On the eve of the infamous Mirror Lake Jump, we take a look at some of the relevant information surrounding the 105th match-up of the “Greatest Rivalry in College Sports” (Ohio Stadium, 12 p.m. ET, ABC):

• Michigan leads the series 57-41-6 in the previous 10 match-ups
• The Buckeyes are 6-1 against the Wolverines under Jim Tressel, including the last four in a row
• If OSU wins Saturday, it would be the first time in school history that the Buckeyes won 5 in a row in the rivalry
• First year Michigan coaches fair pretty well against the Buckeyes, with a record of 10-1-1 in those coach’s first Michigan games. Rich Rodriguez will try to continue that success, but will be without QB Steven Threet (concussion) and RB Sam McGuffie (death in the family) on Saturday.
• The 19 point spread for Saturday’s game matches the largest spread in the rivalry’s history
• The Wolverines will not be going to a bowl game for the first time since 1974, as their current record stands at 3-8
• A win secures at least a share of the Big Ten title for the fourth consecutive year for the Buckeyes. A Michigan State win over Penn Stat, coupled with an OSU victory gives the Bucks an automatic bid to the Rose Bowl
• Saturday is Senior Day, and the group of graduating players, lead by captains Brian Robiskie, James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, and Todd Boeckman, will be honored this week with traditions such as “The Senior Tackle” during practice and “the Tunnel of Pride” before the game.This game could also mark the last time Beanie Wells plays in the Horshoe, as the star junior couldvery well decide to enter the NFL draft after this season is over.

On return from the trip up to Champaign, Illinois, which resulted in a 30-20 victory over the Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes find themselves, once again, not in control of their own post-season destiny. There are many possibilities of where the Buckeyes will be playing come the first week of January, and the only place you can really count out is the BCS National Championship Game in Dolphins Stadium.

With a win on Saturday against That School Up North, and a Michigan State victory in Happy Valley, the picture becomes very clear, as the Buckeyes will go to the Rose Bowl against the Pac-10 Champion. If Sparty comes up short, this is where the picture gets Fuzzy. OSU will clinch a share of the Big Ten title with a win Saturday and put themselves in great shape for a BCS at-large bid, but nothing is guarenteed. There are ten BCS bowl slots, six will go to the six BCS conference champions, one will go to Utah or Boise State (non-BCS school in Top 12 BCS standings), one will go to a second SEC school, one will go to a second Big 12 school, and the last spot is up for grabs. That spot is likely to be the Buckeyes’, but another OSU is trying to throw a wrench in those plans.

Oregon State, the only team to defeat USC this year, stands atop the Pac-10 standings with the Trojans, and holds the head-to-head tie-breaker over Pete Carroll’s squad. The Beavers are in control of their own destiny and if they win at Arizona and at home against Oregon, they will be headed to the Rose Bowl. If this is the case, USC would most likely earn the last BCS at-large spot, making the Buckeyes the “odd-man out”.

In this scenario, OSU would likely play either LSU or Georgia in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida on January 1. Although this is not a bad bowl by any means, it certinly would be a disappointing finish for a team that had such high expectations coming into this season. Just like last year, the Buckeyes must do their part and beat Michigan, and wait things out, hoping for a little help from some other teams around the country.

It’s Wednesday of Illinois week, and while Buckeye Nation has revenge on it’s mind from last year’s 28-21 loss in The ‘Shoe, there is some news from the recruiting world floating around.

Dublin Scioto defensive back, Bradley McDougald, will no longer be a member of the 2009 Ohio State recruiting class. McDougald seems to either have de-committed or had his scholarship pulled from the staff. B-Mac was suspended for a few games earlier in the season by the school, and rumors have swirled around that the reasons behind the suspension are linked to this latest move. McDougald visited Colorado last week, and still has interest in the Buffalo, Kansas, Illinois, and a few other schools. McDougald’s departure brings the class down to 24 members.

Another Buckeye target, Minnesota Washburn TE Ra’Shede Hageman, committed to Minnesota this weekend after making his official visit to the Metro Dome, where he saw the Gophers get torched by the Wolverines. With Reid Fragel on board, and Hageman having the home-state team on top to start, things were an uphill battle for the OSU staff from day one. The positive that comes out of this, is that with Hagemand and McDougald out the staff can concentrate on getting four players to complete this class with their main targets being Corey Adams, Marcus Hall, Marlon Brown, Mike Edwards, Vlad Emilien, Dion Sims, Kevin Newsome (pictured), and John Martinez, amongst a few others.

Speaking of Newsome, the former Michigan verbal, will be making a trip to Columbus to see the Buckeyes take on the Wolverines on November 22. Newsome said he wouldn’t mind red-shirting at OSU next year to learn behind Terrelle Pryor, before hopefully taking his spot behind center in two or three years. Newsome is also looking at Virginia Tech, Boston College, Penn State, and Vanderbilt, and will be difficult to land.

