Nov. 18, 2006

By Eric Sorenson

Special To CSTV.com

	ERIC SORENSON Eric Sorenson is a regular contributor to CSTV.com, covering football, basketball & baseball. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 12/10: The Way It Should Be 12/3: 10 Questions, Postseason Edition 11/26: 10 Questions, Week 14: Loving Missouri, Not Daniel 11/22: No. 2 Not For Many 11/19: 10 Questions, Week 13: Injury, Insult and Intensity 11/12: 10 Questions, Week 12: Warriors and Jayhawks? Why not? 11/6: 10 Questions, Week 11: Not Cool To Be No. 2 10/29: 10 Questions, Week 10: Month Two In The Books 10/22: 10 Questions, Week 9: Goodbye, Normalcy 10/15: 10 Questions, Week 8: Are You Ready For A Repeat? 10/12: Ten Overblown Topics 10/8: 10 Questions, Week 7: Is This Really Happening? 10/5: 10 Most Underrated Things About College Football 10/1: 10 Questions, Week 6 9/30: Shake-Up Saturdays 9/24: 10 Questions, Week 5 9/17: 10 Questions, Week 4 9/11: 10 Questions, Week 3 9/4: 10 Questions, Week 2 9/1: Top Five Upsets 8/28: 10 Questions, Week 1 1/2: USC Points To Next Year 12/11: The Road Awards 12/5: 10 Questions, Week 14 Roundup 11/28: 10 Questions, Week 13 Roundup 11/18: Bring On Round 2 11/18: Things Kicking Into High Gear in Columbus 11/17: The Ultimate Irony Hits Punk Band 11/14: 10 Questions, Week 11 Roundup 11/12: No Drama In The Coliseum 11/7: 10 Questions, Week 10 Roundup 11/3: Cards Sing BCS Song 10/31: 10 Questions, Week 9 Roundup 10/24: 10 Questions, Week 8 Roundup 10/21: Texas, Shaking and Cold, Still Stays On Top 10/16: 10 Questions: Week 8 Roundup 10/10: 10 Questions: Week 7 Roundup 10/3: 10 Questions: Week 5 Roundup 10/1: Buckeyes Road Warriors 9/23: The Day In Michigan 9/18: 10 Questions: Week 3 Roundup 9/12: 10 Questions: Week 2 Roundup 9/9: OSU Gets Total Team Effort 9/5: 10 Questions: Week 1 Roundup 8/29: 10 Questions, Pre-Season Edition 1/5: Rose Bowl Redemption 1/5: Previewing the Rose Bowl 1/3: Point/Counterpoint - Round 14 BASEBALL 2/2: Hope List For 2007 1/29: First Pitch Observations 1/25: Lincoln and Clemson Regions 1/24: Chapel Hill and Nashville Regions 1/23: Tempe and Fullerton Regions 1/22: Columbia and Charlottesville Regions 1/19: Coral Gables and Palo Alto Regions 1/18: SoCal Style, Straight From Long Beach 1/18: Austin and New Orelans Regions 1/17: Fayetteville and Wichita Regions 1/16: Houston and Oxford Regions 6/27: Best of Omaha 6/6: Grading The Regionals 5/28: Tournament Quick Hits 5/28: Saturday Statements 5/26: Thursday Thoughts 5/23: Teams of the Week 5/21: Saturday Statements 5/20: Friday First Takes 5/19: Thursday Thoughts 5/17: Q&A With Vance Law 5/16: Teams of the Week 5/15: Sunday Summations 5/13: Friday First Takes 5/12: Thursday Thoughts 5/09: Favorite Stadiums 5/09: Teams of the Week 5/08: Sunday Summations 5/07: Saturday Statements 5/06: Friday First Takes 5/05: Thursday Thoughts 5/01: Teams of the Week 4/28: Thursday Thoughts 4/26: Q&A With Pat Murphy 4/25: Teams of the Week 4/23: Saturday Statements 4/22: Friday First Takes 4/21: Thursday Thoughts 4/17: Teams of the Week 4/16: Saturday Statements 4/15: Friday First Takes 4/14: Thursday Thoughts 4/12: Q&A with John Savage 4/11: Teams of the Week 4/10: Sunday Summations 4/08: Friday First Takes 4/07: Thursday Thoughts 4/04: Teams of the Week 4/03: Sunday Statements 4/02: Saturday Statements 4/01: Friday First Takes M. BASKETBALL 11/3: Expanding The Field: Yes or No? 2/2: UCLA Leaves No Doubt This Time 12/09: SoCal Hosts Not So Kind To Visitors At Wooden Classic 11/26: Kansas Win Is An Insider Job 3/25: Bruins Do it Howland Way 3/12: Quick Bracket Hits 3/07: Ten to Watch: Bubbles Bursting

COLUMBUS, Ohio - I know this won't be a popular stand. Hell, after what we saw today, neither team may like this idea. But why go through the trouble? You saw Jim Tressel get asked the same question. It's almost obvious that the two best teams in college football were on display here in Ohio Stadium Saturday.

So bring them both to Glendale. No reason to take some other questionable stiff like struggling Florida (except when they play a DII team). Or over-exposed USC. Or 46-point losing Arkansas. Or barely-challenged Rutgers. Or nearly-forgotten West Virginia. Who needs these guys to come in there and wave a white towel by halftime?

Michigan came into C-bus and was one bad bounce away from beating Ohio State. Think about that. All those other teams that dragged their butts out of stadiums with losses and near-losses to nobody teams last weekend - they couldn't hang here. I don't think any other team in the country could play OSU that tight in this joint. Go ahead guys, take 50-or-so days off, then pack your bags and head to the desert. You both should be there.

