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#15 Michigan
Wolverines
364 days after Michigan planted a flag at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State will seek revenge in Ann Arbor as the Buckeyes face the Wolverines in the 121st edition of The Game.
All the questions that lingered through the first 11 games of the regular season will start to be answered on Saturday as the Buckeyes face the test they haven’t been able to pass for the past four years. Ohio State will need some of its best players to have big-time performances, and there’s sure to be some fireworks one way or another in college football’s most intense rivalry game.
With less than 24 hours to go until the scarlet and gray and maize and blue do battle in the Big House, we break down the biggest questions on our minds entering The Game, pick some players we expect to make a big impact for the Buckeyes and make some bold predictions for what we’ll see in Ann Arbor.
Questions
Does Ohio State lean on the passing game if it needs to?
Ryan Day has indicated that, whatever it takes to win The Game, that's what Ohio State will do. If Michigan's top-10 run defense stifles the Buckeyes' ground attack early, the best course of action is going to be leaning on the pass to open up the run, assuming Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are indeed back. Perhaps that should even be the plan from the jump.
It will be cold, it might snow, but that shouldn't stop Ohio State from properly utilizing the two best receivers in college football. Assuming they're available.
– Andy Anders
Can the Buckeyes win the line of scrimmage?
For all the attention that will be on Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate entering this game, The Game is usually won in the trenches. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Buckeyes need a big day running the ball, but they do need their offensive line – which has taken its lumps at times this year – to provide adequate protection for Julian Sayin against a talented Michigan defensive front. Defensively, Ohio State’s front has been excellent all season, but it faces its toughest test of the year to date against a Michigan offense that ranks 10th nationally with 5.6 yards per carry and 223.5 rushing yards per game.
Winning the line of scrimmage is one of the biggest reasons Michigan has won The Game for the last four years, and it’ll be necessary for the Wolverines to do so again with the Buckeyes’ talent advantages at receiver and in the secondary. If the Buckeyes can control the trenches, they should regain control of the rivalry.
– Dan Hope
How much time will Julian Sayin have to throw the football?
Dan’s question reminded me of a few statistics Michigan beat reporter Alejandro Zúñiga shared with our staff in Across The Field.
Though the Wolverines do have talented edge rushers in Derrick Moore, TJ Guy and Jaishawn Barham, there have been too many times this season where an opposing quarterback has had abundant time in the pocket to get to a third or fourth read for a completion. That’s not conducive to winning against Julian Sayin and the bevy of weapons Ohio State boasts. The alternative, of course, is blitzing to create pressure, but Sayin has above-average pocket presence and remains quite good when pressured.
Zúñiga also noted that Rayshaun Benny leads Michigan’s defensive tackles with 15 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. That’s far below the totals Mason Graham (34) and Kenneth Grant (27) posted last season. If Moore, Guy, Barham, Benny and the rest of the Wolverines can’t make Sayin uncomfortable — well, I’ll quote Zúñiga here: “That’s a problem.”
– Chase Brown
Players to Watch
Max Klare
The absence of Smith and Tate from the lineup last week against Rutgers opened the door for Klare to have his biggest game as a Buckeye, catching seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Purdue transfer tight end has gotten better and better as the year has gone along and is now peaking at the perfect time to be an X-factor in The Game. With Smith and Tate sure to draw plenty of attention in their expected returns to the lineup, I won’t be surprised if Klare has another big game as a primary weapon for Julian Sayin over the middle of the field.
– Dan Hope
Jaylen McClain
I have a feeling Matt Patricia has plans to weaponize Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs to neutralize Bryce Underwood. When one or both of them hunt the Michigan quarterback like the Predator, Jaylen McClain will be responsible for a larger portion of the field — especially the deeper areas. On one of those snaps, Reese and Downs will come on a blitz, Underwood will be forced into an errant throw, and it’ll land somewhere in McClain’s area code. I expect the sophomore safety to capitalize when that opportunity comes.
– Chase Brown
Arvell Reese
As Chase said, Patricia is going to weaponize Reese in this game. He'll clog the line of scrimmage as a run stopper. He'll spy Underwood to keep him contained. He'll bring a ferocious pass rush off the edge or blitzing A gap or B gap. Ohioans always show up in The Game, and the Cleveland Glenville product could have a statement performance as a finalist for the Butkus Award in this one.
– Andy Anders
Predictions
Ohio State’s defense makes a game-winning fourth-quarter stop
As much as the Buckeyes would surely love to blow out the Wolverines, I’m expecting the game to be a four-quarter battle. But that’s where I expect Matt Patricia’s defense to shine. Here’s how I see it playing out: With Ohio State ahead by a touchdown late in the game, Michigan is forced to throw the ball downfield with the game on the line. Ohio State’s defense comes up with a big sack, interception or simply forces Bryce Underwood to throw a fourth-down incompletion to seal a victory for the Buckeyes.
– Dan Hope
Jeremiah Smith scores two touchdowns
No one has been more confident in the Buckeyes' chances to beat the Wolverines than Jeremiah Smith. In July, Smith told The Athletic, "For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them." In August, Smith said on The Triple Option podcast, "With everything in me, I hate them." This week, Smith said on Downs 2 Business that he's hated Michigan since high school and sees nothing special in the Wolverines' secondary. Smith has talked the talk. Now, I expect him to walk the walk.
– Chase Brown
Michigan scores, at most, one touchdown
I expect the Silver Bullets to smother Michigan's attack. The Wolverines can run the ball, but good luck testing the interior of Ohio State's defense with Kayden McDonald and the nation's best linebacker tandem. And every time a team has found some success attacking the perimeter, the Buckeyes have adjusted quickly. I'm allowing for one touchdown because Michigan will surely have tricks up its sleeve, but no more.
– Andy Anders
