Title: The Game: Ohio State vs. Michigan
The 120th edition of the iconic rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan is set to take place on Saturday, with the No. 2 Buckeyes hosting the Wolverines at noon ET on FOX. While this year’s matchup may not be a top-five showdown, it features plenty of intriguing storylines, none bigger than Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s goal of snapping a three-game losing streak against Michigan.
Day is 43-4 against all other teams since 2001, but hasn’t been able to crack the Buckeyes’ biggest rival. A win would not only snap the losing streak but also secure a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Big Ten newcomer Oregon. Ohio State could also clinch a spot in the conference title game if Penn State and Indiana both lose this weekend.
For the Wolverines, a win on Saturday would add to their impressive streak over their bitter rivals and position them for a better bowl game in Sherrone Moore’s first year at the helm. Moore, who coached the Wolverines to a win in last year’s matchup after Jim Harbaugh was suspended for Michigan’s scouting and sign-stealing scandal.
Laken Litman and RJ Young, FOX Sports college football writers, answer the biggest questions heading into the highly anticipated Big Ten showdown.
What is the key for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes to get over the Michigan hump?
Laken Litman: As soon as quarterback Will Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State in January, he understood the significance of beating Michigan. He quickly started referring to the Wolverines as the “Team Up North” and realized the pressure and significance of winning The Game.
RJ Young: Play and coach to your talent. In this edition of The Game, the Wolverines are once again outmatched by Ohio State’s roster. There are only three positions where Michigan should feel stronger: defensive tackle, cornerback, and linebacker. Apart from those, Ohio State is the better team. And at some spots, like wide receiver, quarterback, running back, and safety, it’s simply not close.
Michael Cohen: Given the limitations of this year’s Michigan team, the only area where they seem to match up favorably with a highly talented Ohio State team is along the defensive line. Michigan’s defensive tackle tandem of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant is arguably the best in college football, with 54 quarterback pressures, 6.5 sacks, and 13 tackles for loss this season.
What is the formula for Michigan to pull off an upset in this game?
RJ: The Wolverines will need the kind of performance Donovan Edwards has shown himself capable of in each of the last two meetings between these two teams. He has a career stat line of 255 rushing yards (7.7 yards per carry) on 33 rushes with two touchdowns against the Buckeyes, but has yet to find that form this season.
Michael: For Michigan to win a fourth consecutive game against Ohio State, they will need to put forth their finest rushing performance of the season. The lack of an established option at quarterback following J.J. McCarthy’s departure to the NFL means that the 2024 team is likely to shape its identity around running the football, just as Michigan did during its three-year renaissance under former coach Jim Harbaugh.
Laken: Michigan’s running game, ranked 70th in the country, would have to dominate an Ohio State front that is limiting opponents to just 2.7 yards per carry, third-best nationally. They’d have to win the turnover battle and also make explosive plays, which seems like a long shot considering the Wolverines are ranked near the bottom of all FBS teams in pass plays that go beyond 10, 20, and 30 yards or more.
What can Michigan do to contain Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka?
Michael: The biggest drop-off between Michigan’s championship-winning defense a season ago under former coordinator Jesse Minter and its 2024 defense under new coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale is the unit’s significant regression against the pass. The Wolverines had the second-best passing defense in the nation last year, but this season’s iteration has sunk to 72nd in the nation at 222.3 yards per game.
Laken: That is going to be difficult if Will Johnson is not available. Even if he were playing, not many teams have had luck containing Smith and Egbuka all year. Against Oregon, the best defense the Buckeyes have faced, Smith and Egbuka still got their touches and made plays, combining for 19 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the one-point loss.
RJ: Probably not. Egbuka and Smith are as legitimately great a duo as Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison, Jr., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. And as problematic as that duo is, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss are just as dangerous.
Do the Buckeyes deserve to be considered the national title front-runner right now?
Laken: They deserve to be one of the national title front-runners right now, but not the lone favorite. Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, and Georgia are all worthy contenders at the moment. If Ohio State beats Michigan and then gets revenge on the top-ranked Ducks to win the Big Ten championship, then that statement might be more of a fair one.
RJ: No, they lost to the national title front-runner last month. Oregon maintains that spot for now.
Michael: In a strange way, Ohio State’s one-point road loss to Oregon in mid-November has become one of the biggest reasons why the Buckeyes probably are the national title front-runners at this point in the season. The Ducks exposed some of the schematic flaws in Ohio State’s defense while racking up 496 total yards, including 341 through the air, and all but extinguishing the threat from edge rushers JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, a pair of former five-star recruits. Since then, Ohio State’s defense has leaned far more heavily into creative pass rushing, and the results have been impressive.
