By: Bill Blanton (BuckeyeCountry.net) — Six is the magic number for Ohio State in the Jim Tressel era. Six represents how many times in a row OSU has beaten Michigan. Six also represents the number of Big Ten Championships Tressel has won in his nine seasons of coaching at The Ohio State University.

The Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1) captured the outright Big Ten Championship with a 21-10 hard fought battle over the Michigan Wolverines. The win is the Buckeyes’ sixth in a row and provides them plenty of momentum heading into a January 1^st Rose Bowl matchup with the Pac-10 champion.

The Wolverines on the other hand ended the season going in the opposite direction. Michigan (5-7, 1-7) lost their 6^th game in a row and seven out of eight after the season started with so much promise at 4-0.

Speculation continues to swirl around the future of head coach Rich Rodriguez after Michigan endured their second consecutive losing season for the first time since 1962-63 seasons.

For the Buckeyes, “Tressel Ball” continued to be the offensive game plan as Jim Tressel relied on Terrelle Pryor to mange the game and use what has become the most improved offensive line in college football over the course of the last five weeks to control the line of scrimmage on the way to rushing for 253 yards.

The “Silver Bullets” did their job forcing Tate Forcier into four interceptions and a fumble in his end zone, that was recovered by Cameron Heyward to give OSU a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Terrelle Pryor wasn’t spectacular, but played within the game plan and used his legs to convert several critical third downs. Pryor continues to look more comfortable reading defenses on run plays and pass plays. His perfectly lofted screen pass to Dan Herron went for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 21-10 lead.

That proved to be enough to beat Michigan, which played perhaps one of its best games of the season but still had nothing to show for it.

Due to the conservative nature of the game, Michigan had ample opportunities to gain control of the game in the second half. However, Forcier threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter ruining Michigan’s chances to come back in a game it trailed 14-10 in the third quarter.

Rodriguez was quoted as saying in an early week press conference that losing to OSU would not “doom” his program, even though that meant being shut out of a bowl game. But a huge win over the Big ten Champion and greatest rival would have gone a long way to ease the anxious Michigan nation. Now there will continue to be much speculation, especially with the departure of current Athletic Director and a NCAA investigation hanging over his program.

Terrelle Pryor finished 9 for 17 for 67 yards with a TD and an interception, while running for 74 yards. Dan Herron rushed for 96 yards along with one touchdown reception. Brandon Saine rushed for 84 yards and 1 touchdown.

Ohio State’s Kurt Coleman made two interceptions. Perhaps the biggest interception came with eight minutes remaining when cornerback Devon Torrence picked Forcier in the end zone and returned it to the 19 yard line to extinguish a serious threat.

Forcier was 23 for 38 for 226 yards and a touchdown. He had not thrown more than one interception in a game this season until throwing four against the Buckeyes.

The thirteen years that Ohio State fans suffered through during the John Cooper Era now seems a lifetime ago.

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