We start The Week with a look back to a column written by the Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston, who, in the aftermath of the Minnesota game, did something most of us had been hesitant to do in the last few weeks — look ahead to Michigan.

Livy’s column, found here on the PD’s web archives, makes only one reference that’s now outdated, a short discussion of the terrible field in Ohio Stadium, a problem that should be solved this weekend since the field was replaced following the Minnesota game.

The rest of the column, though, is one of the best descriptions of what an Ohio State game in Columbus can be like for an opponent, something that everyone lucky enough to have a ticket for the game should keep in mind on Saturday.

I’ve read this over and over in the weeks since it was published, and it still gives me chills. It should do the same for you.

COLUMBUS — The edge isn’t the wind’s razor, although the gales slashed around Ohio Stadium and sang their wild song Saturday, as dark and the Minnesota Golden Gophers fell.

“Illinois is the windiest place in the Big Ten,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, referring to next weekend’s likely victim. “And then we go to the Windy City to play Northwestern.”

The edge isn’t in the numbers, although 105,443 saw the top-ranked Buckeyes thrash the Gophers, 44-0.

Michigan Stadium is bigger. But it’s quieter in Ann Arbor because of a difference in architecture.

The Big House doesn’t crowd down on the visitors, as though the eaves were literally going to drop, the way they do here. The pitch of the stands isn’t as steep as at the Horseshoe, and the noise has other places to go besides boring into the earholes of the other team.

It’s also quieter because of a difference in ardor.

Michigan’s opponent isn’t usually cast in the role of the human sacrifice at the volcano’s lip, although when Woody Hayes coached at Ohio State and Bo Schembechler at Michigan, it was close to that way. After Woody, it was hard to play at Michigan for the same reason it was hard to play at Indiana’s Assembly Hall when Bobby Knight was the coach. The home team was very good.

Ohio State has lost only four times at the ‘Shoe in Tressel’s tenure in Columbus, which will be six years old after two rubber stamps in Champaign and Evanston, plus a fairly widely anticipated home meeting with Michigan.

The presence of the nation’s top-ranked college football team at the seismic heart of the thunder is only part of the reason for the dominance.

In the second quarter after Troy Smith lost a fumble at his own 38-yard line, OSU leading only 10-0, Jay Richardson and Jamario O’Neal slammed the door on fourth-and-1.

“I think, emotionally, anytime you stop someone on short yardage, especially a fourth-and-1, our crowd is tremendous,” Tressel said. “You can feel the energy. I’m sure that took a little emotion from the Golden Gophers.”

The crowd took a touchdown away from Penn State in the closest call of the season. On fourth-and-1 from the OSU 1, Penn State, its lineman, dazed by the hurricane of sound coming from the south end zone, jumped before the snap. The Nittany Lions kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 14-6. A touchdown would have changed the game’s dynamic considerably.

“The noise level is part of it,” said sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis. “You can see the offensive tackles, just a few feet away from the center, signaling that they can’t hear.”

The Michigan game in three weeks is shaping up as the biggest one ever in the nation’s biggest college football rivalry. It will be played here, where the stands look like scarlet cliffs, where the sonic avalanche can bury unwary visitors.

One drawback, however, is the resodded field. Dust devils still dance on its tattered surface in the wake of players making sharp cuts. Frankly, the new turf looks as though Jack Nicklaus, who dotted the “i” in Script Ohio at halftime, had taken a few divots out of it with his irons.

“Slipperier” and “not as good as it used to be” said OSU’s top burner, Ted Ginn Jr., in midweek.

“I thought it was a little better today,” Tressel said.

Uncertain footing would negate Ohio State’s advantage in speed over Michigan.

But it will be played here. There are, of course, more underpinnings to the rivalry than a treacherous field. The game begins with the Ohio State players running to their sideline through the “Tunnel of Pride,” a human channel of former players, from the ’50s to those who made newer memories.

“You know what a special place this is,” Laurinaitis said. “You know you are representing all the great players that went before you.”

“We only have two halves left to play in this stadium,” said OSU senior defensive tackle David Patterson.

They will remember them forever. In Columbus, you can always hear the echoes of the once-loud roars.