Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

yer not supposed to agree with him

especially this week

Some "Rivalry."  Most agreeable and hospitable "rival" fans I've ever encountered.  Soon they'll be sharing tea and crumpets whilst sitting out on the veranda.

One of the most intense rivalries is South Carolina - Clemson, but of course few outside that state care.

UGA - Tech used to get some notice, not so much now.

The Iron Bowl is a thing.

Some river rivalry out west is a thing out there.

My take:
One of the important features of this game is that it is played at the end of the season.  That has helped to make it as big as it is because it has frequently been for something.  In the old days it was frequently for the Rose Bowl.  For the third consecutive year, this year it is for a spot in the B1GCG and (barring major upset) a spot in the CFP.  

Playing at the end of the year has an additional impact.  Teams are not the same in late November as they are in early September.  

A great example of this is the biggest upset in the history of this rivalry, Michigan's win over #1 defending NC Ohio State in 1969.  The Buckeyes won the NC in 1968 with a team made up primarily of Sophomores.  This was at a time when Freshman so most of Ohio State's team was playing their first year when they won the NC in 1968 and they all came back in 1969.  They were #1 from the beginning of the season until the upset in Ann Arbor.  

Michigan that year was not great.  At the beginning of the season, Michigan wasn't even good. They lost a couple games and got more-or-less forgotten but they rounded into form and were a MUCH better team in late November than they had been a few months earlier.  

If the 1969 tOSU/M game had been played in September Ohio State would not only have won, they'd have blown the Wolverines out.  Similarly, if the 2004 tOSU/M game had been played in September Michigan would not only have won, they'd have blown the Buckeyes out.  

Applied to this season:
I think that if this game had been played in September the Wolverines would have won easily.  Looking back at Ohio State's September games, they weren't that impressive.  In the last seven games I think that tOSU is comparable to Michigan:
UMD:

• tOSU 37-17
• M 31-24

Purdue:

• tOSU 41-7
• M 41-13

PSU:

• tOSU 20-12
• M 24-15

RU:

• tOSU 35-16
• M 31-7

MSU:

• tOSU 38-3
• M 49-0

MN:

• tOSU 37-3
• M 52-10

I think that Ohio State is a much better team now than they were a couple months ago.  We'll see if they have improved enough.  

The motivation should be high, as each player will have at the front of his mind, he is playing for the right to compete against the Hawkeyes. 

Ohio State is better defensively than they have been in recent years, and this has been true the entire season. My impression is that the Ohio State offense improved over the course of the year, although my impression about the offense isn't borne out so much in the scoring column. What do you think?

I definitely think they have improved. They seem to be a much better rushing team of late.

It is only Minnesota but Henderson had 15 for 146 on Saturday. Even without his 75 yard run on the first play of the second half he was still over 5 ypc at 14 for 71.

Marv Harrison is arguably the best player in all of CFB and Egbuka and the rest of tOSU's WR's make up probably the best WR group in CFB.

If Ohio State can run they are very difficult to defend because it becomes a pick your poison situation where a defense can either drop back to contain tOSU's ridiculous collection of WR's and get gashed on the ground or stack the box and get gashed through the air.

My guess is that Michigan will try to get around that problem by disguising their defense. They'll line up with eight in the box and have three guys drop back at the snap or line up with five guys back and have two crash down at the snap.

I think ghat tOSU's OL has improved dramatically since September. If they can open some holes for Henderson and give McCord some time, tOSU can do a lot offensively.

Trying to find betting odds on DraftKings for a fight breaking out between the teams in that lame-ass antiquated dual-team tunnel.  Gotta be -500 at least.  

Trying to find betting odds on DraftKings for a fight breaking out between the teams in that lame-ass antiquated dual-team tunnel.  Gotta be -500 at least. 

The Cotton Bowl has just one tunnel.  Solution?  Don't have both teams in it, at the same time.  This is pretty simple stuff that we figured out down here in Texico about 80 years ago.