When asked in the postgame press conference about the possibility of playing Michigan again, Tressel said, "Well I don't have a vote in this BCS thing. But I guarantee you there's probably not another team as good as Michigan out there."

As clichéd as it is, each one of the Ohio State captains (Troy Smith, Quinn Pitcock and Doug Datish) used the same phrase when talking about Michigan: "You've got to take your hat off to them. They're a great team."

I know, I hear ya', "Whatchoo talkin' `bout Willis?"

Okay, so the defenses didn't show up like they had all season. But considering the weapons these two teams possess, you can give a waiver on the 42-39 final score. Think back to this, two of the best defenses in college football history, 1971 versions of Oklahoma and Nebraska, and that (true) Game of the Century ended up with 66 points. Great skill players on both teams will do that.

That's what makes these two teams true heavyweights. In a game that saw the proud defenses of both teams falter, each took punch after punch and also landed a haymaker or two that seemed to change the makeup of the game. Just when you thought Ohio State would dig a grave for the Wolverines to start the second half, the Maize and Blue held the Bucks to a three-and-out. Then, the offense turned around and went 60 yards in five plays (59 of which were by one Mike Hart, by the way) to put themselves back in the game at 28-21.

But Troy Smith and Co. never took their foot off the Michigan throats. Smith, an experienced Wolverine killer, finished with another stellar effort against his bitter rivals, going 29-for-41 for 316 yards and four TDs. His only pick was on a tipped-ball.

"Both offenses were making plays and the defenses were definitely fighting hard." Michigan QB Chad Henne said. "We stayed with them blow for blow, but Troy Smith is a great quarterback and he proved that today."

Unfortunately, in a game of this magnitude, the biggest punch was thrown by the referees, or well... to be honest, the numbskull play of Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable. On what turned out to be OSU's game-clinching drive, a 3^rd-and-15 incompletion was wiped out by not just a late hit by Crable, but an absurdly late hit to the headgear. Double-wammy! Two slant pass completions to Brian Robiskie later and the Bucks had a 43-31 lead with five minutes left.

Almost worth slamming the door, right? Ummm, no. Not in this title fight.

Do I need to reiterate that Michigan is a championship-level team? Still spurred on by the inspiration of Bo Schembechler, Michigan drove right back down the field in 11 plays, capped by a Henne pass to tight end Tyler Ecker. A two-point pass to Steve Breaston gave UM the three-point margin they were hoping to get to.

But the big bounce didn't go their way on the onside kick and the Wolverines were left to wonder "What if?" Meanwhile, OSU was able to celebrate its first outright Big Ten title since 1984.

"The number one thing in our minds was our seniors and making sure that their last game in this building was a great memory and lead to the outright Big Ten Championship which we have not had since 1984," Coach Tressel reiterated. "I guess the sideline of the whole thing is it's going to lead to bigger and better things."

And a bigger and better game, namely the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz. The Buckeyes can plant their backsides on a plane and enjoy the warmth of Arizona in January now, albeit about 50 days away. But Michigan? Again, they are easily the second best team in the country as far as I can see.

And I know what's going to happen. The pollsters, using their backward logic, will say, "Well Michigan should be punished because they lost later in the season." Oh yeah? So that means a slim loss to Ohio State is the same as, say... USC's slim loss to Oregon State? That's as warped as using the logic that each team lost to an "OSU" so that carries equal weight.

I hope when the polls come out tomorrow, Michigan either doesn't drop or just drops one spot to No. 3. After all, the Wolverines came in with a .003 deficit to the Buckeyes in the BCS. They left Ohio Stadium with what amounts to a wafer-thin .003 loss too. 

Additional game notes:

Lighting

As you may or may not know, Ohio Stadium is without lights. Four temporary standards were brought in to light the stadium. It's surprising how much light can be cast by what seems like so few lights. Each standard had only 15 bulbs on them each, yet it was far bright enough to make it work.

Incomplete pass? Then it's got to be interference.

I know this may just be me, but please revamp, relax or re-think even having the pass interference penalty. I hate that thing. Am I wrong in saying it may be an incorrect call 50-60 percent of the time? Another bad call tonight as the pass to Michigan's Landon Smith was horribly over-thrown. Maybe defensive holding, but "un-catchable" as a pass interference penalty.

Celebration casualties

The goal posts survived, but the field didn't. After the melee of fans stormed the field at Ohio Stadium tonight, they decided if they couldn't take the posts down, they were going to dig up the sod. Resembling something from a Mets game, after I walked out of the interview room the field had been clear and the stadium was empty. But the field was left looking like a minefield, with large patches of grass having been pulled up.

Bad turf

Brent Musburger and crew touched on this during the game, but that new sod made for a horrible field tonight. Datish even said the second bad snap on a shotgun formation turnover was caused by the poor conditions. "I know this isn't much of an excuse, but the ball hit a divot when I snapped it," the usually reliable Datish stated. "It's still my fault, I should make sure to make up for that, but it was pretty bad out there."

Troy Smith for Heisman talk

Tressel stated, "Well I think he clinched the Heisman Trophy today. I think he's the best player in college football."

Henne also had his thoughts on him after tonight's game, "He proved he's a great player today. When there is pressure on him he can get out of the pocket and make something happen. So if he's leading the polls already, then I'm sure he's going to get it."

And Smith on his own chances? "I think the Heisman is a team trophy. If I win it, it will be because every one on the team contributed and helped me win it."

Record Crowd

Today's attendance was 105,708, a new stadium record. That also means this is the biggest crowd at a sporting event in the state of Ohio, the biggest non-Michigan home game and the biggest crowd in the Tressel era at Ohio State.