Jim Cordle

There is a school of thought that the Ohio State-Michigan game – discussed by many as the greatest rivalry in all of college sports – hasn’t been a real rivalry in a long time.

When rookie coach Bo Schembechler beat his mentor Woody Hayes, now that was a rivalry. But Michigan dominated Ohio State to the tune of 10-2-1 during the John Cooper era. Tressel has returned the favor with his sparkling 7-1 mark these last eight years. Heck, OSU’s 42-7 win last year gave the Buckeyes five straight wins in the series for the first time ever. The 35-point margin of victory was OSU’s largest against its rival in 40 years.

Don’t say any of this around Tressel or his players, though. After all, they have a constantly running countdown clock that has them pining away 365 days a year for the chance to get to the Wolverines.

“I think this is what embodies Ohio State, everything about the tradition,” Coleman said. “This season would not be made if we did not play Michigan. We prepare for this the whole year, whether we’re in 6 a.m. workouts or anything else. Spring ball is a big time where we really get our minds back on Michigan. Throughout the year, we’re always talking about getting ready for Michigan because that is really the cap to our season. How we do and how we finish is always through Michigan.”

Ballard was asked if the rivalry loses its luster if one team wins every year.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s still the best rivalry in college sports, if not all of sports. I know if Michigan were to beat us, it would make their entire season. When you have things on the line like that, I don’t think it’s lacking anything. You know it’s going to be one of the hardest hitting games you will be a part of. We dislike each other, but also at the same time you have the utmost respect for the guy across from you.”

“It’s just all of the tradition and everything built up. The past players and past coaches come in and talk to you about the game. Earle Bruce was in here the other night telling us about the game and how important it is. It’s just everything all at once.”

Ballard was asked if he could ever imagine Michigan would reach a point where they are so low.

“No. If I was in high school and you would have told me Michigan would be 3-9 my junior year and 5-6 this year, I would have never expected that,” he said. “It’s hard with coaching changes and style of coaching and offenses. Rich Rodriguez is doing a great job there and they are going to keep improving.”

While Ohio State already has the Rose Bowl bid wrapped up, Michigan needs a win just to become bowl-eligible. That makes them more dangerous, Ballard said.

“That’s all they’re thinking about,” he said. “They have to win one more game to be bowl eligible. Plus they are playing Ohio State. It’s going to be a huge game for them. It would make the seniors’ day to beat us.”

Russell added, “Those guys are going to be fighting for their lives because this game is going to make or break their season. We know we’re going to get everything they have in the playbook and all their guys are going to be playing hard. We’ve got to be ready to go.”

Spitler said sometimes it takes a while to establish a new program.

"It's a new system,” he said. “I don't know if it's going in right away you can expect them to be the caliber of team that they used to be. It's hard to adapt and change. I think they're a much better squad this year than they were last year.

“I don't know much about them defensively. Offensively, they can put points on the board. They have a great offensive squad. It took them a year to really get going and understand the whole scheme of things. Their offensive line has really come a long way. They are great run blockers as far as I can see.”

A reporter asked Coleman if an argument could be made that Michigan needs this game more than Ohio State.

He about fell over and then answered: “Why? We need it just as bad as they do. I think this is going to determine my senior class. It’s going to determine how we play in the bowl game. I think we have a lot riding on this game. I think our motivation is just as high as theirs. It’s just different circumstances.”

Cordle said this is still Ohio State and Michigan.

“This year, you could think there’s not going to be an edge because we’ve already clinched the Rose Bowl and they’re losing, but it’s still The Game,” he said. “It’s still about getting Gold Pants for us, it’s still about a bowl game for them. It’s still about pride.

“With the senior class, we have a good legacy now, but it would be all for naught if we end up losing to Michigan. That’s something we don’t want to happen. We’ll put the Rose Bowl behind us for a week.”

Cordle was asked if he could envision being a senior and not having a win over Michigan.

“That game is how you’re judged, and for all the bad things going on up there, if they come away with a victory it’ll just salvage everything for them,” Cordle said. “I’ll put myself in the shoes of Brandon Graham this week. He’s a senior who hasn’t beat Ohio State. He’s a good player, and obviously he’s going to want to. He’s going to be bringing it, playing as hard as he can.”

Worthington was asked if there truly is some hatred between the teams.

“Hate is a strong word, but it’s pretty close,” he said. “When you go out there, its something you don’t really understand until you go out there. Me, as a senior, I understand more than the young guys do. They’re going to do a little bit more holding and you’ve got to watch yourself in the pile and watch where your hands are.

“It’s one of those games where if you leave a finger out there it might get chopped off. Those guys are 5-6 and haven't had the season they wanted to. A win against us would be huge.”

Worthington was asked how it came to this.

“Just knowing how things were before us, and with Bo and Woody and Coach Bruce, you can understand how these two programs were so good back in their day and they had so many great games,” he said. “It’s something that’s huge and playing there guys is a tremendous blessing for me.”

In this week’s edition of the Great Debate, our own Dave Biddle and Bill Kurelic discussed whether it is good or bad for Ohio State if there is turmoil and struggles at Michigan.

On one hand, you would say it’s good because top recruits might pick Ohio State over Michigan and it may be easier to beat the Wolverines and win the Big Ten if they are just a middle-of-the-pack (or lower) caliber team.

But former OSU athletic director Andy Geiger never saw things that way.

“You are as good as the company you keep,” Geiger would say.

The obvious inference is there is little meaning or value to wins over struggling teams or programs. To be judged as a great team, you need wins over other great teams.

Moreover, a struggling Michigan only adds more fuel to the national perception that the Big Ten is in a downward trend.