Ohio State Buckeyes Vs. Michigan Wolverines: Preview,History, Fun Facts - Yahoo Voices

At the beginning of each season both Ohio State and Michigan already know when they'll be playingeach other. Ever since 1935 the teams have finished the season as opponents which made the BigTen schedulers back then look like geniuses. To this day its arguably the greatest rivalry in collegefootball, one that never disappoints and this year will be no different.

A week ago it looked as though Michigan was going tostand in the way of the Bucks returning to the nationaltitle game for the second straight time and both teamswould be undefeated in the conference heading into thismatch up. Unfortunately both teams lost which hasn'toccurred since 1959 and although many viewing fansoutside the Big Ten will not be as interested, a Rose Bowlbirth is still at stake. The Wolverines are very familiar withPasadena playing three out of the last for in California andadding this year would be quite the feat after losing their

first two games of the year. More notably against Appalachian State which is considered one of thegreatest upsets in NCAA football history.

Ohio State on the other hand could end up in a tailspin if they lose to Michigan. Not only will theyhave missed out on the BCS title game and the Rose Bowl, a loss to the Wolverines would put Illinoisin the #2 slot in the Big Ten and a Capital One bowl birth against possibly Florida which would mostlikely ship Ohio State to play in the Outback Bowl against the Auburn Tigers. However the Buckshave won three consecutive against Michigan and with a fourth Saturday it will be only the thirdtime in the history books the Buckeyes have won four in a row against Michigan alongside the 1934-37 and 1960-63 teams.

There is a lot left to chance this year with Michigan coach Lloyd Carr most likely stepping down atseason's end, Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne continues to have issues with a separatedshoulder, running back Mike Hart sat out last week's game with an ankle sprain and has missedalmost four games this year. Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman comes off a game where hethrew three interceptions, and probably one of the biggest surprises was how Illinois ran all overOSU's defense. So your guess is as good as mine. With the uncertainty of Hart the key to this gamemay be Ohio State's defense and their ability to stop Michigan back-up running back MarioManningham. Sorry Wolverine fans, I'll take the Buckeyes 28-14.

Did You Know? The 1950 game between these two squads was called the "Snow Bowl"? Buckeyecoach Wes Fesler refused to cancel the game even though it would have guaranteed his team a RoseBowl birth, and allowed his team to play in one of the worst blizzards in Ohio history. Forty-fivepunts later, two blocked punts one for a touchdown and the other for a safety the MichiganWolverines won 9-3. Fesler resigned and the "World of Woody" Hayes began.