COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Besides having national playoff implications, this years Ohio State vs. Michigan game is full of questions, story lines and intriguing matchups.Can Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett solve Michigans best-in-the-nation defense?Will Michigan superstar Jabrill Peppers be able to shut down Curtis Samuel, Ohio States do-it-all hybrid back?Will injured quarterback Wilton Speight be healthy enough to play for Michigan? If not, can backup John OKorn rebound from a lackluster performance last week to hurt Ohios States ball-hawking defense?If Ohio State triumphs, does it belong in the College Football Playoff even without a conference championship on its resume?Most of those answers will become clear Saturday afternoon after No. 2 Ohio (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) State and No. 3 Michigan (10-1, 7-1) tangle in Ohio Stadium in the 2016 version of the storied rivalry. The Game hardly needs any more hype, but it returns to the national spotlight for the first time in a decade because the winner is likely to end up in the playoff, with the loser shut out.Yeah, were playing for it all, pretty much, Ohio State center Pat Elflein said. The stakes are always pretty high for this game. Everyone knows you can save a season by beating this team, no matter what your record is, but definitely the stakes are higher.Michigan tight end Jake Butt, who graduated from the same suburban Columbus high school as Elflein, said he cant wait to get on the field at Ohio Stadium.No. 2 vs. No 3, really everything on the line, Butt said. For both teams its an absolute must-win game, so its going to be a great atmosphere. Everybody is going to be tuning in to watch this.Some other things to watch as Michigan visits the Horseshoe on Saturday.LETS GET PHYSICALPeppers said he has watched other teams, including Penn State, Wisconsin and Northwestern, give the Buckeyes problems by getting extra physical. He and the Wolverines plan to test their rival in the same way.Were going to see how they respond with physicality, Peppers said. We come with bad intentions. Its never our intention to hurt anyone, but when we hit you, we want you to feel it.Peppers, who plays a position that is a hybrid between linebacker and defensive back, believes Michigan is in a much better position to win The Game than it was a year ago when Ohio State won in a rout.We got a lot of smart, savvy guys who have been through the 5-7 seasons and winning seasons, he said. We got a lot of experience on our side. We got much better athletes this year, too.CONTAINING BARRETTMichigan defensive end Chris Wormley said the experience playing against other teams that run a spread offense should help them to corral Barrett, whos passed for 2,304 yards and 24 touchdowns, and added 722 yards and seven scores on the ground. Last year against Michigan, Barrett ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in Ohio States 42-13 win.The last couple years we played him he put some numbers up against us, Wormley said. Weve seen a lot of similar offenses this season, the spread, different option plays they have, quarterback runs and things like that, so weve been preparing all year. Obviously they have different athletes and things like that. Its going to be a game where were going to have to shut down a few players, and I feel were ready for that task.LAST HOME GAME FOR J.T.?Barrett demurred when he was asked this week if the Michigan game might be his last at Ohio Stadium. In other words, would he leave for the NFL after this season?Nah, I havent really begun to think about that, really, he said. Im just taking each week, trying to focus on the moment. But yeah, my mind, I havent got there.RIVALRY 101Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin, a sophomore from Indianapolis, said out-of-state players are schooled on the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry pretty quickly.When you come here, thats one of the first things you learn, McLaurin said. We dont really say their names, and we know the significance and the history of the rivalry. You kind of learn pretty quickly what all this rivalrys about -- probably the biggest rivalry in all of sports. Coming in as a freshman, you learn very quickly what this game means to this university and to the team.He said it also didnt take much time for him and other out-of-staters to develop a distaste for the team up north.To be honest, we dont like em, he said. Its kind of personal for everybody. Its personal for the people who have played in the game, and its personal for the people who are currently about to play in the game. Thats just kind of how its always been.BIG TEN JUMBLEBecause of the tie-breaker system, Ohio State may not advance to the Big Ten Championship game if they beat Michigan. Penn State will win the East Division if Ohio State wins and the Nittany Lions take care of business at home against Michigan State. If Michigan beats Ohio State, the Wolverines will claim the divisional crown.If Ohio State beats Michigan, the playoff committee will have to decide whether to place them in the top four without having won their conference. That could be a good scenario for the Buckeyes, who get an extra week off and wont risk an upset in the conference championship game that would eliminate them from the playoff.