Ask anyone who knows anything about College Football and there are only a few matchups that could be referred to as simply "The Game". Rivalries run deep, Auburn/Alabama is a big one, Army/Navy is another. But the rivalry that gets a ton of attention every year is Ohio State versus Michigan.
This rivalry goes so deep that coaches do things like go for two when they are already up big. This lead to one of the premier quotes of football, after the game when Coach Woody Hayes was asked why he went for two:
Because I Couldn't Go For Three
This year's game was supposed to be a mismatch at best. The Wolverines came in ranked #4 in the nation, having ripped through their regular season with a record of 10-1. Ohio State's Buckeyes were at Home, defending their home turf, also with a 10-1 record and ranked #10 in the nation. But they had been playing poorly. Offense had been decent, with a lot of talent, but the defense really showed flaws after the loss of Nick Bosa a projected top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
As a lifelong Ohio State fan, I sat down this morning to watch the game with very little hope. But then something happened.
Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Dwayne Haskins came out and had himself a day, throwing for 5 touchdowns, in the process breaking Drew Brees longstanding record for most touchdown passes in a season in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeye offense was rolling, and things looked good until late in the first half.
At that point the Wolverines tried to make a game of it. Down 21 to 6, they drove the field to score a Touchdown and bring it to 21-13. Then on the ensuing kickoff, the Ohio State Player muffed the catch, and Michigan pounced on it at the Ohio State 9 yard line. It took one play for the Wolverines to throw a touchdown, but the two point conversion failed, and with 41 seconds to work with, the Buckeyes drove the field to end the half with a field goal and a 24-19 lead.
That was as close as the game would get though, as the Buckeyes ran the lead out to 23, and the teams traded scores through the second half, leading to a final score of 62-39.
With the win, Ohio State moves on to the Big Ten title game next week against Northwestern, ranked 16th in the country. They will go in to that game as a favorite to win. A Big Win would put the Buckeyes on the fringe of the discussion for the 4 team end of season playoff. At the moment, they are on the outside looking in, with Alabama and Clemson all but locked in. Notre Dame is a near lock as well, leaving Ohio State and Oklahoma vying for the final spot.
As these things are figured, Oklahoma's single loss of the season was a "better loss" than Ohio State's. Oklahoma lost to a ranked Texas team which they get to face again in the Conference Championship next week. Final score of that match was 48-45.
Ohio State lost to an unranked Purdue team, and looked awful doing it. They lost 49-20 to a team that finished their season today 6-6.
So there is still a lot of football to be played, but today, life for an Ohio State fan became a lot more interesting!