Saturday at 11:00, the teams will take to the field for warm-ups. Stare downs, taunts, maybe even a little shoving. They will walk on to the field with much on line. For Michigan, a possible BCS at-large bid to revive the program. Nothing makes you forget all about RichRod like a trip to New Orleans and a cool win over a non-AQ school. For OSU, the streak, the season, a winning record. No better way to usher in the Urban era than with a win over scUM. If OSU loses, it's a losing season and a sour footnote on an awfully down year and a half of turmoil and turbulence. If UofM loses, the doubt creeps back into the fanbase: "Did we hire another guy who can't beat Ohio STATE?"
Fickell sparked a mini debate about passion vs talent. I think a talented individual, will play with some extra passion, and rise up to will his team to a win. Someone will have to step up in the Big House. Who will it be? Will Denard cement his legacy as the one that broke the streak, or will all his stats and records go into Michigan lore with an asterisk. *Never beat Ohio State. Will Freshmen sensation Braxton Miller make all the Pryor thoughts go away and suddenly transform into Troy Smith 2.0? Will it be Andrew Sweat, coming back from injury, continuing a legacy of OSU LBs who seemingly are required to have a big game to beat the Wolverines? (Can you remember a Michigan win without a LB having a big game? I can't.) Will Ryan Van Bergen record 3+ sacks in his last home game? Will Mike Brewster pancake Mike Martin's Big House swan song?
Who's it gonna be? Who will become Troy Smith to Gonzo? Who will be Charles Woodson or Tim B(I can't bring myself to google the spelling of his name for fear of having to see his picture and vomitting)? Who will become legendary to their team, their alumni, their grandchildren's children?
