Prepare to Like David Hale

From ESPN writer David Hale

There will be so many moments from Saturday's latest installment of The Game that warrant reflection and debate, but in a battle between teams whose seasons would be defined by the outcome, the most evocative and most significant stretch of heroics was a long slog of a drive, 12 plays and 56 yards, that ticked seven grueling minutes off the clock and ended with a field goal.

There was nothing sexy about Michigan's final drive. The Wolverines had danced with the devil enough by this point -- gone for it on fourth down three times, had its tailback sling the deep ball, rallied behind an O-line down its best player -- but this was pure, bare-knuckle toughness.

For three-and-a-half quarters, Michigan had toyed with Ohio State. The Wolverines never trailed, but neither could they pull away. They landed haymakers and jabs, but Ohio State kept getting back up off the mat. It might've seemed a valid question to ask whether this meant the teams were evenly matched or whether the Wolverines had simply refused to fully flex their true strength until it mattered. That drive provided an answer.

Ohio State's frustrated fan base will cling to its share of explanations for how its once-dominant program has been so clearly superseded by its rival -- Ryan Day's incompetence, Michigan's alleged cheating, some sort of monkey's paw curse -- but the truth comes down to this: When everything was on the line, the Wolverines were relentless, and the Buckeyes folded.