For the second time in three years, tragedy has struck one of the programs on the eve of the Game and we’re reminded that there are many, many things that rate ahead of football on life’s priority list.

in 2006, Michigan fans grieved the loss of Bo Schembechler, who passed away the night before one of the greatest games in the long history of the series. Last night, the Ohio State family lost one of their own when Stefanie Spielman passed away after a courageous 12 year battle with breast cancer.

as is often the case, these events touched both sides. Buckeyes mourned the loss of Bo because he played for Woody at Miami, followed him to Ohio State and was responsible for jolting some life back into the Game after a decade of futility for the Wolverines. likewise, though Chris Spielman tormented the Wolverines on the field, most Michigan fans grew to respect and admire him due to his stellar play with the Lions in the NFL.

another thing that Chris and Bo shared is a deep respect for this game and all that it stands for. Even with Michigan on the ropes, likely sputtering towards a second-straight bowl season at home and the Buckeyes with a Rose Bowl berth already in hand, this is still the most important game of the season.

it sounds like a bundle of platitudes, but you really can throw out the records and expect one of the hardest hitting games of the year tomorrow in the 106th matchup between the two storied programs. Every year, you hear the same thing from players after taking part in their first edition of the Game: the speed and intensity is unlike anything they’ve seen before and from the first play, you quickly find out what it’s all about.

Opponent

it will be Senior Day in Ann Arbor and besides the curious concept of naming permanent captains during the final week of the season, the Wolverines will be honoring two of their best players before kickoff. We’ve already established defensive end Brandon Graham to be a beast, but another senior, punter Zoltan Mesko is also extremely good at what he does. the Twinsburg native is currently sixth nationally in punting with a sterling 44.7 average and if the 24 punts he contributed in the past two meetings are any indicator of what to expect, he will need to have a solid day.

While there are many things for the Wolverine faithful to complain about this season — most notably the current six game conference losing streak (mercifully broken up by the pounding administered to Baby Seal U) — one thing Rodriguez’s detractors and supporters can agree on is that there has been improvement on the offensive side of the ball. the Wolverines are leading the Big ten in scoring, averaging 31.3 points per game and their rushing attack is good enough for 2nd in the conference by way of 195.8 yards per game on the ground. by and large, even during the six game conference skid, the offense was doing it’s part.

the unit suffered a setback, however, when running back Brandon Minor — also known as the only Wolverine to score a touchdown on the Buckeyes in the past two years — was ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury. Michigan is one of a handful of schools to issue injury reports and they can’t be considered 100% truthiness, but we’re going to assume “out” means “out”. It’s a big loss for Blue (Minor ran with authority against Iowa, putting up 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground) and Carlos Brown (also banged up) and freshman Vincent Smith will look to pickup carries Minor’s absence.

After a good start, wunderkind quarterback Tate Forcier has slowed down a bit. he was an efficient 20/26 against the Badgers, but he has just three touchdowns against the same number of interceptions over his last six games. Little Man Tate takes a lot of sacks and his line, particularly senior center David Moosman will face some heat, especially after calling out the Buckeye defensive front earlier in the week.

Denard “Shoelace” Robinson will enter the game to spell Tate and provide a different look for the offense. Though he’s the team’s third-leading rusher with 320 yards on the ground, he’s not much of a threat throwing the ball, having attempted only 27 passes on the year. Still, he’s quick and shifty, and you can expect Rodriguez to maybe have something up his sleeve to get Robinson into the gameplan.

as a team that trends towards running the ball, Michigan has a stable of receivers that are decent, but not really a threat to break the game open. you have the usual suspects like Roy Roundtree, Greg Mathews, Martavious Odoms, Junior Hemingway and tight end Kevin Koger, but I’d be really surprised if one of them blew up Saturday.

Turning to defense, you find the unit that has most often let the team down and as a result, is receiving most of the incoming hate from the faithful. the hiring of Greg Robinson in the offseason to be defensive coordinator was interesting, given the relative lack of success he’s had at all but one or two stops in his career. Put quite simply, teams are able to run on and control the clock against Robinson’s unit. whether that’s an indictment of Robinson, much celebrated S&C coach Mike Barwis, or a combination of the two, I’m not sure, but there’s definitely a problem.