Finally, Congratulations to Justin Green for being named an Army All-American. Green, from Male High School in Louisville Kentucky, will play in the famous all-star game on January 3, and will join Dorian Bell, Corey Brown, and John Simon as future Buckeyes who have already been chosen into the game. Marcus Hall, who may become part of this 2009 class, was also chosen as a participant in the game.

Breaking News: Sources tell us Ray Small has been suspended indefinitely and is likely leaving the team after violating team rules.

Small, a former Cleveland Glenville standout, was in Jim Tressel’s doghouse earlier this summer for a similar charge, and had his number 4 jersey stripped from him, replaced with the 82 he wore this season. Small has had his ups and downs while donning the Scarlet and Gray, but never truely reached the potential that many expected, inlcuding his high school coach, Ted Ginn Sr., who said Small was better than Ted Ginn Jr.

So long, Ray, I’m sure it will be hard to forget your dropped punts and inconsistent play. The Flash Thomas era has officially been taken to the next step.

As everyone raced to the polls today and is awaiting the election results, here are some “tid-bits” going around the blog universe:

• Rumor has it “Dick Rod” is losing another highly regarded player in “star” running back, Sam McGuffie. Interestingly enough, this rumor was found on a pro-Michigan blog, so there may actually be some validity to it. Good job scUM, your really doing your best to represent the pride and tradition of the Maize and Blue. Oh yeah, did I mention how much I love the fact that the Wolverines aren’t going to be in a bowl this year?

• Speaking of Rich Rod, you gotta love Justin Boren’s Halloween costume. The more and more I hear and see about this guys, the more I love him. He is going to be the best (yeah, I said it) offensive lineman on our team next year and will give a Beanie-less running game the big boost it will need, most likely starting on the right side of Michael Brewster.

• Northwestern QB CJ Bacher, will play this week ,if he is fully healed. If not, Mike Kafka will go for the Wildcats, making his second consecutive start. Kafka ran for 217 yards against Minnesota last week, setting the Big Ten record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game.

• In an unofficial scrimmage in Oxford, against the Miami (OH) Redhawks, word is the basketball Buckeyes got a “whooping”. Dallas Lauderdale, who reportedly was looking like the teams most improved player, featured a minor setback with a shoulder injury, and BJ Mullens apparently was not looking like a lottery pick, to say the least. One good thing to note, Jeremie Simmons ran the point and looks like the guy who will start the year in that slot. At least PJ Hill won’t be running the show!

• Back to Football…..Malcolm Jenkins was named one of 13 finalists for the Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back. Jenkins is one of three candidates from the Big Ten, the other two being MSU’s Otis Wiley, and Illinois’ Vontae Davis.

• Last, but not least here are the latest Bowl Projections from ESPN. Bruce Feldman isn’t showing the Bucks much love, putting them in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina. Mark Schlabach, on the other hand, thinks we will win out, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl in a rematch against USC. What do you think will be the Buckeyes’ fate?

Dotting The “I” would like to say a goodbye to Phillip Fulmer, who reportedly will step down as the head coach of Tennessee, after the current football season. Fullmer is currently in his 17th season as the Volunteers head coach and holds a record of 150-51 while in Knoxville, but it just 3-6 (1-5 in the SEC) this season, and has the Vols in danger of not making a bowl game.

Candidates mentioned for the soon-to-be coaching vacancy are, former Radiers head coach Lane Kiffin, Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, and Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe, among others.

Happy trails Phil, it looks like you needed David Cutcliffe by your side after all!

With the Buckeyes off today, Scarlet and Gray nation finds itself with nothing to do on a Saturday for the first time in a while. Here is a list of games to watch today to fill your college football viewing needs:

12:00

Wisconsin vs. 21 Michigan State

Northwestern vs. 17 Minnesota

West Virginia vs. 25 UCONN

3:30

8 Florida vs. 6 Georgia (Jacksonville, FL)

Iowa State vs. 9 Oklahoma State

15 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech

24 Oregon vs. California

Iowa vs. Illinois

8:00

1 Texas vs. 7 Texas Tech

Nebraska vs. 4 Oklahoma

11 Boise State vs. New Mexico State (7:00)

10 Utah vs. New Mexico (9:30)

Tennessee vs. South Carolina

No Buckeye fans, not the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the best player in college football. Not the Biletnikoff Trophy, awarded to the best wide receiver in college football. Not even a little trophy recognizing him as the best wide receiver on the Ohio State team.

Brian Robiskie is aiming for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, recognizing him for his academics rather than his play on the gridiron. According to the OSU official site,  Robo was named as one of 15 finalists for the National Football Foundation’s annual award, which recognizes its winner as the best scholar-athlete in all of college football.

