Sunday, September 1, 2019

Just because I can be a jerk sometimes

To all the Michigan fans out there, a memory:


That was after Ohio State was humiliated by future Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer in the previous season's championship game.  That followed the place game dubbed 'the game of the century' in which Ohio State and Michigan collided n one of the biggest rivalries in sports, the two being ranked the top two teams in the nation. 

Ohio State went into halftime with a resounding lead against Michigan and victory all but certain.  Quarterback Troy Smith had already been assured the Heisman if he took OSU to victory against Michigan.  All I can guess is that they spent the entire halftime celebrating instead of preparing.  By the last seconds of the game, it looked as if Michigan would win.  Only a last minute miracle play saved us, and then barely.  That set up the stage for Ohio State's devastating loss against Florida, and the beginning of the end of the Jim Tressel years.

When Michigan lost, however, it set the stage for one of the weirdest college football seasons ever.  The flawed BCS system left obscure teams with a loss poised for the championship while top teams wavered and under a system that MIT grads couldn't have figured out. It also led to Ohio State going to its second devastating championship loss against LSU that year.  By then it was mental.  As soon as Ohio State gave up its first touchdown to LSU, fans looked like they had lost.  The team did, too. 

But it all went crazy when the news broke that, against all odds, Michigan, favored to win the championship and with a team made up of NFL picks who came back to beat OSU, lost to Appalachian State.  After that, it was one nutty football season.

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