Posted on 11/23/2002 7:22:36 AM PST by hole_n_one
Edited on 04/29/2004 2:01:42 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
| Saturday, November 23 No. 9 Michigan (9-2) at No. 2 Ohio St (12-0) |
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ohio State has been down this road before. The second-ranked Buckeyes are undefeated and entering their final regular season game against Michigan with visions of a national championship, just as they were in 1993, 1995 and 1996. Ohio State lost each time, setbacks that went a long way toward costing coach John Cooper his job. Now the task falls to Jim Tressel, who arrived in Columbus knowing that one of his goals was to defeat Michigan. Tressel delivered on his promise when the Buckeyes won in Ann Arbor, 26-20, last season. But the stakes are much higher Saturday before a crowd of over 105,000 at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes can lock up a berth in the Fiesta Bowl and will play for their first national title since 1968 if they can get by the ninth-ranked Wolverines. "It's game No. 13 coming up and it's the greatest rivalry in college football," Tressel said. The most recent heartbreak came in 1996, when the Buckeyes again were second in the nation and could have taken over the top spot in the poll with a win over a Michigan team that already had lost three times. But Michigan left with a win when star cornerback Shawn Springs slipped on a touchdown pass to Tai Streets. Michigan (9-2, 6-1) again comes to Columbus with multiple losses, but the Wolverines have won their last three games and would like nothing better than to spoil things for the Buckeyes. Chris Perry rushed for a career-high 175 yards and a touchdown as Michigan defeated Wisconsin, 21-14, victory last week. Perry, a junior, needs 51 yards to reach his first 1,000-yard season. Saturday will mark a chance for redemption for Michigan quarterback John Navarre, who threw four interceptions and lost a fumble in last year's loss to the Buckeyes. Ohio State (12-0), 7-0) has stayed in the national title chase with close wins over Purdue and Illinois the last two weeks. Star tailback Maurice Clarett continues to be bothered by a shoulder injury, allowing quarterback Craig Krenzel to emerge as the focal point of the offense. Krenzel threw a game-winning touchdown pass against Purdue and scrambled for a first down to set up the winning score in overtime against Illinois. His favorite target is Michael Jenkins, who caught six passes for 147 yards against the Illini - his third 100-yard game of the year. If Clarett is not ready on Saturday, the Buckeyes again will go to Maurice Hall, who carried 17 times for 69 yards, including the game-winning eight-yard TD run, last week. "I'm too smart to expect that he won't play," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. A loss Saturday not only will knock Ohio State out of the Fiesta Bowl, but the Rose Bowl and possibly the entire Bowl Championship Series as well. Iowa finished its season udefeated in Big Ten play and would earn at least a Rose Bowl berth should the Buckeyes fall. Saturday marks the 99th meeting between the schools. The Wolverines hold a 56-36-6 advantage and are 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings. Carr is 11-2 against top 10 teams.
