By Frank Haynes, College Football Senior Editor

GAME NOTES: One of the greatest rivalries in all of sport continues this Saturday, as the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes pull into Ann Arbor for a pivotal Big Ten Conference showdown with the 17th-ranked Michigan Wolverines. A possible share of the league title and perhaps a berth in a BCS game is at stake. As if that weren't enough, this game has it all -- two productive offenses, at least one dominating defense, and of course all the drama that typically surrounds an Ohio State/Michigan matchup. Jim Tressel's Buckeyes have reeled off five straight wins since suffering their lone conference loss, 17-10 at Penn State back on October 8th. OSU has rolled up at least 40 points in its last four outings, while giving up a combined 50 points over that span. Last week, it was the Northwestern Wildcats who felt the Buckeyes' wrath, falling in Columbus, 48-7. As for Michigan, Lloyd Carr has his troops in position to possibly claim a share of the conference crown, despite having already suffered a pair of league losses. The Wolverines are riding a four- game win streak, which started with a thrilling 27-25 victory over Penn State and continued with wins over Iowa, Northwestern and Indiana. In last week's tilt with the Hoosiers, the Maize and Blue had little trouble picking up their seventh triumph of the season, hammering the visiting Hoosiers, 41-14. Michigan owns a 57-38-6 lead in the all-time series with Ohio State, but the last 50 meetings have been split right down the middle. The Buckeyes won in Columbus last season (37-21), making it three wins in the last four meetings over the Wolverines.

The strength of the Ohio State offense, which is averaging 33.3 ppg this season, has been its ability to run the ball. The Buckeyes currently rank fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 196.7 ypg, as RB Antonio Pittman has certainly done his part in helping the team succeed, rushing for 1,110 yards and five TDs. Coach Tressel would obviously like him to find the end zone more often, but there is no denying his value to the team. As for QB Troy Smith, he has completed almost 60 percent of his pass attempts but for just 182.2 ypg. His TD-to-INT ratio currently stands at more than 3-to-1 (13-to-4), but the overall effectiveness of the passing attack has been lackluster at best. It's almost a shame the Buckeyes don't have a more productive passer, as supremely- gifted receivers like Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. are sometimes lost in the shuffle. Still, Holmes has enjoyed a solid year, grabbing 42 balls for 781 yards and nine TDs, while Ginn Jr., who has the added element of being one of the nation's premier kick returners, has 34 catches for 547 yards and three scores. In last week's rout of Northwestern, the Buckeyes ran for a season- high 317 yards, with Pittman going for 132 yards and a TD, Smith tallying 75 yards and two scores, and Maurice Wells finishing with 70 yards and a TD.

Not taking anything away from the offense, but defense is the reason Ohio State is in a position to challenge for the Big Ten title, as foes have found it extremely difficult to move the ball this season, and as a result, put points on the board. The Buckeyes have been downright dominant, yielding a league-low 14.2 ppg on only 277.3 ypg. Their effort against the run has been particularly impressive, with foes allowed only 78.7 ypg and just eight TDs. OSU has done an excellent job on third down, allowing just a 27.6 percent conversion rate, while also putting a ton of pressure on the QB, leading to a Big Ten-best 38 sacks. The one area the team hasn't excelled at is in forcing turnovers, as it has just 12 to this point in the season. The Buckeyes can boast one of the top linebacking units in the country, led by Butkus Award finalist A.J. Hawk, he of 102 tackles, which includes 7.5 sacks. Fellow backer Bobby Carpenter is second in the conference with eight sacks and Anthony Schlegel (65 tackles) rounds out the talented trio. Ohio State dictated the tempo on both sides of the ball last week against Northwestern, permitting the Wildcats, who average more than 31 ppg, just a first-quarter TD. Hawk, Schlegel and Carpenter finished atop the team's tackling chart for the game, logging a combined 22 stops, including three TFLs.

Much like the Buckeyes did in their game against Northwestern, the Wolverines spotted visiting Indiana an early TD, then proceeded to score time and time agains in earning the easy victory. In fact, trailing 7-0 with less than four minutes gone in the opening quarter, Michigan rolled off 41 straight points to put the game out of reach by halftime. The Wolverines failed to score in the second half, but coach Carr had called off the dogs at that point with little chance the Hoosiers could mount a comeback. Steve Breaston led the way for the Wolverines, tallying 201 all-purpose yards on his way to being named Big Ten Special Team Player of the Week for the second time this season. Quarterback Chad Henne completed 17-of-24 passes for 174 yards and three TDs, all in the first half. Sophomore Kevin Grady did the bulk of the damage on the ground, averaging 6.7 yards on 14 carries while scoring a pair of TDs. Henne is currently the eighth-ranked passer in the Big Ten, hitting the mark on 58.4 percent of his throws for 203.3 ypg. He has thrown 19 scoring strikes (third- most in the conference) and has been intercepted seven times. Jason Avant, who had just five grabs for 66 yards and a TD last week, is the team's leading receiver with 70 catches for 900 yards and seven scores, while Breaston sits ninth in the league in all-purpose yards with 122.3 ypg.

While not getting near the attention their defensive counterparts in this game receive, the Michigan defense has certainly been solid this season. Foes have found it especially tough to move the ball through the air, doing so for just 202.7 ypg (second-best in the conference). The Wolverines' effort versus the run has generated a similar air of frustration among their opponents, as they permit only 137.9 ypg. As a result, Michigan is being scored upon for just 18.7 ppg, and the 21 TDs allowed are the third-fewest in the league behind stellar defensive units at Ohio State and Penn State. In last week's pasting of Indiana, the Wolverines put the clamps on after allowing an early score, and wound up holding the Hoosiers to just 210 total yards (63 rushing, 147 passing). The UM defense was on the field for just under 24 minutes, primarily because it limited IU to just nine first downs. Being on the field for such a short amount of time, it wasn't surprising that David Harris' mere five tackles led the team. Both Pierre Woods and Gabe Watson made a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage, and Prescott Burgess came up with the club's lone turnover, an INT he returned 21 yards in the second half.

With as much bad blood as these two teams have for each other, there is every reason to expect a physical, low-scoring affair with each trading blows throughout. In the end, look for Ohio State to prevail as the Buckeyes use ball control on offense to take the pro-Michigan crowd out of the mix. It's imperative for both teams to play (relatively) mistake-free football, but ultimately, it will be the OSU defense which will play a huge role in the outcome.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio State 20, Michigan 17