I have been watching the Ohio State/University of Michigan games for years, but I have never seen one quite like last Saturday.

Oh, the players were fired up - at least the OSU and some of the U of M players were, but that soon ended - at least for the U of M players. Actually, the excitement started before the game after warm-ups as the teams were leaving the field. The way the locker rooms are arranged, at The Shoe, each team must diagonally cross the field from their bench to get to them.

I am sure this is done so the home fans can see the Bucks coming down the ramp and across the field. It’s much more dramatic than their slipping in from the side. This adds extra excitement when both teams try to get to their locker rooms at the same time. Last Saturday was no exception - there was some pushing and shoving and a lot of trash talk, but no apparent punches. The coaches from both teams bravely separated the teams. This intensity continued at the start of the game and it looked for a while as if some ejections from the game were sure to come.

After some hard hitting, they settled down and limited their aggression to between the snap and the whistle. OSU kept the intensity throughout the game, but Michigan as a team did not. After a few three-and-outs, Michigan began to flounder. Blue did not make a first down the entire first quarter. As their frustration began to show, they started to lose their cool - they were not playing as a team and could not keep focused. They had quarrels among themselves and even with some of the U of M coaching staff.

U of M’s play was pathetic - it was sad even for an OSU fan to watch. A once-powerful school loaded with tradition had a lot of talent but a broken spirit. They just didn’t seem to care. A frequent comment is that it’s because these aren’t RichRod’s recruits and they don’t understand the spread offense yet. OK, I’ll give you that, but what about the defense? Nothing should have changed there, but it is just as inept. I have never seen a Michigan team this bad.

They are broken and demoralized. Some fans jokingly said “they are down because they had to go through Toledo (UT) on their way to The Shoe,” but seriously, RichRod has a big problem. Will he be able to straighten it out next year? He better. He has brought so much bad baggage with him, not to mention the legal contract buy-out and a gigantic salary. It is unlikely U of M will forgive him unless he delivers quickly. And by deliver, I mean win at least seven games and beat OSU, next year.

On the other side of it, even if Rodriguez does not have the class that Mich is used to, he can apparently coach football. Just look at what he did at West Virginia. Tressel had better be careful and OSU had better change their style. I like nothing better than the hard-nosed “here’s where I’m going to run, try to stop me” football, but the game has moved past that. Beating the SEC and West Coast teams, you need a great pass attack and a very fast team, in all positions. The 300-pound linemen better be able to move and fast. The present gigantic and overrated OSU offensive line has been a big disappointment this year.

Coach Tressel, please recruit some fast guys. I’m tired of loosing to the South and West Coast teams. Who knows if RichRod can survive long enough to install his spread system with his recruits? If he does, they probably will dominate the Big Ten in a few years. The time for change at OSU is now, Coach Tressel. Take heed.

While OSU easily won the game, their play was not all that good either. Beanie was slow much of the time and frequently stopped at the line or only made small gains. Several times, he got up limping. While he had over a hundred yards, almost half of that came from one long touchdown run. On the positive side, Herron is finally starting to show his potential. I think Beanie identifies with the seniors and will declare for the NFL draft this spring. OSU will need some talent in the backfield like Herron as Brandon Saine has not shown as much as expected.

Of course, anytime OSU can beat “that team up north” and by a significant margin, it is a great day for Bucks fans. Looking deeper, there were some memorable moving positives. For example when senior quarterback and last year’s star Todd Beockman threw an 18-yard TD pass to Brian Hartline. Another was the play of Toledo’s own Dane Sanzenbacher. Dane got considerable playing time, especially when you consider his size. Most of the players have 50 to 100 pounds and four to six inches on him. What he lacks in size, he has in heart. He is the go-to man if Robiskie or Hartline are covered. He has tremendous hands, despite being banged around by these giants. This was evidenced by one play in particular when he went up with two big Michigan defenders and came down with the ball.

A classy and heartwarming moment was when the seniors were introduced. One of the seniors, Tyson Gentry from Sandusky, who was injured and partially paralyzed in 2006, drove his motorized wheelchair down the field lined with the press and distinguished guests to be hugged by Jim Tressel. Tyson has been an integral part of the team since his injury.

The Shoe had the fourth largest crowd in history, but for some reason the crowd was lackadaisical, unlike any OSU/UM fans I have seen. I think each group knew what the game outcome was going to be and did not feel the intense rivalry of past years. It is almost like the Cooper years in reverse, when no matter how good the Bucks were, they just could not get past Michigan. OSU fans began to dread the last game of the season. A rivalry ceases to exist if the teams are not competitive.

A message to Michigan, to keep this rivalry alive, you need to win a few or, no wait, maybe just come close.

Party hearty
One thing that will not change is the parties. While there were over one hundred thousand fans in The Shoe, there were even more outside. The parties were endless. Hiney Gate as it’s called, in front of the Holiday Inn on Lane avenue had a loud rock band and was filled with a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. There were many of these large parties and hundreds more of the “tailgate” varieties.

The game may have lost some of the charm over the past few years but Michigan will get better and the game intensity and excitement will return. In the mean time, the atmosphere in Buckeye country is pretty good even if the wins over Michigan come too easy.

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