Nigh In The Middle: Ohio State 26, Michigan 21

At halftime on a bone-chillingly cold November Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, 105,000 football fans had lost all feeling in their outer extremeties. Underneath the stands along the western sideline of Ohio Stadium, the Michigan Wolverines' coaching staff was busy losing all feeling in their frontal lobes.

Their team had just scooted off the field with a high-octane 21-20 lead over the men in the scarlet throwback unis. (For the record, the only way these duds were ever "throwbacks" would be that they were pulled from the replica jersey aisle at Walmart back in 1983.) The Wolverine offense, whose booster rockets were lit with the re-introduction of shifty Devon Gardner (left and below) as quarterback, appeared unstoppable, tearing up the tattered Ohio State defense for three touchdown drives impressive as much for their length as their relative simplicity.

Denard Robinson, clearly enjoying the liberty of his new role as mere offensive weapon, had already amassed 120 rushing yards, much of which occurred on a head-shaking 67-yard burst through the bewildered Buckeyes with a minute and change left until intermission. Gardner's 107 passing yards included a turbo-charged 75-yard catch, run, cut and run by receiver Roy Roundtree.

Both touchdowns, and most of the success they had enjoyed, resulted from pushing themselves outside the tackles and exploiting their speed advantage on the outside lanes. Being that all the halftime speeches in the world can't overcome a speed disadvantage, the second half would seemingly pick up where the first left off.

Thats' what I thought. That's what the tiny huddled group of shivering fans in sections 6C and 8C thought. Hell, that's what 105,000 spectators and any football fan in the United States with basic cable thought. But that's not what Wolverine offensive coordinator Al Borges thought.

Big Al was tired of driving around the mountain. In these final two quarters, men, WE'RE GOING THROUGH.

Time after time, Ohio State stacked the line of scrimmage. And time after time, Michigan ran into the wall (right), hoping to move the substrate a foot or two downfield. The futility began with good intensions, as the opening drive of the second half brought Michigan to their own 46 with a fourth and two situation. After a timeout, one they really could have used at game's end, they chose to roll the dice and smash away. The Buckeyes held and used the benefit of a short field to drive for what would be the game-winning field goal.

Borges' sudden, utterly mystifying obsession with the dive play took me back to 1972, when a feisty and equally stubborn Bo Schembechler led his unbeaten Wolverines into "the Snake Pit", as Bob Ufer called it. Twice, his insistence on moving the immovable object with his irresistable force left the Wolverines at Ohio's one-yard line, short on downs and light on logic. They would ultimately lose by three points, 14-11. A successful field-goal attempt on either fourth-and-goal situation would have tied the game, giving Michigan a tie for the Big Ten championship and a trip to Pasadena. Two successful field-goal attempts would have given them the outright title.

On this day, a long punt would have given Ohio State 80, possibly 90 yards to cover on their first drive of the half. Instead, the Wolverines now trailed, 23-21.

The offense, who sprinted north and south so effortlessly in the first two quarters, was held to 61 total yards after the break. Michigan had five more second-half possessions, three of them ending with crushing turnovers (left)—two fumbles and a game-ending interception. Can't blame the coaches for that. The stout Wolverine defense did their part, however, holding an Ohio State offense that was just as prolific in the first half to 151 yards.

And the scoring fireworks that wore out the coordinator's hand-held whiteboards on both sidelines and light bulbs on both sides of the scoreboard? Michigan was held scoreless, while all the Buckeyes could muster was the third and fourth field goal from kicker Drew Basil (below). The first Buckeye to kick four field goals against the Wolverines since 1974, when an unknown European sidewinder named Tom Klaban shattered #2 Michigan's hopes for Pasadena and a shot at the national championship.

But enough throwing back. It's been a while since this rivalry has both teams revving up and pointing their noses forward. One school's coach has yet to lose at home. The other school's coach has yet to lose, period. And both have once again put their names among the top schools in the nation each year in recruiting.

For the Buckeyes, they now have a chance to make a clean break from a history of lies and corruption for the sake of winning that marked the Jim Tressell regime. The new sheriff in town is Urban Meyer, and winning is all he has done since landing in Columbus this past spring. He ended his first campaign by guiding the probation-ridden Buckeyes to an imperfect 12-0 record, finishing off that school up north just like his predecessor had done with regularity. In fact, the score was just a point off the 26-20 win Tressell promised to Buckeye Nation in 2001 that solidified his place in the heartless hearts and twisted minds of the scarlet and gray faithful.

And for the Wolverines? They enter coach Brady Hoke's third season with its biggest question—how on earth are we going to fill the void left by Denard Robinson—already answered. The Devon Gardner era may be a short one, but he's already ready to go. The Wolverines' big games against Ohio State, Nebraska and America's current #1 Notre Dame are at all the Big House. And there is hope that Hoke's third season may turn out the way Lloyd Carr's third season did, back in 1997.

Talk about your throwbacks.