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Posted on Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 9:47 a.m.

Michigan keeping Ohio State on its mind

By Dave Birkett

If Rich Rodriguez had any doubts about how big the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry was when he stepped on campus, they’re gone now.

Rodriguez was asked Monday about the appearance of Ohio State decals on some of the tackling dummies the team was using during the first day of practice.

“I don’t know how they got on there,” Rodriguez said. “Did somebody from Columbus put that on there? I don’t know where that came from.

“No, I think we’ve had some stickers on there. I think if you go down to Columbus, they’ve probably got a lot of Michigan stuff in their hall of fame deal. They kind of promote them a little bit, and that’s a pretty big game for us, too. So we got reminders. We got reminders of them and we got reminders of Michigan State and Notre Dame and everyone else on our schedule.”

The Wolverines have lost five straight games to Ohio State, including a 42-7 loss last year. This year's game is Nov. 21 in Ann Arbor.

Comments

OSUbeBetter

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 : 9:49 p.m.

Of course RR is thinking about The OHIO State. He probably has night Terrors and sleeps with a shotgun under his pillow. he probably Stabs a voodoo doll of Tress every morning before breakfast.

azwolverine

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 9:16 p.m.

I'm glad to see him focusing on OSU. That's where our sights need to be in the Big Ten. PSU, MSU, Illinois, Iowa, etc were not in our league until last season, and they are not the ultimate goal of who we need to be beating to get back to playing Michigan football. While beating those teams are certainly good short term goals, especially for this season, OSU is our ultimate conference (and rivalry) goal and I'm glad to see RR on board with that.

VickisueBlue

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 3:51 p.m.

I prefer to keep hope alive, especially since the season hasn't even started yet. I know someday (soon I hope!) our Big Blue will return to dominance. AND I truly believe that we will eventually see UM grind the Bucks into the ground.

NoBowl4Blue

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 2:55 p.m.

A win over OSU will be the only thing that can salvage a season where defeats from the Damers and Spartans loom.

tater

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 2:05 p.m.

Wow. UM is actually paying almost as much attention to the rivalry now as OSU does. Hopefully, "the buck stops here."

aareader

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 2:03 p.m.

Perhaps I am dating myself.... but I remember when MSU was mopping the field with Blue in the mid 50's ( I was a young kid) and in 1968 I remember when OSU hammered Blue. But in both cases Michigan came back and has done very well. A tradition of winning is a powerful incentive. We should be smiling again at the end of this year. Go Blue!

Kubrick66

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 1:36 p.m.

The 2005 loss still grinds me... Up by two scores with under five minutes to play. Michigan has a 4th and maybe 5 inside OSU's 35. Get the first down and the game is pretty much over. But Carr decides to punt... Which picks up about fifteen yards. OSU drives the lengeth of the field not once but twice and wins 25-21. That game was in the bag. A win there would've changed the entire complection of the recent series. Oh, the pain... The pain...

Txmaizenblue

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 12:37 p.m.

"The Wolverines have lost five straight games to Ohio State, including a 42-7 loss last year." Please don't remind me...

SonofScoot

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 : 12:12 p.m.

The big blue should worry about beating their little cousins Western and Eastern first.