By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio State comes into Saturday's game against Michigan with a 12-0 record and national-title hopes.

The last time the Buckeyes were in this position, in 1996, two Bengals teammates were on opposite sides in The Game.

Joe Germaine was the Buckeyes' quarterback, and Glen Steele was a Wolverines defensive lineman.

Michigan won 13-9 on Nov.23, 1996, to spoil Ohio State's dream of a national championship. The Buckeyes were 10-0 coming into that game.

Steele is hoping for a repeat.

"Ohio State, with everything on the line, I'd love to see them get beat," said Steele, the Bengals' fourth-round draft pick in 1998. "Ohio State is going to come out and play hard. They've got everything to lose. Michigan's going to come in there all pumped up. It's going to be a great game to watch."

Germaine, a Bengals practice squad player, was an Ohio State sophomore who shared playing time with Stanley Jackson and came off the bench to lead the winning drive in Ohio State's 20-17 victory over Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl.

"That was the only chink in our armor," Germaine said of the 1996 Michigan loss. "It doesn't matter what the records are. It's always going to be a heavyweight bout."

Germaine lost to Michigan as a sophomore and again as a junior. Steele had one of his finest collegiate games against Ohio State in 1997, with two sacks and a forced fumble.

"I think it's going to come down to the end, whoever wants it the most," Steele said. "You know, that game to me, it doesn't matter who's stronger on paper."

Steele was with the Bengals in 1998 when Germaine finally beat Michigan.

"Playing a game like that, that's the reason you go to a school like Ohio State or Michigan," Germaine said. "I'm glad I was able to be a part of three of them; it made me a better person just to be a part of something so special. There is a lot of pressure. There are a lot of expectations from the fans to perform well. It makes you a better man to experience it.

"I played in three Michigan games. I started my senior year; it was a good way to go out, beating them."

Bengals coach Dick LeBeau played in three Ohio State-Michigan games as a defensive back/tailback for the Buckeyes.

LeBeau, from London, Ohio, was a member of the 1957 national championship team in Columbus - coach Woody Hayes' second of three national titles.

In 1957, as a junior, LeBeau played tailback and scored two touchdowns in Ohio State's 31-14 victory at Ann Arbor.

"When you win that game at Ohio State, they give you what they call `gold pants,' the score is on the legs of those pants," LeBeau said.

Gold pants are coveted lapel pins upon which the game score of Ohio State victories over Michigan is inscribed.

"We got three gold pants out of four, and I'm glad to report that," LeBeau said.

LeBeau's 1957 Buckeyes went on to defeat Oregon 10-7 in the Rose Bowl to finish 9-1 and win the UPI and Football Writers' National Championship.

If the 2002 Buckeyes beat Michigan (9-2), they are likely to face Miami (Fla.) in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.

"Miami is tough. They have a lot of weapons," Steele said. "They're going to be a tough team to beat. Hopefully, it won't come to that."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com