Well, it's officially game on now that Ohio State has hired Urban Meyer to be its head coach.
Michigan and Michigan State have done extraordinarily well recruiting in Ohio, but that could lessen quickly. The Buckeyes fortunes on the football field will rise immediately. Meyer inherits the perfect quarterback to run his system, Braxton Miller, who just completed his freshman year. After an unimpressive beginning this season, Miller closed strongly. Tattoo-gate is about to go into the rear view mirror and look smaller by the day.
Thing about Meyer, is his background. His roots are deep in Ohio. Yet, there is this added bonus of having been through the pressure cooker at Florida and delivering national championships.
And like Brady Hoke at Michigan, he will know exactly how to use the tradition and power at Ohio State to full advantage.
Hoke has accelerated Michigan's progress this season. But with that rank, comes responsibility. A 10-2 season next year won't have the same satisfying feeling to it if it doesn't involve reaching the Big Ten title game. And given Michigan's more difficult schedule, it'll be a tough to standard to live up to in 2012.
As for MSU, this is the test whether the Spartans are, indeed, what I call a limited ceiling program. You know, where they might threaten to win or win the conference title when the Big Ten isn't particularly strong, but don't measure up when it comes to being a legitimate national championship contender. Wisconsin and Iowa would fall under the same category. Strong programs for certain with solid coaches, but not having enough there to become true national powers.