2012 College Football Week 13 Picks: Ohio State over Michigan

If there were ever a poster child for the "what-ifs" that stalk athletes, franchises and programs, the 2012 Ohio State Buckeyes continue to make strides to take home top honors. No word on whether or not their postseason bowl ban prohibits them from accepting "What-if top honors," but let's assume that it does.

The poor off-the-field choices made by Terrelle Pryor, Jim Tressel and others in the past have handcuffed the Buckeyes' postseason aspirations this season. With that known, first-year head coach Urban Meyer and his team have one more game to go. Their unblemished 11-0 record would be all for not if they failed to beat Michigan, "that team up North," in their season finale. "The Game" is all that matters.

The Wolverines are also dealing with their own set of "what-ifs" as they look back at the 2012 campaign. Dreams of reaching the BCS National Championship were squashed when the Wolverines began the season 2-2. However, looking back, those two losses came against Notre Dame and Alabama, currently the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the BCS rankings. Senior quarterback Denard Robinson and his supporters knew a Heisman Trophy was possible in 2012, but poor passing stats and injuries knocked him out of contention early.

The good news for the maize and blue is they still have a crack at a Big Ten Championship and an invitation to a BCS bowl. If the Wolverines beat Ohio State and Nebraska falls to Iowa, the Wolverines are going to the Big Ten title game. A Nebraska loss Friday also assures Michigan of at least a share of the division title. The Wolverines' only conference loss came to the Cornhuskers a month ago in Lincoln.

Michigan's offense (200 passing yards and 194 rushing yards per game) will be without starting running back Fitz Toussaint, who just had surgery on his leg following an injury in last Saturday's game against Iowa. It will be interesting to see if Brady Hoke continues to use Devin Gardner at quarterback with Denard Robinson, who is still dealing with a hand injury, at running back.

The Wolverines' defense remains inside the top 20 in points allowed at just 18.1 allowed per game. Michigan is 52nd against the rush (151.3 rush yards allowed per game), Ohio State's bread and butter on offense, but has only allowed eight rushing touchdowns this season.

The Buckeyes beat Nebraska 63-38 in a shootout at the "Shoe" back on October 6. As previously mentioned, the offense runs through Braxton Miller. Although he only averages 168 passing yards per game, he's rushed for over 1,200 yards on the ground with 5.9 yards per rush and 13 touchdowns. His tag-team partner in the rushing game, Carlos Hyde, has racked up 824 yards with 15 touchdowns.

Ohio State is 17th versus the rush, allowing 116.8 yards per game and 12 rushing touchdowns for the season.

We simulated the Wolverines and Buckeyes 101 times and it's Ohio State winning 63.4 percent of the time by an average score of 25-20.

