Buckeyes-Michigan: nothing else matters

Ohio State needs to win to get a share of the Big Ten title.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- So huge is No. 9 Ohio State's game Saturday at 17th-ranked Michigan that Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel says he doesn't have to do much to inspire his players.
"This is one of those games that I don't know that you have to worry about getting anyone's attention," Tressel said Monday.
But Tressel the Micromanager couldn't help himself. He still papered the walls of the locker room with motivational signs, just in case his players forgot who they're playing.
"We walked in yesterday and there are signs up all over in the locker room about the rivalry game and what it means and the tradition about it," defensive end Mike Kudla said.
"It puts it front and center. You can't look past this one."
Born and raised in Ohio
Born and raised in Ohio in a family whose patriarch, Lee Tressel, was a well-known football coach at Baldwin-Wallace, Tressel was steeped in the traditions of the Ohio State-Michigan game at an early age. He has spent most of his adult life in Ohio, including a stint as an Ohio State assistant under Earle Bruce, before taking over as head coach of the Buckeyes five years ago.
Many players from the two schools go on to NFL careers, but Tressel has seen what the red-letter events are of their collegiate days.
"When guys come back for reunions, they talk about the guy that made the big play in the Ohio State-Michigan game," Tressel said.
"That's just the legacy that's left and I'm sure the same thing goes up there when people come back and talk about the great pride they have in their program."
Five game win streak
Ohio State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) has won five in a row since falling to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten with a 17-10 loss at Penn State on Oct. 8. Michigan (7-3, 5-2) was a .500 team before winning its last four games, including handing the Nittany Lions their only loss, 27-25, on Oct. 15.
The Buckeyes can do no worse than a share of the Big Ten title if they win. Should Michigan win and Penn State lose at Michigan State, the Wolverines would grab a piece of a three-way tie for the title with Ohio State and Penn State.
Tressel said there's no chance the Buckeyes -- who have won their last five games by an average score of 42-15 -- are thinking about championship rings, bowl bids and warm climates instead of their chief rivals.
The one that counts
"Really, those first 10 [games] don't mean much and they know that," Tressel said. "It's what you do up there on Saturday that makes the difference."
Yet Ohio State offensive guard Rob Sims said recently that the Buckeyes actually overlooked Michigan the last time the game was played in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"I know in 2003 we started thinking, man, if we just win out we can get back into the national championship and we kind of overlooked the biggest game of the year, which was the Michigan game," Sims said. The Buckeyes, who lost that game 35-21, had won the national title a year earlier.
Asked how it was possible to overlook Michigan, he said, "Michigan was having a down year and we were like we were going in to take care of business and get into another national championship."
On Monday, Ohio State's players laughed at the thought that they could ever look past Michigan.
"This is it. What else do you have left?" Kudla asked. "It's a month before your next game in the bowl and ... our season rides on this. We need to get a share of that Big Ten title or that's it. It kind of means everything for us."
Legacy is this game
Tressel said most Ohio State players are remembered for what they do against Michigan.
"Coach Bruce reminds us often ... that your legacy is the Ohio State-Michigan game," he said. "That's our culture. That's why it's exciting to play in it, because it's important."