The last week of the season is one Michigan and Ohio State fans look forward to all year, but because of the way the Buckeyes have played recently this year's game has gained national attention as more than a marquee rivalry. Many believe it could alter OSU's dream of getting to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and playing for the national championship.

In the last two weeks Ohio State has needed a late 4th-and-1 touchdown pass to beat Purdue and overtime to beat Illinois. Both games were on road, and Michigan coming to Ohio Stadium this Saturday is an important factor in this game. The Buckeye masses will be waiting and anyone who has followed OSU closely this year you know how they seem to respond in front of the home crowd. Then again, it's not hard to see the diference between an average winning score of 31.8-12.7 at home and 20.4-14.2 on the road.

	Braylon Edwards and the passing game have to perform well for Michigan to upset Ohio State.

Michigan was also in position to ruin undefeated seasons for Ohio State in 1993, '95 and '96 and won those three games by a combined score of 72-32. The Wolverines feel this year should be no different.

They are playing their best football of the season right now, and although quarterback John Navarre threw a couple of interceptions last week against Wisconsin he seemed to be in command and his play will be a key in this game.

The Buckeye defense has played well all year, allowing just 12.5 points per game, and the emotion of playing at home with a Fiesta Bowl berth on the line will have that unit flying around. One of the few ways Michigan will be able to slow Ohio State down is to make it respect the passing game, preventing safeties Donnie Nickey and Mike Doss from coming down into the box to take away the run.

Michigan running backs Chris Perry and B.J. Askew will find the yards tough to come by, though, and how much time the offensive line gives Navarre will be a big factor. The key for U of M's offense will be whether or not Navarre can get the ball to wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Ronald Bellamy and tight end Bennie Joppru, to try to stretch the OSU defense and slow down its blitzing mentality.

Ohio State's goal defensively will be to take away the run and rely on the athletic ability of cornerback/wide receiver Chris Gamble, and look for OSU to have confidence in Dustin Fox on the other side despite his struggles against big Illinois receiver Walter Young last week. He will be left to make some plays on his own against the Michigan receivers.

And if Michigan does start to throw successfully, look for the Buckeyes to try and put pressure on Navarre with a variety of zone-blitz schemes in hopes of creating turnovers.

Ohio State must also have a good day throwing the ball. Although tailback Maurice Clarett told me earlier this week that he will be able to play a majority of the game and run with authority like he did against Texas Tech and Washington State, Michigan's defense gives up just 116 yards per game on the ground and OSU will still need a balanced offensive attack.

The Buckeyes have struggled when the offensive line has not given Krenzel time to throw or not won the battles in the running game and now they are facing the most physical and aggressive bunch they have seen. If it can give Krenzel time to throw the team feels Gamble, Michael Jenkins and Chris Vance can make some plays versus the Michigan secondary.

When you think about Ohio State Michigan you think of cold weather, great defenses and running games. But this year, because both defenses have an edge against the opposing offensive lines each team will need to throw before it can run.

The quarterback and passing game that have the better day will win the game, and you don't usually say that about the Michigan-Ohio State game.

No. 23 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
The spread offense is built to attack every style of defense but seems to have the most success against man coverage. Texas Tech executed it to perfection against the one-on-one coverage of Texas last week, piling up 473 pasing yards and six touchdown passes, and the Longhorns struggled even after going to a zone package because they are unfamiliar with that scheme and were out of position most of the time.

Kliff Kingsbury was able to capitlalize on those mistakes and had an outstanding day, but he and the Red Raiders will face a completely different defensive style this week against Oklahoma. The Sooners predominantly play zone coverage and use the zone-blitz scheme as well as anyone in the country.

That scheme is designed to put pressure on the quarterback and confuse the offensive line without having to play man coverage in the secondary. It's about attacking and pressuring without leaving yourself vulnerable in the back end and that's what OU will try to do this week.

Oklahoma will try to disrupt the timing of the offense and slow Kingsbury by using a variety of looks to keep him guessing on coverages and where the pressure is coming from. But because he has seen so many defenses in his career Kingsbury will be expecting this and should put up some good numbers.

The one thing we have learned about the Sooners, though, is that when they are challenged they step up. I put this game in that category and expect the defense to respond. When it does, keep an eye on safety Brandon Everage, because when the OU defense is playing its best he always seems to be making big plays.

The Sooners have a lot of experience and blew a shot at the national championship last year with a home loss to Oklahoma State, and now a year later Oklahoma has a chance to redeem itself.

Texas Tech comes in on a roll, but OU wants to capitalize this time on the opportunity to control its own destiny and get to the Big 12 championship game. Because of the challenge being put on the No. 1 defense in the Big 12 you have to believe the Sooners will respond accordingly.

