The official tally, for the record, is now 2,926 days since Michigan last beat Ohio State on Nov. 22, 2003, a streak spanning eight years, 197 Michigan recruits and the downfall of two head coaching regimes in Ann Arbor. The new regime there has made the number an obsession.
Compared to the last seven years, almost nothing about today's game is familiar. The head coaches on both sides are new. Ohio State has no chance to secure a Big Ten title or a BCS bowl for the first time since 2004. Michigan can reach 10 wins and put itself in position for its first BCS bid since 2006. The Wolverines are favored to win for the first time since 2004. But the hate remains, and the streak, and the urgency that comes with the prospect of counting up for another 365 days until the next opportunity — and knowing that, when it comes, it won't be as good as this one.
• What: Game day live blog, covering every game, all day long. All colors and comments welcome, though preference is always given to snark.
• When: First kicks are at noon ET on ABC, FX, the Big Ten Network and various incarnations of ESPN. It goes till it goes — at least through the primetime tilt in Palo Alto, and possibly through the midnight oil of UCLA at USC.
• Who: You and all your rowdy friends, .
• How: Hit "Watch Now," enter comments into the available box and do your part to accelerate the slow, agonizing death of conventional journalism.
• Why: Because what else could you possibly have to do tonight?
- - -
Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.