Alright. Only hours away from another year of Ohio State and Michigan. I will argue to my grave that this is the greatest rivalry in college football. Of course, each year brings a new storyline to the game based on the different players looking to win "the big one" maybe for the first time and the implications for the college football season that are usually at stake in this game. This year's game definitely has unique qualities but it lacks the excitement of almost every other season.

Last year had Michigan been healthy and Chad Henne been 100% I think the game could have been a great edition to the rivalry. Ohio State held a prime position to get into the national championship game once again and Michigan was trying to prove that it possessed the talent to beat anyone in the country even though they lost a number of disappointing games especially to Appalachian State, regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of college football. The resulting game was probably the most boring Michigan Ohio State game I have ever seen in my life. Clearly, Michigan without a health Henne could not do anything offensively so once Tressel's Buckeyes scored fourteen points, the only play they ran was a rush up the middle. The game ended with Ohio State winning 14-3.

The uniqueness of this year's game is just plain weird, and highly disappointing. Michigan, for the first time in the almost 22 years of my life, will lose more than half of their games and will not appear in a bowl game for the first time since the Big Ten allowed more than one conference team to go to a bowl. Ohio State only lost twice this year and has a chance for a share at the Big Ten Title, but it will not be headed to the Rose Bowl. This hurts for a team that legitimately could have made it to the national championship game once again. Michigan's traditional pro style offense no longer exists. In place is the spread offense, which is being run with players who intended to play at Michigan under the old offense. They do not have the personnel  to play this system effectively yet. Ohio State added Terelle Pryor to the team, the number one quarterback recruit from last year. He gives the Buckeyes a skilled running quarterback, a dimension that was not there under former starter Todd Boeckman, which complements the offense. This year, Ohio State is much more talented than Michigan, hands down.

You know what though, that should not matter. Despite anything else this is Michigan and Ohio State. The way it is every year, the date circled on the calendar, the game that creates heroes that become part of the legend. Oh well, Michigan and Ohio State underwhelmed. The teams and their fans had higher hopes than this for their seasons. Now its irrelevant. Now its two of the juggernaut names in college football going head to head once again to write the next page of the story.

So why am I not excited? Games in the past did not have implications for national or conference championships but I still was anxious to watch what would happen. Maybe it is because at least both teams were still usually the upper level of talent in the country. Somehow once they got onto the field, no matter the talent level difference, the spirit of the rivalry made these two teams equal. I just do not see it happening tomorrow. The fight seems to currently be missing from this rivalry.

I blame the coaches for this and not necessarily in a bad way. Ohio State's Jim Tressel is a class act. He does not come out and say "Oh yeah well Michigan kind of sucks this year so we expect to go in and whoop them." He has reigned in his players by not letting them say any bulletin board material that could light a spark under Michigan. This rivalry has been famous for shoving those sort of "guarantees" and other offending statements in the face of the other team when the game is actually played. Tressel probably over compliments the skill of the Wolverines saying that they have maybe the best front seven in college football. He understands the importance of the rivalry and what it means to the fans like when he mentioned in his first address to an Ohio State basketball audience that he would beat Michigan.

Rich Rodriguez is the new character to this rivalry. The first year Michigan coach comes from outside the program, which can be seen based on his unintentional violations of classic Michigan traditions like the #1 jersey going to a truly deserving offensive player. Rodriguez may be a good coach who had a rough transitional year with his new team, but the way he addresses the Ohio State game makes me mad. He said that this was just another game. Wrong. It is THE game. Michigan fans would have been going wild had they not won a game this year up until now based on what the program has traditionally done. However, if they had been winless this season and won the Ohio State game, the fans would have said "Well, that was a disappointing year, but hey! At least we beat Ohio State!" Rodriguez just doesn't get that yet, and so I doubt his players will come out believing they will upset Ohio State. He needs to pull every trick play out of his book because they should have nothing to lose. I saw inspired Michigan football last year when those players went out in that bowl game against Florida. They refused to lose for outgoing Coach Lloyd Carr and I admired that spirit. It just makes me slightly disappointed because if Les Miles had gotten the coaching job, he would have done anything to win this game. He gets it.

I hope for two reasons that Michigan beats Ohio State today. First, I bleed maize and blue, and while I try to be unbiased in my posts, I always, always want to beat Ohio State. Secondly, this would make the rivalry even more prestigious. No one is picking Michigan to win and if they find a way to it will add so much to this rivalry and why college football in general is so entertaint. This is THE rivalry game. All I am asking is that these teams remember it and start to act like it.