And so here we are, at the foot of the Mountains of Madness.
Every season leads up to this one ridiculous, fantastic Game, a thundering psychic force composed of three hundred and sixty five days of angst and loathing and hate and rage and hate and hate and hate that for Ohio State fans, at least, has almost always ended in a 51 week sigh of relief for nearly an entire generation now.
But I've seen the other side. Its dark rituals that scream into the deepest parts of the Michigan blogosphere, its writhing tentacles searching frantically, blindly for a victory against an eternal foe, its tortured cultists filing into a literal pit every Saturday, staring into the abyss for hours, hoping for meat and milk to feed their grotesque idol...
The door must remain shut. Har'Baugh's hunger cannot be sated, for when he is full he shall rampage across this fair mid west, bringing blood and woe to all. Urban Meyer still holds the key. The door must remain shut. THE DOOR MUST REMAIN SHUT.
THREAT LEVEL
Oh, also! Michigan beat Indiana last weekend, 31-20. It was an unimpressive win in part because the Wolverines struggled in the red zone (they ended up settling for six field goals) and in part because the vaunted Michigan defense looked almost Buckeye-esque at times.
The Hoosiers led Michigan 17-15 at halftime, and by the end of the game they had racked up more yards than any other team the Wolverines have played all season. Indiana got within a single score of tying the game up with about six minutes left to play, but Michigan kicked yet another field goal and put the game out of reach.
Shea Patterson was good (especially when throwing deep or making plays with his legs), but inconsistent. You could say much the same for running back Karan Higdon, but that's kind of his deal, so whatever. The inability of their offense to finish drives should give Ohio State fans some hope, even though Michigan did manage to hit the 500 yard mark against an Indiana defense that no joke is only 15 spots lower than the Buckeyes nationally in terms of total defense.
The big story on defense for Michigan is the status of the injured defensive lineman Chase Winovich, which as of this writing is still essentially up in the air. Harbaugh said that X-rays were negative, but A) for what, he didn't actually say, B) that still doesn't mean he can play on Saturday, and C) Harbaugh could also just be lying out of his ass.
Winovich sent out a positive-sounding but also incredibly vague message on the Instas, which, you know, means nothing. My gut says that he might give it a shot against the Buckeyes but ultimately won't be able to go for very long. It'd be a huge blow to a great defense, but it's also probably worth nothing that while Winovich might be the best defensive player in the Big Ten, the Wolverines aren't exactly hurting for depth.
So what to make of this weekend? To be completely honest, I'm actually pretty optimistic. There is enormous pressure on the Wolverines and Harbaugh to win both a critical rivalry game and a marquee matchup that they're currently favored in, and Harbaugh knows that if he wants to have any kind of legacy as a head coach at his alma mater, he can't falter now.
Ohio State is at home, has an incredible quarterback, great wide receivers, a running game that's getting on track, and a puncher's chance. Let's get crazy.
