With a win Saturday the Buckeyes would set the school record for consecutive wins over Michigan.
View full sizeA win over Michigan would give the Buckeye a share of its sixth straight Big Ten title tying the mark set by the Buckeyes during the 1972-1977 seasons. Columbus -- Ohio State is shooting for a six and a seven today.
The seven -- seven straight wins over Michigan, which would set the OSU record for the Buckeyes' longest winning streak in the rivalry -- would be dominating, but it could happen again. Get another coach with the right approach and hope the maize and blue hits a lull, and Ohio State could run off another streak between, say, 2024 and 2030.
But the six? If the Buckeyes get the six -- claiming at least a share of a sixth straight Big Ten title, tying the all-time conference record set by the Buckeyes of 1972-77 -- that'll never happen again. Because everything's changing after this season, and winning a Big Ten title won't be what it was.
"It would be special," fifth-year senior offensive lineman Andrew Miller said. "I've been part of the teams that have beaten Michigan as many times as they have and they won titles and I would stress all those things are really important to us. It wasn't, 'Oh, you're at Ohio State, you expect to be great.' You're human like anyone else, so you really enjoy those successes."
There hasn't been a national title in this six-year stretch, yet there's no doubt these players are making history and continuing a kind of conference control that won't be as easy once a Big Ten championship game debuts next season. In 14 years of a Big 12 title game, Oklahoma owns the best run with three straight titles. In 18 years of an SEC title game, Florida won four straight early, but the league hasn't seen even a repeat title game champion since Tennessee in 1997-98.
If the Buckeyes get to six, probably three will have been shared, with Penn State in 2005 and 2008 and this year with Wisconsin and/or Michigan State unless both are upset today. During the '72-77 run, five of the six OSU titles were shared -- all of them with Michigan. So just getting to the title game will be difficult -- the Buckeyes would have lost the title game tiebreaker to Penn State in both '05 and '08 and would lose it to Wisconsin this season. That's three title chances gone. And then you have an extra game to win against a good team. Another six-pack will be far more difficult.
Today, like so often in the past, the Ohio State-Michigan game may help create a Big Ten champion, then both teams get more than a month to recover and prepare for a bowl. Starting next season the game can only help set up a Big Ten championship. That could be better or worse, but certainly different.
"You play it like it's the last game in the world, so I don't know about an [end of an] era," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "Maybe some of those by-products will be added, but I don't know how you could lose anything from this game. I just can't conceive of that."
But how will you play like it's the end of the world when another game may be a week away?
"Well, I guess it's all from your perspective," Tressel said. "When you play and coach, if you get to play the next week, it's, hey, it's only a week until we get to play again."
At least the Ohio State-Michigan game will remain at the end of the regular season, which, you'll remember, was a flash point of debate early this season when the Big Ten divisions were created. The Buckeyes and Wolverines will be split, meaning they could meet in a title game, but the timing of the regular-season game was maintained.
"Now, you beat Michigan and you have to go lay it on the line on the field one more time the following week," former Buckeye linemen and current radio analyst Jim Lachey said. "That could change how you play that game. If you've got your star quarterback hurt, do you hold him out until the Michigan game? Now you could hold him out until that [championship] game. It won't be the end-all, be-all because there still will be another game after it. It could dampen it a little bit."
It will change what it means to be a Big Ten champion. So tying a bow on this era by tying the all-time record would be appropriate for what has been a historic time to be a Buckeye.
"I think you always want to be part of history," OSU senior receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said. "That's why they put the records up there and they keep track of the streaks and everything. But I think most of the time breaking those records is just a product of doing everything right when you're supposed to be doing it."
From Troy Smith to Todd Boeckman to Terrelle Pryor. From Santonio Holmes to Ted Ginn Jr. to Dane Sanzenbacher. From Antonio Pittman to Beanie Wells to Dan Herron. From A.J. Hawk to James Laurinaitis to Brian Rolle. From Ashton Youboty to Malcolm Jenkins to Chimdi Chekwa. From Nick Mangold to Jim Cordle to Mike Brewster.
"I think this is what you're used to, I think this is the caliber of player you're used to," Miller said. "You start every season, and it's a reminder, not to sound bold here, but not every team is as good as we are. So there's a realization and it happens every year. As the seasons progress, you know you're a special team and this is a special tradition and a special place."