On the other side of the ball the Oklahoma offense will continue to try to run the football from its spread sets. The Sooners have become more physical during the course of the year and the Red Raiders are aware of that, so look for Tech to try and take away running backs Quentin Griffin and Kejuan Jones and make quarterback Nate Hybl throw the ball with accuracy.

The Sooner offense will have a decent performance, but the difference will be OU's special teams and defense playing rejuvenated at home. They were questioned going into the Texas and Iowa State games and responded, but since those games they have been lulled to sleep a little by people telling them how great they are.

This is the chance for redemption and I like Oklahoma to step up and get the win against Tech this week.

Washington at No. 3 Washington State
Washington regained some confidence with last week's 42-14 win at Oregon. Quarterback Cody Pickett and wide receiver Reggie Williams had their best game of the year, combining for three touchdowns and 14 completions receptions covering 198 yards, and the timing of that momentum boost could not have been better.

The Huskies come into the Apple Cup matchup with Washington State not having the season they hoped for, but what better way to end the year than spoiling the Cougars' good fortune and finishing off the northwest trifecta by beating Oregon, Oregon State and Wazzu? They want to lay claim to the regional crown in the Pacific Northwest.

Washington State got a little ahead of itself before last year's game by thinking about the postseason early and underestimating Washington at home. This year, because of the experience of the Cougars have and what they have done so far, they should be able to keep things in perspective and realize there is still a lot of work to be done.

Washington will get Wazzu's best shot and Washington State is playing as good as any team in the country right now. The Cougars are coming off a bye week and how that affects a team's rhythm is always a concern, but Jason Gesser has the deepest receiving corps in the Pac-10 in Devard Darling, Collin Henderson and Jerome Riley, and the running of Jermaine Greene gives them a nice, balanced attack.

Washington's defense will struggle defending that unit and WSU will score at will. Look for Gesser to have another big game, and the only way UW can stay close is for Pickett and Williams to go off again and score with the Cougars. But the Washington defense will not stop Wazzu and Washington State will take the Apple Cup.

Auburn vs. Alabama
Auburn can recover emotionally after the 24-21, last-minute loss to Georgia last week, but the real question heading into this year's Iron Bowl is whether the Tigers can forget last year's 31-7 drubbing at the hands of Alabama.

It was a foregone conclusion Auburn was going to win that game, coming with a 7-2 record compared to just 4-5 for 'Bama. But Dennis Franchione salvaged his first season as coach of the Tide with a win and made a statement in the rivalry.

What happened in that game is on the minds of both teams because the tables are turned this year. Alabama is playing playing well and Auburn is coming off a tough loss. But like in all great college football rivalries you can throw out the records, tendencies and recent history because it is going to be a four-quarter war.

Games like this are about who plays better that day, not who has the better team over the course of the year or who has the momentum. It's about who makes the plays on one Saturday of the year.

With the inconsistent quarterback play Auburn is getting from Daniel Cobb and Jason Campbell the Tigers have had to rely on the running game. Star running back Cadillac Williams has been injured but Ronnie Brown has filled in admirably with 484 yards in the last four games.

He got off to a good start last week against Georgia but had problems in the second half, and as we have seen throughout the year Auburn has a tough time moving the ball when it has trouble in the running game. Now the Tigers face an Alabama defense that leads the nation in total defense at 244.3 yards per game and gives up just 84.1 rushing yards per game.

As I said earlier this game often goes against expectations, but Alabama defensive coordinator Carl Torbush has his guys flying to the ball and now has a lot of players who are in their second year in his system and understand the attacking philosophy. Because Auburn is lacking a legitimate passing game it will be hard for the Tigers to run the ball.

On the other side for the Crimson Tide, quarterback Tyler Watts is healthy and playing his best ball of the year and he and wide receiver Triandos Luke have teamed up for 18 completions, 252 yards and two TDs in the last three games. Add to that the 300 yards the Tide has on the ground last week and it makes for a balanced attack that is difficult to prepare for.

The 'Bama defense will shut down Brown, and Watts and the rest of the offense will make plays and lead Alabama to a second straight convincing win the Iron Bowl.

No. 7 USC vs. No. 24 UCLA
UCLA is quietly having a decent year, ranked 24th in the coaches poll with a 7-3 record. But the Bruins take on USC in the battle for Los Angeles this week and I look for Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer to hook up with freshman wideout Mike Williams and be the difference.

The Bruins rank third in the Pac-10 in total defense, but Palmer has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game this year and Williams' 59 catches are a conference record for a freshman. The Trojans will outscore UCLA and win the Hollywood bragging rights for the year.

Michigan State vs. No. 16 Penn State
Look for Penn State to finishes an outstanding turnaround season by knocking off Michigan State this weekend. Nittany Lion running back Larry Johnson went for 327 yards last week against Indiana and should follow that with a 200-yard performance against MSU. He will get close to the 2,000-yard mark for the season and bring Penn State to 9-3 overall.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst on ESPN's College GameDay.