Ohio State vs Michigan: Predictions?

[SandraC]

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.

Something tells me I'm one of the few diehard fans of each team...I AM a neutral source! Anyone who chimes in saying a Yankee/Red Sox game doesn't matter because they play a lot of times is obviously not a Yankee or Red Sox fan.

You can find a ton of people here who tell you the Ohio State/Michigan game doesn't matter to them, but it does to Ohio State and Michigan fans!


Sandra

 

[SandraC]

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.

You get an F too then, for assuming things. Yes, each and every Yankee/Red Sox game has the intensity. That's what makes it so special.


Sandra

 

[HD MM]

Something tells me I'm one of the few diehard fans of each team...I AM a neutral source! Anyone who chimes in saying a Yankee/Red Sox game doesn't matter because they play a lot of times is obviously not a Yankee or Red Sox fan.

You can find a ton of people here who tell you the Ohio State/Michigan game doesn't matter to them, but it does to Ohio State and Michigan fans!


Sandra

Nope, you don't count. You are biased towards the Yankees as you live closer. If you were in Ohio, I'd venture to say you would lean towards my opinion. That's why I am trying to find a Buckeye alumn. Someone with real ties.

 

[SandraC]

Nope, you don't count. You are biased towards the Yankees as you live closer. If you were in Ohio, I'd venture to say you would lean towards my opinion. That's why I am trying to find a Buckeye alumn. Someone with real ties.

Good luck finding that.

I do have real ties, my older brother went to Ohio State. I was in the horseshoe for his graduation when I was nine years old. Sat on the 40 yard line or thereabouts in a lower row of the upper deck.

He then went on to Princeton for his masters and doctorate, but you know what? I don't root for Princeton anywhere near how hard I root for Ohio State. Heck, I don't even root for my own school in basketball as hard as I root for Ohio State in football.

I was brought up to bleed Buckeye scarlett and gray. The dogs go into hiding when I'm watching the Buckeyes because I'm yelling so much. Sometimes my boyfriend does too...

Don't tell me I don't have ties...

Are you an alum?


Sandra

 

[HD MM]

You get an F too then, for assuming things. Yes, each and every Yankee/Red Sox game has the intensity. That's what makes it so special.


Sandra

But does it have MORE intensity, desperation, hope, passion and electricity as ONE SINGLE RIVALRY GAME OF THE YEAR? Again, I say no.

I highly doubt a Wednesday baseball game on a random May evening would generate the same type of electricity that permeates from a stadium packed to it's brim like sardines (read 107k+) on this one day of the year.

But then again, some of us have experienced college games first hand at both the Big House and The Horseshoe and I can tell you one thing... it doesn't even come close to comparing to a baseball game. Even a rivalry baseball game. While I've never been to a Yankee/Sox game, I have been to multiple Indians playoff games, the most recent one being the 2007 ALCS. It was loud. It was passionate. It was crazy. Let's just say for the sake of the argument that the 2007 ALCS was a "similar" atmosphere to a regular season Yankee/Red Sox meeting. I can guarantee you that it didn't hold a feather to the atmosphere at a college stadium of over 100k. There simply is NO replicating that period.

 

[anders5189]

I gotta agree with HD about the passion of a college rivalry. I appreciate what a good playoff series in the pros is all about, but how often have the Yankees and Red Sox met in the playoffs? With a college rivalry losing is going to sting for a while. In the pros if you lose you get to come back the next day and redeem yourself. I know that a regular season game between the Yankees and Red Sox is more interesting than playing the Royals, but it's not life or death. In college beating your rival is sometimes the only thing you are judged on, see Cooper, John.

 

[Derwin0]

The playoffs are not irrelevant in this converstation, playoffs are the reason professional rivalries are more intense than college rivalries.

The original statement was that the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry was the greatest of ALL sports.

Therefore playoffs or pro vs college is relevant.

Within the mid-west, or at least in Ohio and Michigan, yeah it's probably the greatest. But when you leave the mid-west, people could not care less.
Nationally, I'd have to say Army-Navy tops it easily.

