BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS - The last time the Ohio State Buckeyes beat Michigan, this year's seniors were peach-fuzz-faced, wet-behind-the-ears true freshmen. Most of them were being red-shirted.
All they could do is watch.
And admire.
And wonder.
Four years later, they're still wondering.
I wonder what it would be like to beat Michigan again?
The year was 1994. OSU had beaten Michigan 22-6. OSU's redshirt freshmen figured they'd spend their careers beating up on Michigan. The opposite has been true.
At noon this Saturday in Ohio Stadium, three hours of major surgery will begin. Those same former redshirt freshmen will attempt to remove the 600-pound gorilla from their backs.
One of them - OSU senior linebacker Jerry Rudzinski - has grown weary of having to answer the same question.
"Why can't you guys beat Michigan?"
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COOPER vs.MICHIGAN
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1988 Michigan 34-31
1989 Michigan 28-18
1990 Michigan 16-13
1991 Michigan 31-3
1992 Tied 13-13
1993 Michigan 28-0
1994 Ohio St. 22-6
1995 Michigan 31-23
1996 Michigan 13-9
1997 Michigan 20-14
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The Kettering Alter graduate said this Saturday's game goes way beyond the stakes of the Big Ten title and a big-time bowl game.
"I just want to beat the team that's beaten us three straight years," he said. "A couple of years ago, I would have said, 'I want to beat them to get to the Rose Bowl.' Now, as a senior who's lost to them three times in a row, this game has become personal to me."
He said people ask him if he thinks about the Michigan game all season long.
"I say, 'No, I think about Michigan all year long.' "
The first OSU-Michigan game Rudzinski saw in person was as a sixth grader at Ohio Stadium.
"I saw (linebacker) Chris Spielman play and it seemed like he made 100 tackles," Rudzinski said. "Ohio State lost that game on a field goal. I walked out of that stadium in my Cris Carter jersey and was hanging my head low."
Rudzinski's other memory of that game was sitting two seats from a Michigan fan playing the Michigan fight song on his kazoo. "I've never looked at the song the same way since," he said. "Since then, that song has always been a pet peeve of mine."
This week is only two days old and already flanker Dee Miller, a senior, has been barraged by questions.
"In class, at the car wash," Miller said, "people ask, 'Hey, are you ready this week?' 'What's gonna happen this week?' 'Who do I put my money on?' "
If you are a betting person, the answer to that last question would have to be Michigan.
In OSU coach John Cooper's tenure, Ohio State is 1-8-1 vs. the Wolverines, who despite having won eight straight games after starting 0-2 this season, are a 10ï-point underdog Saturday.
Four times in the past five seasons, Michigan has beaten the Buckeyes in the final game of the regular season and knocked them out of the hunt for the national championship.
There's no national title in either teams' sights this year. But there is still a lot on the line.
With a victory Saturday, Michigan (8-2 overall, 7-0 Big Ten) would clinch the Big Ten championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. OSU (9-1, 6-1) would tie for the title if it wins and could get the Rose Bowl berth if Penn State beats Wisconsin.
But even if Wisconsin wins and goes to the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes would lock up a big-time bowl invitation with a victory Saturday. What does Miller say when his friends ask him the question, "Why can't you guys beat Michigan?"
"I'm speechless," he said.
There were no bulletin-board comments at Monday's media gathering. Going into last year's game, OSU split end David Boston said he played against better cornerbacks in practice than he would in that Saturday's game against Michigan's Charles Woodson, and that if the Buckeyes played their game, they'd win by two or three touchdowns.
Michigan won, 20-14.
"After the game," Miller remembered, "we all came back to my house and (Boston) said, 'I should have kept my mouth shut.' I said, 'You're 19 (years old). You've learned something. Now you know to react (next year).' "
The seniors did all the talking Monday. Boston, like OSU's other sophomores and juniors, was under wraps.
"David took a lot of flack (last year) for what he said," Miller recalled. "I'm sure he'd like to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated next week for something different (than a year ago). Somebody came up to David with (last year's SI cover) and asked him to sign it. David was kind of bitter about it."
Miller smiled at the memory. The reporters laughed.
"David is from Texas," Miller explained. "After (last year's loss), he really came to understand what this (OSU-UM) game is all about."
How will Miller spend Michigan week?
"I'll stay locked up in my apartment all week on the couch, watching film, and I'll check the caller i.d. on the telephone when it rings," he said, smiling.
Miller said there is no week in Columbus like Michigan week.
"Last year, every day the newspaper was (headlined), 'Six days til THE game,' then 'five days til THE game,' " he recalled, with a long whistle. "It's up to us (as players and coaches) to not get caught up in it. We shouldn't change a thing we've been doing (this season) in our weekly preparation. Just prepare and then go play."
