Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 63

WWW.FREEP.COM SUNDAY, NOV. 2a 2011 mggmtmM.mmarmm Kent State .28 EMSU 22 Wayne State 48 St Cloud State 38 ml i MICHIGAN ON TOE FLIP SIDE Senior Day goes according to plan as Spartans clinch berth in Big Ten title game be TP In LY "iLVj NO. 20 WOLV I 45, NO. 17 'HUSKERS 17 LEGENDS DIVISION MICHIGAN STATE The Spartans' victory, coupled with Michigan's trouncina of Nebras LEADERS DIVISION WISCONSIN OR PENN STATE The Badgers (5-2) and Nittany Lions (6-1) play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Madison, Wis.

The winner advances to Indv. BREAKING DOWN THE BIG TEN TITLE GAME The matchup for Dec. 3's inaugural Big Ten championship game at Indianapolis is nearly set. ka, clinched a berth in Indy for MSU. But should MSU lose at North western and U-M beat Ohio State, they would share the division crown at 6-2.

MSU beat Wisconsin in October on that Hail Mary and did not play Penn State. MmY lyjiiv JvJlg U-M dominates Nebraska for ninth win and look who's on deck rlrt- II mill I'll Mil iiriii nn-tilirrt i nunir JULIAN H. GONZALEZDETROIT FREE PRESS Michigan players join their joyous Big House fans who are chanting "beat Ohio" after a 45-17 rout of Nebraska. The Buckeyes come to Ann Arbor on Saturday with a very un-Buckeye-hke record of 6-5 the Spartans at 6-2. which Michigan fell, victories like this STOP THE FJrady Hoke managed a smile finally.

CLOCK? It's been 2,920 days since Michigan beat Ohio State in football, a streak stretching back to 2003: 2004 37-21 i 2005 25-21 2006 42-39 2007 14-3 2008 42-7 2009 21-10 2010 37-7 U-M's defense dramatically has improved, but it certainly helps when you scour the Big Ten landscape and wince at the utterly deplorable lack of quality, downf ield playmaking quarterbacks in this conference this season. The abundance of one-dimensional running quarterbacks has made it much easier for Big Ten defensive coordinators. That's just fact. But Saturday's game in the Big House should offer a future lesson to programs. Michigan and Nebraska are mirror images.

Two storied idols of collegiate lore that grew stale as their fans grew restless with a sustained lack of serious BCS championship contention. Both schools sought drastically different identities. The Cornhuskers went with a rhythmic West Coast passing offense, but eventually realized that abandoning their roots of option-style power football was a colossal mistake. You've gotta be who you are. It will take time before Michigan can seriously contend for a BCS championship, but at least Hoke restored the personality and purpose of Michigan football.

I CONTACT DREW SHARP; 313-223-4055 OR DSHARPOFREEPRESS.COM. become an important benchmark. But it's recklessly premature establishing this moment as irrefutable evidence that Michigan football is back to where people think it should be. The 20th-ranked Wolverines were merely a spoiler, eliminating Nebraska from contention for the Legends Division title. U-M's victory actually set off a celebration down the road in East Lansing, officially clinching Michigan State's berth in the first Big Ten championship game Dec.

3 in Indianapolis. Although the Rose Bowl is once again out of the picture for the Wolverines, they have an excellent chance at landing a BCS at-large bowl if they beat the Buckeyes to finish 10-2. Fiesta Bowl officials met with U-M representatives following the game. In fact, U-M is probably the only chance for the Big Ten to get its customary two BCS bowl invitations because the loser of the championship game will be saddled with three losses. Hoke has pushed the Wolverines farther than expected, quicker than initially thought possible.

Should U-M beat Ohio Sate for the first time since 2003 and MSU lose at Northwestern, Hoke's team officially would share the Legends title with hJ He loathes administering praise beyond the limits of an eye dropper. If he's rarely satisfied, it improves his ability of instilling his relentlessness for pushing harder in his players. But Hoke excitedly tapped a water bottle cap on the podium when asked about the next program hurdle. "I'm aware of what's next," he said. If by some chance Hoke had somehow forgotten, the chants of "Beat Ohio! Beat Ohio!" cascading down from the Michigan Stadium stands with six minutes remaining against Nebraska provided an apt reminder.

Hoke already has far exceeded first-year expectations with a guaranteed nine-win season after Saturday's 45-17 pum-meling of the 17th-ranked Cornhuskers. But Hoke established his candidacy as protector of the Michigan football legacy last January by making it clear that restoring some measure of equality to the Michigan-Ohio State series was his top priority. Hoke has Michigan playing at its highest level in four years approaching Saturday's renewal in Ann Arbor of college football's biggest blood feud. Lloyd Carr called Michigan's thorough DREW SHARP CALLS IT A HUGE VICTORY AS WOLVERINES RESTORE THEIR FOOTING IN THE BIG TEN decimation of Nebraska "a loud statement." Finally, the Wolverines beat a ranked team. Finally, they didn't back down against a physical opponent.

Finally, they resembled a Michigan team one that runs the ball hard offensively and hits the opposing team even harder defensively. "This is a big win. Huge," said Jordan Kovacs, a redshirt junior safety. "I can't stress that enough. I think this is the best win had we've had since I've been on the team just because it was so late in the year.

I don't think we've had a game this late in November that really meant as much as this one." Saturday's victory legitimized this season for U-M. When you're pulling yourself up from the historic depths to mi CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS FROM MICHIGAN'S FIRST CONFERENCE GAME AGAINST NEBRASKA THREE QUESTIONS WITH DREW SHARP SHOULD HOKE OR DANTONIO BE COACH OF THE YEAR? 2E SATURDAY'S STAR FITZ TOUSSAINT RUMBLES TO THE END ZONE AGAIN 3E MICHIGAN TICKER WITH ZACH HELFAND NEBRASKA FAILS' FIRST TASTE OF THE BIG HOUSE MAKES UP FOR BITTER DEFEAT 2E.