The Buckeyes look to end a three-game skid against their rival and earn a Big Ten title game appearance in the process.
Ohio State has rebounded from its early loss to Oregon and passed its two biggest tests since with flying colors, knocking off No. 3 Penn State on the road before Saturday’s big 38-15 victory over No. 5 Indiana. The Buckeyes will now take part in the biggest rivalry in all of college football, as Michigan comes to Columbus for the 2024 edition of The Game.
The stakes are well-documented: Ryan Day has lost to the Wolverines three-straight times, and a fourth loss — especially this season with the way these two teams have played — would be a monumental failure. Ohio State will take on its bitter rival as more than a three-touchdown favorite, needing a victory both to turn the tide and to punch its ticket to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game.
Betting Odds: Ohio State -21.5 | O/U 44.5 (per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Ohio State is coming off a dominant win over No. 5 Indiana, defending their home field and putting an end to the Hoosiers’ undefeated season with a 38-15 win in Columbus. As they’ve made a habit of doing recently, the Buckeyes got off to a slow start, trailing 7-0 in the game after Indiana’s opening drive, but Ryan Day’s group owned the final three quarters of play as they completely stifled Curt Cignetti’s offense and converted it into points on the other end.
Will Howard hasn’t put up gaudy numbers, but what he has been is efficient. Scoring three total touchdowns against Indiana — two passing and one rushing — Howard completed 85% of his passes, the fifth time this season the quarterback has completed at least 80% of his throws. Emeka Egbuka was his go-to guy on Saturday, catching all seven of his targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. The run game wasn’t particularly elite, buoyed by a late 39-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson to inflate the final numbers, but the big scoring play of the afternoon was a 79-yard punt return touchdown by Caleb Downs.
Defensively, Ohio State played perhaps its best game of the season. After giving up 70 yards and a touchdown on the Hoosiers’ first possession, the Buckeyes let up only 81 total yards the rest of the way. The unit recorded five sacks and eight tackles for loss, highlighted by Cody Simon’s 2.5 sacks, 2.5 TFLs and a forced fumble as Indiana had no answers for Jim Knowles’ blitz packages. The Silver Bullets’ pass rush helped hold Kurtis Rourke to a season-low 68 yards passing with no touchdowns and the Hoosiers to just 2.6 yards per play as a team.
Michigan hasn’t had a particularly successful campaign coming off a national title, but it was able to exercise some demons this week with a 50-6 drubbing of Northwestern. The win got the Wolverines to bowl eligibility, now sitting at 6-5 on the year and 4-4 in Big Ten play in their first year under head coach Sherrone Moore and their first season without knowing the opposing team’s plays ahead of time since 2021.
TTUN scored five rushing touchdowns against the Wildcats, led by Kalel Mullings’ 12 carries for 92 yards and three scores, and Davis Warren threw for a near-personal-best 195 yards with a touchdown and a pick — just shy of his season-high 204 passing yards in the loss the Texas. The Michigan defense held Northwestern to eight first downs and less than 130 total yards, taking the ball away twice on a pair of interceptions while keeping an opponent out of the end zone in a game for the first time this season.
Finding consistent offense has been the biggest struggle for Michigan. The Wolverines have played three different quarterbacks at varying points this season, beginning with and ultimately settling on Warren, who has thrown for 869 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions in six games. Alex Orji has also played a bit as well, but has mostly been just a run threat. Orji has attempted only 44 passes, completing 23 of them for 148 yards and three TDs, while rushing 50 times for 228 yards and a score.
TTUN expected Donovan Edwards to take over a starting role in the backfield alongside its QB, but Mullings has been far and away their most productive runner with 740 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. In the passing game, nobody has separated themselves at wide receiver, with the receiving core instead being led by Colston Loveland. The tight end has caught 53 passes for 560 yards and four touchdowns, with no other pass-catcher on the roster recording more than 23 receptions or over 170 yards.
For all of their struggles offensively, the Wolverines have still been solid defensively. However, that group has taken a hit without star corner Will Johnson, who has missed the last four games with a foot injury. Some reports this weekend have suggested that Johnson will also not suit up against Ohio State, but that has not yet been confirmed by the player or the team.
Still, what Michigan will for sure have is a pair of stud defensive tackles in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, with the two monster interior linemen having combined for 5.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss this season while wreaking havoc on opposing run games. Tack on Josaiah Stewart, who leads the team with 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, and this Wolverines defensive front will be a real test for a beat up Buckeye offensive line. In the secondary, sophomore Jyaire Hill has been a steady presence with Johnson out, tallying a team-high seven pass breakups to add to six tackles for loss, a sack and a pick.
It’s incredibly cliche, but when it comes to The Game, you can truly throw out the record books heading into this one. Sure, Ohio State is a hefty betting favorite and has been far and away the better team in 2024, but Ryan Day has also lost each of the last three meetings against his rival — albeit with a difference coach on the other sideline. The Buckeyes will need to treat the Wolverines with a similar threat level as they approached Penn State and Indiana, if not even greater, if they want to avoid an upset.