As regular readers can attest, Perrspectives usually (though not always) comes down squarely on the blue side of the national political divide. But when it comes to Ohio State-Michigan, the most intense rivalry in sports, I always back the red state, or more accurately, the Scarlet and Gray.
Which is why for this one day, I'll enjoy the lesson in humility meted out to MSNBC White House correspondent David Shuster. On Friday, Shuster, a Michigan alum, boldly predicted a Wolverine victory in the matchup of #1 against #2, the 103rd meeting in the storied series. Shuster, who proclaimed that "Michigan is the far superior football team," promised to literally eat his words if the team from Ann Arbor lost to the Buckeyes on Saturday:

"If I'm wrong and Ohio State beats Michigan, I will print out this column and eat it. And as proof, I'll photograph that act and post the pictures in 'Hardblogger.'"

As it turns out, Shuster might want a nice glass of red wine to help him swallow his pride. The #1 Buckeyes beat his beloved Blue 42-39 in a wild, offensive explosion. Bon appetite.
In his defense, Shuster may yet get a shot at redemption. Depending on the vagaries of the BCS system, his beloved Wolverines might get a second chance at Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl for all the marbles. And rematches, as any die-hard Buckeye fan will tell you, have not been kind to Ohio State. The undefeated, top-ranked 1975 team faced UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Despite crushing the Bruins 41-20 during the regular season, OSU was humbled 23-10 in the sequel.