Buckeyes

The 1978 game set up as another in the Ten Year War with the winner going to the Rose Bowl. Bo lost to MSC for the first time since his rookie season, and the first time in A2, as QB Eddie Smith and Kirk Gibson rode roughshod over us. MSC lost their conference opener to Purdue, and ran the table after that, but, were on probation for some irregularities under Denny Stoltz, so ineligible for the Rose Bowl.

It was said that when Stoltz MSC assistants went into the lockerroom after the Ohio high school football all star game, some of the players started singing “Here Comes Santa Claus.”

Having had enough of Friday nights on High Street, another scalper friend and I decide to make the trip, but leave the morning of the game. We arrive in plenty of time to hustle tickets, make some money, and get in for the kickoff.

I have also moved to wearing neutral colors.

Our defense, incredibly, holds the Buckeyes without a touchdown, in their own stadium, against their archrival, for the third consecutive time.

Newt Loken, the legendary UM gymnastics coach, had a son who was on the cheerleading squad. My scalper friend, Jimmy, was friends with him.

Holding a 14 – 3 lead with about 6 minutes left in the game, Jimmy says, let's go down on the field and say hi to Newt's son.

I was skeptical, but, went along.

Times being what they were, pre 9-11, and all, we just drew his attention, and jumped on the field, in the corner by the visiting section at the closed end of the horseshoe.

Jimmy had a camera, and imposed upon junior to take our picture. He suggested that we back off the sideline, onto the field. I mean, literally, on the field of play.

The teams were around the 20 yard line at the other end of the field. We moved about ten yards out from the sideline, and the picture was taken of us with the scoreboard in the background.

I lost the damn picture years ago.

(If anyone knows Jimmy Chu, see if he can get me a copy)

This road trip thing seems to be working fairly well, two trips, two wins, so I go again in 1980. Again, the Rose Bowl on the line. Woody is gone, allegedly fired for punching that Clemson player in the Rose Bowl. But the real reason is, he lost to us three years in a row.

Earl Bruce had taken over and gone undefeated in the 1979 regular season, before adopting conference tradition and choking in the Rose Bowl.

1980 was not a good game for Ali Hadji Sheikh, our excellent kicker. He missed an extra point, and at least one field goal, but, again, incredibly, our defense held them without a touchdown, and we won 9 – 3.

In 1982, the conference schedule was supposed to be round robin, but the Suckeyes said they would not back out of any of their non-conference contracts, and so skipped playing a weak Minnesota squad.

Wisconsin came into the snakepit in the rain and stunned them, 6 – 0.

So, we came in at 8 and 0 in the conference, with Ohio at 6 – 1. The Rose Bowl was already clinched. Had the Buckeyes played and beaten the Gophers, would not have been so, but, their decision. And you know what they have for brains.

It rained most of the game, and we could not get a touchdown this time, losing 14 – 9. But Big Ten champs regardless.  We lose, but our 8 - 1 record puts us ahead of the 7 - 1 Buckeyes.

So, I now have four trips, and four Rose Bowls.

The 1984 season being what it was, I skipped the trip that year, not wanting to endanger that perfect record.

1986, we are unbeaten, untied, and #2 in the nation for our last home game. Not worried about retaining the Jug, I am deer hunting in the Upper Peninsula when Ricky Foggie breaks lose for a 4^th quarter 25 yard plus run leading to the winning score as the Gophers upset us.

That was the only run of longer than 25 yards that the defense alowed all season.

Undeterred by the loss, QB Jim Harbaugh guarantees a win over Ohio.

I go with a rookie, a friend from freshman year at West Quad Wenley House.

As we hit the border, I put the cruise control on 54. He protests loudly about how long it will take to get their at that speed.

I advise him it will take much longer if we go 56, because we will get a ticket. Does he think all those stories are fiction?

He says, the Ohio plated cars are all going 80 or 85 or 90, whizzing past us.

I say yes, they know they have immunity today.

Sure enough, he counts. Seven vehicles pulled over, all Michigan plates.

Being the pro, I make one trip around the stadium, checking the market, and tell him we can get a single for $50. He says that is too much, he will watch at a bar. I suggest that may be a more dangerous environment than the snakepit, but, he says he can buy beer there.

OK. I pick up a single, and stand at the top of the lower deck around the 40 yard line.

It is a gorgeous day, around 70 degrees. I think Jamie Morris has 26 carries, and Spielman has 24 tackles; they are bumping into each other all afternoon.

