Ohio State vs. Michigan football preview

#10 Buckeyes host rival Michigan Saturday at noon

The 105 th installment of college football's greatest rivalry kicks off in Columbus at noon Eastern time Saturday, when the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Michigan Wolverines.

“Our guys can feel the excitement on the campus and in the community,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said earlier this week. “It's the reason many of them chose to go to Ohio State.”

Tressel, a native Ohioan, understands and personifies this rivalry in a manner that his predecessor, John Cooper, never did. After Cooper went 2-10-1 against Michigan during his tenure as Ohio State head coach from 1988-2000, Tressel has turned around the Buckeyes' fortunes in the series.

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Since taking over as Ohio State's head coach in 2001, Tressel has led the Buckeyes to six wins in seven games against Michigan. Under Tressel's guidance, the Buckeyes have beaten Michigan three out of four times in Ann Arbor and in all three games they've played in Columbus.

“We've had good players,” Tressel said. “We've had good fortune. They've been battles. They could have turned on any one given play.”

The Buckeyes have won four straight games in the rivalry – prevailing 37-21 in Columbus in 2004, 25-21 in Ann Arbor in 2005, 42-39 in Columbus in 2006, and 14-3 in Ann Arbor last season. They will be aiming to beat Michigan for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time on Saturday.

Ohio State, ranked 10 th in the country with a 9-2 overall record, will be playing for a share of a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes are 6-1 in the conference, tied for the Big Ten lead with seventh-ranked Penn State and 17th-ranked Michigan State, who will play each other at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Saturday in State College, Pa.

Ohio State will line up against a Michigan team that is out of bowl contention with a 3-8 overall record (2-5 in the Big Ten), but Tressel expects this rivalry clash to be as tough and physical as any other.

“I think everyone in the country that's been around coaching would agree that Rich Rodriguez has been one of the most creative and really one of the founders of the spread-style attack,” Tressel said, alluding to Rodriguez, who is in his first year as Michigan's head coach after winning four Big East titles in seven seasons at West Virginia. “So you know that he's going to have things ready. You know that he's building one building block on top of the next and that there's no question about it, he knows and will even know more intimately when he's a part of this game on Saturday that this is the greatest game there is. His guys will play that way Saturday just like ours will, and it's going to be a great day in the Horseshoe.”

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Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor -- who has passed for 1,125 yards and 10 touchdowns and who has rushed for 560 yards and six touchdowns this season for the Buckeyes -- will be playing in his first Ohio State-Michigan game. Tressel is confident that Pryor will be ready for the challenge.

“Terrelle has done a good job of accepting coaching,” Tressel said. “He loves being coached. He wants to do well so badly. I remember him saying clear back in August, he'll do anything to help this senior class have a great year. That's the way he is. He's saying the same things late in the year.”

Ohio State's 28 seniors will be playing their final game in the Horseshoe.

“They talk all year long about how fast their career went and how fast this season is going and so forth,” Tressel said. “But the harsh reality, when you get ready for the Ohio State-Michigan game, this is the last big, great thrill that you're going to have in your regular-season football career and you can tell that those seniors are reflecting. I'm sure their minds are racing back through their four or five years and they're anticipating one more opportunity to play in this great game.”

Asked if this is a “danger game” for his team because of the records, Tressel replied: “I think it goes beyond the danger thing. Ohio State versus Michigan trumps everything. It trumps your record. It trumps whether it's dangerous or you don't have a chance or any of those kinds of things. It trumps all things because it's the Ohio State-Michigan game. And I would like to think our guys understand that, but there's only one demonstration of understanding that, and that's at 12:00 noon on Saturday.”

Michigan Wolverines (3-8 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) @ Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1)
When: Noon EST Saturday, Nov. 22
Where: Ohio Stadium in Columbus
TV: ABC
Series: 105th meeting; Michigan leads 57-41-6 all-time; Ohio State leads 29-26-2 since 1951; Ohio State leads 6-1 since 2001
Last year: Ohio State beat Michigan, 14-3, in Ann Arbor

Prediction: Ohio State 23, Michigan 14

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