Game Preview: Ohio State vs Michigan

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Buckeye50_Josh Leave a comment

There are a few certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and The Game. We have finally made it to the final game of the season, which felt like it went by so quick, but also that opening game against Akron felt so long ago with the multiple bye weeks this season, but we are here. You can throw out the records when the Buckeyes and Wolverines meet, as this rivalry is filled with as many upsets as it is with blowouts, but no matter how each team is performing in the season, this one just means more.

The Buckeyes are entering The Game as a top 3 team for the 4th time in a row, a streak that started because Michigan ~~chickened out~~ was not able to play in 2020 due to COVID, yet still had a spirited practice that week. Michigan are the defending National Champions, but wont be anywhere the playoff this season to defend their title with a 6-5 record, and dont have a path to the Big Ten Championship game. What is still true for this hame is that the Buckeyes have to win this one to make the Big Ten Championship Game, and if they are able to defeat the Wolverines for the first time since 2019, they will have a rematch with the Oregon Ducks, who are the number 1 team in the country still, and gave the Buckeyes their only defeat in a very close end on October 12th.

It didnt take Ohio State long to switch gears to the Wolverines after they beat Indiana last week, who entered that game as an undefeated and 5th ranked team in the country, but the Buckeyes acted like they expected they blowout. Both Jack Sawyer and Will Howard were already talking about this game in their post game interviews, and the only commentary about the Hoosiers was that they were having fun with the “google me” celebrations, but this is the game that 11 draft eligible juniors came back for.

For Michigan, this is a game of pride for them, a game where they are trying to play upset to the Buckeyes season, and try to extend their win streak to 4 in the series. They will likely go to a mid-level bowl game, and see this season as a disappointment, but a win against the Buckeyes could reframe this season for them. Plus they are probably already thinking about next season anyway after ~~paying~~ flipping Bryce Underwood from LSU, who is the top recruit in the country and could be the answer to this seasons quarterback woes.

This game will kick off at 12:14pm on FOX, as Big Noon Kickoff will be on location for the 4th straight year as well, and they will start their pregame coverage at 9am.

Know The Opponent:

Head Coach: Sherrone Moore (1st season)
2024 Record: 6-5
Conference: Big Ten
Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Ohio State Preview

Entering this season, the conversation has been about if Ryan Day is the right person for the job. The last few years, his attention to The Game, was challenged by fans about not understanding the significance of it. He was compared to John Cooper, who imfamously went 2-10-1 against That Team Up North, and it ended up costing his job. Jim Tressel was 9-1, Urban Meyer was 7-0, the bar was set from two hall of fame coaches, and the thing that has eluded Ryan Day is a National Championship, and the 3 losses the last three seasons to the rival have cost them a chance of competing in the playoff, with the exception 2022 where they were just one play way. If you ask Ryan Day now though, nearly 12 months from the laste iteration of The Game, he knows the importance, and compared it even to the loss of his father.

“I’m excited. I’m excited about this game,” Day said. “I’m excited about this team. I love the look in their eye. I love coming to work every day. But this is not about me. It’s about these seniors that decided to come back. They want to have a pair of Gold Pants. They want to have hardware. That’s what motivates me. I’m excited for them to go out and play this thing and go win it.”

Day thinks Ohio State’s experience in its three top-five matchups will benefit the Buckeyes on Saturday. “There’s nothing quite like this game or this stage, but it has been good for us to get tested this year and to work through some of those issues. We’ve gone down in games. We lost a game. We’ve been through adversity in big games (like) early in the Penn State game, even last week. All of that adds to the character and resilience of your team — that no matter what comes at us on Saturday, we’ll know how to react. But this one’s different.”

Will Howard will be playing in his only iteration of The Game, but he already seems like he understand the importance of what this one means. “Just feeling how much this rivalry means and how deep it runs and how deep it cuts. I mean, you’re looking around the building and see the countdown clocks. From the moment I got here, it was just different. It was like, you don’t wear blue in the building, you don’t say the M word, like all this stuff. I was like, ‘OK, this is different.’ It’s not really a rivalry. It’s more like a way of life.”

He reiterated that he wants to win this one fomr Ryan Day and his teammates, as well as Buckeyes Nation. “I love this university as much as the next guy. But I really love my brothers. I love Coach Day. I would do anything for those guys. And I want to get this done for them and for Buckeye Nation. When I said I was coming here, I didn’t want to be half in on this thing. If I’m going to be a Buckeye, this is part of being a Buckeye. This game means everything. I’m grateful to be a part of it and grateful to be here and grateful for all those guys that came back. I want to get this done for them.”

Will Howard leads the team with 2685 yards with 26 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He has gained 121 yards on the ground on 68 carries, and the final touchdown against Indiana last week brought him up to 7 rushing touchdowns on the season. Although it seems that Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty are the clear top two finalists for the Heisman, Howard can continue to build his case with a win this week and next week, and he can likely find himself with an invite to New York.

