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Above: Tai Streets and Tom Brady have been Michigan's most reliable duo all
season. When utilizing Streets' ability, the Michigan offense is tough to stop.
Top left: Running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka rolled through Ohio State's
defense for 313 yards, helping Michigan shock an undefeated, No. 2 Ohio
State team led by eventual Heisman winner Eddie George, 31-23.
Middle left: Tai Streets took a Brian Griese pass 69 yards for the game's only
touchdown in a 13-9 Michigan win. James Hall and Joe Germaine were
introduced on that afternoon - will they meet again tomorrow?
Left: Charles Woodson and David Boston roughed it up last year in Ann
Arbor, but Woodson got the last laugh in a 20-14 victory by the Wolverines.
Who will stop Boston this year?

Fans can only wait for tomorrow's game

r the few brief hours that
remain between today and
tomorrow, while the rest of the
people of the world are working their
j and living their lives and pass-
in the time, there are two college
campuses that have little else to do-
but wait.
In Columbus - in reality just a cou-
ple hours south,
but in ideology
more like a miI-

vous anticipation: Can we really win
again? Aren't we finally due to lose?
Ohio State Week is here, and Ohio
State Day draws nearer by the minute.
And as kickoff gets closer, anticipation
grows. And all that's left to do is wait.
In light of last season's national title,
Wolverines are an especially detested
species in Columbus these days. For the
past 10 years, late November has been
an excruciatingly tough time to be an
Ohio State fan. Last year didn't heal

if the book is only half-read.
Michigan will be playing Ohio State,
and for fans of either team - for stu-
dents of either school - the outside
world will cease to exist. For a few
crisp hours, the world will consist of a
tiny green field - and what's wrong
with that, every once in a while?
The great thing about gearing up for
Ohio State is that it isn't just one game
- it's not just the 1998 version, it's also
'97 and '96 and '95. It's not just Tom

think that it's important to watch a foot-
ball game and pretend it matters - but
then, that's part of the fun.
It's fun to pretend that it matters. And
for a few free-spirited hours on a
Saturday in November, it really, truly
does. It matters that the ref blew a clip-
ping call on that runback; it's important
that Tai Streets was wide open on that
last pattern. And when Michigan plays
Ohio State, it matters more than ever.
On Sunday, it will all seem a little




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