#8 Ohio State (9-2) at Michigan (5-6)
Date: Saturday November 21st
Time: 12:10 PM ET
TV: ABC
Line: Ohio State -12
Total: 48
Ohio State ATS Record: 8-3
Michigan ATS Record: 5-6
This is the last weekend of the Big Ten football season and with that comes the Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry which has always been considered one of the greatest sports rivalry’s in North America today. It pits husband against wife, brother against brother and father against son. The week of the Ohio State versus Michigan game is far and away the biggest sports event in the states of Michigan and Ohio for the entire year. This week, the game will be a shell of its former self. It's so diminished that its only impact the “The Game” will have is, to determine if the Wolverines become bowl eligible or if Michigan will reside in last place in the Big Ten. The Rose Bowl has been decided; Ohio State will be going to Pasadena. The national championship and the Heisman Trophy will be presented to non Big Ten participants. But to the alumni and to the states populations this is a ‘blood feud” that will never end. With a win this year against Ohio State, ‘hot seat’ Wolverine Head Coach Rich Rodriguez will save his job, a blow out loss could put the embattled Coach scrambling for the Classified Ads. Michigan leads the all time series 57-42-6, but the Buckeyes have won 5 straight and 7 of the last 10.
No. 8 Ohio State (9-2, 6-1) has already assured itself of a spot in the Rose Bowl after clinching at least a share of the Big Ten title and the conference's Bowl Championship Series automatic berth with Saturday's 27-24 overtime victory over 15th-ranked Iowa.
The Wolverines (5-6, 1-6) have lost four in a row and six of the last seven, and remain tied for last in the Big Ten after Saturday's 45-24 beating at the hands of Wisconsin.
Ohio State Offense: The Buckeyes' offense did score in 2009, ranking fourth in the league with 30.0 points per game; but it has struggled putting up yardage. OSU ranks last in passing (174.9) per game. Terelle Pryor has completed just 56.0 percent of his passes for an average of 160.1 yards and has thrown 15 TDs and 9 interceptions. DeVier Posey accounts for most of the pass receptions and has an average of nearly 63 yards per game. The Buckeyes have had success running the ball this season, rating third in the league with 194.2 yards per game. Terrelle Pryor boasts an average of 57.5 yards rushing per game. Brandon Saine ranks just behind Pryor in Big Ten rushing in seventh with 55.5 yards per contest. OSU ranks eighth in the conference in total offensive yardage with (369.1) ypg.
Ohio State Defense: The Buckeyes defense ranks second in the league by allowing just 12.4 points a game and has a plus-12 turnover margin. In fact, the Buckeyes have forced 28 opponent turnovers through the first 11 games, an average of 2.5 per contest, and have forced 19 interceptions and recovered nine opponent fumbles on the year. Ross Homan, the team's leading tackler at 7.6 stops per game, has four of those picks, followed by Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell with three apiece. In last week's title-clinching win over Iowa, Russell intercepted two passes, including one in overtime. In addition, Ohio State's defense has allowed just 10 touchdowns over its past 39 quarters of play.
Michigan AD Bill Martin pledges his support for Coach Rich Rodriquez, after a second consecutive losing season, combined with the ongoing NCAA investigation into the football program is keeping Rich Rodriguez's seat very warm. A Michigan win over archrival Ohio State would cool things down and allow Michigan to end the program's first five-game slide against Ohio State. All but assure Michigan of its first bowl appearance since the 2008 Capital One Bowl. Ensure Michigan didn't finish last in the Big Ten. Give Michigan its first win against an FBS opponent since Sept. 26 (Indiana) Allow anyone involved with the Michigan football program a moment to celebrate which there has not been a lot of in Ann Arbor in quite some time.
Michigan Offense: Michigan leads the Big Ten in scoring with 31.2 points per contest and ranks second in rushing (195.8), but just ninth in passing (195.5). Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier has completed 142-of-243 attempts (58.4 percent) with six interceptions and 12 touchdowns, and averages 165.8 yards per game. Forcier is fourth in the conference in passing efficiency with a 132.85 rating. Michigan receiving has been done by committee 19 different wideouts have caught passes for the Wolverines in 2009. Brandon Minor is the team's leading rusher with 502 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 50.2 yards per game, which is eighth in the conference. Michigan's high-powered scoring offense will be facing one of the conference's top defenses in Ohio State.
Michigan Defense: Defensively the Wolverines give up 28.1 points and 400.2 yards of total offense every Saturday. The OSU run game is expected to see a lot of action in Ann Arbor as Michigan ranks 10th in the conference against the rush, allowing 164.7 yards per contest. U-M has also given up 19 touchdowns on the ground, which is the third-highest total in the league. Should Pryor be contained to the pocket, it will be by senior Brandon Graham, who ranks fourth nationally with 1.9 TFL's per game. His 21.0 tackles for loss pace the Big Ten, while his 8.5 sacks are the second most in the league this year.
The Wolverines have six losses on their record, including three defeats of 21 points or more. The Wolverines will finish no better than 2-6 in Big Ten play for the second straight year with a win on Saturday.
The Buckeyes have beaten two top-15 teams in as many weeks, knocking off 15th-ranked Iowa 27-24 in overtime and then-No. 11 Penn State 24-7 in Happy Valley two weeks ago. Those two wins gave them the Rose Bowl bid and a Jan. 1 date against the Pac-10 winner. No. 11 Oregon (8-2, 6-1) currently leads that race, with Stanford (7-3, 6-2), Oregon State (7-3, 5-2) and Arizona (6-3, 4-2) hot on the webbed feet of the Ducks.
The Michigan Wolverines are ranked 56th in offense, averaging 391.4 yards per game. The Wolverines are averaging 195.8 yards rushing and 195.5 yards passing so far this season. The Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked 65th in offense, averaging 369.1 yards per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 194.8 yards rushing and 174.3 yards passing so far this season.
Home and Away:
The Michigan Wolverines are 5-2 at home this season, 1-6 against conference opponents and 4-0 against non-conference opponents. At home the Wolverines are averaging 37.0 scoring, and holding teams to 24.3 points scored on defense. The Ohio State Buckeyes are 2-1 while on the road this season, 6-1 against conference opponents and 3-1 against non-conference opponents. On the road, the Buckeyes are averaging 25.0 scoring, and holding teams to 15.7 points scored on defense.
Betting Trends:
Ohio State is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games against Michigan
Ohio State is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games in Ann Arbor
Ohio State is 20-6 ATS in their last 26 road games
Michigan is 3-14 ATS in their last 17 Big Ten games
Michigan is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games
The OVER is 7-3 in Michigan’s last 10 games
The OVER is 5-1 in the last 6 games between the two teams
