Schembechler's death casts pall over The Game

	RELATED • Ex-Michigan coach Schembechler dead at 77
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The contrast could not have been more striking.

Driving toward Ohio Stadium on Friday afternoon, the signs of a colossal college football game -- and the festive atmosphere surrounding it -- were everywhere. The RVs parked near Ohio State's basketball arena, the Schottenstein Center, stretched as far as the eye could see. Traffic on Lane Avenue crawled along as if it were game day. Fans in scarlet and gray regalia lined both sides of the street and jammed into The Varsity Club and other OSU-themed establishments, music blared from a parking lot and the sounds of trombones could be heard from the east side of the Horseshoe where members of the Ohio State marching band were walking. Scalpers stood by the side of the road holding "I Need Ticket" signs.

Around 4:45 p.m. ET, however, only the sirens of motorcades could be heard as a cavalcade of buses pulled up to the southwest corner of Ohio Stadium. As a horde of fans and reporters stood behind a barricade, Michigan's coaches, players and staff members -- nearly all of them wearing the same, blue windbreakers and sweatpants -- trudged off the buses in somber silence and quickly headed inside the stadium for a walkthrough. Some Ohio State fans took pictures, but there was almost none of the usual taunting. They seemed to understand this was not exactly a light-hearted moment.

The Wolverines didn't stay long. Head coach Lloyd Carr briefly addressed the team at midfield, and then, nearly as soon as they had arrived, they were heading back to the buses. "Big" Johnny Falk, Michigan's longtime equipment manager, could be seen crying. A small group of college-aged Buckeyes fans broke into an "O-H, I-O" chant, only to receive some dirty looks from police and other onlookers. Michigan's players didn't seem to notice.

A little more than three hours earlier, the Wolverines had left Ann Arbor in a state of shock. Less than 24 hours earlier, Bo Schembechler had addressed the them about their highly anticipated 1 vs. 2 showdown with the archrival Buckeyes. Reporters who visited Michigan's campus earlier this week said Schembechler was as lively and fiery as ever. At a news conference Monday, he spoke at great length and conveyed his excitement for Saturday's game -- "I see this game as being a great classic," he said -- and even took a couple patented jabs at Ohio State.

Friday morning, he was gone, casting a pall over what had been a week's worth of unbridled excitement over Saturday's historic game. Talk of matchups and Heismans and national championships took a back seat to recollections and tributes to a man who will be forever linked with this rivalry.

The festivities surrounding the game, however, will go on as planned. And, realistically, Friday's sad news isn't likely to have much effect on the outcome. There will be plenty of time over the next several weeks for the Wolverines to grieve; they've put too much time and energy into this contest to let Schembechler's death affect them. As for the idea that they'll be playing with "extra emotion," it's hard to imagine they could get any more charged than they already would be. They are, after all, playing for a spot in the national championship game.

The person who figures to be most affected is Carr. It was believed he might address reporters after the walk-through, but that didn't happen. Schembechler hired the future head coach as his secondary coach in 1980 and has been Carr's mentor ever since. I can't begin to fathom how he will juggle the emotions of losing his dear friend just a day before leading his team into one of the biggest games of career.

Knowing the stoic Carr, however, he will handle it. Undoubtedly he will speak to the team about Schembechler tonight or tomorrow before the game, but I'm also guessing he won't let it overshadow the overall experience for his players. He will approach the game exactly as he would have.

After the game might be a different story. Win or lose, one couldn't possibly expect him to bottle up his emotions. His greatest concern now isn't Troy Smith's passing abilities or James Laurinatis' penchant for interceptions. More than anything else, he'll want his team to give an effort that would have made Schembechler proud.