In the Southeast, people are probably "Ohio St.? who? Especially with the shear number of storied rivalries down there." On the west coast people turn to UCLA-USC.

 

[SandraC]

But does it have MORE intensity, desperation, hope, passion and electricity as ONE SINGLE RIVALRY GAME OF THE YEAR? Again, I say no.

I highly doubt a Wednesday baseball game on a random May evening would generate the same type of electricity that permeates from a stadium packed to it's brim like sardines (read 107k+) on this one day of the year.

But then again, some of us have experienced college games first hand at both the Big House and The Horseshoe and I can tell you one thing... it doesn't even come close to comparing to a baseball game. Even a rivalry baseball game. While I've never been to a Yankee/Sox game, I have been to multiple Indians playoff games, the most recent one being the 2007 ALCS. It was loud. It was passionate. It was crazy. Let's just say for the sake of the argument that the 2007 ALCS was a "similar" atmosphere to a regular season Yankee/Red Sox meeting. I can guarantee you that it didn't hold a feather to the atmosphere at a college stadium of over 100k. There simply is NO replicating that period.

You will never convince me an Indian game, which you are basing your baseball comparison on, even remotely compares to Yankee/Red Sox.

Explaining Yankees/Red Sox to someone in Ohio is like you trying to explain to someone in Florida why Ohio State/Michigan is so important to you, even when it is irrelevant on the national, or even the Rose Bowl scale.

They'll just have to take your word for it.


Sandra

 

[SandraC]

I gotta agree with HD about the passion of a college rivalry. I appreciate what a good playoff series in the pros is all about, but how often have the Yankees and Red Sox met in the playoffs? With a college rivalry losing is going to sting for a while. In the pros if you lose you get to come back the next day and redeem yourself. I know that a regular season game between the Yankees and Red Sox is more interesting than playing the Royals, but it's not life or death. In college beating your rival is sometimes the only thing you are judged on, see Cooper, John.

Has Carolina ever played Duke in the NCAA tournament? I really don't know the answer. I don't remember it, but I don't know for sure.


Sandra

 

[Derwin0]

Has Carolina ever played Duke in the NCAA tournament? I really don't know the answer. I don't remember it, but I don't know

I don't think they have, but they've had some intense games in the ACC Tourney.

 

[Derwin0]

Explaining Yankees/Red Sox to someone in Ohio is like you trying to explain to someone in Florida why Ohio State/Michigan is so important to you, even when it is irrelevant on the national, or even the Rose Bowl scale.

I agree, the only thing people in Florida know about those teams, is that Michigan can beat them, but Ohio St. can't.

 

[anders5189]

Has Carolina ever played Duke in the NCAA tournament? I really don't know the answer. I don't remember it, but I don't know for sure.


Sandra

Nope. It's never happened, and like nuclear war it's probably better if it doesn't. The consequences for losing would be that bad.

 

[HD MM]

Psssst.... ESPN thinks OSU/Michigan is the greatest rivalry. I can't be that far off my rocker when I made such a proclamation a few pages back. Hell, even the oft biased station from Bristol thinks the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry doesn't even compare. They ranked that one at #7! And to the guy who made a case for the Bears/Packers, that one didn't even make the list! That one died out with Halas, Lombardi and Butkus.

ESPN.com - ENDOFCENTURY - ESPN.com's 10 greatest rivalries

 

[HD MM]

Within the mid-west, or at least in Ohio and Michigan, yeah it's probably the greatest. But when you leave the mid-west, people could not care less.
Nationally, I'd have to say Army-Navy tops it easily.

Yeah, in the 1940's and 1950's maybe.

 

[anders5189]

Psssst.... ESPN thinks OSU/Michigan is the greatest rivalry. I can't be that far off my rocker when I made such a proclamation a few pages back. Hell, even the oft biased station from Bristol thinks the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry doesn't even compare. They ranked that one at #7! And to the guy who made a case for the Bears/Packers, that one didn't even make the list! That one died out with Halas, Lombardi and Butkus.

