Major national playoff and Big Ten title implications are all over Saturday’s huge tilt between the 3rd ranked Michigan Wolverines and the 2nd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The 10-1 Wolverines are off a 20-10 home win over Indiana, while the Buckeyes are off a 17-16 road win over Michigan State. This contest has a start time of 3:30 PM EST.
Vegas odds have the Buckeyes listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 45.5. The game has a start time of 12:00 pm EST and will be televised on ABC.
Breaking Down The Michigan Wolverines
What a year the Wolverines have had as they come in at 10-1 on the year and are ranked 3rd in the NCAA Playoff standings. The Wolverines may be a year ahead of schedule, but they are here now and have a very good shot at winning it all. They must get past this game first and beating Ohio State has not been easy for them. OSU won last year’s meeting 42-13 and have now won the last four games in the series. This game is important enough, but Michigan would also love payback for last year’s loss. The Wolverines have been led by their defense this year, which has been the best in the nation so far and has allowed more than 14 points just twice. They come in ranked 1st in yards allowed, 1st vs the pass, 10th vs the run and 1st in points allowed, giving up just 10.9 ppg. That defense will be tested in this one vs a very good OSU offense. On offense, Michigan has been very solid as they come in ranked 39th in total offense, 83rd in passing, 19th in rushing and 11th in scoring, putting up 42.3 ppg. QB Wilton Speight missed his last game and is listed as questionable for this one. They will need him on the field for this one.
Breaking Down The Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State buckeye have had another banner year so far and a win here will put them in the Big 10 title game to face either Nebraska or Wisconsin. The Buckeyes also ranked 2nd in the nation a win in this game should put them in the playoffs, even if they lose the Big 10 title game. This is a strong team that has been led ben led by their defense as well, as they come in ranked 5th in the nation in total yards allowed, 3rd against the pass, 21st vs the run and 14th in points allowed, giving up just 13 ppg. They have allowed just 22 total points in their last 3 games, no more than 24 points in a game all year and have given up 17 points or less in seven games. This game features two of the best defenses in the nation, so you know it will be a high scoring game. LOL. Maybe. The Buckeyes on offense have been very good and one of the best in the Big 10. OSU comes in ranked 20th in total offense, 67th in passing 8th in rushing and 5th in scoring, putting up 43.8 ppg. J.T. Barrett has had a great year so far as he has thrown for 2304 yards, with 24 TDs and just 4 INTs, while rushing for 722 yards eight more TDs. He hasn’t faced a defense this good all year though.
Trends: The Wolverines have gone 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games following an ATS loss and 15-6-1 ATS in their last 22 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game and 2-5 ATS their last 7 games in this series. The Over is 10-2 in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning record and 13-4 in their last 17 games on fieldturf.
The Buckeyes have gone 22-5 ATS in their last 27 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game, but just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 conference games. The Under is 15-6 in their last 21 games following a straight up win and 11-5 in their last 16 vs. a team with a winning record.
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