Quinshon Judkins has struggled to get momentum the last few weeks, which might have to do with the arrangements with the offensive line, but he still leads the team with 135 carries and 759 yards with 8 touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson has been the healthiest he has ever been this late in the season, and it has been showing with his physicality. He has 98 carries for 730 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Jeremiah Smith leads the receiver room with 52 catches for 899 yards and 9 touchdowns. It does sound like though he won’t be a finalist for the Biletnikoff award, but he is still one of the best receivers in the country. Emeka Egbuka is playing inches final home game, and is still chasing a few all time records, and is just shy of getting those achievements. He is second on the team with 692 yards receiving on 56 catches and also has 9 touchdowns. They are the only two players to have 9 touchdowns on the same team in the entire country. Carnell Tate continues to emerge as the third option, and would be a WR1 on any other team. He has brought up his season total to 35 catches for 525 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Michigan Preview

Michigan has not had the season they expected to have, after goin 15-0 last season, and winning a National Championship, they got everyone’s best shot, and have had one of the toughest schedules in the country, having already payed two of the top 3 teams in the country, in Oregon and Texas, and will play the number 2 team in Ohio State, but also losing to Illinois, Washington on the road, and top 10 Indiana. Sherrone Moore emphasized on Monday that his team is embracing that.

“We’re not gonna forget about what’s happened, but I think we’re gonna use it as motivation for this game. This game means a lot. Every year, it means that much. Each team could be 0-11 or 11-0, the records go out the window in this game. You really just care about winning the game. That’s what our guys are focused on. We’re doing everything we can to go win.”

He knows that his team is going in as the underdog in this game, despite winning the last 3 years.

“None of that matters in this game. It doesn’t matter the records, it doesn’t matter anything. The spread, that doesn’t matter. It’s all about the game. We have to go execute. We got to go handle what we have to handle to go win.”

When asked about what stands out about the defense of Ohio State, Sherrone Moore had this to say

“They’re as good as any defense in the country. I feel like they’re a complete defense. They’ve got great skill, got great talent and do a great job with the scheme. (The scheme) is something we’re familiar with, we’ve studied, we’ve watched. They’re a really good team. We have to execute at a high level to go win.”

One of the main things to look for is the injuries for Michigan, and who will play. Two of their best players are Will Johnson, who has been out for several weeks now and is not expected to play, and Colston Loveland, their top receiver at tight end who got injured last week against Northwestern, but is expected to be in for this game. Michigan will need all of their players to try and have a chance against this Ohio State team.

The quarterback room has been a turnstile this season as the Wolverines could not figure out their starter due to several inconsistent performances, and have just not been able to pass the ball to try and balance out their offense. Davis Warren has been the most used starter in the room, and is expected to start against the Buckeyes on Saturday. He has passed for 1064 yards with 6 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Alex Orji is their back up who also started a few games, but has not shown much as a passer either. He has 148 passing yards for the season, with 3 touchdowns and an interception. Orji does present more of a running threat between the two, which Michigan likes to lean into the run game, and he has 228 yards on 50 carries with 1 touchdown.

Donovan Edwards was one of the cover athletes for the new EA College Football 25 video game, but Kalel Mullings is the lead running back in the group with 832 yards on 153 carries, and 11 touchdowns. He also has 35 yards receiving with 6 catches. Edwards is second on the team with 578 yards on 124 carries, and 4 touchdowns. I wouldn’t be surprised with the weather projecting to be below 30 degrees that the Wolverines try to rely on their run game to slow down the Buckeyes, play keep away, and try to chew as much clock as they can.

As stated earlier, Colston Loveland is the leading receiver, and one of the best tight ends in the league. He has 56 catches for 582 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tyler Morris is the second leading receiver on the team with 22 catches for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns. Semaj Morgan, who is somewhat famous for his viral video bashing the Buckeyes after last years win, is third on the team with 23 catches for 134 yards and 1 touchdown.

Buckeye Spotlight

Caleb Downs. Downs was just named to the Thorpe and Bednarick finalists lists this week, and is by far the best player on this defense in a unit that is filled with NFL talent. His kick return for a touchdown last week was the first one since 2014, and he was able to show how versatile he is for the Buckeyes. I anticipate that he will be relied on heavily in this game, and might be the shadow to Loveland like he and Sonny Styles did against Tyler Warren in the Penn State game.

Photo Credit: Buckeye Huddle

Wolverine Spotlight

Mason Graham. One area of concern for the Buckeyes is the offensive line due to the makeshift line ups they have had to come up with the past few weeks due to injuries, and Michigan has one of the better defensive lines in the country which is headlined with Mason Gram. On the season, he has 39 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Expect him to pressure the guards to try and take Ohio State off schedule.

Photo Credit: Junfu Han | USA Today Network

Water Cooler Stat of the Game

0. This season, the Buckeyes have been excellent in the third quarter, and have not allowed a single touchdown all season. Ryan Day has put an emphasis on contolling the middle 8, which is the last 4 minutes of the second quarter, and the first 4 minutes of the third. If the Buckeyes can control that element against the Wolverines, they can put this game away early.

Prediction

When you look at the record and the trajectory of these teams, Ohio State should not lose this game, and if you took away the Michigan name with another Big Ten team entering the Shoe with.a 6-5 record, the level of concern would be low. Because of the past, and because this is The Game, you cannot overlook this team, and this game, and from the press conferences and sound bites, both teams are locked in to this game. This is the year though that Ryan Day gets past his Michigan hurdle, and breaks the 3 game losing streak. The Buckeyes have too much talent and are playing their best football, and we have seen them grow since the Oregon loss, and truly they have been a different team since trailing 10-0 to Penn State. The seniors for the Buckeyes had one main mission to win a pair of gold pants, and because of the intangibles, the Buckeyes don’t just win, they let out 3 years of pain and frustration.

Ohio State 42 – Michigan 13

tagged with Big Noon Kickoff, Football, Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, Ryan Day, Sherrone Moore, The Game, Will Howard