College Football Week 13
Matchup	Win%	Avg Score
Maryland Terrapins	38.1	23	Boxscore
@ North Carolina Tar Heels	61.9	28
Boston College Eagles	38.1	21	Boxscore
@ North Carolina State Wolfpack	61.9	26
Virginia Cavaliers	38.6	21	Boxscore
@ Virginia Tech Hokies	61.4	25
South Carolina Gamecocks	42.6	22	Boxscore
@ Clemson Tigers	57.4	24
Florida Gators	49.5	20	Boxscore
@ Florida State Seminoles	50.5	21
Miami (FL) Hurricanes	56.9	29	Boxscore
@ Duke Blue Devils	43.1	27
Vanderbilt Commodores	62.4	23	Boxscore
@ Wake Forest Demon Deacons	37.6	20
South Florida Bulls	28.7	20	Boxscore
@ Cincinnati Bearcats	71.3	27
Connecticut Huskies	35.6	20	Boxscore
@ Louisville Cardinals	64.4	23
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	60.4	26	Boxscore
@ Pittsburgh Panthers	39.6	21
Syracuse Orange	64.4	24	Boxscore
@ Temple Owls	35.6	21
Illinois Fighting Illini	31.7	19	Boxscore
@ Northwestern Wildcats	68.3	26
Michigan Wolverines	36.6	20	Boxscore
@ Ohio State Buckeyes	63.4	25
Wisconsin Badgers	42.6	20	Boxscore
@ Penn State Nittany Lions	57.4	23
Indiana Hoosiers	44.6	26	Boxscore
@ Purdue Boilermakers	55.4	27
Nebraska Cornhuskers	63.4	26	Boxscore
@ Iowa Hawkeyes	36.6	22
Michigan State Spartans	64.4	24	Boxscore
@ Minnesota Golden Gophers	35.6	20
Akron Zips	8.9	17	Boxscore
@ Toledo Rockets	91.1	31
Buffalo Bulls	42.1	21	Boxscore
@ Bowling Green Falcons	57.9	25
Ohio Bobcats	45.5	22	Boxscore
@ Kent State Golden Flashes	54.5	23
Ball State Cardinals	63.4	29	Boxscore
@ Miami (OH) RedHawks	36.6	25
Northern Illinois Huskies	77.2	26	Boxscore
@ Eastern Michigan Eagles	22.8	15
Central Michigan Chippewas	78.2	28	Boxscore
@ Massachusetts Minutemen	21.8	18
Arizona State Sun Devils	38.6	27	Boxscore
@ Arizona Wildcats	61.4	30
Oregon Ducks	55.4	25	Boxscore
@ Oregon State Beavers	44.6	23
Stanford Cardinal	58.9	23	Boxscore
@ UCLA Bruins	41.1	22
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	61.4	27	Boxscore
@ USC Trojans	38.6	21
Utah Utes	64.9	24	Boxscore
@ Colorado Buffaloes	35.1	19
Washington Huskies	73.3	28	Boxscore
@ Washington State Cougars	26.7	21
Auburn Tigers	6.9	14	Boxscore
@ Alabama Crimson Tide	93.1	29
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	24.8	19	Boxscore
@ Georgia Bulldogs	75.2	29
Missouri Tigers	26.7	18	Boxscore
@ Texas A&M Aggies	73.3	26
Kentucky Wildcats	35.6	18	Boxscore
@ Tennessee Volunteers	64.4	23
Mississippi State Bulldogs	59.4	23	Boxscore
@ Mississippi Rebels	40.6	21
LSU Tigers	65.3	25	Boxscore
@ Arkansas Razorbacks	34.7	17
Idaho Vandals	12.9	18	Boxscore
@ Utah State Aggies	87.1	31
Texas State Bobcats	52.5	26	Boxscore
@ Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners	47.5	25
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	55.4	31	Boxscore
@ San Jose State Spartans	44.6	29
Brigham Young Cougars	76.2	30	Boxscore
@ New Mexico State Aggies	23.8	18
Texas Tech Red Raiders	42.6	28	Boxscore
@ Baylor Bears	57.4	30
TCU Horned Frogs	46.5	22	Boxscore
@ Texas Longhorns	53.5	23
Oklahoma State Cowboys	47.5	24	Boxscore
@ Oklahoma Sooners	52.5	26
West Virginia Mountaineers	52.5	28	Boxscore
@ Iowa State Cyclones	47.5	27
UAB Blazers	18.8	20	Boxscore
@ UCF Knights	81.2	32
Tulane Green Wave	24.8	20	Boxscore
@ Houston Cougars	75.2	29
Marshall Thundering Herd	41.6	24	Boxscore
@ East Carolina Pirates	58.4	26
Southern Miss Golden Eagles	44.6	22	Boxscore
@ Memphis Tigers	55.4	24
Rice Owls	61.4	27	Boxscore
@ UTEP Miners	38.6	24
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	82.2	31	Boxscore
@ Southern Methodist Mustangs	17.8	22
Air Force Falcons	33.2	22	Boxscore
@ Fresno State Bulldogs	66.8	28
New Mexico Lobos	47.0	22	Boxscore
@ Colorado State Rams	53.0	23
UNLV Rebels	60.4	22	Boxscore
@ Hawaii Warriors	39.6	20
San Diego State Aztecs	69.3	28	Boxscore
@ Wyoming Cowboys	30.7	21
South Alabama Jaguars	18.3	19	Boxscore
@ Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns	81.7	30
North Texas Mean Green	36.6	22	Boxscore
@ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	63.4	26
Troy Trojans	43.6	29	Boxscore
@ Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	56.4	30
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	62.4	27	Boxscore
@ FIU Golden Panthers	37.6	21

Each Monday, WhatIfSports.com's NCAA college football simulation engine will provide you with game predictions for every D-1 FBS game that upcoming week. The college football simulation engine generates detailed information for each game including each team's chances of winning (Win%) and the average points scored for both teams. Make sure to share the college football information you gained here with your friends by either checking out our NCAA football widgets on the WhatIf To Go page or clicking on the social networking share bar at the top and bottom of this article.

Check out our 2012 College Football Season-to-Date page to follow our accuracy and for Upsets of the Week.

The statistical inputs to the thousands of college football simulations are based on rigorous analysis of each team's roster, depth charts and statistically based player rankings. Roster modifications are made in cases of injury or suspension and those players are removed from their team's game simulation for that week.