As one of the fifteen finalists, Brian automatically receives an $18, 000 scholarship towards post-graduate education and has a chance to increase that number to $25,000 if he wins the award. The other 14 finalists are Andrew Berry (CB-Harvard), Ryan Berry (QB-South Dakota State, Chase Daniel (QB-Missouri), Brian Freeman (OT-Carnegie Mellon), Casey Gerald (CB-Yale), Graham Harrell (QB-Texas Tech), Quinn Harris (LB- Louisiana Tech), Jeff Horinek (LB-Colorado St.), Ryan Kees (DE-Saint Cloud State), Alex Mack (C-Cal-Berkely), Ryan McDonald (OL-Illinois), Greg Micheli (QB-Mt. Union), Darryl Richard (DT-Ga. Tech), and  Louie Sakoda (P/K-Utah).

With the way the Buckeye receivers have produced this year, Robiskie might need that grad-school money, but nonetheless, congratulations Brian on being named a finalist and representing The Ohio State University in excellent form.

Although it doesn’t seem Dave is over Saturday’s debacle yet, my 3-day hangover has finally ended and I’m ready to discuss some things on my mind:

-First off, 9 out of 10 times Terrelle Pryor does not fumble that ball and breaks that run for a huge gain, if not for a game-sealing touchdown. I love that Terrelle wanted to make the big play and win us that game, despite what Jim Tressel thinks. That is the desire and head you want on you quarterback whether he is a senior or freshman. It’s a shame Mark Rubin did knock that one away, because it could have been a very special night for the young career of the phenom from Jeannatte, Pennsylvania. By the way, there was still over 10 minutes left in the game when Pryor fumbled, meaning the Buckeyes could have been forced to punt on the next set of downs (I know more time would have ran off and field position would have been worse for PSU) and there is also the fact that the Buckeyes did get the ball back before Mo Wells muffed another kick.

-Before we get to Tressel, let’s talk about Bollman. If you read between the lines of Beanie’s post-game comments, it seems the players are getting fed up with the Bollman-Tressel play calling strategy. Yes, both defenses were outstanding Saturday night and it was an old-fashioned Big Ten battle, but come on and let this team go. Tressel continues to talk about how this team needs to find an identity, but when you have Terrelle Pryor and Chris Wells you MAKE an identity for yourself. Bollman’s game planning is a joke and JT doesn’t help by calling those plays.

-Speaking of Jim Tressel, I’m not going to go as far as some Buckeye fans who want him fired, but I am concerned with a few things. First off, Saturday’s game was one in which Tressel specializes in winning. So what went wrong? Just like in the third quarter of the MSU game, the Minnesota game and in the Purdue game, Tressel has been playing games “not to lose” instead of playing them “to win”. In layman’s terms he plays the clock game and is content with going three and out to punt when holding leads allowing teams to get back into games or make them closer than they should be, instead of putting these teams away. The game of football is different from when JT lead the boys over The U for the National Championship and Coach Tress needs to start conforming this team to the rest of the college football world. Now, addressing Jim Tressel as the coach of this team, I love how he runs this program, recruits, and has that Senator-like demeanor to him. What I don’t like is his insistence to call the offensive plays. How can you be so uncreative with so much talent at your disposal? This will continue to be the question all Buckeye fans continue to ask themselves and unless he is forced to hire an offensive coordinator who will be calling the plays, JT will continue to be loyal to Jim Bollman and the rest of the coaches who have let us down over and over again in big games the last two or three years. One guy I would love to have is Al Davis’s latest victim, Lane Kiffin. That guys knows how to use his talent.

-One bright spot to Saturday was the men’s basketball team scrimmage held at The Schott before the football game. Word on the street from New Jersey AAU coach, Ira Goldstein, who was in attendance, was that the team looked pretty solid overall and that Thad may have found a point guard in JUCO transfer Jeremie Simmons. William Buford and Jon Diebler showed their stroke from behind the new three point line and Dallas Lauderdale is starting to look like the player this team is going to need alongside BJ Mullens. Watch out for this team, as I feel they are sleepers, and compare very much to the 2005-2006 Big Ten Champion Buckeyes who everyone overlooked prior to the season.

-Finally to wrap things up, Troy Smith finally saw the field in the Ravens pummeling of Oakland on Sunday. The Ravens have been using a “Suggs Formation” in which Troy and Joe Flacco are on the field at the same time, with Troy behind center and Flacco lined up as a wide out. The package was run 5 times in the game for a gain of 65 yards and head coach Jon Harbaugh says the team will continue to use Smith and Flacco in this package. Congratulations Jon, you have been more creative with Troy Smith in 8 weeks than Jim Tressel was in 5 years.