Sophomore end Mike Martin turned in a solid game opposite Graham last week, but the Buckeyes should be able to do some damage up the middle (DAVE!). Linebackers Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton have each been exposed repeatedly on the run and over the top in the passing game, and the third backer, senior Stevie Brown is pretty undersized for his position and could be fun to exploit.

like the linebackers, the Wolverine secondary has been a bit of a hot mess. Smallish walk-on Jordan Kovacs, a redshirt freshman is responsible for stopping home run plays up the middle. This should bring a smile to your face.

Buckeye Breakdown

being obsessive Buckeye fans, we all have a pretty good idea of Jim Tressel’s MO by now. Especially with this team, he’s going to want to come out and run the ball and establish field position in the hope of wearing down the Wolverine defense and maybe getting some easy short drive scores. it can be incredibly frustrating — when all most of us want is for him to drop the hammer on Michigan, you can be assured of a probable close score at the half. After all, a much superior team took a 14-7 lead into the half before exploding for 28 second half points last year.

the word is everyone is back to healthy for this weekend, which even if not true, we would be told, anyway. With injuries to Adams, Shugarts and others, the line has been a grunting set of musical chairs for most of the season, but they have stringed together a series of nicely played games over the course of the last month. They’re playing well to finish the season and should continue that progress tomorrow, but with the intensity of this game and Brandon Graham on the other side of the line, they will need to step up. an afternoon off could be trouble against a team playing a one game season.

If the line is on, both Boom and Zoom have proven in recent weeks that they are: capable of carrying heavy loads and breaking off long runs when they have a window. Tressel has been running the wildcat Buckwild, and always to the right with Herron over the past handful of weeks, so you can bet he’ll have something different in store when the team lines up in that look.

For Pryor, it needs to be more of the same that we’ve seen the last four weeks. he (and Tressel/Bollman) were hammered by some for not throwing downfield against the Hawkeyes, but it really takes a herculean effort to hate on a 14 of 17 afternoon. in his toughest stretch of conference play, he’s made smart decisions and, more importantly to Tressel, he’s taken care of the ball. he has just one turnover since Purdue Harbor and you’re starting to see some poise and decisiveness creep into his play. He’ll likely be up for the game, so it’s important to keep a cool head on his shoulders.

the defense will be in for a challenge taking on offense that likes to mix it up with runs to all corners of the field. on the flip side, this front will easily be the best the Wolverines will see this year and hate should propel Heyward, Larimore, Williams, Gibson and company upfield and into Forcier’s face. he certainly has moxie, but he’s also tiny and one solid early lick could put him into a tentative mindset for the rest of the afternoon.

it will be the last regular season and Michigan game for Spitler, Russell and Coleman. Coleman has been steady all season, but it’s been nice to see Spitler and Russell turn things on a bit lately. the Wolverines don’t exactly stretch the field through the air, so expect to see plenty of Hines and the secondary playing closer to the box. Also, look for Rolle to make up for the Chekwa interception he broke up last week against Iowa.

Prediction

Michigan is a very difficult team to figure out. the hot start. the sudden swoon. the fact that they lose a lot but are often in games with a chance at the end. the crazy stat that indicates they actually have a better record this season when losing the turnover battle than they do when winning it. really perplexing.

Though the Wolverines are 5-2 at home this season and parts of Tresselball can be thoroughly maddening, one thing you can count on out of him is he will have his team focused and ready for the Michigan game. he understands it. he typically saves some of his ballsiest stuff for this game and weather permitting, we will get to see some of that Saturday. not only will one more win push the streak to seven in a row, it will seal the school’s best mark against the Wolverines for a decade, passing the 7-3 mark the team compiled in the 1960s.

just hope the new uniforms aren’t a curse. Nah…

Ohio State 28, Michigan 13

Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please consider joining us and donating to Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

It’s not often these days that a Big ten team is ranked #1 in the nation. When it does happen, it’s usually Ohio State. But there was a time when Hayden Fry had the Iowa program on top of the rankings and his quarterback, Chuck Long, was at the top of the list of Heisman Trophy hopefuls. But on a rainy November evening in Columbus in 1985, Long and the Hawkeyes came down to earth in a big way thanks to a ferocious Ohio State defense.

