Sunday, November 28, 2010
By Ken Gordon
Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS
As the clock wound down Saturday, the chorus rose in the clear, chilly air above Ohio Stadium.
“Na, na, na, na,
“Na, na, na, na,
“Hey, hey, hey goodbye,” chanted the fans, the majority of whom had stuck around to the bitter-cold end, just so they could enjoy this moment.
No matter how many wins in a row Ohio State has notched over Michigan, to the partisans, it never gets old.
And so after a 37-7 win, they chanted their farewells to Michigan, for the seventh straight year; maybe to coach Rich Rodriguez, whose teams have been outscored 100-24 in three games against OSU; and to the Buckeyes’ seniors, who capped their last home game with a win that clinched a share of a record-tying sixth straight Big Ten championship.
That’s a lot to crow about, and to the fans and participants alike, it does not matter how undone the Michigan program appears.
“We’ve probably got half the senior class that will have five Big Ten rings and five pairs of gold pants [for Michigan wins], and that’s a big deal,” said coach Jim Tressel, who is 9-1 in the series. ‘We enjoy the journey. It’s the thrill of the challenge. It’s hard to do.”
Actually, lately, beating Michigan is not that hard to do.
The Wolverines (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) put up a fight for a quarter or so, then act like Halloween hosts who get tired of passing out candy and just leave the bowl on the porch.
The Big Ten titles are more significant. Wisconsin’s win over Northwestern should send the Badgers to the Rose Bowl, but Ohio State (11-1 overall) and Michigan State joined Wisconsin as co-champions at 7-1. After this season, a Big Ten title game will end the era of co-champions.
“That’s something I’ll definitely appreciate,” senior safety Jermale Hines said. “It’s not done often in any conference — high school, college, Little League,” Hines said. “I don’t care what you say, it’s hard to accomplish.”
Ohio State almost certainly is headed to a Bowl Championship Series game, most likely the Sugar Bowl against a Southeastern Conference team.
“I believe we’re a top-10 team and probably going to get to play a top-10 team,” Tressel said.
As advertised, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was a one-man show, becoming the second player this season to rush for more than 100 yards against Ohio State (105 on 18 carries).
“He’s electric,” said his counterpart, Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State.
Without a reliable field-goal kicker (Michigan is 4 of 13 this season) or their starting punter (suspended for a violation of team rules), the Wolverines had to keep going for it on fourth down (they converted one of their five chances). That helped limit them to just seven points at halftime, despite piling up 258 yards.
By then, the Buckeyes led 24-7, thanks to two Pryor touchdown passes and a Jordan Hall 85-yard kickoff return. It came after Michigan scored its lone touchdown to cut its deficit to 10-7.
In the second half, Robinson sat for long stretches because of a dislocated finger, and Michigan was declawed, gaining just 93 yards.