follow those up with very dangerous Illinois and Wisconsin teams and you have a respectable conference. Let’s move on.

This game tomorrow is huge for the Big Ten. It showcases the two best teams from the confrence in prime time.



Ohio State wins, they jump back into the national championship talk and you’ll hear a lot of stories about how this is a very different OSU team with Pryor at the helm. If Penn State wins, they’re a virtual lock to make the championship game. The only speed bump may come from a finale at Michigan State.

I know this is tough to hear, but as an Ohio State fan you should be happy no matter what the result of this game is. The Big Ten needs to start earning some respect back and I don’t care if it’s Ohio State or Penn State representing the Big Ten in the title game. A strong showing in the National Championship is going to pay off in the long run for all Big Ten teams.

Admit it, deep down you’re worried the Buckeyes aren’t going to win on Saturday. I can admit it…when I’m alone, huddled in the corner of my closet with a blanket over me I see the Buckeye players on one knee looking up at the scoreboard with that defeated look. But when I'm out in public and someone wants to debate the finer points of why USC will win, my response is “You can’t stop the Buckeye defense”. Normally a good rebuttal, it's safe and has been the answer of choice since "You can't stop Troy Smith". That is unless the person you’re debating said topic with has watched the OU game from last week. But that's why I'm here. We’re going to break this down position by position and see what shakes out.

Quarterback
I’ll come out and say right now that I am not a fan of QB-by-committee. I think Tressel is screwing with Boeckman’s rhythm and it might cost us the game if he inserts Pryor at the wrong time. This situation brings back memories of 2005 when Tressel decided to play both Troy Smith and Justin Zwick against Texas. Neither one got into a rhythm and it showed. Even with all that though, Mark Sanchez is making his first start against a quality opponent. Yes he “torched” the Virginia defense two weeks ago, but do you really think Virginia’s defense is anywhere near Ohio State’s?
When it comes right down to it, Boeckman led this Ohio State squad to a National Championship last year. So he gets the edge in this battle.
Edge: Ohio State

Running Back
If Wells was healthy there wouldn’t even be a debate. Unfortunately, he’s not and is now listed as doubtful for the game Saturday. That leaves us with Maurice Wells and Daniel Herron who were adequate against Ohio last week. USC has four running backs that will likely all see time in some capacity. Each one has their strengths, much like the Ohio State running game. If you want speed, insert Player X. If you want power, insert Player Y. If the USC running game gets off to a good start against the Buckeye defense, it’s gonna be a long day.
Edge: USC

Wide Receiver
Between Small, Hartline, and Robiskie you’re not going to get a receiver that’s going to set the world on fire. What you’re going to get is three guys that play their position extremely well and can make plays when it counts. For the Trojans, they have two solid receivers in Vidal Hazelton and Damian Williams. I don’t know much about either of these guys except to say that Damian Williams is a transfer from Arkansas who had to sit out last season because of the transfer. As for Vidal, you could say that he is the Trojans version of Brian Hartline. The Buckeyes get the edge in this because of the chemistry with Boeckman and they know what it’s like to play in big games.
Edge: Ohio State

Offensive Line
Let’s not bore anyone with this. The Buckeyes didn’t lose anyone and the Trojans lost four starters. Yes the Buckeyes O-Line looked terrible last week, but I think that was a result of looking ahead too much.
Edge: Ohio State

Defense
I’m going to just look at defense as the whole package for this one. Trying to break down each position will ultimately prove futile since the defensive unit acts as one. That being said, I really feel both teams are pretty evenly matched. The linebackers cancel each other out, as do the D-Line’s. That just leaves the DB’s, of which the Buckeyes steal the show. If only for the simple fact that Malcolm Jenkins returned for his senior year, I’m giving this edge to the Buckeyes.
Edge: Ohio State

Yikes, Ohio State dominated almost every category. Maybe I’m a little biased, but in my defense I just don’t put a lot of stock into any of the games that either team has played up until now. Virginia is terrible. They lost their best defensive player, Chris Long, and their best Offensive player, Jameel Sewell, from last year. Did anyone expect them not to get stomped?
I’m not buying into USC as this huge power-house after they blew out a shitty team.
My prediction for this game, Ohio State Wins 27-24.