#11 Michigan at #7 Ohio State
Noon, Saturday, November 21, 1998
VICTORY
31-16
Ain't Life Grand!
 |
| OSU (9-1, 6-1) | Michigan (8-2, 7-0) |
| At W. Virginia 34-17 (W) | At N. Dame 20-36 (L) |
| Toledo 49-0 (W) | Syracuse 28-38 (L) |
| Missouri 35-14 (W) | E. Michigan 59-20 (W) |
| Penn State 28-9 (W) | MSU 29-17 (W) |
| At Illinois 41-0 (W) | At Iowa 12-9 (W) |
| Minnesota 45-15 (W) | At North Western 12-6 (W) |
| At N'Western 36-10 (W) | Indiana 21-10 (W) |
| At Indiana 38-7 (W) | At Minn. 15-10 (W) |
| Michigan State 24-28 (L) | Penn State 27-0 (W) |
| At Iowa 45-14 (W) | Wisconsin 27-10 (W) |
| The week of
THE GAME in college football has finally arrived. This was supposed
to be a matchup of an unbeaten and number one ranked OSU against
the twice beaten, but on a roll, Wolverines hoping to spoil Ohio
State's national championship hopes once again. Something happened
along the way to this long-awaited big game -- OSU lost (to Michigan
State) making the big one not so big (for the national title
picture) after all. But definitely big enough as the winner could
treck to Pasadena. If Michigan wins, they're in. If OSU wins,
Wisconsin will have to lose to Penn State in order for the Bucks
to go to the Rose Bowl. A Buckeye win will no doubt ease the pain of the Michigan State loss, but victories for Ohio State in this hated rivalry have been almost non-existent in the last ten years (OSU head coach John Cooper is 1-8-1 in his ten games vs. the Wolves). In the last decade, the games have been, for the most part, very competitive as UM has only blown out the Buckeyes twice (31-3 in 1991, 28-0 in 1993). Michigan is playing as well as any Wolverine team in recent memory leading up to the Ohio State Game, a game they usually play error-free. Their last two opponents, PSU and Wisconsin, were ranked in the top ten nationally until Michigan took care of them in 27-0 and 27-10 losses respectively. UM has now won 16 straight Big Ten conference games (eight in a row overall games this season) and don't look to be shut down anytime soon. Let's hope OSU rises to the occasion and stuffs their nasty, mouthy neighbors from up north. Expect the Michigan defense to blitz the Ohio State O-Line (on the weak side lately) and QB Joe Germaine all-game long. Outstanding DB Marcus Ray (Columbus Native) is back after a long suspension for supposedly having some connections with an agent (specific details unknown). He's back, so nothing reportedly illegal took place. He's played sparingly since coming back. LB's Sam Sword and Ian Gold are the other dominating performers for the always "brick wall" Wolverine stop troops. On offense, the leader is QB Tom Brady. WR Tai Streets and the tailback trio of Anthony Thomas, Clarence Williams, and Justin Fargas are the other major contributors offensively for UM. This Michigan team looks unstoppable, so the Bucks will have to play spirited football with an all-out attitude. Successful blitzing on a regular basis and 0-line protection will dictate if Ohio State can play loose. Prediction: OSU 23-20. This game will go down to the wire with Ohio State scoring a late touchdown after trailing the majority of the game. |
 Trash
Talking – Or Not?The November 17, 1998 edition of the Columbus Dispatch Web site puts it well when they say that "…all kinds of things always seem to be riding on the outcome of the Ohio-State Michigan game", championships, Rose Bowl trips, Big Ten titles, etc. The players were allowed to talk with the media, but were warned not to trash talk this year. You'll remember that David Boston cooked up a mess last year with his inflammatory words. Mind Games Could it be a matter of getting psyched out? Look at the stats: OSU has won only six in the series, since 1975. Over the past ten years, the games have been close, so today we could be looking at different stats if the Bucks would have gotten the mental game down. Let's not forget the old curse that teams ranked #1 in the country at the start of the season, as the Bucks were, never finish first. The Bucks can do it and should be getting prepared physically, but more importantly, mentally. Stats Michigan leads 54-34-6 out of the 94 previous games with a 10-2-1 record against the Buckeyes over the last 13 years, including 8-1-1 against Cooper. Three unbeaten seasons for OSU were destroyed by the Wolverines (1993, '95 and '96). And, Michigan ruined four chances for national championships in the past 13 years. Check out what Michigan has to say: here, then come back to our site to tell us what you think about their nasty comments on our ChatZone page. |
HOME
Named Infoseek Select
Site