McMurtry loses a TD pass in the sun on our first possession, or I think we would have smoked them.

With a 26-24 lead, the Suckeyes line up for a game winning field goal attempt, about 43 yards.

I do not have a good feeling about this, but, all the Buckeye fans are screaming to go for it on 4^th and long, with absolutely no confidence their guy can make the kick.

Fortunately, they are correct.

Harbaugh is right, we win, I am now 4 – 1 with 5 Rose Bowls in five trips to Columbus.

We go on to lose the Rose Bowl to Arizona State, coached by one John Cooper. The only blemishes on their record, one loss, and a season ending tie with arch-rival Arizona which put them out of the national championship picture.

In another year, tired of losing to Wisconsin, which is a quote from the Ohio AD, and thinking Cooper is a coach who can beat us, they eventually fire Bruce and hire Cooper.

They should have checked his record in season ending rivalry games, as he never beat Arizona.

And let us all be grateful: we are not Buckeyes.

It's 4am and I wake up in a cold sweat.  I've been dreaming about The Game but can't remember my dream.  I start to wonder if Borges and Fickell are sleeping well these nights.  My guess is they probably aren't, unless they rely upon prescription drugs for assistance.

Fickell's got a tough job defending two excellent athletes who are triple threats [maybe quadruple threats if they go back to the pooch-punting days of a few years back.].

Ultimately, though, Borges has the toughest job because Fickell can't really prepare defensive schemes;  all Luke can do is make sure his best football players [Simon, Shazier, Boren, Roby] stay aggressive, but not too agressive, and do what they do best--make plays.

For Borges, he needs to do things which curb the OSU defense's aggressiveness and punishes Buckeye defenders whe they are overly aggressive.  To slow them down, he must make the Buckeyes THINK, THINK AND THINK.  When they think, they slow down.  Here are a few suggestions on dealing with OSU aggressiveness in the Horseshoe:

• Keep Denard on the field most of the time, at least 2/3 of the offensive plays.  He is equally dangerous as a decoy as he is when he has the ball;
• Run the hurry-up offense repeatedly but irregularly.  Keeps defense off-balance as they try to cope with Michigan's 2-QB offense;
• Motion everybody everywhere  Again, this gives defenders more to think about.  It obviously also helps the QB read the defense;
• Before critical 3rd or 4th downs in the first half, line-up in a play, then call a time-out.  Use the time-out to remind the play-makers they don't need to make a play at the expense of risking a turn-over.  Also, it makes Fickell and his players THINK, THINK AND THINK.
• Use a trips back-field of Denard, Norfleet and Smith behind Devin.  Send them sprinting out in patterns on the edges, then run the QB draw.
• DON'T GO FOR 4TH AND SHORT [Unless the game is on the line.]  On the road, the better part of valor is to punt and force the Buckeyes to complete a long drive to score.
• On 3rd and 12 or longer, keep Smith and Kwiatkowski/Williams in to block, swing Denard to the outside, roll-out Devin and air it out with jump-ball 50-yard+ passes to Funchess and Roundtree.  This avoids potential QB sacks/fumbles;  even if its intercepted, its probably an equal percentage play re field position as punting to Brown will be.

Edited

[West] Division Standings updated above. Anyone not understanding why you should have been rooting for the Buckeyes the last 2 weeks? They are the ONLY team to have supplied non-M victories to the ENTIRE [West] Division.

Columbus radio reports that SI will launch their newest round of missiles at OSU a week from today.  In true Buckeye fashion, the radio personality said that SI was 'saluvating' over the article.  I guess the guy covering the story is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist. 

It will probably be some of the stuff that we covered on here last week.  But apparently there is new dirt on Tressel going back to his YSU days.  It's about both Tressel and players, and there is a pretty thorough history of this 'thing', whatever it is.  Popcorn sales in Michigan are peaking right about now...

I was on a flight this morning wearing my Michigan alumni gear sitting right next to a Buckeye, and we had a very nice conversation the entire flight. It makes me think we all might know at least one tolerable buckeye.  I remember we did this with State week, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, do you have buckeyes close to you that you enjoy their company?  

I have close family friends that treat me like their second daughter. I avoid them one week a year. 

GO BLUE! BEAT OSU!

MODS: feel free to delete if this clogs up the board. Just thought it'd be nice for the holiday.