One of my favorite lines from “The Music Man” goes: “We can stand touchin’ noses for a week at a time and never see eye to eye.”
Composer Meredith Willson is describing his fellow Iowans, a notoriously contrary bunch. But the lyric sums up the hottest debate in the Big Ten.
Iowa or Ohio State?
We’ll never see (Hawk)eye to (Buck)eye.
Who would win a game between the Big Ten’s top two football teams? The question can only be answered in print, because the schools don’t play.
Only a very brave man, or a fool, would take sides.
I’m only looking for a column for a dreary November day. My first instinct was to throw praise at Notre Dame, which rested last weekend after its rousing 30-23 upset of the Naval Academy. Speaking of Navy, did anyone see how the mighty Midshipmen fared Saturday against Connecticut?
UConn 38, Navy 0. Oh.
Back to Iowa-Ohio State. The public has a right to know who would win. When in doubt, revert to a time-honored tradition: Quote someone else.
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Unfortunately, no Big Ten coach was brave, or foolish, enough to publicly pick a winner. Asked to choose, the coaches served up more waffles than Walker Bros.
“You know, we were talking about that [last week] as a coaching staff, and we came to the conclusion that it would be a great football game and all of us would like to see it and be in attendance,” said Purdue coach Joe Tiller, whose team lost to Iowa and Ohio State by a combined seven points. “It would be like a couple of heavyweights slugging it out. I don’t know who the edge would go to. Maybe the team that got the breaks. If you don’t turn the ball over, the pendulum would swing in your favor.”
Penn State coach Joe Paterno wouldn’t bite either. His Nittany Lions lost to the Hawkeyes by seven points in overtime at State College, Pa., and lost to Ohio State by six in Columbus.
“It’s a shame they’re not playing each other,” Paterno said. “They’re two big-time football teams. Iowa could beat anybody and Ohio State could beat anybody–and I mean anybody, not just in the Big Ten.”
C’mon, fellas. Iowa or Ohio State?
“It would be pretty physical,” Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo said. “It would be pretty close.”
The players offered no better insights.
“In a perfect world, it would have been great to have an all-Big Ten Fiesta Bowl,” Buckeyes tight end Ben Hartsock said after OSU pulled out a 23-16 overtime win Saturday at Illinois.
No doubt that game would be far more interesting than Ohio State-Miami, which appears more likely. I won’t say the Buckeyes have no chance against the Hurricanes. They have a chance. So did Nebraska in the Rose Bowl last year.
Ohio State or Iowa … Iowa or Ohio State?
Iowa, 24-23.
I’ve seen both teams play more than once, and in recent weeks I’ve watched the Buckeyes struggle to hold off mediocre teams such as Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinois.
Iowa is not mediocre.
Both teams have stout defenses. On offense, the clear edge has to go to the Hawkeyes and quarterback Brad Banks, although I’d be reluctant to bet against Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel, the league’s most underrated player.
If Maurice Clarett were healthy, it might be a different story. The Buckeyes could probably establish a ground game and keep the Hawkeyes’ potent attack off the field. But Clarett’s not healthy, and there’s little reason to believe he will be until next autumn.
Savvy Ohio State fans might ask how I could pick the sixth-ranked team on my AP poll ballot to beat the second-ranked team on the same ballot. I would cite Meredith Willson: We’ll never see eye to eye. The Buckeyes are No. 2 in the polls. But are they the second-best team in the country?
More likely, they’re one of several strong teams that might have a shot against Miami if they were to catch the Hurricanes on an off night. With each week, it looks as if there’s only one team capable of beating Miami, and that’s Miami. But a Hurricane intrasquad scrimmage won’t sell many tickets in Tempe, Ariz.
OSU has looked shaky in the last several weeks. But say this for the Buckeyes: They haven’t lost, unlike Washington State (which they beat), Oklahoma, Georgia and, yes, Iowa.
If the Buckeyes beat Michigan on Saturday, they will have earned a trip to Tempe. No argument there. But they’re fortunate they didn’t have to go through the Hawkeyes.