Jim Stillwagon, the Outland Trophy winner from 1970, remembers when the enormity of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry hit him in the nose like the crown of a Riddell helmet. The Ohio State Buckeyes were working on their second straight unbeaten season and back-to-back national championships in '69 when they walked into the Big House in Ann Arbor.

"The stadium is dug into the ground, so when you stand outside in the parking lot you don't realize how big it is," he said. "Then you walk out of the tunnel, into the light, and you say, 'Oh, my God.' ''

	Woody Hayes coached Ohio State to a 16-11-1 record against Michigan.

When Stillwagon walked back into the darkness three hours later, his heart was filled with rage.

"Isn't it funny?" he said. "That game is the one that I remember more than any other. They beat us. Their fans were yelling and throwing stuff at us and I swore that I would never lose to Michigan again. That's when I realized just how big the rivalry is."

Stillwagon felt the sting of the defeat all the way through the following season until the teams met again on the final Saturday of November at The Horseshoe in Columbus. It didn't matter that the Buckeyes had defeated Michigan back in 1968 by the score of 50-14. All he could taste was the 24-12 defeat from '69.

"That win for Michigan was Bo Schembechler's first footprint in the sand," Stillwagon said. "Everybody was talking up Bo and Michigan. There was no way they were coming into Columbus and beat us."

Ohio State defeated Michigan 20-9 and finished the regular season unbeaten. But the Buckeyes lost out on another national title by falling to the Jim Plunkett-led Stanford Indians in the Rose Bowl.

Oh, if Woody Hayes could see his Buckeyes now. Unbeaten, untied and on their way to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl for the national title game. Football fever is all the way back in Columbus. Michigan is coming to town Saturday and the Buckeyes would take a one-point victory all the way Phoenix. But it doesn't always work out that way.

One of the greatest rivalries in the history of college football is also one of the strangest. The good guys don't always win. In fact, Michigan has ended three unbeaten seasons for Ohio State in the last ten games. The underdog normally barks in this game.

"There is an amazing mystique about this game," Stillwagon said. "Time means nothing. It's the same today as it was thirty years ago."

Stillwagon runs a business with his name on the marquee in Columbus. He goes to a lot of games. And he knows that the talk never ends.

"You expect to see a lot about this game on TV, hear about it on the radio," he said. "But they even talk about it in the traffic reports."

To Jim Tressel's credit, he understands all of the ramifications. He eats, drinks and sleeps the game, like everyone else. On the day he was hired almost two years ago, he walked to the middle of the basketball arena, grabbed the microphone and said, "You will be proud of our people in the classroom, our people in the community, and especially on the field in 310 days in Ann Arbor.

	Bo Schembechler was 11-9-1 against Ohio State.

Tressel did what his predecessor could not. As promised, his team beat Michigan.

"Why do people go to Ohio State or Michigan?" he asked, "It's to play this game."

By pulling off his quota of wins over Michigan, John Cooper would still be sitting in the head coach's office in Columbus, likely admiring a couple of handsome national championship trophies. But he went 2-10-1 against public enemy number one in the state of Ohio. They booed him out of the stadium, and out of a job, following the Buckeyes' loss to Michigan in 2000.

If Bear Bryant had gone 2-10-1 against Auburn, we wouldn't still be talking about him.

No wonder folks in Columbus love this Tressel guy.

"The Ohio State program was in decay before Tressel got here," Stillwagon said. "There were parasites all over campus. Tressel cleaned up the place."

In spite of the choir boy looks, Woody Hayes might even like this guy. Oddly enough, Tressel dresses like Bear Bryant -- coat, tie and white shirt. And like Bryant, his eye never strays from the prize.

Along with his passion for this game comes the pressure. The Buckeyes are wading into a win-at-all-costs situation that causes meltdowns in other programs. Ohio State -- nor any team in the Big Ten -- has won an undisputed national title since 1968. But don't tell the fans. They are expecting it to happen again any day now. More than 105,000 will be mashed into The Horseshoe Saturday. Eyes will be wild. Extra security has been appropriated. Because of the way it is configured, Ohio Stadium is actually louder than the Big House that holds more fans.

They do not want to walk home with hearts in hand.

"There is not a football game in America bigger than this one," said OSU tackle Shane Olivea.

Stillwagon knew that all the way back in 1969.

Jim Dent is the author of "Junction Boys" and "The Undefeated" and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. "Junction Boys" will be ESPN Original Entertainment's second original, made-for-television movie. The premiere is scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.