Michigan—Ohio State 2008 Preview

The storied rivalry of the upper Midwest; The Michigan Wolverines—The Ohio State Buckeyes, will stage its 105th version this weekend in a decidedly abnormal situation for this historic match-up.   In most years, “The Game” draws riveted attention from fans around the country. Its outcome normally has an impact on the Big Ten title and often possesses national ranking or national title implications.    The two teams have won or shared the Big Ten title 58 times and ended up tied for the title in eight different seasons.  They share 17 national titles between them, and as recently as 2006, meeting in their traditional season ending game with mutual perfect records, their rivalry game was for a berth in the BCS national title game.   This season’s clash hardly resembles the collisions of the past.  With 20 returning starters from a team that played LSU for the national championship last year, 2008 was expected to be the year that OSU ... (link)