Iowa had started the 1985 season ranked #5 and had ascended to the top ranking in week 3. the lofty status was mainly due to the decision by Long to come back to Iowa for a 5th year of eligibility (he had red-shirted as a freshman). Long had a tremendous season in 1984, capped off by an MVP performance in the Freedom Bowl in which he completed 29 of 39 passes for a bowl-record 461 yards and 6 TD’s as Iowa crushed the Texas Longhorns 55-17.

When Long declared that he would return for one more season, he became an instant Heisman front-runner for 1985. Joining him on the powerful Hawkeye offense was running back Ronnie Harmon, a versatile player who was as good a pass receiver as he was a runner. Anchoring the Iowa defense was standout linebacker Larry Station.

The Hawkeyes had worn the #1 ranking rather uneasily since they attained it, pulling out a come-from-behind victory in a home game against Michigan State and then looking shaky on offense in a 23-13 victory at Wisconsin. the #2 Michigan Wolverines rolled into Kinnick Stadium in game 6 and Iowa again looked shaky against the tough UM defense. But the defense kept Michigan from running away with the game and eventually Iowa mustered 4 field goals, one coming in the final seconds, to pull out another come-from-behind win. They were now 7-0 and still the top-ranked team, but they appeared to be vulnerable heading into the showdown with Ohio State.

The Buckeyes had entered fall practice in 1985 with their own Heisman front-runner, RB Keith Byars. Byars also had a tremendous season in 1984, but he broke his foot prior to the season and was never healthy the rest of the year. the doctors cleared him to play when OSU traveled to Minnesota, but after a few plays he re-injured the foot and was doubtful for the Iowa game. the Iowa coaches were uncertain as to whether Byars would play, but OSU coach Earle Bruce held him out and went with reserves John Wooldridge and Vince Workman at RB. in fact, Byars missed the rest of the regular season and returned only briefly in the bowl game before injuring the foot yet again.

With their top RB out of the game and with a forecast of hard rain that could start at any moment, Bruce decided to go with the passing game early and try to get out to a quick lead. the strategy seemed to work initially as QB Jim Karsatos hit WR’s Cris Carter and Mike Lanese repeatedly for first downs as the team moved down the field. But the lack of a strong runner showed in the red zone, and OSU was forced to settle for field goal attempts on their first two possessions. Old-fashioned straight-on kicker Rich Spangler made the first but missed the second and OSU led 3-0 midway through the 1st quarter.

There had been rain off and on during the day, but the conditions were mostly dry in the first quarter. But Long was already having trouble moving the ball through the air, mostly because the deep drops of OSU linebackers into coverage. the Buckeyes’ stalwart LB corps was led by veteran senior captain Pepper Johnson and the fiery sophomore Chris Spielman. former LB Larry Kolic had switched to nose-guard and Ohio State employed a 3-4 defense that often looked more like a 2-5 because Kolic often dropped into the short zone for coverage on passing plays. After OSU missed the FG that would have put them up 6-0, Iowa was starting to drive. But as Long dropped back to pass, he didn’t see Spielman drop deep into coverage. Long attempted a deep curl on the right side but Spielman stepped in front and picked it off.

Ohio State immediately attempted to capitalize on the turnover by going deep down the field, but Iowa was ready with a deep zone and they intercepted the Karsatos pass to get the ball right back. however, the exchange cost them quite a bit in field position, and after OSU forced a 3-and-out, Iowa had to punt from their own end zone. Bruce called for the all-out rush and safety Sonny Gordon streaked in and blocked the punt right out of the end zone on a fly. the safety put OSU up by the odd score of 5-0, but it turned momentum in the Buckeyes’ favor and excited the home crowd. After another Long interception (this one by William White), OSU RB John Wooldridge burst through a hole on the left side and ran 57 yards for a TD to put OSU up 12-0. OSU CB Greg Rogan then picked off another Long pass and the Buckeyes drove to another Spangler FG to go up 15-0. at that point, the rain began in earnest.

