Ohio State vs Michigan: Predictions?
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Check post #80. That is the difference between college rivalries and professional rivalries.
Sandra
There are always periods in time where one of the teams in the rivalry aren't as highly regarded as the other. It doesn't happen often in this rivalry, but it just so happens Michigan has been down for the two years Rich-Rod has taken over. Either way, it was a good game. Well at least for over 2 quarters it definitely was.
Just read. And the multiple matchups in the Pro's is what I consider to be part of the reason why the Pro rivalries DO NOT compare to College. Too much of a good thing waters it down IMO. In college, all of the hope, hype and anticipation are all rolled into 1 single game/day of the year. Just think of if Christmas was divided into 18 or 22 days in a single year?! Wouldn't that spoil the "specialness" of December 25th?
I will agree...regarding regular season matchups.
But in the playoffs it doesn't matter how often they met, that's the game that matters. It's Christmas times 100. And playoff matchups, with one team packing up their uniforms because their season is over, is what professional rivalries have over college rivalries by a long shot.
As I said in my post, college rivalries almost never meet in a tournament/playoff game where one team ends the other team's season right there on the spot.
You have to be a Yankee fan watching the Red Sox celebrate on your field after beating your team, with the Yankees' season ending right there because of the Red Sox, to appreciate how much that hurts.
It just doesn't happen very often in college football or basketball.
This year's Ohio State-Michigan game was very much like all of the non-national championship Bowl games will be this year....irrelevant except for bragging rights.
Sandra
By comparing College and Professional rivalries, we're obviously comparing two completely different animals. For 1, College doesn't have a playoff, so, in all fairness, I'm not quite sure how an additional 4 game series OSU vs. Michigan would be like. But I will tell you this, the stakes are still "usually" high for The Game. Typically, this game can and usually is for the Big 10 Title with a trip to the Rose Bowl and/or a BCS Bowl on the line. And since it only happens once a year, I will still contend that this game holds more hype, hope and anticipation than a Baseball matchup that happens 22 times a year.
That's like saying you look forward to Full Moons more than Christmas morning!
I'd venture to say this game was more relevant than games 1 thru 18 of the regular season meetings between the Red Sox/Yankees.
PS, Despite you calling this game "meaningless", with the win, OSU won the Big-10 Title outright (as opposed to a share with a loss).
Ah, but college does have a playoff. In footall it involves two teams, in basketball it involves 65. And that's my point. These teams to not play each other in 'win or go home' games.
Nobody has answered yet...has Carolina ever played Duke during March Madness?
Important, yes. The same as one team's season ending and another team advancing toward a possible championship? No.
If you don't think an early season Yankees/Red Sox series has incredible hype and anticipation...you need to go to an early season Yankees/Red Sox series. Trust me, it's a world away from a Yankees or Red Sox game in Cleveland. It's in...well...a whole different ballpark!
The stadiums are electric for all 19 games. And part of it is because of the Yankees ending the Red Sox' season in 2003, and the Red Sox ending the Yankees' season in 2004. Those losses are burned into the souls of the people who experienced them forever, and hover over every regular season game played between the teams as well.
Sandra
Post Game Analysis: HD Style
1. Congratulations to the Buckeyes on their SIXTH straight win over Michigan! The Ohio State Buckeyes have won the Big-10 for the fifth straight year, undisputed champions for the third time in that streak!
2. As much flack as Jim Tressell receives, he is now a record 8-1 against UofM. That is the BEST winning percentage among any other coach in this rivalry. No one ever had a better winning percentage in the series for the scarlet & gray or the maize & blue. Not Woody Hayes, not Bo Schembechler. Those of us who value the importance of The Game, this stat speaks volumes on Tressell's resume.
3. Rich Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to lose his first two games against the Buckeyes.
4. The loss also cemented two straight losing seasons. This is the first time this has happened since 1962-63.
5. The Buckeyes wore a pink "SS" sticker on the back of their helmets to remember Stephanie Spielman, the recently deceased wife of ex-Buckeye Chris Spielman.
6. In Tressell's pregame speech to the players, he used Stephanie as words of inspiration: "They say the toughest team wins this game. If we're half as tough as Stefanie, we have a chance," Tressel said. After the game, it's clear the Buckeyes honored Stephanie and the grieving OSU family.
7. Despite the realistic possibility, I'd love to play the higher ranked Cincinnati Bearcats in a Bowl Game to decide the CFB Crown of Ohio. Tressel's defense would do evil things to Cincinnati.
8. I'm starting to see shimmers of hope in Terrelle Pryor as he closed out his Sophomore year. In the last 4 games of the season, when the stakes were the highest, TP threw only 1 interception. That alone is progress. As long as he plays smart, he will fit right into this system just fine. Our offense revolves around the running game and defense. That is no revelation by any means. If we get anything extra out of TP and his legs, it's a bonus. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops in his Junior year.
9. I don't really have a preference in the Rose Bowl. Best of luck to Oregon and Oregon State.
10. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! And go Buckeyes!
