"It's kind of a season in itself," says Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel about the annual season-ending clash with the Michigan Wolverines.

And this year, maybe a post-season, as well.

If 9th ranked Ohio State can escape the "Big House" in Ann Arbor with a victory on Saturday (game time 1 p.m.) and Penn State beats Michigan state, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will tie for the Big Ten crown. In that scenario, Penn State wins, because it beat Ohio State earlier in the season.

Should Penn State lose and No. 17 Michigan upend OSU, however, the Wolverines will take the crown (and the top BCS bowl berth) by virtue of having beaten the other two members of what would be a three-way tie.

Despite the disparity in rankings, the Michigan Wolverines are a formidable final obstacle to the Ohio State Buckeyes' title run. Lloyd Carr's team handed Penn State it’s only loss on the final play of the game (a pass from Chad Henne to Mario Manningham) and is just 13 points away from being 9-0.

Sophomore QB Chad Henne, who slipped under the national radar following a slow start, has thrown for 2,033 yards and 19 touchdowns. His favorite target, Jason Avant (70 catches, 900 yards) will be on a lot of All-America teams, and Manningham is a dangerous second option. And finally, RB Mike Hart and DE LaMarr Woodley, two of the Wolverines' top players, will be back this week after recuperating from injuries.

Ohio State will counter with a versatile offense led by QB Troy Smith (1,640 yards, 13 touchdowns) 1,000-yard rusher Antonio Pittman and receiver Dantonio Holmes (42 catches, 781 yards, nine TDs) Two of OSU's linebackers, A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter, will probably be first-team All Big Ten, Hawk first-team All-America.

The game will also match two of the top return men in the college game in Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State and Steve Breaston of Michigan.