Bruce’s strategy of trying to get a quick lead before the rain came was looking brilliant at this point. Although Iowa scored before halftime to cut the lead to 15-7, OSU was clearly in control and the defense was stifling Iowa at nearly every turn. the 3rd quarter was scoreless, and it seemed that the rain was going to prevent any further fireworks. But in the 4th quarter, Iowa’s Jay Norvell intercepted a Karsatos pass and returned it all the way to the OSU 19. the play put the Hawkeyes in good shape to cut their deficit or possibly tie the game. But the Buckeye defense rose up and forced Iowa coach Hayden Fry to make a decision on 4th-and-1 at the 10. Never one to shy away from a gamble, Fry called for a dive play to get the first down. But as Ronnie Harmon leaped in the air he was met by Spielman and driven back 3 yards. OSU regained possession and the rain-soaked crowd went crazy. Harmon was shaken up and did not return to the game.

On the next Iowa possession, OSU safety Terry White forced a fumble and put the Buckeye offense in good position. this time they took advantage and Vince Workman scored to put OSU up 22-7. With only 11 minutes left in the game, Iowa began to rally back, scoring from 3 yards out to cut the lead to 22-13. Fry elected to go for 2, but back-up RB Kevin Harmon was stopped for a loss by Gordon and the OSU faithful could sense the upset was imminent. When Iowa’s normally-reliable kicker Rob Houghtlin missed a FG on their next possession, Ohio State was able to run some time off the clock, giving the ball back to Iowa with less than 2 minutes left. Long attempted to rally the troops again, but Spielman capped a terrific performance with his second interception and the crowd began to celebrate the victory.

Spielman finished with 19 tackles to go with his 2 interceptions, the first of several epic games he would have during his time at OSU. Karsatos passed for 151 yards in very difficult conditions, and fullback George Cooper rushed for 104 yards on 17 carries to lead the Buckeyes on the ground. But the stars were the defense, the weather, and the raucous OSU crowd. I was part of the crowd that day, and armed with an old poncho I stayed until then end. I don’t remember ever having as much fun at a football game as I did at that one. Iowa would eventually win the Big ten championship, and Long would finish 2nd in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Bo Jackson. Ohio State finished the season in mediocre fashion, losing at home to Wisconsin and on the road to that School up North. But they defeated BYU in the Citrus Bowl 10-7, thus setting the stage for a better season in 1986. But despite the losses, the 1985 team will always be special because of that one Saturday when they humbled the nation’s top-ranked team in a downpour.

Never mind the Red Wings. keep your eyes on the refs for the Lions-Browns game Sunday, too.

The NFL has admitted officials messed up Monday night and gave Cleveland four second-half time-outs against Baltimore.

“Well, I mean, it happened because we as a group — as a crew — failed to record …” head of officiating Mike Pereira stammered to Rich Eisen in an NFL.com video. “Everybody on the field basically forgot to record the penalty — I mean, the time-out — and the scoreboard did, too.”

So the Browns got one extra play, which didn’t help them in a 16-0 loss.

No, it hurt them, profootballtalk.com’s Mike Florio points out, because receiver Josh Cribbs hurt his neck on that bonus play, and his status Sunday is uncertain.

And that’s the way things go for 1-8 teams, isn’t it?

Quick hits

• Stefanie Spielman, wife of former Lions and Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman, died Thursday of breast cancer, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The 42-year-old mother of four had been a breast cancer activist since being diagnosed at age 30, when Spielman was with Buffalo.

• Lions linebacker Larry Foote and his wife, Jonelle, will host a Thanksgiving Dinner for the needy today at the Coalition of Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Detroit.

• John Green, told ESPN2 on Thursday — the fifth anniversary of the Malice at the Palace — that the other principal, Ron Artest, reached out to him: “He said that he was sorry, that … the whole thing embarrassed him as it did me. … We’re going to try to do something in inner-city Detroit or L.A., maybe after the season ends and he has more free time on his hands.”

