Michigan eager to flip recent script in rivalry
As soon as Saturday’s 20-10 win against Indiana concluded, Michigan’s players were thinking ahead.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Michigan in Columbus on Saturday, with the college football world watching. One team likely will cement a spot in the College Football Playoff. With a win, Michigan could make the Big Ten title game.
But the game might be about something more raw than that. The end-of-season battle is always fierce, regardless of stakes.
“It’s going to be a battle,” said Michigan safety Dymonte Thomas, who’s from Alliance, Ohio. “The way I look at it is it’s going to be like two kids, meeting in an alley, fighting it out. The winner is going to take it all.
“That’s the way I look at it, the way we’re going to look at it, and it’s going to be a brawl, it’s going to be something fun, it’s going to be something exciting. And it’s going to be something special.”
A win might be more special for the Wolverines because they don’t know that feeling.
The last time Michigan beat the Buckeyes was in 2011, at Michigan Stadium, the matchup between coaches Brady Hoke and Jim Tressel. The last time Michigan won in Columbus at Ohio Stadium was in 2000, led by quarterback Drew Henson.
So this is foreign territory for the Wolverines, not having to play spoiler and instead playing for something of their own.
The Buckeyes are favored by 71⁄ points over the Wolverines, according to Vegasinsider.com. It is the first time all season that Michigan is an underdog.
The big question is whether quarterback Wilton Speight (collarbone) will be available to play. John O’Korn played against Indiana last week.
“It’s a day-to-day process and evaluation,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
He added that Speight has gotten better every day but pointed out he’s not a doctor. “To my eye, he’s looked better every day,” Harbaugh said.
Ohio State won last year’s game 42-13. When asked what he remembered about that game, Wolverines running back De’Veon Smith, a Warren, Ohio, native, had a simple response. “We lost,” he said. “Ditto,” linebacker Jabrill Peppers added.
Every player has his own motivation. but they all understand the importance on many levels.
“With all of it on the line, you’re always ready for the game anyways, but with how much we have riding on this game, we’ll prepare really hard and get after it,” nose tackle Ryan Glasgow said.
Snyder writes for the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network
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