[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 39

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

It's BEAT VANDY THURSDAY!!! GO CATS!!!

Only one more of these left ... some pigskin appetizers tonight and another day closer to kickoff in Nashville on Saturday!


FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL
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> DAYS 1-10: The top coaches of the decade

10) Glen Mason, Minnesota
09) Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
08) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
07) Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin
06) Randy Walker, Northwestern
05) Lloyd Carr, Michigan
04) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
03) Joe Tiller, Purdue
02) Joe Paterno, Penn State
01) Jim Tressel, Ohio State

> DAYS 11-20: The top games of the decade

10) 2000: Purdue 32, Michigan 31
09) 2001: Michigan State 26, Michigan 24
08) 2005: Michigan 27, Penn State 25
07) 2003: Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 34
06) 2004: Northwestern 33, Ohio State 27 (OT)
05) 2008: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6
04) 2009: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24 (OT)
03) 2002: Ohio State 10, Purdue 6
02) 2000: Northwestern 54, Michigan 51
01) 2006: Ohio State 42, Michigan 39

> DAYS 21-30: The top players of the decade

10) Laurence Maroney/Marion Barber, Minnesota
09) Antwaan Randle El, Indiana
08) Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin
07) Dallas Clark, Iowa
06) Troy Smith, Ohio State
05) Damien Anderson, Northwestern
04) Braylon Edwards, Michigan
03) Chris Gamble, Ohio State
02) Larry Johnson, Penn State
01) Drew Brees, Purdue

> DAYS 31-40: The top teams of the decade

10) 2003 Michigan Wolverines
09) 2002 Iowa Hawkeyes
08) 2006 Wisconsin Badgers
07) 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes
06) 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes
05) 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions
04) 2005 Penn State Nittany Lions
03) 2006 Michigan Wolverines

Just one rule for this list: No more than three teams from one school (so it wouldn't just be a list of Buckeye teams :) ).

TOP TEAMS
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02) 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes

- Record: 12-1
- Quality Wins: @ #2 Texas, vs. Penn State, #13 Iowa, vs. #2 Michigan
- Bad Losses: None
- Average margin of victory: 28.3 points
- Bowl result: Lost to #2 Florida in the BCS Title Game, 14-41

Everyone knows that it's not how you start, but how you finish ... still, the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes sure started off their season strong.

The consensus preseason #1, OSU opened the season with a warmup win against Northern Illinois before getting to the game of the season (at that point at least), a #1 vs. #2 showdown in Austin as the Buckeyes visited defending national champion Texas. It wasn't as close as the prior year's game in Columbus as Ohio State capitalized on some Longhorn turnovers to take control early and coast to a 24-7 win.

A 28-6 thumping of rival Penn State two weeks later set up a second prime-time showdown of the season as Troy Smith led the Buckeyes into Kinnick Stadium against #13 Iowa. A balanced offense and opportunistic defense helped the Bucks jump ahead 21-10 at the half and they put the game out of reach by marching down for a score immediately after the intermission en route to a 38-17 rout.

October and November saw Ohio State roll to six straight victories with only Illinois coming within double digits and no team scoring more than 10 points on the James Laurinaitis-led Buckeye defense. But that was all just a warmup act for the season's second #1 vs. #2 showdown, this time with a Big Ten title, national championship game berth and, more importantly, rivalry bragging rights at stake.

The Game between Michigan and Ohio State became The Game of the Century when the #2 Wolverines visited the #1 Buckeyes on Nov. 18, 2006. In about as convincing a 3-point win you'll find, OSU jumped ahead 28-14 at the half and hung on to win 42-39. Ohio State had gone wire to wire as #1 during the season, beating two #2 ranked teams as bookends on the season and leaving no doubt of their dominance. Troy Smith would win the Heisman, other accolades would shower the team and they headed off to the Valley of the Sun (home away from home) as favorites for their second title in five years.

But then the long wait came. In the near two months between the Michigan win and the bowl game in Arizona, the #2 spot to face Ohio State changed three times. At the start, it looked like a rematch with the #2 Wolverines, but the press (and some coaches whining, er, politicking) decried the idea of a rematch (although the Big Ten is apparently OK with the idea now :) ). Then USC was #2 and a great Rose Bowl East was set ... until they dropped a stunner to UCLA. And finally, a second team managed to miraculously leap ahead of Michigan in the polls, the Florida Gators - coming off an unimpressive 10-point SEC title game win over Arkansas.

So for the third time in the 2006 season, college football fans would be treated to a #1 vs. #2 matchup (well, a somewhat suspect #2) in the inaugural BCS Title Game. Things started out well for the Buckeyes with a game-opening kickoff return by Ted Ginn for the 7-0 lead, but Ginn was injured on the runback and that would be the highlight of the game for OSU.  The Gators led 34-14 at the half and OSU had plenty of chances but could never get closer in their worst game of the season, falling 14-41.

The game's ripple effects on college football were pretty astounding in retrospect. It began an SEC title run that cemented their rep as the premier league of the land. It gave the Big Ten and Ohio State an undeserved rep of not being able to win the big one (though they already had). And it made the poll shenanigans that went on to fix a title game that wasn't a rematch to look legit.

I still say that if the game was played 10 times, OSU wins at least 8 of them. And I maintain that the Gators had no business whatsoever in that game in the first place. But you don't get second chances. The 2006 Buckeyes had one bad day in a season of domination - unfortunately for them, however, it came in the title game and, again, it's how you finish that lingers.

Coming Friday: The forty days of football finishes with a salute to the best overall team of the decade. They didn't have the talent or dominance of the 2006 squad, but they were truly one team.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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