A Pistachio National Championship?

A version of this article was orignally published in the Cardinal Courier November 15, Volume 6 - Issue 5

If you look at the College Football schedule it will say that the National Champion will be crowned on Jan. 8 in Glendale, AZ. But, that’s wrong. The National Championship game will be decided on Nov. 18, and the winner of this game better make room in their trophy case because they’ll be adding some hardware.
I’m talking about the Big Ten battle royal between Michigan and Ohio State. This match-up will be bigger and better than the Bowl Championship Game. And I think the winner of this game will be able to survive the seven-week layoff between games and claim the coveted Sears trophy (you know, the cool looking crystal football that’s named after a department store).
Sure, schools like Louisville, Auburn, Florida and a number of others with only one loss have a shot to knock off the winner of the Michigan/Ohio State, but they won’t. And the Championship Game won’t even come close to matching the intensity that these Big Ten foes bring to the table.
For those of you who don’t follow Division I ball, the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry is the equivalent of Fisher vs. Ithaca, with the tradition of a Yankees and Red Sox match-up. Basically, going from Michigan vs. Ohio State to a BCS Game featuring Louisville, is like serving Buttermilk Chicken Ranch sandwiches for lunch and then only having Pistachio ice cream for dessert. No one likes that.
So we know that this will be the best college football game since the Texas/USC title game in January. But who’s going to come out and top – the upstart Wolverines or the favored juggernaut, Ohio State?
Ohio State has been ranked number one all year long and will have the home-field advantage, but Michigan has had a history of dashing the Buckeyes title hopes via an upset. If coach Lloyd Carr and the Wolverines want to pull off the upset then they’ll have to play better than the have in recent years against Ohio State. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel holds a 4-1 record against his rival from Ann Arbor.
Both teams have plenty of talent and even some Heisman hopefuls. Michigan’s workhorse tailback Mike Hart will look to take some pressure off efficient quarterback Chad Henne and run wild through the Buckeyes defense. A defense that has been dominant despite losing A.J. Hawk, Donte Whitner, Bobby Carpenter and Ashton Youboty to the NFL.
Ohio State is lead by Quarterback and Heisman favorite Troy Smith and the electrifying Ted Ginn Jr. These Buckeyes haven’t run into much trouble this year, but they will have their hands full with Michigan. This will be a bigger test than their early September bout against freshman Colt McCoy and the defending champs Texas.
In the end, I would love to say that the Wolverines are going to win, but I don’t see it happening (especially since their vexing close-call versus Ball State). Ohio State will feed off the energy from their fans and topple the maze and blue, 27-17.
So get excited Buckeye fans, you won’t have to worry about that last game in January because they will have already wrapped up the Sears trophy. And Michigan fans, well, at least you don’t have to eat pistachio ice cream for dessert.

(If you go to St. John Fisher College you will get the pistachio analogy...I hope)