Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley took it more as a recruiting pitch than a prediction. He was sitting in his family’s living room in Saginaw, Mich., three years ago and Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr and associate head coach Fred Jackson were doing anything to convince the state’s top player to sign with the Wolverines.
“Coach Jackson and Coach Carr told me one day Michigan and Ohio State will be No. 1 and 2 and will be going against each other and it’s just an honor to be in it,” Woodley said Monday at a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Turns out, it’s more than an honor. It’s history. In a series that started in 1897 and played every year since 1918, never have Michigan and Ohio State met as the top two teams in the nation. Yet that’s what is presented to the nation Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST, on a silver platter like an early Thanksgiving feast.
No. 1 Ohio State (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten) hosts No. 2 Michigan (11-0, 7-0) with the winner going to the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
“It’s been an anxiety level that you can’t describe,” Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, 24-2 in starts, said on another nationwide conference call Monday. “This game to a lot of people is a game and a world unto itself.”
More than 200 reporters attended Ohio State’s media luncheon Monday, and by Saturday the game will be dissected as much as any Super Bowl.
There are some keys. The biggest is whether Smith, a senior, can continue his season-long Heisman performance and overcome a Michigan defense that is ranked third in the nation and giving up only 29.9 yards per game on the ground. He destroyed the Wolverines the past two years, compiling 686 yards total offense in two of the Buckeyes’ four wins over Michigan in the past five years.
“What I always value in a quarterback, where I start my assessment of a quarterback, is his toughness, and he’s extremely tough,” Carr said. “If you watch him over the course of his career, he’s proven he can take punishment and get up and compete. I think he’s an outstanding quarterback. There’s no question about that.”
But this is not the same Michigan defense Smith has shredded. After last year’s 7-5 campaign, Carr promoted secondary coach Ron English to replace embattled defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann, and the results have been astonishing.
Except for sleepwalking through a 34-26 win over Ball State on Nov. 4, Michigan has given up only six touchdowns in the past seven games. The Wolverines are second only to Rutgers with 3.6 sacks a game and pressuring Smith without blitzing and leaving their cornerbacks one-on-one against Smith’s receivers will be crucial.
Smith, however, has much more field cred in this rivalry than Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. A year ago, Henne threw for 223 yards in the 25-21 loss to Ohio State and took a lot of heat, while the running game mustered just 32 total yards. This year Henne’s numbers have dropped from 2,526 yards to 1,932 and touchdown passes from 23 to 18.
However, star wide receiver Mario Manningham is getting stronger after knee surgery Oct. 10, and Mike Hart is healthy and sixth nationally in rushing at 124.8 yards a game. They’re not only ready. The stage is ready, too.
“Guys will go on and play in Super Bowls and Pro Bowls,” Buckeyes tailback Antonio Pittman said, “but it don’t get no bigger than this.”
John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