Bottom line

• Do I have the correct understanding of the NHL’s explanation of the call on Brad May’s goal-that-should-have-counted? The ref did not actually blow the call but he intended to blow the call, and it’s NHL policy to let the blown call stand.

SAN DIEGO — Chargers center Nick Hardwick will not play against the Broncos on Sunday in the showdown between AFC West leaders at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Hardwick, out since having ankle surgery following the season opener, missed practice Thursday. The former Pro Bowler returned to practice four weeks ago but he hasn’t practiced since a setback last Wednesday.

Several players returned to practice, including tight end Antonio Gates and linebackers Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman.

Offensive tackle Jeromey Clary hasn’t practiced since leaving Sunday’s victory against Philadelphia because of an ankle injury. Coach Norv Turner said Clary might work out Saturday.

Shanahan not in Bills’ plans

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Firing coach Dick Jauron on Tuesday was merely the start of a major overhaul Bills owner Ralph Wilson is prepared to conduct this offseason in order to make his team a contender.

Wilson said he’s open to going after a high-profile coach, is willing to hire a general manager with a football background, and warned that no position on his team is safe.

“I tell you, we have a lot of work to do,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to revamp and take a look at the whole operation and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Wilson discounted reports the team is interested in interviewing former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

“I don’t know anything about him,” Wilson said, adding defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will finish the season as interim coach.

• The Bills signed quarterback Brian Brohm off the Packers’ practice squad.

Bush misses practice

METAIRIE, La. — Reggie Bush has missed two practices this week as the Saints try to rest their running back’s left knee.

It’s the same knee Bush had surgery on last December to repair cartilage.

Saints coach Sean Payton said Bush has had some swelling in the knee and is getting some rest. Payton would not say what Bush’s chances of playing are Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Stefanie Spielman dies at 42

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Stefanie Spielman, the wife of former NFL and Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman who led a public fight against breast cancer, died after a lengthy battle with the disease. She was 42.

“Stefanie has gone home to be with the Lord,” Chris Spielman said in a statement. “For that, we celebrate, but with broken hearts. I want to thank everyone for their support over the last 12 years. together, with your help, hopefully we made a difference in this fight.”

Stefanie Spielman was 30 years old and three months pregnant in 1998 when she detected a lump in her breast. She later miscarried and discovered she had cancer. She survived four bouts with cancer before a fifth recurrence in March.

The Spielmans raised more than $6 million for breast cancer research at Ohio State through the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

Footnotes.

Rams defensive end C.J. Ah you is lost for the remainder of the season because of a knee injury.

• after missing the first nine games of the season with a severe hamstring strain, Giants cornerback Aaron Ross is ready to make his 2009 debut Sunday against the Falcons.

The Associated Press

There never was any question that Vikings coach Brad Childress was going to get an extension on his contract, which had one more year remaining.

The big question was the amount of money and length of contract that Childress’ agent and the Wilfs, owners of the team, have been negotiating for a long time.

The deal will keep Childress with the team through the 2013 season, and though no salary figures were released, it’s a good bet that his salary was at least doubled from the $2 million a year for which he originally had signed.

The Wilfs and Childress have enjoyed a fantastic relationship from the day they hired him in 2006, and when you win like the Vikings have this year, things only get better.

Childress is a very good coach, and he has an outstanding staff — as good as any in the NFL — and his extension will make it easier to keep this great staff.

“He continues to make a positive impact not only for the team, but the entire community, and he is creating a strong foundation for future success,” co-owner Zygi Wilf said. “Yeah, he is a great person, and we enjoy working with him and we will continue to work with him to create a successful future for the team.”

Although Rick Spielman, the team’s vice president of player personnel, is in charge of the draft, Wilf added that Childress also has contributed to the success the team has had in drafting the right players.

Asked if Spielman and others were going to get extensions, Wilf answered: “One at a time.”

On a sad note, profootball talk.com reported Thursday that Stefanie Spielman passed away after a 10-year battle with breast cancer. She was the wife of former Detroit Lions star Chris Spielman and Rick’s sister-in law.

Schedule shift might help

This year, for only the third time in 10 seasons, the Gophers football team won’t have to play Wisconsin and Iowa in successive weeks.