Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines Complete Game Preview
Despite having already clinched its spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Ohio State football team shouldn't have any trouble focusing on its final game of the regular season. "The Game," as it's called in Columbus and Ann Arbor, is arguably the greatest rivalry in all of college sports, one which Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer respects deeply.
"We don't worry above and beyond this week," Meyer said following Ohio State's 42-27 Big Ten East-clinching win over Indiana last Saturday. "We know the history of this game. Regardless of records or anything, the most motivated, most prepared team will win this next game that's this rivalry. I know this rivalry. And the most prepared team, most focused team will win this game."
The records seemed to go out the window a year ago, when the 7-4 Wolverines came within a two-point conversion of ending their rivals' national championship hopes. The stakes are similar this year with the Buckeyes fighting for a playoff spot and 5-6 Michigan attempting to play the role of spoiler.
In what could very well be the final game of Brady Hoke's tenure as the Wolverines' head coach, his team will have the opportunity to send him off on a high note, while Ohio State is hoping to maintain the momentum that it's found during its now nine-game winning streak.
Will the Buckeyes do just that, or will Michigan hand Meyer his first loss as a head coach in The Game? We'll find out on Saturday. But until then, here's everything you need to know about the 110th meeting between Ohio State and Michigan:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Place: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
TV: ABC
Spread: Ohio State (-20), via Odds Shark
Ohio State Keys to Victory
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Get to Gardner
Having thrown 14 interceptions compared to just eight touchdowns, Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner has shown a propensity for turning the ball over, which has led to obvious trouble for Michigan. For an Ohio State defense still finding its way, there should be plenty of opportunities for the Buckeyes on Saturday against the turnover-prone Wolverine offense.
"That's our goal, to get out and kill their will fast," Buckeyes linebacker Curtis Grant said. "Against a team like this, you don't want to start off slow."
But while Gardner has struggled throughout his senior season, the Ohio State defense has seen firsthand what the Michigan signal-caller is capable of. A year ago, Gardner gashed the Buckeyes in the close call between the two teams, totaling 451 passing yards and five total touchdowns.
"They have a lot of talent from the quarterback position," Grant said. "It's kind of hard to wonder about what's going on up there and why they aren't winning more games."
Take Care of the Ball
As Ohio State showed last weekend, however, it doesn't matter who it's playing if it doesn't take care of the ball. Committing three first-half turnovers against Indiana, the Buckeyes allowed the Hoosiers to hang around for the better part of their Big Ten battle, with IU maintaining a lead over OSU until late in the third quarter.
With Michigan possessing even more talent than the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes would be wise to do a better job hanging on to the ball this weekend, which is why Meyer has placed such an increased emphasis on his team's turnover problem.
"We're going to get it fixed," Ohio State wide receiver Evan Spencer asserted. "Me personally, I'm going to try to do whatever I can to get it fixed, then I'm just going to try to get it to permeate through the rest of the team."
Michigan Keys to Victory
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Commit to the Run
Outside of turning the ball over, if there's been one glaring issue for Ohio State over the past few weeks, it's been the Buckeyes run defense. Against Indiana, Ohio State surrendered 228 yards and three touchdowns to Hoosiers running back Tevin Coleman, the nation's second-leading rusher.
And while Derrick Green isn't expected to play on Saturday, Michigan has proved it has no shortage of talented running backs. Against Maryland last weekend, Drake Johnson tallied 94 yards on just 14 carries, complementing an 84-yard effort on the ground from Gardner.
"I feel like we're growing each and every game," Grant said of the Buckeyes defense. "I feel like we haven't reached our peak yet."
Embrace the Rivalry
As witnessed a year ago when a brawl following a second-quarter kickoff led to the ejections of OSU offensive lineman Marcus Hall, running back Dontre Wilson and Michigan linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone, this rivalry has a history of getting ugly in a hurry. That could prove to be especially concerning for the Buckeyes this season, as they again have so much on the line, while the Wolverines have little to play for.
"I had a talk with our team about that. And absolutely no place for that," Meyer said. "Intensity, absolutely a certain mentality we need to take to this field, but that's not acceptable."
But while Meyer has warned his players not to participate, Michigan could certainly benefit from a chippy matchup on Saturday. And if it leads to ejections as it did a year ago, it could even play a role in evening up the two sides and could have implications for Ohio State extending beyond the upcoming weekend.
"That's not the way we play the game and I think a lot of lessons were learned," Meyer reiterated. "We went without one of our key linemen in the championship game the following week and we played a game without two or three good players. So that's not that was a very strong conversation yesterday in the team meeting."
Ohio State Players to Watch
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J.T. Barrett
At Ohio State, there are many factors that define a quarterback, from his statistics to his Big Ten championships to individual awards. But near the top of any Buckeye quarterback's is his record against Michigan, whom J.T. Barrett will be facing for the first time this Saturday.