1. Congratulations to the Buckeyes on their SIXTH straight win over Michigan! The Ohio State Buckeyes have won the Big-10 for the fifth straight year, undisputed champions for the third time in that streak!
2. As much flack as Jim Tressell receives, he is now a record 8-1 against UofM. That is the BEST winning percentage among any other coach in this rivalry. No one ever had a better winning percentage in the series for the scarlet & gray or the maize & blue. Not Woody Hayes, not Bo Schembechler. Those of us who value the importance of The Game, this stat speaks volumes on Tressell's resume.
3. Rich Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to lose his first two games against the Buckeyes.
4. The loss also cemented two straight losing seasons. This is the first time this has happened since 1962-63.
5. The Buckeyes wore a pink "SS" sticker on the back of their helmets to remember Stephanie Spielman, the recently deceased wife of ex-Buckeye Chris Spielman.
6. In Tressell's pregame speech to the players, he used Stephanie as words of inspiration: "They say the toughest team wins this game. If we're half as tough as Stefanie, we have a chance," Tressel said. After the game, it's clear the Buckeyes honored Stephanie and the grieving OSU family.
7. Despite the realistic possibility, I'd love to play the higher ranked Cincinnati Bearcats in a Bowl Game to decide the CFB Crown of Ohio. Tressel's defense would do evil things to Cincinnati.
8. I'm starting to see shimmers of hope in Terrelle Pryor as he closed out his Sophomore year. In the last 4 games of the season, when the stakes were the highest, TP threw only 1 interception. That alone is progress. As long as he plays smart, he will fit right into this system just fine. Our offense revolves around the running game and defense. That is no revelation by any means. If we get anything extra out of TP and his legs, it's a bonus. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops in his Junior year.
9. I don't really have a preference in the Rose Bowl. Best of luck to Oregon and Oregon State.
10. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! And go Buckeyes!
Have you ever been to the Horseshoe? Even for an out of conference game? I was at a OSU vs. Marshall game back in 2004 and the crowd, all 107k+ of us were screaming, singing and electric in every sense for the ENTIRE game. Best professional sports experience I've ever had and I go to A LOT of live sporting events. I could only imagine what it would be like for an OSU vs. Michigan game. Probably OSU vs. Marshall x infinity!
I did not say the Horseshoe isn't electric. It's probably just as electic for the Spring game.
My point is that just because two hated rivals play each other twice a year (in football), or 19 times a year (in baseball), you should not assume those games do not have the same electricity, over and over again.
And, of course, I get back to professional rivalries taking their bitterness into playoff battles, which multiplies everything by 100...and very rarely happens in the NCAA.
Sandra
Well, that is where you and I disagree. Have you ever heard of the "new car smell"? It's an analogy to how things are in the beginning and how they wear off after a while. I keep using the Christmas analogy, but here's another...
Think about a first date with a new and exciting person. Then, think of date #19. Not as exciting, eh? Something just isn't magical as a one time, go for broke shot as experiencing the same thing over and over and over and over again repeatedly.
We will have to disagree here as the new car analogy does not apply to sports. That's like saying game seven of a playoff series is not as important as game one, because it's the seventh time it's happening.
The proof is that there is just as much intensity in game #19 of a Yankee/Red Sox regular season series than in all of the other games. Sometimes more, depending on what happened in the first 18 games, like Pedro Martinez tossing Don Zimmer to the ground...
Don't even get me started on hockey rivalries!
Sandra
We will have to disagree here as the new car analogy does not apply to sports. That's like saying game seven of a playoff series is not as important as game one, because it's the seventh time it's happening.
The proof is that there is just as much intensity in game #19 of a Yankee Red Sox series than in all of the other games. Sometimes more, depending on what happened in the first 18 games, like Pedro tossing Don Zimmer to the ground...
Sandra
I was not talking about playoffs as that is irrelevant in this conversation. You're saying Game 19 of a regular season baseball game is as exciting as the only game of the year between Michigan and Ohio State, which I greatly disagree.
Yes. As an Cleveland and Ohio State fan it's not as exciting to you, but it is to Yankee/Red Sox fans. The fans in the stadium are just as intense all 19 games. Read above.
Sandra
No way. How could it be as intense if you know you're playing again the next day....
The playoffs are not irrelevant in this converstation, playoffs are the reason professional rivalries are more intense than college rivalries.
Sandra
I'd like to hear from a neutral source. Know any OSU alumn who are die-hard Buckeye AND Yankee fans? I'd venture to say 99.9% of them agree with me that Game NINETEEN is less exciting than the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Back in 1996 UF played FSU (their biggest "rival") and UF Lost.. Well UF went on to the title game bowl to face, who else? FSU. Winner and National Champions were of course UF.
That is one reason you cited and I will give you half credit for that. The other reason, the one where you said Yankee/Red Sox regular season games (all 19 of them) each have the same amount of intensity as the annual OSU/Michigan game. For that argument, I will give you an "F" for failure on this debate.
