 "Photo: Melissa Miller")
 "Photo: Melissa Miller")
Back on Oct. 8, The Game just wasn't looking like The Game.
The once-promising seasons of Ohio State and Michigan were teetering on the brink of disaster. The Buckeyes had been dealt a final blow to their national title hopes after falling at Penn State, while Michigan was off to its worst start in 38 years, at 3-3, and was out of the national polls for the first time since 1998. OSU's Nov. 19 trip north to Ann Arbor was losing its luster by the minute.
"For both teams, I think this season will be a major disappointment with a loss," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I can't think of anything less because there is a lot at stake."
As usual, the conference title will be on the line. A Buckeye win assures them of at least a shared Big Ten crown with Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten). Should the Nittany Lions go down at Michigan State, the championship and automatic Bowl Championship Series bid will go to the winner in Ann Arbor.
Even in front of a hostile crowd of more than 110,000, an OSU team averaging more than 40 points during the last five games would appear to have the edge talent-wise, and they enter as three point favorites. But on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, things don't always follow the script. In four of the schools' last five meetings, the team with the better record has fallen.
The roads the teams have traveled to get to tomorrow's game appear similar, but no turnaround in college football has been as pronounced as Michigan's.
Hobbled by injuries to sophomore tailback Mike Hart and senior wideout Steve Breaston - their two main offensive threats - and without the departed Braylon Edwards to bail out sophomore quarterback Chad Henne, Michigan sputtered.
"People didn't give us much hope," Michigan senior tight end Tim Massaquoi said. "They really cast our season away."
It was not until a last-second comeback win over then-unbeaten Penn State on Oct. 15 that salvaged their season and propelled them to wins against Iowa, Northwestern and Indiana.
"I think (the players) proved what they are made of," Carr said. "They have strong fiber and they fought back. There is no question that their road was a real, real hard one because of the hole we put ourselves in early. We have beat some very good football teams and have come together as a team. We're excited."
After a rocky start, Henne has come on to toss for more than 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns. Now healthy, Breaston has emerged as one of the league's top all-purpose threats and lines up alongside senior wideout Jason Avant. Breaston, the Biletnikoff Award candidate leads the team in receiving with 70 receptions for 900 yards and seven touchdowns.
But it's a player from Warren, Ohio, that has increasingly become Michigan's big-play threat. True freshman wideout Mario Manningham has just 20 catches, but they have been for 341 yards and five touchdowns, including his game-winning score against Penn State.
"Even with Avant and Breaston, he's been the one you see making the very key plays," senior safety Nate Salley said. "When he caught the ball in the back of the end zone (at Penn State), that definitely turned their season around and got their swagger back."
The game may rest, though, on Hart's effectiveness. Banged up all season, Hart has not even come close to his breakout season of a year ago, rushing for just 573 yards in six games. But after two weeks of resting his tender right ankle, the Buckeyes know not to overlook him.
"Hart is just one of those electric guys," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "He has a chance to bring along the people that are around him."
So it all comes down to Saturday at the Big House. With the memory of their 2003 loss in Ann Arbor lingering, the Buckeyes will try to do something only one OSU squad has been able to do in the last 16 years: win at Michigan.
Even senior receiver Santonio Holmes, who grew up in Belle Glade, Fla., where the Miami-Florida State rivalry is king, has come to understand Ohio's obsession with The Game and knows how much a win tomorrow would mean.
"This is what you live and die for," Holmes said.
Quick slants
The accolades continue to pour in for senior linebacker A.J. Hawk. This week, Hawk was announced as one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award, given annually to the nation's best defensive player. Joining Hawk are Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil, Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny and Texas defensive tackle Rod Wright. ... Michigan leads the all-time series 57-38-6. During the past 54 seasons, the two schools are deadlocked at 26-26-2. ... OSU does not have a win this season against a team currently ranked in the top 25.
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