cot dammit

I really think there isn't enough to conclude that this game isn't considered monumental to Rich Rod.

You're right, Rodriguez doesn't care about the rivalry and just views this as another game.  In his entire existence as a coach in football, he has never been at a school that had a hated rival and thus will never understood what it means.  I'm sure he gameplanned more for BGSU, because he probably vowed to never lose to a MAC school ever again.

What a bum!

What exactly would you like him to do?

How can you judge his intensity anyway?

I don't think we will have objective evidence that he cares about this game. UNACCEPTABLE

What would you like him to do? Swear on TV? Beat his wife? Perhaps a crown of thorns?

/s for the challenged

How about the video of him on the sidelines last week blowing a gasket, I believe after a Michigan touchdown

and my work is already done.  Now can somebody please get me a coffee with cream?

Sigh. I am happy, so blissfully happy, that we have a coach who doesn't make idiotic, inflammatory comments a la Hope and Dantonio. 

I agree with many of the complaints about RR, but this one really loses me.  I am going to try to respond to all of your points:

1.  " He [Vest] emphasizes the game more than anything and I respect that."

No he doesn't.  He emphasizes building a great team that competes for BCS Bowl Games annually more than anything else.  He emphasizes fundamentals over everything else.  He emphasizes great recruiting over everything else.  He emphasizes vests over everything else.  But he does not emphasize The Game "over everything else."  Does he put particular emphasis on The Game?  Hell yeah, but if you took the time to listen to RR's pressers (and the players), so does RR.  The team practices something for OSU every week.

2.  "Rich Rod has been aware of the game, but seems like it's not his main focus. "

How do you know?  And even if this is true, I wouldn't want a coach that focusses on one game at the detriment of everything else.  That would make us . . . MSU.  Maybe RR should install a countdown clock to the OSU game like Dantonio did?  We all thought that was pretty silly, no?

3.  "I think beating them should be right behind national championship. "

Um, I think that beating OSU is probably before national championship, as you cannot get to a national championship if you lose the last game of the season.  I think trying to build a national championship team should be RR's biggest priority right now.  The rest - including beating OSU - will follow.

4.  "I guess I just want more emotion out of him for this game and hope that maybe he will have some things up his sleeve."

So even if we lose, you would feel ok if RR breaks a clipboard, punches a player, loses his shit in a press conference or just shows the requisite emotion?  I personally just want to see him win the freeking game, or at least get us competitive enough to do so.  I don't care if he sits back wearing a liesure suit, smoking a pipe nodding calmly while stroking his beard while doing so, as long as we have a good team.  And, as for the "some things up his sleeve", I believe that RR has arms.  I also believe that RR will break out some new plays this week.  Why do you assume that he will not?  Do you remember what the first offensive play of last year's game was?  Look it up.