Ohio State vs. Michigan: 5 Reasons the Buckeyes Can Win "The Game"

Michigan has had a better season than Ohio State.

Already, some in the UM camp believe a victory this Saturday is a foregone conclusion. Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press writes:

"Will Michigan beat Ohio State next week? It will. Ohio State is crawling to the finish line on fumes. Michigan had better win this time, in what I'm calling inaugural NCAA Failure to Monitor Bowl, because if it doesn't, it might be a long while before it can."

Others in the Michigan camp echo the same confidence.

Already a 7.5-point favorite, Michigan looks like they will end this string of seven straight loses to Ohio State (actually six, since 2010 does not count).

Not so fast, as Lee Corso would say (without any expletives). Here are five reasons why Ohio State can win their eighth straight against the school up north.

1. Playing Mad

Ohio State has lost back-to-back weeks.

They go into Michigan as a heavy underdog. 

They were a bigger underdog when they faced Nebraska in Lincoln and should have pulled it out. 

A blocked PAT in Purdue and facing an inspired PSU team that was playing for an ailing ex-head coach, Ohio State has come up short the last two weeks.

OSU will be mad when they come to Ann Arbor. In 1996, OSU was a nine-point favorite and UM had lost two straight. Michigan came into The Shoe mad and defeated OSU 13-9, ending the Buckeyes' chances at a national title.

History may repeat itself as OSU has lost two in a row and travels on the road as an underdog, albeit an angry one.

2. Goodbye Luke Fickell

The rumors have been swirling that Urban Meyer will be the next head coach at OSU. He has not denied it, only that a job has not been offered and he has not accepted, yet. 

Meyer will be the next head coach at OSU, and the current players and staff probably know it. OSU players will be playing for the current head coach to try to send him out a winner.

In 1987, OSU fired Earle Bruce the week of the Michigan game. OSU was an underdog to UM, but they came out wearing headbands with "Earl" written on them. They played inspired and defeated Michigan for the last time in Ann Arbor until Jim Tressel was hired.

3. Health

In 2003, the Buckeyes went into the Michigan pretty banged up. Rob Sims, one of their top offensive linemen, was injured in the previous game. During the game, Craig Krenzel was injured, but later returned. That was a mistake by Tressel though, as Krenzel clearly was not at full strength, and UM thwarted an OSU comeback.

During the Purdue game, Andrew Sweat and Johnathan Hankins were injured, and J.B. Shugarts was hurt the previous week. Sweat may not play Saturday, but Hankins and Shugarts will. Christian Bryant, Corey "Philly" Brown and Sweat are all questionable, but don’t be surprised if at least two of them see the field.

4. Braxton Miller

Ever since Donovan McNabb shredded Michigan in 1998, UM has shown a weakness against a mobile running quarterback.

Part of Ohio State's success over the years is due to the QB play of Troy Smith and Terrelle Pryor. They were the types of quarterbacks who could make plays with their feet, keep plays alive with their scrambling and make key first downs running the ball.

Remember Smith to Gonzalez in 2005? Of course, Pryor overlapped Rich Rodriguez, so he may not have been as big a factor.

5. The Jim Tressel Effect

Ever since 2001, UM has gone 1-9 against Ohio State. Lloyd Carr was 1-6, and he won a National Championship and is in the Hall of Fame. 

It certainly was not due to coaching. 

Tressel knew how to beat Michigan. As a young boy, he and his father would watch the OSU-Michigan game and discuss how they could defeat the Wolverines—and defeat the Wolverines Tressel did.

As for 2003, what if OSU did not have to deal with Maurice Clarett and he played the whole season?

What if Tressel did not put back into the game a hurt injured Craig Krenzel when the back-up QB, Eric McMullen, was leading OSU to a comeback? Could Tressel have been 10-0?

Did Luke Fickell learn from the master, or is he doing his own thing? Mark Dantonio has learned and has defeated UM four times. If OSU wins, the current senior class at UM would be 0-8 against their two arch-rivals—mainly due to Jim Tressel. 

We will know Saturday if Fickell continued what he saw from the one who knew how to win "The Game."