I thought about it at work all last night. Nothing. I stayed up 3am watching Crimson Tide and thinking about it. Nothing I woke up this morning and thought about it all day. Nothing.
So I climbed in the car today knowing I had 45 minutes left to pick a winner. I stewed on it the whole way and just as I got to the Exit 49 ramp on the Long Island Expressway, I decided. I have my pick for tomorrow’s game.
I won’t make you wait til the end. I’m taking Ohio State, but Michigan to cover the 7 its getting.
I know Bo Schembechler passed away, I know Ohio State has never beaten Michigan on November 18 (but like every other friggin’ day), I know about Steve Breaston, Mike Hart, the No. 2 rushing defense, I know, I know, I know.
(This is hard, I just went to a meeting and almost switched my pick when I came back to finish writing this).
Here’s where it all happens for me…Ohio State’s passing attack versus Michigan’s pass defense.
- Troy Smith is a gamer. The man knows if he has any kind of positive game and Ohio State wins, he’s all but a shoe-in for the Heisman.
- Michigan has to allocate a lot of its resources on defense to stopping the run. And they’re damn good at it (statistically one of the best run defenses ever). Now, if that means someone like Jamar Adams has to creep down low into the box to help stop Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells, that leaves Ted Ginn Jr. to run like a madman and Anthony Gonzalez to create problems underneath forcing linebackers to cover him.
- Smith, if he needs to, can make things happen with his legs, which is just another element of the offense Michigan must keep in check.
- I picked Ohio State to win the national championship before the season started. I’m not turning on the Buckeyes now.
- I probably had a 5th point, but I’ve got a lot going on. Busy Friday.
13-10 OH-IO.
RIP Bo.
As for other big games this weekend: I'm taking USC over Cal (it's a shame that USC will likely be in the title game), Rutgers over Cincy, Boston College over Maryland and Virginia Tech over Wake Forest (I know I’ve picked against Tech two times in a row and the Hokies have won…am I submitting my alma mater to the death touch?)
Oh, and my boy Erik has reported from Columbus, as you have seen. Make him feel like part of the family, this dude knows his stuff.
Comments (2)
Your really overrating OSU's running game. This is the same Antonio Pittman that put up 48 yards against MSU and 80 yards against Northwestern. (Meanwhile Mike Hart put up 122 yards against MSU and 95 yards and a TD against Northwestern). Don't be suprised if they, like all other teams that have played Michigan this year, throw the ball somewhere between 35 and 40 times.
Nice job with the picks this week. I'd love for the Hokies to get another shot at GT right now, I think it would be a great game (though losing Ore obviously is a huge dagger). Still think we take care of our cheese-eating friends to the north this weekend.
Don't think anyone expected the shootout that was OSU-Mich, but it was a great game to watch. If ND beats USC, I'd say a OSU-Mich rematch is likely for the Nat'l Championship.