ESPN.com - ENDOFCENTURY - ESPN.com's 10 greatest rivalries

But the games themselves suck. Florida St-Miami in its heydey was what a good rivalry should be about. How many Ohio St-Michigan games aren't effectively over at halftime? With Carolina-dook you know it's going to come down to the last minute and 40 minutes is oftentimes not going to be enough.

 

[Derwin0]

Yeah, in the 1940's and 1950's maybe.

It's still a great rivalry.

If we are talking about powerhouses, then I'd have to say different teams than Ohio St. and Michigan.

Alabama still leads Michigan in National Championships.
And the Notre Dame - USC rivalry accounts for far more than Ohio St - Michigan.

So what makes a great rivalry? Number of Championships? Number of games played? History? Only the last couple years?

I'm sorry, but outside of the midwest, Michigan-Ohio St. just isn't on anyones radar screen.

 

[Derwin0]

Psssst.... ESPN thinks OSU/Michigan is the greatest rivalry. I can't be that far off my rocker when I made such a proclamation a few pages back. Hell, even the oft biased station from Bristol thinks the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry doesn't even compare. They ranked that one at #7! And to the guy who made a case for the Bears/Packers, that one didn't even make the list! That one died out with Halas, Lombardi and Butkus.

ESPN.com - ENDOFCENTURY - ESPN.com's 10 greatest rivalries

How old is that article?

You're dismissing Army-Navy because the teams arn't any good. Guess what, neither is Michigan.

For your 1 opinion collum, I can give you several more, all with different teams as the top rivalry.
http://cfn.scout.com/2/591649.html
http://www.americasbestonline.com/crival.htm
http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/best-college-football-rivalries.asp
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/217508-top-10-biggest-college-football-rivalries
http://durfish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/10920240/14480301
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26676228

 

[anders5189]

Army-Navy is pretty overrated IMO. How many people really watch that game? We all have respect for the athletes and the pregame stuff is cool, but I never watch the game itself. It's like watching two HS teams run the option on each other. They may as well have leather helmets if that's what they're going to do.

 

[HD MM]

But the games themselves suck. Florida St-Miami in its heydey was what a good rivalry should be about. How many Ohio St-Michigan games aren't effectively over at halftime? With Carolina-dook you know it's going to come down to the last minute and 40 minutes is oftentimes not going to be enough.

You guys must have an awful memory. Yeah Michigan is down this year and last, but these games are usually highly contested. It wasn't that long ago the game in 2006 was dubbed "The Game of the Century"....

It pitted #1 OSU vs. #2 Michigan. The outcome of the game would not only decide the Big 10, but also who went onto the MNC. That game was the largest watched college football game since 1993, averaging 21.8 million viewers.

Furthermore, and to add to the lore, ex-Michigan coach, Bo Schembechler died the night before the game. Bo was honored with a video tribute on the jumbo-tron before the game at Ohio Stadium. The silence and respect was deafening. The game ended in a 42-39 OSU win. Half an hour after the game ended, the Ohio Lottery PICK 4 evening drawing was 4-2-3-9, matching the final score of the game and paying out up a total payout of $2.2 million.

 

[Derwin0]

You guys must have an awful memory. Yeah Michigan is down this year and last, but these games are usually highly contested. It wasn't that long ago the game in 2006 was dubbed "The Game of the Century"....

It pitted #1 OSU vs. #2 Michigan. The outcome of the game would not only decide the Big 10, but also who went onto the MNC. That game was the largest watched college football game since 1993, averaging 21.8 million viewers.

And both teams got crushed in their bowl games.
But if we're talking #1 vs #2 to determine who goes to the MNC. Alabama-Florida has that 2 years running.

I don't have selective memory, and I do acknowledge that it's a great rivalry, but there are others that are just as good, and more important in their areas of the country.

Just as you don't care about Auburn-Alabama, neither do people in the Southeast care about Michigan-Ohio St.

And for tv viewers, expect the number to drop when the game is put head to head against all the other rivalries.