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacy Cheap Shoes Online Free Delivery .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Trendy Wholesale Shoes . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.cheapshoes.us.org/ . 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That they couldnt rotate the strike either exposed their deficiencies. Pakistans batsmen, meanwhile, were right in their comfort zone, accumulating runs without the pressure of playing the fast-paced brand of limited-overs cricket that they have not yet adjusted to. It helped, of course, that in two of the three matches they were chasing low targets.Can a change of formats bring a change in fortune for West Indies? The fifty-over format has been Pakistans weakest suit for a while now, which is why they are languishing at No. 9 in the ODI rankings. Prior to their consolation win over England in the fifth ODI in Cardiff, they had lost nine of their previous ten completed matches, the solitary win coming against Ireland. However, their biggest weakness - a shortage of firepower and enterprise with the bat - is likely to be mitigated on the slow pitches that could feature in the ODIs as well. If West Indies, who sit at No. 8 in the ODI rankings, do not find a way to adapt to conditions and tackle Pakistans bowlers, the ODI series might end up feeling like an extension of the T20Is.Given both teams lowly rankings, the series acquires added significance in the race to secure automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. At the cut-off date of September 30, 2017, the top-eight teams in the rankings gain direct entry to the tournament, with those outside the top eight having to play a qualifying tournament. A 3-0 series win for Pakistan would have them displace West Indies from the No. 8 rank.Form guidePakistan WLLLL (completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LWLLWIn the spotlightIn his short international career so far, Imad Wasim has rapidly developed into a valuable allrounder in Pakistans limited-overs sides. He picked up nine wickets at an average of 5.88 and an economy rate of 4.41, with his left-arm spin, in the T20Is against West Indies. In the recent ODI series in England, he demonstrated his batting ability with hard-hitting fifties in the lower order at Lords and Headingley. If he can keep up his form, with the ball in particular, Pakistans task will be made far easier.One might be forgiven for wondering whether Jason Holder was in West Indies squad for the T20I series. He was, but he didnt play any of the matches. His only outing on this tour so far came in the warm-up T20 game, in which he scored 3 and returned figures of 0 for 30 in tthree overs.dddddddddddd Now he returns to the playing XI as West Indies ODI captain. While his focus will be on pushing his side back to winning ways, he might also be under some pressure to justify his place in the side.Team newsPakistan captain Azhar Ali, who was not in the T20I squad, will slot in at the top of the order alongside Sharjeel Khan. Apart from that, the top six of the batting line-up should look the same as the one that featured in the T20I series, while Mohammad Nawaz and Imad Wasim are likely to keep their places as the lead spinners. There is less certainty about the fast bowling department, but Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz are probably safe bets.Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Hasan Ali/Rahat AliWest Indies are likely to pick a similar XI to the one that played their last ODI, the tri-series final against Australia in Barbados. The absence of Andre Fletcher will necessitate a change at the top, however, with either Evin Lewis or Jonathan Carter opening with Johnson Charles.West Indies (possible): 1 Evin Lewis/Jonathan Carter, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon GabrielPitch and conditionsThis match will be the first one of the tour in Sharjah. A slow, turning wicket, playing to Pakistans strengths is expected. The weather will be quite hot, with a high of 36 degree centigrade, and no rain is forecast.Stats and triviaPakistan are stuck in ninth in the ODI rankings, with 86 points, their lowest-ever tally since the rankings system was introduced in 2001Pakistan have won nine matches and lost 15 during Azhar Alis 25-game tenure as ODI captainSharjeel Khans strike rate of 156.52 in ODIs in 2016 is the best among batsmen who have played five innings or moreQuotesWe wanted to change our brand of cricket. We wanted to bowl better, field better and bat better than West Indies, and so far we have been able to do that.Pakistan coach Mickey ArthurWe have to take this game as a very serious game, the points [for World Cup qualification] are very close at this point of time. We had a very good tri-nation series, its important we keep that momentum going in this one.West Indies ODI captain Jason Holder knows about the importance of the match. ' ' '