A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, it didn't take long for Barrett to realize what the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is all about. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Barrett explained that while he grew up watching the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma-Texas has nothing on The Game.
“There’s deep hate for those guys," Barrett said of Michigan. "Not just the players, but more the fans. There’s a lot."
After a shaking performance that still saw him total 380 yards and four touchdowns in the box score, Barrett will look to get his Heisman Trophy campaign back on track this weekend. More than that, Barrett will look to continue to establish a legacy for himself in Columbus in his first appearance in the most important game of the season.
Jalin Marshall
While Barrett has taken home the majority of the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week honors this year, he didn't earn the award this week, although it didn't travel all that far. Scoring four touchdowns in the second half alone in the Buckeyes' beating of the Hoosiers, H-back Jalin Marshall was honored as the conference's top first-year player this week in what was a breakout performance against Indiana.
Catching five balls for 95 yards and three touchdowns and adding another score on a punt return, Marshall showed the versatility that Ohio State has been looking for from its H-back position since Meyer arrived. The Buckeyes head coach insisted that the ability has been there all year in the OSU offense, as Marshall continues to add a new dynamic.
"We didn't have that luxury the first two years," Meyer said. "These guys are built like the way we want them."
With Wilson still out with a broken foot, Ohio State's H-back responsibilities will continue to fall on the shoulders of Marshall. As his name continues to emerge, it will be interesting to see how defenses adjust to him as one of the focal points of the Buckeyes offense.
Michigan Players to Watch
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Devin Gardner
While he's enjoyed an up-and-down career at Michigan since moving from wide receiver to quarterback in 2012, Michigan won't have a chance to upset the Buckeyes without a big game from its signal-caller. Having totaled 1,663 passing yards, 12 total touchdowns and 14 interceptions, Gardner has been inconsistent at best this season, completing 60.6 percent of his passes.
But given his ability as dual-threat player, Gardner is plenty capable of hurting Ohio State, as we saw a year ago. He can also be the Wolverines' greatest asset or worst enemy, making him perhaps the most important player in this weekend's game.
Devin Funchess
At 6'5" and 230 pounds, Funchess is perhaps Michigan's most dangerous weapon, a wide receiver-tight end hybrid whose talents require double-teaming. The Wolverines' leading receiver this year, Funchess has tallied 55 receptions for 625 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
While Michigan's inefficiencies in the passing game haven't allowed Funchess to reach his potential, he remains the player most capable of hurting the Ohio State defense. His ability will also open up lanes in the Wolverines' passing game, as the Buckeyes don't have a single player whose size will allow OSU to single-cover the Farmington Hills, Michigan, native.
What They're Saying
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While Michigan has endured its struggles this season, Meyer insists that he anticipates the Wolverines' best effort on Saturday. Using last year's game as a teaching point, the third-year Ohio State head coach has grabbed the attention of his team with last season's close call.
"We'll get the best, their personnel will play their very best against us and that happened," Meyer said. "That was as obvious as you can be last year."
A native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Meyer admitted that there's something different about this week, given the tradition of the 110-year rivalry.
"It is a lot different. If it's not then we're not doing a good job," Meyer said. "I have a bunch of people in this facility that it is different. There will be things every day added to the facility to make you walk in the weight room it's completely different, everything."
As for the Michigan perspective, Hoke insists that it's respect—not hatred—that defines this rivalry. That may have been evident a year ago, when Meyer and Hoke shared a mini-embrace of sorts following their all-time classic.
"I think there's always been a respect," Hoke said. "That's what this game is about."
Prediction
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The concept that "the records go out the window when these two teams play" is somewhat cliche, but if anything, last season's 42-41 Buckeyes win proved that there may be some truth to it when it comes to Ohio State and Michigan. The Wolverines simply had no business hanging with the Buckeyes yet somehow found a way to nearly pull off an upset for the ages.
But while The Game has a way of evening the two sides for 60 minutes, this isn't your typical Michigan team. Rather, this is a Wolverines squad that is near its rock bottom, one win shy of bowl eligibility with losses to Rutgers and Maryland on its resume.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has been hitting on all cylinders since its loss in the second week of the season, ranking fifth in the nation in scoring with an average of 44.3 points per game. As the Buckeyes showed against Indiana, they still have their shortcomings that they need to work on but are in an obviously much better place than Michigan at this moment.
Given last year's close call, expect for the Wolverines to have Ohio State's full attention and for the Buckeyes to place a heavy emphasis on getting off to a quick start. The fact of the matter remains that Ohio State has improved while Michigan has regressed in the past 12 months, and the friendly confines of Ohio Stadium should make the unlikely blowout in The Game all the more possible.
Final Score: Ohio State 56, Michigan 20
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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