Big Game at Big House: Buckeyes ready for rival

Ninth-ranked Ohio State has won five straight games.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- After weeks of parroting the words of their coach -- one game at a time, getting better week by week -- Ohio State's players were finally able to let go.
Michigan week had officially arrived.
Moments after leaving the field with a 48-7 victory over Northwestern Saturday, the Buckeyes were relieved that there was no longer anything or anyone in the way of them talking about their biggest game of the year against their chief rival.
"As soon as the clock struck zero and the game was over, your mind goes straight to Michigan," center Nick Mangold said. "It's always in the back of your mind through the season. Now it's at the front of your mind."
The Buckeyes play the Wolverines at The Big House on Saturday. The stakes, which always seem to be high, include conference championships, BCS rankings, quality bowl games and bragging rights.
"You never stop thinking about Michigan," tailback Antonio Pittman said after gaining 132 yards on 18 carries and scoring a touchdown. "This is what makes or breaks your season."
On the line
Ninth-ranked Ohio State (8-2, 6-1) must win to grab at least a share of the Big Ten title and remain among the top few teams in the nation when the dream bowls start putting together matchups.
No. 17 Michigan (7-3, 5-2) can still sneak in and grab a piece of the championship, should it win and Penn State (9-1, 6-1) lose at Michigan State. After a 3-3 start, a title may seem almost an afterthought to many Wolverines fans.
"There is always a lot riding on [the Ohio State] game, and that makes it exciting," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said after the Wolverines' 41-14 rout of Indiana Saturday.
Both teams come in playing their best football of the season. Michigan has won four in a row, which began with a 27-25 victory that ruined Penn State's perfect season.
"Michigan is a talented club that is really clicking at this point of the season," said Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter. "It will be like always -- a great Ohio State-Michigan game."
Ohio State has not only won five in a row, it's won them decisively. The Buckeyes have scored at least 35 points in five consecutive games for the first time since Woody Hayes was prowling the Ohio State sidelines in 1974.
Good defense
Still, it is their rock-hard defense which drives the Buckeyes.
Brett Basanez came in averaging 316 yards passing a game -- fifth-best in the nation -- for Northwestern (6-4, 4-3), but was limited to just 121 yards passing while completing 15-of-31 passes with one interception.
All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk turned a close game into a romp when lineman Quinn Pitcock blocked a punt and Hawk scooped it up and completed an 8-yard touchdown return.
"As a defensive guy, you don't get to score touchdowns very often," said Hawk, a senior playing his last game at Ohio Stadium. "It's a great way to go out. It gives us great momentum going into next week."
Quarterback Troy Smith played by far the best game of his career in the unranked Buckeyes' 37-21 upset of seventh-ranked Michigan a year ago. He ran for 145 yards on 18 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run, and completed 13-of-23 passes for 241 yards and two more scores.