Hey, hey, where you've been?

Buckeye talk is about to begin.

Hey, hey, hey, come on, then.

Welcome back to Buck I Talk.

I am Stephen Means, joined by our columnist Jimmy Watkins, who is up in Ann Arbor.

He just finished talking with Sharon Moore and a bunch of different players. I mean, you guys know what's happening on Saturday. I don't need to. You know why he went up to Michigan in the middle of, in the end of November there. Ohio State Michigan on Saturday. With a lot on the line, Ohio State's got a chance to get to the Big Ten Championship game for the first time in 2020. Their playoff standings don't matter much. It's really, if they lose this game, they probably just don't get a vibe. But they cracked it. They clinched the birth in the playoffs weeks ago. So that's not really necessarily on the line. But there are things on the line from Michigan, which I do think is an interesting place, Jimmy, for Sharon to be in because his last two guys times being the head coach in this game once as an

interim in 23 and as the official head coach in 24, he's kind of been playing with house money

where nobody expected him to win last year and he pulled it off. And I think he probably earned

him a level of grace with the fan base that I'm not going to say didn't exist, but like didn't, wasn't like a thing. And it kind of earned him some grace when things didn't go necessarily as well this year as well. While in 2023, you're just the guy filling in for Jim Harpaw, right? And so Michigan's got a chance to get to the Big Ten

Championship if they win this game. And they're in. If they beat Ohio State, who's been the

number one team in every single college football playoff ranking all month, they're in the

college football playoff. So there's like pressure on Chiron Moore. And I don't know.

You were there.

Were people like asking those types of questions with what was the vibe around Chiron

and these players, understanding that this time around the game isn't just let's play

spoiler to our rivals.

It's we have things we want to accomplish too.

The concept of having something to lose for Michigan in this is interesting.

In 2023, I pushed back a little, like the reputation was kind of at stake there.

And, you know, the loser that game didn't end up making put in Ohio State.

That was a different situation for them.

But this is, I would say this is the first time where it's Sharon Moore has ownership of what's at stake, right?

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