For the first time since 1933, the Wolverines of Ann Arbor will be facing the Ohio State Buckeyes in a pitted football match before the month of November. With Michigan still facing COVID-19 cases within their athletics program, their game against Maryland was cancelled as they currently prepare for The Game against heated rival OSU. This rivalry in the past few years has been completely controlled by the Buckeyes, as they hold the past 8 games under their belts. The overall rivalry is 58-51-6 in favor of U of M, with the majority of their wins coming from their rather dominant era of football in the 1900’s. This year’s matchup—if it is continued—will be an interesting occasion, as the Buckeyes are a controlling 5-0 this year with 2 games being cancelled due to COVID. The Wolverines, however, are 2-4 under Jim Harbaugh this season, with their two wins being over Minnesota and Rutgers.

The Ohio State offense is the leading card in this game; they are the #1 overall offense in the Big Ten, averaging just above 532 yards per game. At the helm of this offense is quarterback Justin Fields, averaging 281 yards per game both on the ground and through the air. Justin is in the Heisman race and will be an issue for the struggling defensive backs of Michigan. To help Justin out is the tandem receiving core of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, who combine for far over half of the team’s receiving yards. Monster running back Master Teague III leads the team in rushing and will be an issue against that soft Wolverine defensive front. I expect Teague to get some big yards in this game as Don Brown and his squad of young players are most likely without DE Captain Aidan Hutchinson, as he was injured in their game against Indiana.

A solid roster and coaching staff is not the only thing benefitting the Buckeyes in this one. On the other side of the field is a failing team who is looking worse and worse every game. With no definite quarterback, the Wolverines struggle to move the ball offensively both on the ground and through the air consistently. Not only has their offense had a rough year, but their defense as well. Michigan allowed 449 total yards against a horrible Michigan State team. This is just one of the atrocious games in the Wolverines’ schedule, and if they don’t turn things around there could be big numbers put up against them on December 12. 

With the inconsistencies of the team also comes the disbelief in the coaching staff over in Ann Arbor. With the worst season in a decade, there are rumors that since Jim Harbaugh’s contract is over this season, they may be moving on from the Harbaugh coaching era, which brings distrust through the players as well creating a multitude of problems on the maize and blue side. 

With all of this in mind, I believe the Ohio State Buckeyes are going to take the win over the Michigan Wolverines on December 12 by a large margin. The Buckeyes hold too much talent that will simply overpower “The Team Up North”, which will add to yet another win to Columbus in this legendary rivalry. 

The Game: Michigan over Ohio State