A Big Ten Prizefight For All

by Oh No Romo

When High Noon hits Ann Arbor  on Saturday, both the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes will be competing for the prize that is the Big Ten Title and the right to play in the Rose Bowl, come New Years Day.

When it comes to battles in the Big Ten, there is none greater. Last season around this time, both the Wolverines and the Buckeyes were undefeated and battling for the right to play in the National Championship game in Arizona. It was a hard fought battle the entire day, but in the end the Buckeyes were hailed as the victors.

The Buckeyes defeated the Wolverines in a 42-39 shootout. The game put the Buckeyes in the National Title game against Florida. The Wolverines would be in the Rose Bowl against USC. Both teams would lose their respective games.

This season, both teams are coming into this game with a loss.  The Buckeyes come into this game with a 10-1 (6-1 conference) record. The biggest wins for the Buckeyes came against Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin. Last week, the then top-ranked Buckeyes hope for an undefeated season ended when Illinois pulled off the upsetter in Columbus.

Michigan's road to this Big Ten title game was a bit rougher.

Michigan would lose to Appalachian State to open up the regular season. This was not suppose to happen to a team like the Wolverines. A top ten team losing to a Division I-AA school, that never happens and it probably won't happen again for a long time.

The Wolverines would then lose to the Oregon Ducks, the very next week. The Wolverines found themselves in an unfamiliar position, 0-2. They would manage to reel off eight straight wins before losing to Wisconsin 37-21. Now at 8-3 (6-1), the Wolverines have the opportunity to clinch the Big Ten title at home.

On Saturday, both teams will battle it out for 60 long, hard-grueling minutes. In the end, one of these two teams will be smelling roses.