It was announced at 12:33 p.m. today that legendary University of Michigan head coach Glenn "Bo" Schembechler passed away at the age of 77 while taping a weekly show with a Detroit sports anchor.

Last month, the 77-year-old Schembechler, born April 1, 1929, had a pacemaker and defibrillator installed after he had dizziness and other symptoms while taping the show.

This make tomorrow's hugely hyped contest between Ohio State and Bo's Wolverines not as important as it was 15 minutes ago.

Schembechler was a living legend in Ann Arbor. When he arrived at UM after coaching at his alma mater, Miami, Ohio, in 1969, he took the campus by storm by amassing an 8-3 record and taking his squad to the Rose Bowl. That would put the rest of the college football world on notice because while at Michigan, Schembechler became one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. He won a school-record 194 games, lost only 48, and tied five for a winning percentage of .796. His Michigan teams won or shared 13 Big Ten titles and made 10 Rose Bowl appearances.

Schembechler led the Wolverines to 17 bowl games in 21 years, placing him ninth in all-time bowl appearances, while never posting a losing record. He was voted national Coach of the Year during his first season as a Wolverine.

I'm sure he would have been on his way to Cloumbus to take in tomorrow's game with the hopes that his team could pull out a win and have a shot at a possible national title.

I'm not sure what kind of an affect this will have on the roster or the coaching staff, though. If this were a Disney film, Chad Henne would complete 75 percent of his passes, Mike Hart would rush for 175 yards and LaMarr Woodley would have six sacks. But I don't know what this is going to do to the group.

I'm going to put my Spartan allegiance aside and say that this is a big loss for college football. And, honestly, this has me pulling for the Maize and Blue now. It's a bigger loss for the Michigan family, though.

One of the things I first read about Bo took place when he served as Michigan athletic director from 1988-1990. Just prior to the start of the 1989 NCAA basketball tournament, head coach Bill Frieder announced that he would be taking the vacant head position at Arizona State University. Bo fired Frieder almost right on the spot, saying, "A Michigan man is gonna coach Michigan." The squad went on to take its only basketball title.

I know a lot of people say they bleed a certain color. But I'm sure that whenever he fell, whenever he got a paper cut, Maize and Blue blood dripped from his body.

Yea, I know I said I'm a Spartan through and through. And I stand by that. But how bad it is that this had to happen the day before the biggest game in the biggest rivalry in ALL of sports?

Ohio State-Michigan.

1 vs. 2 for the first time in the 103-year history of this match-up.

Winner take all.

His school against his most hated rival.

He'll still be watching. And, hey, maybe him and Woody Hayes can watch together now and exchange a few pleasantries.