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| Saturday, November 23 No. 7 USC (8-2) at No. 24 UCLA (7-3) |
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PASADENA, California (Ticker) -- It has been a series of streaks between Pac-10 Conference rivals USC and UCLA. The seventh-ranked Trojans seek their fourth straight win over UCLA when they visit the Rose Bowl to face the 24th-ranked Bruins on Saturday. UCLA had won the eight previous meetings which came after a four-game unbeaten run by the Trojans. USC (8-2, 6-1) will try to extend the current streak and keep its slim Pac-10 Conference title hopes alive. The Trojans must win this week and hope Washington State loses its last two games to advance to the Rose Bowl. USC also is in contention for an at-large berth in the Bowl Championship Series it if wins this week against UCLA and next week against Notre Dame. UCLA (7-3, 4-2) also has an outside chance of playing on its home field on New Year's Day. UCLA will play in the Rose Bowl if wins its last two games and Washington State loses twice. The Bruins and Cougars meet on December 7. The Trojans have won five straight games behind the right arm of Carson Palmer, who has emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate. In his last four games, Palmer has thrown for 1,327 yards and 15 touchdowns. Palmer has a touchdown pass in every game this season and at least two on seven occasions. Palmer did not have a huge game against the Bruins last season, throwing for just 180 yards. But the Trojans thoroughly dominated UCLA, 27-0, USC's first shutout in the series since 1947. Pete Carroll is 12-3 as USC coach after losing five of his first seven games. UCLA has weathered the loss of quarterback Cory Paus and has used a pair of freshman signal-callers - Drew Olson and Matt Moore - to keep the offense productive. The Bruins have won three straight games, combining for 97 points in wins over Stanford, Washington and Arizona. Olson and Moore have played the last three games and have not thrown an interception. But this week they will be throwing against a USC secondary that features star safety Troy Polamalu. Another freshman, Tyler Ebell, has taken some of the pressure off the quarterbacks by rushing for over 100 yards in six straight games. UCLA was off last week after recording six sacks in a 37-7 win at Arizona.
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Mich 9
OSU 7
Halftime
Mich 20:05
OSU 9:50
VS 
GEAUX TIGUHS!
| Saturday, November 23 Mississippi (5-5) at No. 20 LSU (7-3) 8:30 pm EST |
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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Ticker) -- Despite an embarrassing performance against Alabama, Louisiana State still controls its own destiny in the Southeastern Conference West Division race. The 20-ranked Tigers can earn their second straight trip to the SEC championship game by winning their final two games - Saturday at home against reeling Mississippi and next week at Arkansas. Alabama took over the division lead after blanking the Tigers, 31-0, but the Crimson Tide are not eligible for the SEC championship due to NCAA probation. That leaves LSU (7-3, 4-2) next in line. However, should the Tigers lose, Auburn or even Arkansas could sneak in with three conference losses. LSU, the defending SEC champion, can clinch a return trip to Atlanta this weekend if it beats Mississippi and Auburn and Arkansas lose. However, the Tigers must rebound from their first shutout loss in six years. LSU was manhandled up front by Alabama as the Crimson Tide rushed for 300 yards against the nation's top-ranked defense. LSU dropped from first to fourth in total defense. Marcus Randall continued to struggle for LSU, completing just 6-of-17 passes for 39 yards, and was replaced in the second half by Rick Clausen. The Tigers got some good news as leading rusher LaBrandon Toefield saw his first action in six weeks. Toefield, who had been sidelined since suffering a broken left arm against Louisville-Lafayette on October 5, carried six times for 22 yards. Two weeks ago, Mississippi (5-5, 2-4) suffered its fourth straight loss, falling 31-17, at Georgia, the East Division champion. Mississippi has lost five straight on the road but has won three in a row at LSU, including a 35-24 victory last season. Ole Miss has not won four straight in Baton Rouge since 1953-56. LSU still leads the all-time series, 49-37-4, including a 33-24-1 edge at home. The Rebels were entertaining division title hopes of their own after upsetting Florida on October 5, but now they need to win one of their final two games just to become bowl eligible. Ole Miss did not receive a bowl bid last year despite finishing 7-4. Eli Manning needs 286 yards to break the single-season school passing record of 2,948 yards he set last year. He has joined John Fourcade (1978-81) as the only Mississippi quarterbacks to pass for more than 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
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Guns Up Red Raiders!
GO TEXAS TECH!
Wishing you an injury free game......... (how's that for sportmanship? lol)
Mich 9
OSU 7
8:32 4th Quarter....
7:50 4th......
5:28 4th...
OSU 14
Mich 9
4:55 4th Quarter
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Columbus Forecast: Partly Cloudy 36-42°F 
Michigan 
Ohio State
Pasadena Forecast: Mostly Sunny 50-71°F 
USC 
UCLA
Baton Rouge Forecast: Sunny 43-63°F 
Mississippi 
LSU