COLUMBUS – The week that Ohio State plays its arch-rival in football, pieces of tape hide the letter “M” all over campus, the name of that mitten-shaped state up north is not spoken in polite company and the colors blue and maize are not worn or displayed.
(2) Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) vs. (3) Michigan (10-1, 7-1), Ohio Stadium Sat. Nov. 26 (Noon/ABC)
The Buckeyes host the Wolverines for the 113th edition of their annual grudge match with a spot in the national playoff likely on the line, giving the game a little more weight than usual, though this is the 11th time the two have met while both were ranked in the top five in the national polls.
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It is also the second “Game of the Century” in 10 years. The top-ranked Buckeyes beat the second-ranked Wolverines in 2006, 42-39, in Columbus in 2006.
Although the series dates back to 1897, long-time fans – including the present Ohio State coach – think first of the “10-year war” between the Buckeyes, coached by Woody Hayes, and the Bo Schembechler-led Wolverines from 1969-79.
Head coach Urban Meyer remembers that he was a diehard Buckeye fan by then and understood the rivalry.
“My mother, for some reason I still to this day don’t know why, grabbed me and said we have to go run an errand,” he recalled. “What the hell we talking about? You don’t leave that game. In Ashtabula, Ohio, outdoor mall walking down, and over the loud speakers I just kept stopping and listening to the game.”
“In the ’70s, the ten-year war. I remember that,” he said.